Category: Journal

Exercise riders sit on a powder keg right on the edge of going off much of the time. One of the main goals of training racehorses is to sharpen them. When a race horse is sharp, he has been brought right to the edge both mentally and physically and that is when he is ready…

by Kimberly Godwin Clark In April 2015 I was invited by Lucinda Green to Tad Coffin’s farm. I would soon learn about an approach to saddle making and riding that would bring me much closer to fulfilling my horse’s needs. I am embarrassed to say that I really didn’t know what Tad did. I knew…

It is not commonly understood that most racehorses never win even one race and with each win the odds of winning another race decline.  Only a very small number of racehorses are successful  at any level of racing. These horses are trained and prepared for several years during their young lives to become racehorses.  Normally…

Luicci is well on his way to becoming the young rider’s horse that we are hoping he will be.  Here, Kayla Wolfe is shown working with him.  She is riding him at walk, trot and a bit of the canter. We are still working on building the foundation that will support all of his future…

  This post is about how we start retired racehorses horses here at Leighton Farm. The subject is Apollo – who we now call Pauley. One of my helpers began calling him Pauley and he really IS a Pauley so there we are! He likes the name too! The way I am working with Pauley…

Apollo was cleared for limited turn out last Thursday after the new digitals were done.  With all of the rain and the greasy footing we decided not to turn him out just yet but instead to begin longe training in the round pen.  We have one round pen with sand footing.  I know what some…

Leighton Farm is quite busy on the weekends – especially when the weather is nice. Luicci eats up all the attention from visitors. He uses his adorable ears and personality to attract them to his stall where he proceeds to ham it up and engage them. Here he entertains Lauren Pennell. He gave her a…

Sunday, March 8, 2015 I would first like to say how honored I am to take part in the 2015 RRP Thoroughbred Makeover.  I look forward to sharing our horses and their progress with everyone. We became aware of Apollo in December 2014 when we received a call from Bowie Training Center.  His owner was distraught and not…

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Thursday, December 20, 2012 Did you know that Thoroughbred racehorses are never cross tied? They are typically tied in the back of their stall while their grooms work on them. Introduce cross tying to your new OTTB when there is little or no activity in the barn. He’s used to being tied in his…