After a long and busy summer we sadly concluded with Nahe’s retirement. Tiger and I began to take lessons together while he was being leased by my friend. I began my search for the next horse for our family.
At the end of October I brought my friends horses home to enjoy our acres of fields. The year was very good for the pastures and they grew healthy and strong all year. The girls (Pony with her muzzle) settled in quickly and were in heaven.
I applied and got approved to two local thoroughbred organizations; New Vocations and Re-Run. At the time I didn’t see the right fit from one and getting in touch with the other was near impossible. By the time I got a response about a horse it was already adopted out, never getting a chance. I was getting discouraged.
I put out a post on the OTTB page saying that I was looking for a gelding 3-6 years old ideally 16hh. I wanted “sane, sound, and started.” I didn’t care if it was a fresh restart, I knew I had gained the confidence and had the support I needed as long as it had been started.
While I was combing through the responses Equine Affaire was beginning. My friend and I drive to Massachusetts to enjoy the annual event. We love the clinics and the shopping. As we arrived on site I got a message from a trainer in Maryland. She said she had a horse that she thought might be the right fit and sent a photo.
Guys, he was so cute.
I was offered many horses. Some cheaper. Some more trained. Some more local. Something about THIS HORSE had my guts screaming “he’s the one.” It was a feeling I hadn’t felt since Nahe.
I got a video of him cantering through a puddle in the outdoor. The video was grainy but it was certainly him.
We talked on the phone about “Mr. Wrench It” known at the time as Frenchy. She told me he had been given 13 months off the track to be a horse in a field. He was 6 years old, ran 30 times with no known injuries. Won about $99k. She was very honest and said she had no Xrays but his legs were cool and tight and he came from a very reputable trainer with whom she works with regularly.
She had pulled him out of retirement the day before she messaged me. He got a fresh pair of front shoes and the video I received was his first ride since. The day we were at Equine Affaire she had schooled him on the XC field. He showed a willingness and was brave going over logs. He trotted over small logs and she hopped him over some bigger ones. He was great for all of them up to and including a 2’6″ log on his first hack out…proving he had the sanity I was looking for.
I had to have him. I put down a deposit and set a date to pick him up.
On Sunday November 20th Suzanne and I departed our farm at 6 in the morning with our GPS set for Maryland. We documented our journey as we entered New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and finally Monkton, Maryland.
We arrived around noon, met the boy. He was clam and stoic. I could tell he had SOME nervous energy but he wasn’t stupid about it. I was certainly in love but I was at the first photo. We did our business, shook hands, blanketed him and put on his Back on Track quick wraps. He loaded so easily and quietly and found his alfalfa snack bucket inside. We departed with Stanley aboard and headed for home.
If you look at his face, his blaze looks a lot like a wrench. I’m assuming whoever names him “Mr Wrench It” thought the same. As a barn name I picked out Stanley (after the tool company).
Stanley stood peacefully the entire ride. He never whinnied, never got fussy. We stopped a couple times for the restroom or for gas. He maintained his calm quiet demeanor.
We got home just after dinner time. I’m sure he must have been tired and relieved to move again after being cooped up for 6 hours. We got him into his stall and he instantly rolled in the fresh shavings. He started eating hay right away. Overnight and for the week after he drank a full 2 buckets of water over night and devoured all the hay we could give him.
Since diet is so important to me I made sure to bring home a bag of what he was eating originally. It was a high octane sweet-type feed and if you know me at all that wasn’t going to work for us. As he settled in and as we neared the end of our bag I began to slowly transition him to my carefully prepared plan.
As we eliminated the sweet-feed I added omeprazole and probiotics in addition to the standard supplements. He stayed on the omeprazole for a few weeks and the probiotics for a bit longer. I wanted to be sure that if he had any gastrointestinal issues (showing symptoms or not) that I had addressed them. The probiotics helped to repopulate his tummy with more of the fiber loving microbes to help him digest more of the forage since I was doing away with starches.
Within the first few days I was able to get in the saddle and try riding (I didn’t ride in Maryland I just knew I wanted him home with me). He was very good. For having had time off his trot was comfortable and balanced. Our first ride was just a walk/trot. When I rode outdoors we tried to canter. The right lead was very nice. It had a slow beautiful rhythm. The left lead was fast and it was difficult for him to pick up. He was fast more as him trying to get his balance rather than being naughty. I decided that as long as we could ride outside I would canter but when we were force indoors I would keep him to walk/trot only until he gained more strength and balance.
Just because I have a new horse, however, doesn’t at all mean Nahe now gets forgotten. After I made the arrangements to pick up Stanley I loaded Nahe onto the trailer and brought him home with me. He now gets to eat hay at leisure with his other retired girlfriends. I see him every day for kisses and snuggles which he always loves. I keep the shed generously bedded and he shows his appreciation every morning coming out with shavings embedded in his mane and tail. Tiger used to boss him around, and the dynamic at home places Nahe as the king. He’s the boss and gets the shed whenever he wants it. He’s a kind boss but his role has most definitely changed since coming home.
In the winter we are given permission to ride on the fields. I normally wait until after hunting season and we’ve enjoyed some easy exploration bareback riding around. He is proud when we go out riding but he makes it clear he’d prefer rides to be 30 minutes or less. I’m so beyond appreciative for him every day.
The Green Horseman 
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