United States Eventing Association

You've Come a Long Way, Baby!

Back in May of 2006, I was in the middle of a horse hunt. I had outgrown my old pony, and I was staying up all hours of the night, searching those endless ads of the “perfect horse for you!” The only problem with all those ads was my budget: zero. And it’s hard to find a free horse that’s still sound enough to pack someone around a cross country course. I passed up horse after horse, until I got really discouraged. So when my farrier told me about a free Thoroughbred he knew about, I didn’t even get that excited. But I went to look at him, anyway, along with my parents and a good friend of ours.

We didn’t know a lot about the horse, but my farrier told us all that he knew. The horse, a big Thoroughbred gelding, had raced until he was five. Sometime in his fifth year, he sustained a minor leg injury, and he was put out to pasture to heal. He was in that pasture for two years, with no food or hay. During those two years, the pasture was filled with 17 other horses, which were turned out due to either lameness, or lack of success on the track. The owner deemed them a waste of pasture space, and ordered the entire group to be put down. They vet was literally hours away, when word got around to some local horse owners. Luckily, they managed to rescue all 18 horses, and get them to safe, temporary homes.

We went out on a Saturday to look at him. He was scrawny and cut up, and he had splinters in his neck, but he had a kind eye. He was also super friendly, and content to follow us around the paddock. My dad put a halter on him and trotted him up and down so I could watch. All I could think was, Wow, I want this horse. I rode him around a little bit, and he was really good. He didn’t know a thing, but he was willing.

Sunday, I named him Boomer.

(editor’s note: Photo above is the “Before” picture of Boomer… read the rest of the story to see his “After” shots!)

Monday, we went to get him. It took an hour or so to get him loaded, but once he was on, he hauled pretty well. We didn’t have room for another horse, so he went to live at our friend’s barn. He got a bath, we measured him (16.3!), and let him get used to his new home and his new friends. We also looked up his tattoo, and found out that his real name was Dr. Greeley. He had won about $50,000 at Calder and Gulfstream, and we even managed to get his old win pictures.

Right before our week trial was over, Boomer scared the crap out of me. He was in his stall, looking around over his stall guard. I was scratching his neck, when he started making faces at me; his ears were completely flat on his neck. I grabbed that spot at the base of his neck, where you get a horse to back up. He didn’t back up – he opened his mouth and lunged at me. He didn’t actually bite me; I’m not sure if he missed, or if his teeth were just used as a warning. Either way, Boomer sent me flying five feet across the barn aisle, busted my lip, and broke my front tooth. I tried to stay calm and not get hysterical, but I think I went into shock. I couldn’t stop shaking. Our friend got to the barn a while later, and told me that it would be alright if I didn’t want to deal with a biter. We still had a few days to decide if we wanted to keep him or not. I said that I would think about it, but I knew I wasn’t going to send him back. I didn’t want to send him to who knows where, barely a week after saving him.

Boomer adjusted well to his new life. He started gaining weight, and his coat got that glow of a healthy horse. I started working him in the round pen, in addition to grooming him every day till he shone. His ground manners got better, and he ended being a huge puppy dog – I would sit on the fence while he put his head in my lap and let me scratch his face.

On June 22^nd, I finally got to ride Boomer. He was such a good boy, even though all we did was walk and trot around a little. As I sat there, I had a flood of emotions hit me all at once. I was so excited, and proud, to be able to ride my horse after over a month. Then I felt exhilarated to be sitting on an ex-racehorse. Finally, I wondered if I had gotten myself in over my head. Could I really train a horse that didn’t know a half halt from an in and out? Then I realized that this is what my ten years in the saddle had prepared me for; I was comfortable on green horses, I was riding four or five horses a day, and I had so many people willing to help me. I went from being apprehensive to being thrilled at the idea of taking on a horse that was about to be euthanized, and giving him a whole new life. I knew right then that I was in for one heck of a ride.

The summer wore on, and towards the end of August, I got to send Boomer down to Ralph Hill for a few weeks. It was hard to not be able to ride him for so long, but it was worth it. When he came back, he was a different horse! Boomer was more muscled then he had ever been, and his coat was almost black from being kept inside during the day. When I got on him, I could feel the difference immediately. He was more sensitive to my weight, and I could regulate his speed just with my upper body. He was still resisting the bridle a little, but he had the general idea about putting his head down and using himself. It was so exciting, I felt like we were finally on our way to going to an event.

No one said it was going to be easy, though. Boomer has a knack for getting hurt. Seriously, we almost changed his name to Bruiser. One night, he almost cut his eye open from scratching his face in a tree. It was so swollen that the vet thought Boomer might have fractured the bone above his eye. Luckily, it looked a lot worse than it really was. But it wasn’t over. Before we got to the barn, Boomer had hurt himself even worse. We’re still not sure how he managed to do it…Both of his shoes were hanging in the fence, the gate was considerably bent, and in addition to the zillions of cuts all over him, he had two puncture wounds. One was on the back of his thigh, under his tail. The other was a little slice right on his coronet band. We cleaned him up and called the vet. The vet told us over the phone that the first wound was too deep, and we would be doing more harm than good to stitch it up. The cut on his leg worried him, though. There was a possibility that it had punctured the joint, and if it had…well, it wasn’t good. The vet said to keep Boomer in overnight, and if he was sound in the morning, then he would be ok, but if he was lame, then we had to get him to a vet- ASAP. Needless to say it was a sleepless night for me. We went back to the barn in the morning, and I got Boomer out of his stall. He was a little stiff, but not favoring the hurt leg. I was so relieved! He still had a lot of superficial wounds that needed to heal, but he was out of the woods.

In October, I rode Boomer in a 25 mile endurance ride. It was an amazing experience. Not only was the scenery beautiful, but I got to camp with my horse, and be in the saddle for most of the day. It was funny to be around all those people who rode Arabians; they couldn’t get over how big my horse was. Boomer was such a good boy; he acted like he had been trail riding his whole life. We didn’t finish anywhere near first, but we still had a great time.

There was a period of almost 10 months where it was really hard for me to get out to the barn where Boomer was, so he hardly got ridden. On the days I did get to go out, though, I had some really good rides. Once, after it had rained non-stop for three days, the trail behind the barn was completely underwater. I walked Boomer back there, and trotted around a bit. He was really good, for having barely been exposed to water like that. But, we couldn’t stay at a walk for very long! Galloping my horse through the water like that was so much fun, and I decided that despite people’s warnings about there being no guarantees, Boomer would definitely make it as an eventer.

On June 22^nd, 2007, I finally got to bring Boomer home. We had found someone that needed a pasture mate for her horse, so she took my old pony. That freed up enough space for Boomer. I was so excited to be able to ride him every day, and really get serious about his training. He did very well; by the end of the summer I had started him over crossrails, and he took right to it. One thing was still giving me trouble, though. Boomer refused to get round and accept the bit. He would put his head down on his own, but if I asked him, he’d crane his neck as high as it would go, and fight me every step of the way. Then, I rode in a clinic with Erin Brinkman. She didn’t like what Boomer was doing, so she put him in the round pen with a set of side reins. The effect was almost immediate; he went soft and round, and started moving like a six-figure warmblood. For the next few weeks, I did nothing but lunge with side reins. Ever since then, Boomer’s been supple and round, and I’m also moving him on to bigger jumps. If he keeps up at the rate he’s going, I hope to take him to his first event this summer.

Working with Boomer has been so great, and it’s completely converted me to off-the-track horses. It’s taken me a long time to get to the point we’re at, but I know it’s worth it. It’ll be a proud, proud moment for me when I hear the start box official tell me to “have a nice ride!”