Day by day we continued with stretching exercises, lounging exercises, and anything I could think of to improve his muscling and make him stronger. We began to go out on hacks and nice short trail rides. I introduced him to water, and some trail obstacles to help encourage him to be brave. He was a gem and seemed to be enjoying his time and new career.
As we advanced there was a glaring issue that arose. I remember Beep’s previous owner telling me that he always trailered his horses to the racetrack, let them race, and then trailered them back home again. It didn’t seem out of the ordinary to me that this is how Beep was introduced to track life. There was a small show that was exactly three minutes up the road from my farm. I thought this would be a great first step for Beep to acclimate and start to understand what his new life would be like. I had a plan to trailer him to the show grounds and take him in the warm up arena to allow him to see the sights, hear the announcer, and be around other horses. I loaded him up in the trailer and headed down the road. Exactly ten minutes later I opened the trailer door and unloaded Beep. To my surprise, he was in a full lather and soaking wet with sweat. He stepped out of the trailer and looked around. I could feel his power and energy and how “up” he was. I gently assured him that he was okay, and gave him some pats on the neck. We began to walk around just making laps back and forth with me hand walking him. Suddenly it dawned on me, he was used to stepping out of the trailer and getting ready to race. His adrenaline was on over drive and what I thought was nerves was his routine that he had known for many years. I kept everything simple, and walked him around until he began to settle and focus back on me. I saddled him up and climbed aboard. I wanted him to walk around in the arena and see the sights. I immediately felt a different animal. His muscles were bulging, his head raised. He was tensing each time a horse came up behind him. He locked his neck and bolted forward a few times as he felt the rumble of hooves behind him. I kept him in a small circle and talked him down. I had been prepared for this to happen, and had set some exercises up for him to learn so I could prevent his outbursts and teach him to come back down and relax.
The Story of Tara Jones, Captain Beep Beep and the Retired Racehorse Project
He had 17 career starts, and one win.
52 / Sport and Trail Magazine
&
HEART FIRE
PART 3 of the Captain Beep Beep Series
He had 17 career starts, and one win.