June 10- potato, tomato, eggplant

June 10- potato, tomato, eggplant

Went to a party on Saturday and had my first face-to-face "are you crazy to buy a half-blind horse" conversation. I sort of asked for it since this is a family friend who's a vet, and I couldn't wait to show her Daren's photo. I'm actually glad I didn't get to talk to her until it was almost time to go home. I was a bit depressed afterwards.

I have no intention of backing out. This horse is the best match, both personality-wise and conformation. If he goes entirely blind we will back down to trail riding. I did read "Beyond the Track" this weekend, and I'm only missing side reins to do everything they suggest. It's a sobering reminder of how much work it is to start a horse to saddle. But I've done it before, this is just a little different. The relationship-building is the same.

However, articles like this one give me nightmares. It Was a Very Bad Day by David Lohman, a trainer chosen to be part of the Retired Racehorse Training Project for 2013. At least as a professional trainer he has tons of people looking for another horse for him, and a string of horses to keep him busy. If I lose Daren I'm back to square one again. 

In my Morgan Deck reading on Thursday I got "potato, tomato, eggplant", which are all healthy foods that are just a step away from being poison. That's the way this horse search feels- that good-looking options have turned into rejection and loss. I hope this strange-looking possibility proves to be the soul sustenance I've been looking for.

Watched all of Daren's races on Equibase. Lots of blinker changes and it looks like he wore a D-ring bit. He only raced for 2 different trainers so he's moved around less than many racehorses. But he sold as a yearling and then raced for someone different, so breeder, yearling, 2yo, 3yo, S, S's friend who shod him, and now me. So I'm his 7th owner.