Meet the boys!

And the operative word here is...boys...as in geldings. No mares allowed in this club! Been there, done that, and will never do it again. There's nothing better than a good ol' gelding.



Gem - as I wrote before, not sure what breed he is. It was glamorous to call him a "warmblood", but conformation-wise, I really think he's mostly Quarter Horse. I have no papers for him, nor do I know his birthday so I guess he's about 17 years old.
Here's a pretty good description of Gem from the book, "Is Your Horse a Rock Star?" by Dessa Hockley. Yes, well Gem is no Rock Star, instead he's a Prize Fighter.
"This horse has opinions and is ready to defend them. It is in your best interest to listen to him. To get the job done you must work with him. He will have numerous rules and requirements. He will also get you to the winner's circle when you have developed a working relationship. Unlike the Rock Star that is there for the glory and recognition, the Prize Fighter is there because they love the sport and the competition."
Talk about rules and requirements! Just ask Gracie!
Gem: "Uh yeah...listen up, Grace, you are going to cross the bridge first, because I cannot possibly look for boogie men in the bushes and trees while I have my eyes firmly fixated on every step I take across this bridge...but in return I will guard you from all boogie men enroute to 137. Just don't get too close to my butt. I'm not that kinda guy."
And yes, he has and still undoubtably would take me to the winner's circle once an understanding has been met between the two of us. He's my "steady eddy", and my "big red boyfriend". Couldn't live without him!


Grace - Patti's horse of 17 years. Sweet, beautiful, and when Patti took the quiz for Grace, he came up the People Pleaser.
"Soft, sensitive, and very sweet describes this horse that will try and try to please you. They like to be told exactly what you want and then have you help them perform it. This is not your go-it-alone type of horse. They need you for support and can get very rattled if expectations are too high. This horse is in your life for the relationship."
Gem's lucky to have Grace as his friend. No one else would take Gem's sh$t like Grace does.



Gravano - Excerpt from the Daily Racing Form news: Happy ending to a long career.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - An old claiming horse named Gravano won the first race on April 17 at Hawthorne. In fact, he couldn't lose, according to the bettors, who made Gravano a crushing 1-2 favorite to beat five rivals in a $4,000 claimer. Gravano delivered, won by six: "Shown whip," reads the official chart comment for his performance.
Afterward, Doug Matthews, who has owned and trained Gravano since summer 2004, showed the horse the door.
"One hundred and three starts," Matthews said. "I wanted him to go out a winner."
Yes, a happy ending on the southwest side of Chicago. Gravano, 10, an Indiana-bred son of Pioneering, avoided any of the darker fates that sometimes await an old racehorse who can't go on. Matthews made sure of that.
Gravano won on a Thursday, and before the weekend was out, he had taken up residence at a Forest Preserve stable north of Chicago. He will serve as a trail horse there.
"He's got a stall, he's got his own groom, he's got a couple paddock buddies," Matthews said. "He won on Thursday, and I took him out there Saturday before I changed my mind."
Gravano never was any kind of star. Matthews claimed the horse for $7,500, and the first race he won thereafter was for a $4,000 claiming price. But Gravano got better than that, and made pretty good money in the starter-allowance ranks for the better part of three years. But the second half of his 9-year-old season, Gravano started sliding. Matthews got him good enough to win one more time and pulled the plug.
"He did good for me, so I figured I'd try to do right by him," he said. "I thought it couldn't really go anywhere but downhill from there."
Often, things really go downhill after a horse leaves the track. Not this time.

So Jen had the opportunity to get this horse from Doug, and she jumped at it. We all rallied around her to help her retrain this OTTB and hopefully give him a new career. Well, we're gonna leave the retraining to a trainer. But he is enjoying his new buddies and a lot of downtime. The article makes it sound like Gravano's already hit the trail...but far from it. I wonder who his groom is?


Slew - Another OTTB, officially named, "Slew Slayer", is Jen's horse. He lives at another barn and is being retrained by Jen and a trainer whom he's known for most of his life.