Well, as fate would have it, we had to make the last minute decision to scratch from The Makeover.  Cooper had an ill timed abscess that just did not clear up in time for us to be able to compete.  What a year it has been.  Full of ups and downs.  Full of growth and inspiration.  Cooper helped me through the toughest tragedy I have ever faced as a trainer, and be honest, one of the worst I have faced in my life.  Even though we did not make it to KY, he will always have a place in my heart as the horse that saved me.  I took some time to reflect, and wrote the following to sum up our journey.  I hope our journey was able to show another side of training.  How emotions play a role in training, no matter how good of a trainer you are, because at the end of the day we are human.  After a well deserved rest after a year of full training, Cooper will be listed for sale. It is my hope that he can continue to inspire and bring out the best in another person as he has done for me over the last year and a half.

It started as redemption.
To pull myself from the depths.
The dream I had for him,
Transferred onto a new charge.

In the beginning,
His willingness was my crutch.
Everything I asked he did.
I didn’t have to face my fear.

Behind his quiet nature, I hid.
My fear suppressed.
For I only ever needed,
To ask just enough.

As time passed
Memories held me back.
My mind conflicted.
Deep down I was still broken.

I almost gave up.
But his heart drew me back.
He wouldn’t let quit.
So I could not back down.

I made a plan.
It all started to align.
A lot to do,
And just enough time.

Yet, sometimes things aren’t meant to be.
Timing is not always kind.
Less painful than the year before
The disappointment still a sting to my heart.

The year was a journey
One of healing
One without regrets
Despite an ending not expected

I will never forget how he saved me.
But now we will go our separate ways.
He to bring out the best in someone new,
Myself to chase another dream.

So we have taken a bit of a hiatus from our blog the last three weeks.  A lot has been happening here on the farm, including me running my first Horse as a Licensed Trainer!  But we will save that for a new blog.  One thing is for sure though, A LOT has been happening with me and Cooper.

For starters, I took the plunge and we are officially registered for the Makeover.  We will be competing in the Freestyle division.  Our routine is still in the works, but our goal is to go with simplistic, clean, and fun.  In the spirit of this, we have not only been working on maneuvers, but we have also done some events unrelated to our routine.  The last two weeks we have been Team Sorting!  Cooper has loved it, and it has been a great way to break up our weekly routine.  The other great thing about working cattle, is that it gives purpose to a lot of the maneuvers we work on in the arena.  

The other great thing about trying out ranch sorting, is that Cooper and I were able to find some like minded western riders in the heart of the Eventing Nation of Chester County Pennsylvania.  It has been such a great opportunity to ride with them, and especially to be able to show them the versatility of OTTBs.  In fact, most of the group was surprised to hear he was even an OTTB at all!  That just goes to show the work we must continue to do to prove everyone wrong about these amazing horses.  But for everything that has happened the last few weeks, I want to take a moment to talk about my ride yesterday with local trainer Larry Kuyper.  

I met Larry through the team sorting events I have been attending with Cooper.  We got to talking, and as I watched him ride and coach anyone and everyone who would listen I immediately took to him.  Not just because of what I have had to overcome in the last year, but because I am a firm believer in continuing to better myself as a trainer.  So, I got Larry’s contact information and asked him if he would be willing to let me ride with him a few times.  I wanted to be able to pick his brain, and get real time feedback on some of the things I have been working on with Cooper.  

We set up a time for me to go to his farm in Elkton, MD, and I cannot remember the last time I enjoyed a training session as much as I did yesterday.  As trainers, we spend so much time working with others so they fit their horses, or fixing horses to fit their riders, that we rarely get the chance to work on our own riding.  Even still, it can be hard as a trainer to find someone who is on the same wavelength in methodology.  In riding with Larry yesterday, I got a chance to ride with someone who has the feel and experience that I can only hope to have one day.  He was able to find things for me to work on that I didn’t see, correct me in real time, and show me that it was ok to push past where I have been stuck to ask for more out of fear from what happened last year with Disco.

 I spent the entire rest of the day with a smile on my face.  I cannot wait to expand on the drills we worked on yesterday, and put together the fun and clean freestyle routine I know Cooper has in him.

Last Wednesday I had sent a video to Kevin Meyer of where Cooper and I were with our spins.  I did not even watch it before I sent it.  I knew I would be pretty embarrassed.  My horse may be quiet and easy to ride, but how in the world will we be ready for KY in two months with where we are now in our maneuvers?  He gave me some pointers and things to work on, but also said this.

"It never feels as good as it looks, nor does it ever look as bad as it feels.”

Oh the times this could have been applied with my self conscious and wandering mind before now… trying on dresses for prom, prepping my freestyle routine for the Equine Comeback Challenge, the first time I went rock climbing, or the first time I galloped a racehorse.  But, that saying got me thinking.  So I started trying to be more mindful of what I felt while I was riding, and not what things might look like… That is when I got an idea..

Before I go into my light bulb moment, I’m going to give a brief background on Mindfulness Meditation.  Stick with me, you will see why, just give the hokey explanation a shot.

Mindfulness Meditation is not about clearing your mind, but rather about recognizing when your mind wanders so you can respond rather than react to what is happening.  Your mind is actually incapable of thinking about more than one thing at once.  You may think its possible, especially when you feel extremely overwhelmed, but its not.  When you feel like your mind is thinking too much it’s really just jumping from thought to thought extremely quickly.  So, with Mindfulness, you typically identify somewhere to feel your breath, and mentally note In, Out, In, Out.  Even if you are just identifying with one breath, for that moment you were not thinking about anything else.  When your mind wanders, and when you realize it has done so, you just start again; In, Out, In, Out.  The act of recognition, and returning to the breath is the act of being mindful, not the focus on the breath itself. 

Why is this relevant?  Well, Mindfulness is something I have been working on since the accident.  I need to get better about practicing it, because especially when things get tough it does really help.  With how bad things got last month, I now see I should have been doing this more, so I recently took it up again and cranked it up in scale.  As it helped me feel better (not perfect, work in progress) over the last two weeks, I thought to myself… I bet I can apply this while riding.  

OK, so being mindful while riding seems like it could be useful.  But in order for this to work, I’ve got to take away all other stimuli while riding.  This is where things got a little tricky.

See, typically I ride with my phone.  I say it is because of safety, or because I want to ride with music, as the music keeps me focused.  When in reality, the phone is a huge distraction.  I end up checking texts, scrolling through Facebook (no longer a problem now as I took that off of my phone two weeks ago.  FREEDOM!! I highly recommend it), or answering messages about horses for sale.  Pretty much the second the phone goes off I am no longer training, I’m just along for the ride..  Not only that, but when I ride with music I find that I tend to react and ask for things in tempo with whatever I am listening too, without even realizing it.  Think about it, one of the reasons you make running playlists is so you can run with what you are hearing.  In reining, when you have a song for a freestyle, you want to be able to keep with that beat in your maneuvers.  But as you are doing slow work, and start rocking out to Anna Kendrick on the Trolls Soundtrack (really… no one else but me does that?) you don’t even realize that when you should have released for one good lateral step, and moved on.  You end up asking for more of them with the speed and tempo of the music.

With that in mind, I decided I am going to stop riding with music, and not even have my phone on me when I ride.  This then led to another problem… Without music, and with doing mundane basic exercises that require A LOT of repetition, my mind was wandering EVERYWHERE!  This is where the mindfulness while riding came into play.  I decided, instead of noting the In and Out of a breath, I will mentally note the steps Cooper takes with his front feet.  I can then use this to improve my timing in asking him to wind down his circle, and I can correctly time asking him to take lateral steps in a spin.  Here is how it started…

Left, right, left, right, left, right….. Should I delete SnapChat from my phone? Left, right, left, right, left, right, left…. What should I do with the babies in our session today?  Left, right, left, right…. I should call my blog “We can do it Wednesdays” Left, right, left… Circle feels good.  Open left hand and left leg, apply right leg, crossover release, crossover release; he is starting to move his hip, quick push him back into the circle.  Left, right, left, right… I can’t believe I’m getting in a horse to train for the races.  Am I excited or terrified?  Left, right, left, right, left… I wonder if the homemade pickles I’m making are going to taste good.  Left, right, left, right, left…. And so on and so forth.

Oh, and my rides on Cooper this week were at least an hour each, so you are getting the cliff notes and entertaining version of my thoughts and how this process started.  But, because I was able to identify when I was distracted or thinking about the accident as I rode and just come back to Cooper's steps; As the week went on, my focus and timing kept getting better.  More than that, riding Cooper started to feel good again.

On Monday I was a little unsure on if I could say “yes” to riding Cooper.  Sunday night was rough with not a lot of sleep, which led into a tough morning.  I ended up going rock climbing for the day to try and distract myself.  But with a friend showing up at the farm that evening, I worked babies for her, and made the decision to get on Cooper at around 7pm.  Once I got on, I started on my circles.  Left, right, left, right… Especially with the day I had, the above thinking mind was trying ever so hard to weasel its way into this ride.  But I kept coming back to the steps.  Left, right, left, right… and then, as his left foot was about to leave the ground I changed to my right seat bone, added right leg pressure, his foot moved laterally, his hips stayed still, I released, asked again, released and asked again… HOLY CRAP!!! We just did a full spin with cadence (albeit slow) and a pivot foot!!!  

I don’t know where where that spin truly was on the look vs feel scale.  It was about an hour and a half into the ride.  It was dark, I was by myself when it happened, and we haven’t quite repeated a spin to what that felt like since, but I now know it’s in there.  With improved focus and timing, it can only get more consistent.  May be it looked even better than it felt, and may be KY is not so out of reach. 

Well it came and it went.  The anniversary of the accident that changed my life.  Other than my mandatory chores for the day, I spent the day by myself.  I won’t sugar coat it.  It was pretty terrible.  In my mind, I had failed, and I wanted no one to see that.  It has been a year, and where am I?  

Then it was over.  The sun came up on Saturday morning, and now what?  Truth is I still felt like crap.  Why is this? The day passed, I made it.  Why do I still feel like this?  I had, or at least thought I had, been doing really well up until recently.  What has changed?  I’ve been thinking about that a lot the last few days.  Truth is, I don’t think it was that day that made the difference.  It was the pressure I put on myself leading up to it that made things change.

In the weeks leading up to the anniversary, I became so concerned about proving that a year later I was fine, that much of the progress I have made in that time fell apart.  I was trying so hard to be OK, that flashbacks to that day came up more often.  I was trying so hard to hide my nightmares, that I started having trouble sleeping again.  Insecurities that I had been working so hard to overcome, were once again front and center.  It started to overtake just about everything.  My attitude was off, my motivation was down.  Little things that normally would not bother me, made a huge difference in how I felt.  Honestly, I was kind of a downer and an unpleasant person.  With this anniversary, I had put a timeline on my recovery.  The looming date just made me think about everything from that day that I still carried.  Everything that I still hadn’t gotten over.  Every expectation that I hadn’t reached.

I wrote last week about the What Ifs.  Now that it's passed I am asking myself; “What if I had handled this differently?  What if, rather than focusing on the pain I still carried, I had focused on the progress I had made so far?  What if I had not let a calendar dictate my emotions?”  Well, I cannot change the damage I did in July.  I cannot get back the rides I missed on Cooper, take back things I said, or how I acted.  But, in recognizing that I let my emotions take the driver’s seat last time, it opens up my ability to ask the new question I posed last week; “Can I do it today?”  Because that is something I can control.

I will be asking myself "Can I do it today?" every day for the rest of my life.  We all will.  Weather it is due to a trauma, a career, losing someone, being in or the ending of a relationship, or just about anything.  Some days we may ask it more subtly than others.  If you think about it, it is a question we all ask ourselves just by choosing to get out of bed in the morning.  If that is the case, the lead up to and the next July 21 will not be as bad next time around.  That day may hurt more than others, but if I am asking the same question every day anyway, then it becomes less about the progress made to that point.  It becomes less about if I appear OK to everyone else, and becomes completely about myself in the present moment.

So, after all that.  I do have an update for you.  If I’m being honest, I still feel crummy.  Even as I write this now, my chest feels like someone is lacing a corset tighter and tighter around my body with no regard for my ability to breathe.  Don’t get me wrong, I am a functional human being.  Work has been, and is still getting done.  Client horses are getting worked and exercised.  I've had great sessions teaching students.  I can also say that since my post last week, I rode Cooper every day except Friday and Saturday.  Because on Friday and Saturday the answer to “Can I do it today?” was an honest and outright No.  But, despite waking up at 3am this morning, and although it was barely audible because of that corset binding my chest as I looked Cooper in the eye, somehow my answer was still; “Yes, I can do this today."  So we did.

I haven't ridden Cooper as much as I would like recently. I say it's due to the heat, (and it has been a very hot and humid July) but to be honest I know that's not really the case.

I was sitting upstairs yesterday after yet another hot and humid day. I worked my client horses earlier, but not Cooper. My excuse... by the time I got to him it was just too hot. But it stormed at around 5, and when I went to let the dogs out around 7:30, it was a beautiful night.

I don't know what was different last night. I don't know what made me decide to ride when I have been putting it off. I don't know why I decided to ride out vs just working Cooper in the arena. But I found myself saddled and heading out the driveway as the sun was going down.

When I went out the driveway, I turned left. If you would have asked me in that moment why, I'd have said something prophetic, like… I wanted to chase the sunset.  But there was no one there to ask that question.  So, I'll admit the truth here, I wasn't chasing the sunset. I was running from where I lost Disco.

As the songs played, and the sun came down; I realized I was taking the path I wish Disco had taken that day nearly a year ago. I was surrounded by crop fields and open spaces. Not a fence to be seen. I thought about how different everything would be if he had just turned left that day.  I guess that can be said about a lot of things in life…. "What If?"

"What if"… That is the question I didn’t ask that day.  I didn’t ask “What if he wasn’t ready?” I didn’t ask “What if I approach this differently?”  I didn’t ask "What if" when, as he doubted me and showed fear in the beginning of that session, it was the only question I should have been asking myself.  Disco paid the price that day for my overconfidence.  Now, a year later, I cannot find a way to let many "What Ifs" happen, good or bad, with horses, relationships, or out in the world. I’m stuck in a limbo of indecision in more than just my ability to ride and prepare for KY.

Trauma has a way of doing that to you.  Of weaseling its way into aspects of your life that you thought had nothing to do with what happened.  It has a way of breaking you, of making you wonder about the outcomes of every action you take, and every word you say.  It has a way of making you think of a negative outcome to even the simplest of decisions.  It makes you wonder, if you will hurt someone else the same way.  Where you may have once found strength and comfort, you find anxiety, fear, and pain.  Where you may have once been strong on your own, you find yourself grappling at anything to keep your head above water on a bad day.  

I could go on about the "What Ifs" in every day life that I struggle with, but to keep this on topic I’ll give some examples of those directly related to what happened…. The obvious one is the “What if I push too hard?”  But to be honest, I’ve asked that less and less lately because I have not really pushed Cooper.  In order to avoid the answer, I haven’t asked of him what I need to.  I’ve just about let that "What if” win.  So now I am faced with… "What If I’m not ready?  What if in holding myself back, I set Cooper up to fail?  What if I don’t go to KY?  What if I regret it if I don’t go?  What if I waste one of the best horses I’ve ever had, because I’m scared?"  

The biggest "What If" I have yet to allow myself to ask though.  The one that is pretty hard to stomach for someone who used to believe anything is possible.  Hard to fathom for someone who has done so much in life so far.  More than anything, it is the question I want to deserve to ask myself.  But in my heart of hearts, I do not think I am ready to....  "What if I can do it?"  Even now typing those words, I can’t yet foresee a day when I will actually believe them. 

I wish I could tell you all my decision today.  I wish I could say that I’ll start asking myself “What if I can do it?” daily.  With that, I’ll start back training Cooper every day, and we will see you in KY.  But I know better than to make that promise.  Not just to fans and an audience, but I know better than to try and make that promise to myself.  Because forcing myself to do it, and being ready to do it, are two different things.  So may be, I need to rephrase the question.  May be instead of "What if,” I can start asking myself “Can I do it today?”  "Can today be a day that I make Cooper better?  Can today be a day for him to help me move forward?”  Some days that answer may be yes, and sometimes it may be no.  But the yes cannot happen if I never ask the question.  Who knows; "What if today, the answer is yes?"

Age: Born in 2004
Sex: Gelding
Breed: Mustang
Height: 14.2 Hands
Location: Cochranville, PA
Interested In:  Men or Women. Any age or ability (Open to an arranged marriage with your son or daughter).  I don’t discriminate, I just want to be loved.
Dowry (Asking Price for those of you who are less old fashioned): $4,000

My Self-Summary
I’m just a nice guy looking for a committed relationship.  I don’t have any baggage (never had any injuries, and was bought up well, and no annoying vices), and will help you forget about yours whenever you are looking for a good time.  My size has caused me a few break-ups.  They say “It’s not you, it’s me.  I’ve grown out of you.”  But I know they just wanted someone taller for appearances sake, not due to my ability.  I carted around your boyfriend who is bigger than you, and you and your friends have ridden me at the same time. So stop discriminating against my height!  (Sorry, I’m a little bitter about being left at the alter a few times.)  It’s been hard to see them go, but they have all gone on to be great successful riders and horsemen.  They say you learn from your past relationships, so I credit myself with any success they have found.

I am extremely tolerant of the antics that accompany beginner and youth riders, in the arena or on the trail, but I’m not a push button pony.  I make sure they know their horsemanship.  I’d never do anything inappropriate, but if they don’t pay attention I’ll lead them to my favorite grassy patch for a bite to eat before going into the arena for a lesson.  

What I’m Doing With My Life
 I formerly had a career competing in endurance racing, and have been a guide for riders on a dude ranch. Currently I get hacked around once or twice a week, and give the occasional beginner lesson.  Sometimes I play wingman for my trainer if she is trying to impress someone from an online dating site and cart those yuppies around on the trail.  I tolerate the fact that they have no idea how to ride and probably never will, but I get lots of pats and get to be in selfies, so I guess it is worth it.

Other than that, I spend most of my time living outside and working on my full figure by eating an unlimited amount of hay.  I dream about the day I can convince them to give me grain so I can look like the Percheron next door… That is one of my life goals.

I’m Really Good At
Being absolutely adorable no matter what tack you put me in.
Babysitting beginners, boyfriends, girlfriends, parents, siblings, cousins, and anyone else who has no idea what they are doing.
Being pulled out of the field when I haven’t been ridden in ages and still remembering how to behave.
Being a super fun for those who actually know what they are doing.  I'll give you the ride of your life, every time!
Tilting my head at new things to make it look like I care, and then walking right up to it like it is nothing.
All things Bareback!! Trails, jumps, barrels… I love it
EATING!!

Six Things I could never do without
FOOD, outside time, mud, my super fuzzy winter coat, my super hardy hooves… and definitely food that can’t be stressed enough

On a typical Friday night I am
Can I change this to what I would rather be doing?  Because at the moment I’m usually just munching in my pasture.  I would much rather have a standing date spoiling the love of my life with affection, getting groomed, ridden, and begging for cookies I probably shouldn’t be getting.

You Should Message Me If
You are looking for a committed relationship.  I’m done playing games and am ready to settle down.  You have beginner riders I can teach (or are a beginner rider), but are willing to tell me when I’m being a little pushy on the ground.  It doesn’t take much, but I’d do best having someone in my life that wants to be my leader every once in a while.  Or if you are an experienced rider looking for a reliable and fun partner in crime to take on the world with.  We could have SO MUCH FUN doing all the things I never get to do with the kids!!

If you want to know more just message or call my trainer Kelsey Parisi.  
kparcse@gmail.com
215-450-2603

How many times have you heard someone say to a rider with an unruly horse “You should go lunge him for a while,” or “Did you warm up enough?”  I remember seeing a trainer come out of the arena after a bad round in cutting, throw the reins at his loper and say

“This horse was too fresh.  What were you doing back there?  You didn’t lope him enough.”  

It’s a mentality that stretches across all disciplines, and at all levels.  A great personal example happened to me over the summer.  I was showing a green horse at his first team penning.  He got spooked and bucked around the arena like a rodeo bronc.  As congratulatory as my audience was for my bronc riding skills, as I got back on and began to walk circles and do slow giving exercises to regain his attention, at least 5 different riders “reminded me” that the training track was available for me to go “lope some fresh out of him.”  They said to go take 20 minutes or so to get him in the right head space.  I walked him for 10 minutes in those small 10ft circles, asked him to back a figure eight, and told the clocker I was ready to go.  He was perfect his next 5 runs.

My question is this; Where did the notion come from in horses, that being tired leads to better performance?  Do you see olympic athletes sprinting and wasting all of their energy before the big race?  Before taking the SATs, should we have students go to spin class so they are mentally focused?  I don’t know about you, but if I have already exerted a fair bit of energy, I’m more likely to be off my game than on it.

Two weekends ago, Cooper and I showed in the Trail Champion’s Challenge at the PA World Horse Expo.  The warm up arena (the main arena at the expo center) was the warm up pen for every event that day, and only available until 9am, which is also when our class started.  So not only did we have to deal with every distraction possible in the warm up pen (flag bearers, cleaning in the stands, cart horses, you name it), but if you were looking to get your horse tired, and were not going in the first 20 minutes, your warm up was probably going to be moot.  For many riders, their warm ups were useless.  

It is shows like this, that I am glad for the “warm up” techniques I have come to use, and for my strategy of “practicing fresh” when I am at home.

It is pretty simple really, when I am at home I like to ride my horses through show like situations at their “freshest” on a regular basis.  This means before they have been turned out for a few hours, and with minimal to no warm up (just enough to prevent physical injury), which for trail obstacles can many times mean get on and go.  If I can’t get through a mock trail course at home with that small amount of pressure on my horse, then I have more work to do in order to compete competantly.  Then, when I am at the show, my warm up consists of slow technical maneuvers that make my horse feel confident.  I focus on slow work that they know, so that they easily pick it up and focus on what I am asking.  I never school new things at a show.  If I look at the pattern and see something I have never practiced at home, the warm up pen is not where my horse is going to learn it.  I show the horse I have that day, no more, no less.

So what did happen at the Expo you may ask?  Cooper may not have won any ribbons at the Expo, but he gave every obstacle a good effort, and received strong compliments from the judges for his softness and demeanor.  And we were fourth to last in the class, with over an hour and a half of wait time from our warm up to when we performed.  Boy was I glad my horse can perform fresh!

**According to a 2005 study done by the American Horse Council, 61% of the horses in the United States are used for Recreational and other purposes.  A 2003 Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture study found that 48% of the PA Equine Industry is made up of Recreational, Tourism, Youth Activity, and Other Activities (Excluding Breeding).  Yet, the majority of the OTTBs you see listed, are being sold as high end show prospects which only make up 20% of the Equine Industry in Pennsylvania and 29% of the Equine Industry Nationally.  But in in the time I have been rehoming OTTBs, the most expensive one I sold was to a recreational home.  The public is willing to pay a premium for well started, reliable, horses that they can enjoy.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the athletic ability and suitability of OTTBs for any discipline, but if it is our goal to have an outlet for these horses after racing, why is it that the massive recreational market is much less appealed to? **

Earlier this week I posed a question to a handful of horse people.  From Facebook groups, to friends and professionals.  I asked them which horse in their lifetime (leased, owned, ridden in lessons, any encounter really) they felt had the most value.  I said it did not have to be the most expensive horse, or the horse that made the most money, though that answer was perfectly acceptable.  Overwhelmingly, even from the professionals, the horses that had the most value were horses that they at some point in their life had used for a recreational rather than a professional purpose.  It was the lesson horses who got people hooked on riding, trail horses that made riding fun again after an accident, the horse that was so tough that it made them seek help from a trainer and in turn become a better horseman.  The response from the posed question was pretty on point with the statistics from over 10 years ago.

Now to bring this all back to Cooper and the Thoroughbred Makeover.

What led me to look up these statistics and ask this question was what happened when I took Cooper team sorting last week.  It was a just for fun event.  No big prize money.  Just a bunch of horse people having some fun playing with horses and cows.  It was Cooper’s first off site ride, and first time seeing cattle.  I couldn’t have been more proud of him.  He went into the herd, sorted out his cow, and stood patiently in between runs.  But the best part of the evening was when one of the riders on the oh so typical Quarter Horse made the comment; “I am so impressed with how that Thoroughbred is doing.  He is so wiling and quiet, it looks like you guys are having a great time.”  THAT last bit.  That she said it looked like we were having fun was what I appreciated the most.  Because that is what a recreational rider looks for when they buy a horse.  They want something they will have FUN on.  From the beginning, that is what I said I wanted to focus on this year heading into the Makeover.  Doing well would be great, but if I can enjoy the journey, and show as many people as I can how much FUN an OTTB is, that is what at the end of the day will get more of these horses into homes after they retire from racing.  

So yes, I’ll post progress posts on training.  I’ll go to practice trail shows, and as many events as I can.  But I’ll also be posting photos and videos of all the fun we have in between.  When we ride backwards while hanging out with friends after a long day at work.  When we ride double on the trails behind the farm, or go swimming this summer as I know we will.  I am going to start garnishing these posts with the # OTTBSHAVEMOREFUN, and I encourage every contestant and every OTTB owner to start doing the same.  Let’s see how big of a trend we can start.  Let’s show the industry how much enjoyment we get from these horses.  If we can get more people who never would have considered an OTTB as their next recreational riding partner to change their minds, we will have accomplished a great deal for these horses.  So what are you waiting for?  Get out there and have some fun with your OTTB!

** http://www.horsecouncil.org/economics/
http://extension.psu.edu/animals/equine/economic-impact-and-population-study/pa-equine-industry-inventory-basic-economic-and-demographic-characteristics

Well it is official!  JW Coop will be heading to the Retired Racehorse Project's 2017 Thoroughbred Makeover.  Sometimes things happen for a reason, and we think that is exactly what has happened with Cooper.  The short version (feel free to look back on our past posts about Cooper for the full story)...The racehorse thing didn’t work for him, the pony horse thing didn’t work for him.  Then he was to be rehomed, but chrondritis struck hard and we almost lost him.  After surgery, and months of recovery, December rolled around and RRP announced that trainers could start working with Makeover prospects.  I looked back at my training logs, and realized that our #Wonderbred Cooper had well under the amount of off the track rides to make him eligible for the Makeover.  No only that, but Cooper had some of the same racing connections as my previous Makeover Horse Mr. Discreet.  Additionally, the only race Cooper ever won, was coming in just ahead of Mr. Discreet on the day Mr. Discreet was claimed and came to our barn.  

After losing Mr. Discreet last August I questioned if I would try the Makeover again.  But as I looked back at Cooper’s circumstances, and his close tie to Mr. Discreet, I knew in my heart of hearts that he was meant to go on this journey with me.  

He may be a hair less fancy than some of the other OTTBs out there, but nothing can beat a horse with a good mind and a strong heart.  Those two things are overflowing out of Cooper.  To say that he has been proving his weight in gold already would be an understatement.  For his first ride I jumped on bareback in a bosal and just hacked around the arena as if he had been getting pleasure ridden all his life.  The thing about this horse is that he wants to be your partner.  He wants to be quiet, and he wants to please you.  He may not know a whole lot yet, but he sure does try his best at everything thrown his way.  Even when on his second ride we threw another rider up behind me on the saddle, he just kept putzing his way around the arena as if that was the normal way to do things.  

A horse with this kind of mind and heart doesn’t come around often.  Let alone one who was so close to death less than a year ago.  Life threw him curve ball, and he found a way to hit it out of the park.  After losing Disco, seeing Cooper get stronger every day gave me hope that I could get past that loss.  He may be only a horse, but he inspires me every day.  It is my goal this year to allow him to show everyone how amazingly resilient, strong, willing, and caring OTTBs can be.  If he can inspire just one person as he has inspired me, then the journey we go on this year will be worth it no matter where we place.

To follow our journey, check back here for more blog posts, and keep up with his album on our Facebook page JW COOP RRP THOROUGHBRED MAKEOVER 2017.  If you see us at an event or competition, come meet this guy and let us get a photo with you!  We will be using the following Hashtags all year…  #Wonderbred #JustBreatheCooper #RRP #ThoroughbredMakeover2017 #ReeLeeAtTheRRP #RRPBound #KelsAndCoop

The last time we heard about JW Coop he was looking for his special someone.  With less than 10 rides on him, he had a following and was ready to move out to his new home.  But three days before his first potential suitor was to come meet him, he had an acute respiratory event that led to us discover that he had severe Chondritis.  Chondritis is an infection of the airway that caused a mass to develop on Cooper’s arytenoid.  This mass would become irritated with work, and caused his airway to swell and nearly close.  Our original treatment plan was to try and shrink the mass with steroids, and fight the infection with strong antibiotics.  But after a month of medication, the mass persisted, and surgery became our only option.  Thanks to Hogan Equine, Cooper’s surgery was donated, and the mass was lasered out.  Post surgery Cooper had a few complications that led us to keep him on the antibiotics and steroids for another month and a half, but luck was on our side and he finally pulled through.  Fingers crossed, we will be returning him to work in January, and there may be a run for the Thoroughbred Makeover in his future.  

Many horses get sick and the first thing that goes along with the addition of medications to their daily routine is a decline in body condition.  Usually from ulcers, loss of appetite, or poor body reactions to heavy amounts of antibiotics and steroids.  All the time that Cooper was on medication, his overall health never faltered, and I credit a lot of that to the feeding program we use here at ReeLee.  

With the wide variety of horses we have here at ReeLee nutrition is something we take very seriously.  Each horse has different needs based on many factors including their breed, size, temperament, discipline, work level, body condition score, and their overall health.  I personally have a background in Equine Nutrition from my time at Colorado State University, and we have a great relationship with our local nutritionist from Tribute Feeds.  Cooper is a prime example of how well their products work.  All while Cooper was sick we kept him on a feeding regimen that kept his body strong so he could keep fighting the infection attacking his airway.  We used a philosophy that I believe in heavily, high fiber, high fat, and low carbs.  So we had Cooper on a high quality alfalfa/grass hay, nearly free choice, and then supplemented the hay with three Tribute products; Resolve, K-Finish, and Essential K.  The great thing about this combination, was that we were able to keep the bulk amount of feed Cooper was receiving to a minimum.  Resolve is high in Fiber, and high in fat all on its own, but when you add in a small amount of K-Finish it just tops the cake for overall condition.  Not just weight, but coat condition as well.  One of the additional things I love about Tribute is their inclusion of Equi-Firm into their feeds like Resolve.  As Tribute explains, Equi-Firm is "a microencapsulated active dry yeast; acts as both a pre-and probiotic to increase digestibility and improve gut health.”  I think this was also a huge contributor to Cooper’s overall gut health in his recovery.  Finally, the Essential K fills in all the other minerals and adds in protein for a solid top line, and essential amino acids for overall health.  With this feeding plan Cooper was getting all of the nutrients and extra calories to stay strong without pound after pound of grain.  In the time he was sick he never got more than 6lbs of grain a day.  3lbs of resolve, 2lbs of K-Finish, and 1lb of Essential K split over two feedings. There are people out there feeding their OTTBs who aren’t even sick 8-10lbs of feed per day! Cooper looked great all through his recovery and today is heading into winter with a great body condition score thanks to Tribute.  

Talk about a fighter, Cooper not only beat the odds, but he did so with class.  If he were a person I guarantee he would have been smiling every day, through the injections, the bad tasting medicine, the stall rest, and the weekly scoping; Cooper was always in good spirits and cooperative for all of his treatments.  He won over the hearts of everyone in the barn, and every vet he met.  Thank you Tribute for providing us with great products to keep horses like Cooper in top condition to fight the good fight.  We look forward to our continued partnership with you on our rehabilitation and training horses.