Well, it has been quite the year since I checked in last.  Oh, that was March? Right …

My day-to-day life hasn’t changed much. I’m considered “essential,” so I am still managing my small boarding farm. Additionally, mares continue to deliver their foals no matter what.

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Horse shows have been canceled and, with social distancing in place, it’s difficult to really do anything off the farm. We have been hardcore practicing being #healthyathome!

In early March, before COVID-19 was prevalent in Kentucky, Term of Art (TOA) and I were able to take our first lesson! Deloise Noble-Strong is a wonderful and patient trainer who I know from Maryland and travels to Kentucky once a month to teach lessons at Hickory Manor Farm in Paris. She has trained me previously with my horse Cave, and I always get so much out of our lessons together.

TOA has some issues loading on the trailer that go back to his racing days, and I have some issues when it comes to not knowing how a green horse will react in new situations. Sounds like a great combination, right?

Yes, we had some issues with the trailer, which were thankfully addressed by my dear friend Kimmy, but Term of Art could have not been better under saddle.

Deloise helped us with several exercises that taught him to relax and stretch down and not get so tense in the mouth and neck. A lot of horses that are just coming off of the racetrack will lean on your hands for balance as they learn to use their bodies differently. Some horses learn to soften and relax quicker than others and Term of Art is one that just needs more time and practice, but he is more than willing to learn!

Since our lesson we have continued practicing at home. Each day he starts to “get it” a little quicker, which results in some beautiful moments of flatwork. Most days, he is focused and willing. Some days he decides he is a bucking bronco. It keeps life interesting and it keeps me on toes.

I have also been incorporating a lot of ground work into our training sessions. We either work on stretches before and after riding or we have days that we focus solely on ground work. He is very smart (not surprising) and very brave when trying new things (slightly surprising). We have mastered walking and trotting over tarps in hand, wearing the tarp, walking and trotting over flower boxes in hand, and we doing a lot of playing with pool noodles. His natural curiosity has me tempted to try our hands at Competitive Trail at the Thoroughbred Makeover in addition to the Show Hunter division.

Last week, I decided it was time to see what Term of Art can do free jumping, since training him to jump is our ultimate goal. Free jumping is when you set up a “jump chute” and let the horse learn to jump without the interference of a rider. Not only is this a great tool to assess a horse’s natural talent and willingness, but letting them figure it out on their own can be a huge confidence builder for a horse that may not be sure about the task at hand and needs some time to figure it out.

The most advanced work that Term of Art had done up to this point was trotting over poles on the ground in hand and under saddle.

First free jumping try for Term of Art. (Courtesy of Kaitlyn Cawley Villalobos)

It can be always be a bit nerve-wracking for the horse owner to watch a jumping prospect take their first jump, but Term of Art took to jumping like a fish to water. He was brave and willing, and he has a fantastic natural form over jumps. Most importantly, he really seemed to enjoy it. After a few times through the jump chute, he didn’t want to stop and I breathed a huge sigh of relief!

So now that we have discussed the good things that have happened in the past month, it’s time to discuss the bad. Let me start by saying that Term of Art is all boy. He loves to go outside to run and play with his friends and sometimes that doesn’t have the best outcome, but horses don’t think of the consequences. My horses are currently on their summer turnout schedule, which means they are in their stalls from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. in the afternoon, and they are turned out the rest of the day. Term of Art is out in a nice, grassy field with two other gelding friends during turnout and he loves it. The day after our successful free jumping session, I went out to the field to bring him in to his stall and found that he had had an accident in the field at some point during the night. His left hind leg had obviously gotten caught in the fence, and he was not bearing weight on that leg.

My husband left work to come after a panicked phone call from me, and his only response was, “I’m just going to come because I can’t understand what you are saying.”

Term of Art with his bandaged leg. (Courtesy of Kaitlyn Cawley Villalobos)

A quick assessment showed that we don’t believe anything to be broken, thank goodness, but he is now dealing with a lot of swelling and possible infection. So just like that, we have gone from lessons and free jumping to stall rest and lots of bandages. He has a nice, deeply-bedded stall, the best alfalfa, and my husband who is the best leg wrapper in the Bluegrass. We are still in the early days of treatment and it breaks my heart to see Term of Art hurting, but he is in the best hands and his best interests will always come first.

This is just a setback and a new challenge in an already challenging time.

Term of Art should be good as new in a few weeks and we will be back at it. For now, he hasn’t lost his appetite and he has yet to complain about getting to hand graze on the best grass at the farm. Three years ago this April, this horse was running in the Santa Anita Derby. I remember watching and I remember that he wasn’t last (but he wasn’t first either). I don’t think either of us would have imagined that we would be here now, but I am grateful that we are.

Today, I want to leave you with this. These days are filled with uncertainty and a feeling of “Is this our new normal?” A lot of people are experiencing anxiety, fear, and probably boredom over a situation where we don’t have control. So remember to be #healthyathome and when you are feeling especially anxious listen to the words of Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear because “we will get through this together.”