My horse, Hey Majesty, is a 17 hand, 5th generation daughter of Man-o-War. She was 17 years old when I adopted her from ReRun Race Horse Adoption. She was a top broodmare for 14 years and she was successfully bred to Ferdinand, the famous 1986 Kentucky Derby winner, and other top stallions. She is a stakes-placed winner, and producer of stakes winners.
With such a pedigree, you might think that this mare was secure in her world. Not so. She couldn't produce anymore and so her life as she knew it must end. Breeding sheds led to sales rings. She didn't have much to offer a potential buyer, no training in any riding discipline, just too old and out of condition for anything. She was not wanted or needed anymore.
You might think this was the end of her story, but it was just the beginning! Hey Majesty was a lucky horse. She was donated to ReRun Racehorse Adoption. Because of her age and a diagnosis of Cushings Disease, she wasn't a hot prospect for rehabilitation and retraining. After all, who would want an old, sick, unridable broodmare?
Well, I did! I fell in love with ReRun's description of Hey Majesty on their web page. It went something like this "Hey you, listen up, if you are in need of loving or have loving to give, have I got the horse for you! Into the program comes Hey Majesty. . ." That's all it took! Somehow I felt connected to this mare. Adoption
To Adopt Hey Majesty, I went through a rigorous screening. Every horse adopted from ReRun must have the best chance at success. The group carefully matches each horse to its potential owner. And, they follow each horse for 2 years after adoption.
Shon Wylie, ReRun's president, personally discussed my plans for Majesty and asked numerous questions about my experience with horses. She called our veterinarian, my references, friends who knew me from the past and interviewed Jane Kataras, the owner of the farm where I would be keeping Majesty.
All in all, a very thorough picture of Majesty's new home was in place before they would let her go. ReRun treated Hey Majesty like they would any valuable thoroughbred entrusted to their care. They sent her to me in an 18 wheel professional horse van, with only one other racehorse in it. She came home to us in luxury. Retraining
At first glance, I could tell we would be starting from scratch. Hey Majesty hadn't been ridden since her racing days and didn't remember much of her training. It would take many months of ground work to develop the muscles in her back to support a rider. You might think that an old, sick racehorse would let you train her without much fuss. Not exactly. If you can imagine a 1200 pound kite, flying high in the air, in a gale, and you are on the ground holding the string, that would be an accurate picture of our first lunging sessions.
She was so incredibly powerful and noble looking even then. We began our ground work slowly. No more than 15 minutes at a time. She would tire very quickly at first and I didn't want to hurt her. Although, I had never trained a horse before, I was fortunate to have encouragement and valuable assistance from Jane Kataras, Alpha Royale Farm in Crete, IL, and fellow boarders, Melody Brown, Jeanne Luinis and Sharon Adley.
Our farrier, Diane Aigner, made sure that Majesty's hoofs were manicured to perfection. My friends Linda Kiser and Alice Bennett, offered their sound advice, encouragement and much needed equipment. My husband, Ted, was with me always to assist me and support my efforts and to reward Majesty with special morsels. We liked to call him Majesty's "carrot dispenser."
Ground training was the ticket! It seemed safer to teach her as much as I could from the ground. I was very happy when she learned the words walk, trot, canter and very grateful when she learned the word whoa. Success was achieved by trial and error. Majesty would certainly let me know what she didn't like! Bribery!
I should mention that there was one more basic technique which worked miraculously on Majesty. Here is what I did: I convinced Majesty to learn from me through bribery. She taught me quickly that you cannot force a thoroughbred mare to do anything she doesn't want to do for you.
However, I discovered that she liked to sample unusual food. She developed a very special craving for spaghetti, hot mashes with cooked apples, and blueberry pancakes. She would do anything for a mouthful of spaghetti. We made much progress on the days I had special leftovers for her.
I have to admit that Majesty tried my patience and I tried hers. I made mistakes, but she forgave me. As we worked, I would look into her eyes and see kindness in them.
Although frustrating at times, I realized that testing me was a part of the bonding process for her. Mutual respect is the only way she could accept me. We would take one step forward and then two steps back. We would have good days and bad days. She would show me all sides of her personality. She could be sweet, humorous, sneaky, stubborn, skittish, sullen, playful, sad and so willful and spirited that she'd frighten me. Sometimes all these emotions would be seen in an hour or so! Working together
I knew I was asking a lot of Majesty. It was a struggle, both mentally and physically. Her mind remembered everything -- good experiences and bad ones. Those old muscles didn't want to cooperate at first and took a long time to come around and work for her.
I could sympathize with her uphill struggle back to fitness. At 54, I'm not too young either. It was hard work for both of us -- for me, a challenge of a lifetime. But looking back, I'd do it again in a minute. Seeing her now is believing that it is possible to teach an old horse new tricks. She gave me her best efforts and once again stepped out of retirement into an active life.
I know her well now and I can tell she looks forward, as I do, to new experiences. Never have I ridden a horse so animated and so willing to work. She shows me incredible power and energy. She's a challenge to ride each and every time, a thoroughbred through and through. Together we make a whole that is better than it's two parts. For me, riding her is like sitting on top of the world. How fortunate I am to own her. Today, we are working on dressage and she is becoming a reliable trail and parade horse. Who knows what we will try to accomplish tomorrow? I am certain she will do her best to meet any new challenge. After all, Hey Majesty comes from a long line of winners and she has the heart of the Thoroughbred Industry beating inside of her.
Many thanks to her donors, to ReRun, to Alpha Royale Farm, to my husband and the many friends who made her story have a happy ending.
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