The Old Folks Home

[Bunnylady]

Quote: Welcome to the thread!

I watched (on TV) as Secretariat made horse racing history, so that makes me really old, huh? That stretch run took my breath away, and still does.

It's kind of funny - two more Triple Crown winners in the next few years after Secretariat's performance had people saying that it was easier for the horses to be that good, because the training and racing schedules were less grueling than they had been in the past. Now they are calling 3 races in 5 weeks too tough. Go figure.

And BTW, California Chrome is 16 hands; Secretariat was 16.2, so there isn't much of a difference in height there. Secretariat was built like a tank, though - in pictures taken during his years standing at stud, he almost looks more like a refined Quarter Horse than a Thoroughbred. (Secretariat also had the biggest heart on record for a racehorse, so I reckon that big body made room for a whoppin' big "pump")

 

[Peep_Show]

We're doing a container garden this year as we didn't/don't have time to get the fences up and repaired (big rabbit gaps) and soil amended in the veggie garden area. We've got lovely sandy silt that just devours compost. It's like rototilling into a black hole. Yesterday I potted for the patio six roma tomatoes (bargain sale price at the supermarket and rather rootbound), four chile peppers and basil. Not much, but at least it'll be something. Next year we'll utilize the three 4' x 45' beds which, hopefully, will get lots of coop contributions. We've got on the mature trees a lovely crop of apples and pears going, though....no idea what types of apples as the previous owners didn't leave a manual as to what types they put in. Got some red Anjou pears...those were easy to tell!

 

[CanuckBock]

Hatch house looking good.

Sounds like a western emerald hummingbird.
Chlorostilbon melanorhynchus

My front porch light is very similar but with more clear glass. I'll try to get a picture.

Thanks CC...

Have to see if I can capture the hummers on camera.

I like the "crackle" glass in that it is different. They are using LED lights in solar...makes them pretty bright.

Look forward to the pic of your front porch light.


Been dastardly chilly three nights in a row with frost warnings...getting a tad tedious putting the PLANTS to bed each evening...LOL

Everyone COVER UP! BEDTIME!

​

I will however take freezing over 100+F...I don't do well in the heat and find "covering" up a better alternative. Sigh...why can't we ALL have some more nice IN BETWEEN weather...like room temperature of 20C/70F for a few weeks. Get sure can get lots done and the plants and creatures thrive in it too.

Anyway, better frolic off...coffee breaks over & got a family BQ to prepare for this afternoon. Fun times with foods & famliy are pending!

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[Bunnylady]

Secretareiat's run in the Belmont was amazing. On the other hand, there were only 4 other horses in that race. Only 5 other horses in the '73 Preakness

However many horses were on the track with him at the time, the fact remains that he set record times in those races that stand to this day. In effect, he has beaten every horse that has ever run the Belmont, Preakness, and Kentucky Derby.

 

[dsqard]

As far as why there hasn't been another triple crown winner since Affirmed, IMO they are just not breeding the animals the same. They are breeding for light frame which really doesn't lend itself to the type of stamina needed to win all three races. It also makes the horses more "brittle" IMO. Personally, I used to love watching horse racing until it really occurred to me how young these horses are and when the horses would have had to start massively training to race as two year olds. At two, none of these horses are fully grown. Their knees are not mature which is why you never want to buy a thoroughbred who raced as a youngster. They will almost always have knee problems later. Now, I know a lot of people enjoy watching the races and I am not saying the animals are mal-treated (well not the good ones anyway) but if you really wanted to be fair to the animals, let's not start racing them until they are five. It would at least give their bodies a chance to mature before you start pounding it. As I said, this is my opinion.

 

[Peep_Show]

Secretariat was magnificent. As a kid I wanted to be a jockey (I am short...but -- alas -- chunky) and would follow the racing scene really closely. Big treats were getting to go to the track to watch the early morning workouts (with Dad) or getting to watch the races with Mom in the clubhouse. Was horse crazy then, but my horse fever is in remission now.... The neighbors all have horses here, so I get my fix without having to maneuver a wheelbarrow.

I stopped too closely following horse racing when watching the Ruffian race on TV broke my heart. I wailed! Honestly, I cried for days. I was a big fan of Barbaro, too, and knew it was done-for when he pulled up and his hind leg looked like a Z.

When living in Las Vegas, NV, we were close to lots of casino sports books and, yes, horse racing (and betting) is big! We paid for a lot of our household renovations (ceiling fans and faucets) with our sporadic meager Saturday morning bets. I do like to bet on the Derby, though. Barbaro was an easy pick. Most races I get the Place or Show horse. And, yes, I did bet on Mine That Bird to win!

Funny thing when you mentioned Secretariat looking kinda QH-ish.... Most thoroughbreds (and other breeds, too) do tend to bulk out when not kept in condition....which, when they're put out to stud, is an idyllic eat, sleep and breed mode. I saw Noor when I was a teen and the year before he died. He was a wall of horse, black and pudgy and could've passed for part percheron. If you look at a lot of stud farms photo portfolios, the retired TB's look rather, well, stocky. My Arabian stallion came off the show circuit where he was conditioned with swimming and regular riding to pasture life....he blimped into a whale in no time. I swear, he stayed fat on air. But, tell you what, those stallions when they get to relax and have something to do other than just breed have the nicest personalities. Blue turned into Mr. Mom and was at his best babysitting the weanlings. Such a mellow sweetie that I had a hard time convincing visitors that he was a stallion as most have a reputation of being kegged dynamite. A little bit of weight does a stallion good!

 

[Bunnylady]

I watched the Ruffian/ Foolish Pleasure match race: I know what you mean. It's hard to explain mourning over something you only knew from TV . . . .

I don't care if it's a much-touted champion or a 100 to 1 unheralded long shot, any time a horse breaks down on the track, the fun of the event goes out the window for me.

But just one of those random facts - did you know that one of the horses that played Secretariat in the movie was a QH?

 

[Peep_Show]

A lot of horses are being bred for pedigree. Unfortunately, form follows function and what looks good on paper doesn't always breed true....but folks buy and race them anyway. It's always funny when the high school jock and the beauty queen produce something that throws back to look like Aunt Mabel, you know? In the Arabian horse world there is a highly promoted stallion that produced horrid legs....but people kept breeding the bloodline because it looked good on paper. I had one owner of a direct-daughter mare try to convince me that his mare was ideal in conformation and I should lease her for breeding...No. She looked like she was standing on a circus ball she was so underpinned.

A balanced horse would be nice to find, but it's hard to tell what the end product would be *especially* in thoroughbreds when most horses are picked for race training as yearlings.

 

[Peep_Show]

Didn't know that about Secretariat's stunt double. Interesting....

 

[heartsizedfarm]

I stopped watching horse racing after Eight Belles.

Hopped on your thread because of the race talk. Love horses and the legends like Secretariat, Northern Dancer, Ruffian, Man o War.

I think we will probably never have another Triple Crown Winner unless the Kentucky Derby and Preakness are qualifiers for ALL horses running in the Belmont. That might make it a slower safer race too. Just my 2$ (can't find the cents sign!)