Leighton Farm
"Making the most of each thoroughbred."
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Leighton Farm "Making the most of each thoroughbred." |
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"I'm taking Chances" The Story of "Lucky Charm"
That day the thought of the Auction wouldn't leave my mind. In the past, I had thought to myself that one day I would rescue a Kill Pen Horse. For no other reason than to save it from a brutal and inhumane death. However today really didn't seem like a good idea. I just couldn't shake the sense of urgency to Go Today! It just rang in my head. Why? I thought? That evening my husband wouldn't be home to watch our son, so I'd have to take him too. The Auction is not really a place for toddlers. Another reason not to go. Several times throughout the day I tried to
dismiss the nagging thoughts of heading to the auction. I had too many
reasons not to go but still I couldn't stop thinking about it. So I
decided to make the hour drive to the Auction with my son. Perhaps I
had lost my mind, as the weather forecast for that evening called for severe
thunder storms. Still I drove on wondering what had driven me to do this. This seemed like a typical night with a few horses already sentenced to the Kill Pen. The thunderstorms arrived and I sighed, it just wasn't such a good idea to have come. Still, I sat and watched the sale. Then a Thoroughbred entered the sales area and I combed over him with my eyes. He was being ridden way too fast. The Auctioneer asked if the dealer who brought him wanted to say anything about him. He spoke and stated that he was a nice horse but lame and a cribber too! Meanwhile the soaking wet Thoroughbred was
hacked up and down the sales floor. He was abruptly yanked to a stop at
the end of each pass. The Auctioneer, who doesn't care for overly abusive
people, yelled out "Yeah nice horse, or POLO PONY!?" With that the dealer
waved to the rider and motioned to slow down. Lame and cribs, I thought "oh that's a death
sentence." Lame? I wondered about that. I watched him trot and I didn't
see him move like a lame horse. He was thin and had cuts all over his
body. Sore, I thought to myself. I shouted to the Auctioneer "What
is his lameness?" One of the older dealers in front of me just turned to laugh
and said “He said he is lame. What’s it matter?” I heard no other reply,
and there wasn't a bid made for him. It was announced that he was sold to
the no resale pen, the feed lot, also known as Kill Pen. He was led out
and I tried to follow him as fast as I could with my son in my arms. I met up with the dealer and questioned him
for as much information as possible. He was nice enough, and really just made
his best attempts to try to sell me on another horse. He explained that he
had this horse for two weeks. He had him for a cheap trade, and that he
was lame and a cribber so he turned him out to see if some rest would help.
Their Alpha Mare attacked him and the man said he had no fight in him, and just
let her beat him up. So then he was even lamer. I said to him “but
now you know he is in the Kill Pen”. With a surprised look on his face he
attempted to derail the topic and said "Oh that's no longer done in the US ,
they closed the plants. I quickly stated it's still the same with Canada
and Mexico, taking the horses as they had in the past too.
I returned to the Kill Pen to watch the bay horse some more. With my son in my arms I knew I couldn't take a chance and enter the Kill Pen. The horses are tied closely and it's crowded in those pens. Often some are loose and most are strangers to each other. This can make for a sudden kick or bite. I couldn't risk it with my son. I asked a horse dealer who led an old mare into the pen to check his lip for a tattoo. He did so and told me Yes, and it looks pretty clear. A good sign I thought, a clear tattoo would mean this horse wasn't very old. Perhaps finding out more about his past would be possible. I called the Auction and explained that hip
number #417 was to be purchased by me. I made a bunch of other quick
calls, and knew that I had until that Sunday (3 days) to come pick him up or
he'd be included in a "contract" purchase to ship to Texas and then to Mexico
for a certain slaughter. I worked fast and had him picked up that Friday. In the days that followed I quickly found out everything about this horse. I traced his background, and was delighted to make a friendly contact with his Race owner and trainer. I learned so much from him, and we vowed to keep in touch. The Bay horse taught me about himself. He was soft eyed and calm, he seemed to be relaxed by my attention to him. I decided to call him Chance, since I had taken a Chance to save him. Now at this point in my life I knew I just didn't have a lot of free time to ride, so I sought out the assistance of a good trainer. Not just any trainer, I wanted a trainer who had experience working with Thoroughbreds and OTTBs for this would make his schooling so much easier. My search led me to find Leighton Farm, and Trainer Farm Owner Kim Clark. After several telephone conversations I decided to send Chance to Leighton Farm, it was clear to me that no one had schooled Chance to work properly in a ring. Not a big deal, I had purchased my horse off
the track and some 20 odd years had gone by. I loved reschooling my OTTB,
but I knew all to well it takes time and a daily commitment. I just didn't
have the extra hours at this point in my life, so after speaking to Kim Clark, I
knew this was her passion and she seemed very interested in helping me bring
Chance to her farm. I shipped him to Leighton Farm, and as the
months went by found myself amazed by Chance's progress. He was eager to
learn and demonstrated his talent over fences. Kim taught him how to move
at collected gaits and how to pick up his left and right leads. This
seemed so basic but to some OTTBs this is a new experience when performed at
slower speeds. Chance always tried his best and soon he made progress at
his transitions and gaits. Thanks to the daily dedication of Kim Clark, Chance has become a talented Sport Horse. I gave him a Show Name in addition to his Barn Name before he left for Leighton Farm. I named him Lucky Charm so that perhaps one day he would be something so special to someone and never be thrown away again. Because you never throw away your "Lucky Charm".
The rest of the story... Not long after Chance arrived at Leighton Farm, we began his evaluation. It was clear he needed work on the flat, but he could really jump. In fact he jumped you out of the tack frequently. The third or fourth time we rode him we decided to take him around the farm and he jumped just about everything we had without even a moment's hesitation. It was clear to me that he had never seen a ditch or bank, but he willingly attempted them and figured out the answer to the question in record time. Basically if Chance identified it as a jump, it was fun and he couldn't wait to do it again. I never did determine how high he can actually jump but I invited my good friend to come over and ride him while her horse was laid up and she had a ball with him. The second time she came over, she rode about the farm jumping all the cross country jumps and remarked that she'd done the line with the barrels and coop. Later that day JK and I were riding a baby around the farm and realized that the vertical had been set at 3'9" and it was the first jump in the barrel/coop line. You could see the Chance tracks right up to the approach and away he had gone! The little horse from the kill pen has schooled with Jimmy Wofford this winter. In addition, he is now owned by a physician who has him boarded at a very posh barn. He will begin showing this spring, 2009 in eventing. It is thought by his trainers that he will be successful at least up to Preliminary. My point is that we did tweak his training, but he came to me already able to jump 3'9". He came directly out of a kill pen with that ability. The argument that we need slaughter to handle our unwanted horses is bogus. Horses just like Chance go to slaughter every day.
And now from Tippy's new owner....
I started riding horses when I was 4 years old and have loved them ever since I
can remember. Early on in my riding career, I competed in both English and
Western riding, and then entered the awesome sport of combined training.
Parallel only to my love of riding has been a love of horseracing and the
incredible courage, heart and magnificence of the American Thoroughbred.
Although I’ve taken many a hiatus from riding over the years, I have diligently
followed the sport of horseracing ever since watching my first horserace, which
happened to be Secretariat’s Belmont. My all-time favorite was Seattle Slew, who
I actually got to see win the ’78 Woodward in person. Another great horse in
that race was Exceller- an absolutely beautiful animal who was a multiple
group/graded winner. An added all-time favorite of mine was Alysheba; and I can
still remember his battles as a 3 year old against the older gutsy and talented
Ferdinand.
Tippy record with Kathy to date: USEA # 131072
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Kimberly Clark 301-579-6898 |
On May 21, 2008, I was sadly living my first
year after the passing of my beloved OTTB Pepper. We shared 22 years
together. He was 26 when he passed away and he had a good life, so that
was my best condolence. Memories to cherish forever. I couldn't save
Pepper in the end, but I could save another horse.
The
dealer asked again "so really what are you looking for in a horse?" You don't
want him, I'll find you a nice horse. It was so late, and my son was getting
heavier in my arms, so I thanked him for his information and began to walk away.
He said out loud as I walked away "Call me and I'll find you a nice horse".
I'm not sure if he heard me say "Thanks, but I’ve already found one."
I
found in the weeks to follow that poor shoeing was the source of his soreness
and that was corrected by my farrier. He was wonderful to be around and
did everything that I asked of him. I gave him some time to rest and
forget his past. I knew this horse came from a family who loved him.
Chance showed me that he was resilient in his friendship towards people.
