Waning days of autumn

Late autumn is the time of year when I scurrying around like a chipmunk preparing for winter. All those projects I planned to do all summer finally come under the gun as the temperature drops and daylight fades. Amidst all that chaos on the home front, I'm trying to keep Harley exercised so we can maintain some semblance of sanity on those cold windy rides.

A barn full of hay gives me the warm fuzzies. I now sleep better knowing the horses will have plenty of lovely alfalfa and timothy to keep their furnaces stoked on a winter night. The sweet aroma fills the loft and spare stalls.

It's time to clean the stall fans and put them into storage for the winter. Summer bug nets need washing and put in the tack trunk. I still have to fix a broken pane in Harley's stall window before the snow flies. Right now, the ventilation is fine, but once winter hits, I'm sure Harley would appreciate not having snow blowing in all night!

It's tough to get in an evening ride by mid-October.  When I drive up to the barn, I see horses, catching the sun's last rays at the hilltop. Autumn sunsets turn all our horses a fiery orange-red just before it sinks over the horizon. Suddenly, it's very dark and I'm now leaving the barn under starlight.

Harley and Rolex

Ruffy

The horses enjoy the last warm days, basking in the sun. Most of the flies are gone, yet the pesky deer ticks have reared their ugly heads again. Fall always seems to bring another bout, despite the cold nights. The turkeys need to get busy gobbling up the little suckers!

I've been following the plight of the remaining Suffolk Downs horses, hoping they all find good homes as the track closes. The folks at Canter New England have been updating the trainer listings as status' change. My bank balance prevented me from taking on any more, but I do what I can sharing them out on Facebook. Hopefully, readers and followers will pick up these horses, offering them new homes and new careers. My "wish list" is dwindling as some of my picks are sold, or move with their trainers to different tracks. As one person advised, don't ignore the "ugly ducklings". They may not be the prettiest, or fastest, but they have other qualities, maybe talents yet untapped.

End of an era

Photo courtesy of Friends of Suffolk Downs

Suffolk Downs, New England's last remaining Thoroughbred racetrack is slated to close in early October. The last live race will be on Saturday, October 4, 2014. Its closure will leave a void in our region--the Sport of Kings will be gone from East Boston, replaced by a casino in Everett. I can't imagine that the people employed in the shedrows and on the backstretch want to trade working with Thoroughbreds for dealing cards and stocking slot machines. And where will the trainers based in Massachusetts and its border states go? Sell their farms and move south to the Mid-Atlantic, or west to New York? Approximately 2000 people will be out of work with the track's closure.

This track has a richer history than meets the eye. Constructed 79 years ago on the mud flats, it has hosted such famous equine athletes as Seabiscuit,  Whirlaway, Cigar, and John Henry. Suffolk Downs took the lead in establishing a "no kill buyer" policy. All retired horses needed to be re-homed. Any trainer found in violation would be banned from the track. Many tracks have since followed suit and now have the same rule on their books. Suffolk Downs isn't glamorous, located in a gritty part of the city. It has been struggling to keep open for years and had pinned its hopes on winning the bid for a casino with the racetrack. This past week, it finally lost the battle--a sad day for Thoroughbred enthusiasts in the Bay State and its surrounding environs.

The folks at CANTER New England have been working like mad to re-home the remaining horses still at the track that won't be moving on to a different venue. My hat goes off to these people who have worked tirelessly, year after year, to put on the Suffolk Showcase each fall, helping find new careers for horses no longer competitive enough to stay with their trainers string. Now, the urgency to re-home these horses has stepped up a notch as the final weeks of racing comes to a close. I urge anyone who may be looking for a horse, or if you know of someone in the market, please check out the trainer listings. Lots of great horses are available for reasonable prices and the folks from CANTER can help tremendously.

On a more personal level, I will no longer enjoy perusing CANTER New England's annual trainer listings each autumn, selecting horses for my fantasy farm. Three years ago, my partner and I attended CANTER's Suffolk Showcase with the intention of finding another horse so we could both ride together and would not have to share time with our OTTB Harley (JC name Halawa Moon). I gazed at all the eye-candy like an awe-struck horse-crazy 12 year old. We watched the horses parade past, looking at conformation and watching for signs of lameness. I could have easily taken at least five home that day. We left with John thinking about a couple of horses he'd selected. On a cold, rainy November day, not one, but two fillies arrived: Rolex Girl and This Chic's Got It (now called Ruffy), bringing our stable of ex-Suffolk Downs OTTB's to three.

This Saturday promises to be a bright, sunny September day. As the morning sun glints off the shiny coats of Suffolk's remaining Thoroughbreds, and they prance in the sharp fall air, a new page will start for many of these horses as they head to new homes and new careers.

2 New fillies for the place

John and Pete took another trip to Suffolk Downs today to check out the horses. It seems there were some issues with Eddie's Point, but they did find a couple of girls to mix things up a bit at the barn. Look out guys, here come the girls!

So, there will be six horses at the barn now. I think John and Pete are in for a wicked good time, as we say in these parts! And me, well the more the merrier. I'm happy to give two horses from  Canter New England's Suffolk Showcase a home. As the sign says when you cross the Maine border, girls: "Maine, the Way Life Should Be". And a big thank you to the wonderful work and promotion the Canter folks do!

A new friend for Harley?

John and I went to the Suffolk Showcase sponsored by Canter New England on Sunday, featuring the trainer's horses for sale at Suffolk Downs. The season comes to a close on November 5th, so if anyone's looking for a good deal on a good horse, check 'em out!

Under bright sun accompanied by brisk weather, we watched a lot of lovely horses parade before our eyes. Gosh, if only I had the acreage to give more a home. But it was heartwarming to here people eagerly buying these beauties.

John singled out one he wanted to see--a big rangy 17 hand 5 year old gelding, Eddie's Point. We haven't decided yet, but John seemed pleased with what he saw. And of course, 'ole Eddie just wormed his way into our hearts (or our pockets for yummy carrots) with his begging antics. He gobbled up nearly all the carrots we brought that day. On the way home, we took a side trip to Dover Saddlery to see if they had any inexpensive 82" blankets on sale, just in case... I'll keep you posted.