Meet George aka Mister President
9 year old OTTB (Off-the-track Thoroughbred) Gelding
Jockey Club name: Blue Cash
Sire: Mountain Magic, Damn: Turquoise Promise
Bred right here in Albuquerque, NM by Joe and Tillie Cordova
Mr. March is my very own baby, George. Aka Mister President. How did he get such a regal name you ask? He came with the name Cloud, and before that it was Gandolf. But the moment we saw him we started calling him George. Before we bought him, before we even rode him, he was George. It just came natural. As for Mister President, well, I'm a West Wing fan. I lived in DC for years and used to be a political buff. And he kind of looks like George Washington. It's the nose, and gray hair.
George was bred for the track right here in Albuquerque, NM by Joe and Tillie Cordova. When he was young, the Cordova's downsized their business and sent him to a sales barn. From there is hopped around, going through at least three other owners/sales barns before he was purchased from a sales barn in Los Lunas, NM and ended up as someone's baby. But she had human babies and after two years of being unable to really ride him she sold him to me. He never did make it to the racetrack.
We found George on Craigslist. I was half looking for myself, and half looking for a friend. Because really, I couldn't (can't) afford a horse. I loved the way he looked. The next day my friend Dana and I went to see him. When I tried to clean out his back foot he kicked he. Not a powerful I-will-kill-you cow kick, but a don't-do-that-again kick. He got my hip and left a nasty bruise. I didn't try to pick out his foot again. He knew how to walk, trot and canter under saddle. He was forward and carried himself light in the forehand. And barn sour. So very barn sour. Dana encouraged me to buy him on the spot. But I wasn't willing to commit without Laurie's opinion. So the next day we brought Laurie back.
9 year old OTTB (Off-the-track Thoroughbred) Gelding
Jockey Club name: Blue Cash
Sire: Mountain Magic, Damn: Turquoise Promise
Bred right here in Albuquerque, NM by Joe and Tillie Cordova
Mr. March is my very own baby, George. Aka Mister President. How did he get such a regal name you ask? He came with the name Cloud, and before that it was Gandolf. But the moment we saw him we started calling him George. Before we bought him, before we even rode him, he was George. It just came natural. As for Mister President, well, I'm a West Wing fan. I lived in DC for years and used to be a political buff. And he kind of looks like George Washington. It's the nose, and gray hair.
George was bred for the track right here in Albuquerque, NM by Joe and Tillie Cordova. When he was young, the Cordova's downsized their business and sent him to a sales barn. From there is hopped around, going through at least three other owners/sales barns before he was purchased from a sales barn in Los Lunas, NM and ended up as someone's baby. But she had human babies and after two years of being unable to really ride him she sold him to me. He never did make it to the racetrack.
We found George on Craigslist. I was half looking for myself, and half looking for a friend. Because really, I couldn't (can't) afford a horse. I loved the way he looked. The next day my friend Dana and I went to see him. When I tried to clean out his back foot he kicked he. Not a powerful I-will-kill-you cow kick, but a don't-do-that-again kick. He got my hip and left a nasty bruise. I didn't try to pick out his foot again. He knew how to walk, trot and canter under saddle. He was forward and carried himself light in the forehand. And barn sour. So very barn sour. Dana encouraged me to buy him on the spot. But I wasn't willing to commit without Laurie's opinion. So the next day we brought Laurie back.
This is what he looked like. Skinny, pancake feet, no neck. Yellow tail. She liked him. We bought him without vetting. He moved in that night. I paid a whole $800 for him.
Want to see a video? Here is Laurie trying him. Notice how well he jumps. As in he doesn't. He has absolutely no idea that he is supposed to pick his feet up.
First ride, he jigged the entire time. It took a week before he stopped trying to drag me out of the gate. He couldn't maintain the canter for more than a dozen strides. After a few weeks I went on vacation and left him with Laurie and Dana. When I came back he could jump. And you could pick up his back feet without him kicking. I don't know what they did, but I'm glad they did it.
It quickly became apparent that someone had invested some time starting George. He knew how to carry himself, to frame, canter on both leads. He half-passed, side-passed and could do a turn on the forehand. He took to jumping like a duck to water. We had to be careful or we would jump when we didn't intend to. To this day he still have never looked twice at a fence. He's stopped three times. Twice I deserved it.
Want to see a video? Here is Laurie trying him. Notice how well he jumps. As in he doesn't. He has absolutely no idea that he is supposed to pick his feet up.
First ride, he jigged the entire time. It took a week before he stopped trying to drag me out of the gate. He couldn't maintain the canter for more than a dozen strides. After a few weeks I went on vacation and left him with Laurie and Dana. When I came back he could jump. And you could pick up his back feet without him kicking. I don't know what they did, but I'm glad they did it.
It quickly became apparent that someone had invested some time starting George. He knew how to carry himself, to frame, canter on both leads. He half-passed, side-passed and could do a turn on the forehand. He took to jumping like a duck to water. We had to be careful or we would jump when we didn't intend to. To this day he still have never looked twice at a fence. He's stopped three times. Twice I deserved it.
Here he is after three months. Pretty amazing change, right? We discovered he had a natural lead change and would often change without being asked. Our winter plan was perfect that lead change and show in the spring in the baby greens.
Then George became miserable. Crazy bucking. Teeth grinding. Absolute horror. Clearly something was wrong. We called the vet and the chiropractor. Turns out George had six pinched nerves in his back and poll. They were the result of an old injury and had been present for some time. According to the amazing Dr. Bill Hampton, horses will suffer what looks like a minor accident. They'll fall in turnout, or pull back at the hitching post. Nerves get pinched and it hurts to use their back and neck. They start acting up under saddle to try to avoid the pain. Their training decreases because they are miserable to ride, they get out of shape. Then they are sold off to a new owner who repeats the cycle.
After one chiropractic session George was a new horse. I have never seen such a change in an animal. Both in his movement and personality. For a whole week he was awesome. Then he hurt his stifle in turnout. And had a month of stall rest and hand-walking. When he was sound, we had a whole new miserable George under saddle. Turns out being in a stall gave George an ulcer. Now he's back to living out, getting bit up by the pony next door and easing back into work.
After one chiropractic session George was a new horse. I have never seen such a change in an animal. Both in his movement and personality. For a whole week he was awesome. Then he hurt his stifle in turnout. And had a month of stall rest and hand-walking. When he was sound, we had a whole new miserable George under saddle. Turns out being in a stall gave George an ulcer. Now he's back to living out, getting bit up by the pony next door and easing back into work.
Here's George a week ago with his dog sister. He's fatter, happier and back to being my little jumper pony. The dog got prescribed the same ulcer medicine as George an hour earlier. He's clearly in the right family.
