An escape-artist horse who eats with a spoon
In the 16 years since Wyatt the racehorse pony narrowly escaped the slaughterhouse, the funny, opinionated, master of stall-door locks and connoisseur of junk food has been delighting his owner, no end. Known as Bridleless Wyatt on the tracks where he works with Texas horseman Donna Keen (sans bridle), the beautiful gray she purchased for a song brings humor and delight wherever he goes. “Everyone knows Wyatt,” she says. “People I don’t know are always coming up and saying, ‘Hey Wyatt!’ And he pricks his ears at the sound of his name” acknowledging the greeting. Wyatt has been nearly human […]
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‘Horses convert the toughest inmates’
Three decades having passed since he jackhammered concrete floors of an old dairy barn to make room for horses, Jim Tremper now looks back with pride on a little idea that turned a New York prison into a place of hope and second chances. Tremper, farm manager with Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation’s groundbreaking racehorse/prison program Second Chances was there the day a handful of inmates and security guards set about converting a 6,000 square foot barn into a shelter for unwanted retired racehorses and an old hayloft into a classroom to teach inmates horsemanship skills. And from his vantage as barn […]
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OTTBs ready to rumble in Kentucky, remade
Over 300 ex-racehorses hailing from 62 tracks will compete this month for $100,00 as they seek to prove the Thoroughbred sport horse is a winner on any field of competition. Horses who once rocketed across finish lines at Penn National, Mahoning Valley, Charles Town and Mountaineer racetracks, among many others, were retrained and will compete at polo, hunter/jumper, barrel racing and many more disciplines, says Steuart Pittman, creator and founder of the Retired Racehorse Project’s Thoroughbred Makeover. “Based on what people are telling me privately, the value of an OTTB is rising,” Pittman says. “Demand is up. Prices are up. […]
