Well, it’s official. I will have some decisions to make as to who my Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover competitor will be! Or, for the first time ever, will I take more than one? As a professional in this business, I never know what horses will come my way, and when it comes to the Makeover in particular, obviously eligibility plays a large role, but so does a horse’s physical and mental acuity to be able to progress in the given timeframe. So how do we know?

There are of course certain training milestones and benchmark experiences, but it is so much more than that. Getting to Kentucky in October requires a horse that is ready to be pushed a bit, and that can mentally take a toll on them. Just last year, I had an eligible war horse that had been let down all fall and restarted right on time in December. By the time In The Air, my eventual 2024 Makeover competitor, came into my barn in March, my other horse had already shown successfully at low level hunter shows and completed full hunter paces. Yet as I continued to work with both, despite my second horse’s increased age, time off the track, and experiences, something told me he wasn’t ready. There wasn’t one day or one ride that made me feel that way, it was just his overall demeanor that made me feel like pushing him for something so big may not be in his best interest. And while we will never truly know, I still believe I made the right decision. Could he have been successful? Maybe, but has he enjoyed his extra time getting to learn to be an all-around horse here on the farm? Absolutely.

Caitlan Brooks photo

This year’s new eligible contender is Natty Bumppo, a 4-year-old Maryland bred raced by wonderful local connections that have found success over the years in the sales ring and on the flat and steeplechase circuits. However, “Natty” didn’t quite show the same promise and was responsibly retired after just two starts. Turned out since his last race in November, Natty just moved to our farm last week, and settled in perfectly. He has already proven to be calm and collected and absolutely loves people and attention of any kind. However, in an unlucky turn of events, he almost immediately stepped on an old screw in the field. Horses...

We were lucky in the fact that the screw went into the heel bulb, does not appear to have damaged anything, and was found and cleaned very quickly. So instead of having a traditional first week of getting to know the riding areas and getting back to work, we’ve had a week of getting to know the cross ties and wash stall with lots of soaking and hoof bandages. Fortunately for us, Natty is incredibly sweet and easy to work around and hasn’t missed a beat. I am hopeful that with just a few more days of triage, he’ll be able to get back to work and maybe we can even avoid an abscess. Fingers crossed!

As for Teddy Spaghetti, who you met in last month’s installment, he is doing great. In keeping with the unpredictability of horses, our month hasn’t exactly gone as planned, but we haven’t let it slow our progress. Weather forced the rescheduling of the hunter pace we were planning to attend, but instead, we set up group trail rides at home where we crossed new streams and jumped our first logs. His kids are also really enjoying their cross-country rides and are confidently taking him out and about further and more frequently. With his unflappable nature and love for group activities, I can truly see Teddy excelling in the field hunters and becoming their perfect all-around pony club mount.

Teddy also got to tag along for schooling day at a local horse show, where although we decided the ring commotion was a little too much for him to partake, he was the perfect companion. He walked around in hand and hung out on the trailer like he’d been doing it his whole life. His quiet and curious nature has been so fun to work with, and I think with more field trips, he will continue to step into post track life like a pro.

Caitlan Brooks photo

Of course, no one is perfect, especially a coming 3-year-old, and ours happens to have a stubborn streak a mile wide. Luckily, he doesn’t try to say no very often, and he is never mean about it, but when he does, it takes me right back to the ponies of my past. Think about randomly trying a left bulge out the gate or cantering around the ring beautifully balanced and soft, just to make a dive bomb for the center where your friends are standing out of your way. The moves he tries are almost always random and so pony like its comical, but they’ll keep you on your toes and are also a good lesson in not taking him for granted. When you get the incredibly quiet and willing ones, sometimes it’s hard to remember how young and inexperienced they are. Teddy’s stubbornness is a good reminder that of course he gets tired a little sooner than the others, and of course he thinks it’s unfair to be the only one working – he’s still just learning. It has also been inadvertently helpful in boosting the kids’ confidence. Knowing his “bad,” and knowing that they are more than capable of handling it has proven to be comforting. In fact, I think that should we decide he is ready, we just may have Grace feeling ready for Kentucky as well. Team Teddy Spaghetti, here we come!

A lot can certainly happen between now and then, but I am hopeful that both of our eligible horses will continue to impress and progress. If all goes as planned, May will bring more new faces, schooling opportunities, trail rides, first horse shows, and first official hunter paces. Stay tuned!

The Jockey Club supports many aftercare initiatives including the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, the only accrediting body in aftercare, and Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.), which encourages the retraining of Thoroughbreds into other disciplines upon completion of careers. View all of the initiatives supported by The Jockey Club.