I’m going to add another vote for Harry or Potter. The first thing I noticed was that HP lightning bolt on his head.
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Those are cute! We already have a Potter in the immediate circle though 
Harry is cute but I don’t think it fits… I tried a few other names from that source and couldn’t find one that I liked. Maybe George 
Where was he in the time between when his race training stopped and he got to you? That several months it took to grow those feet?
Was he living out or stalled most of the time? If he went from an active to sedentary lifestyle all at once, I bet he’s stiff x 10. He’s also, from these pictures, maybe just a little puffy in that right front which would be expected if he’s been standing too much…he actually looks pretty clean below the knee.
Rarely suggest this but a magnesium supplement is cheap and helps with muscle soreness and stiffness, many human athletes take for thise reasons. Might make him feel more comfortable.
You probably know but for anybody reading this contemplating a project like this? When you get them home they are like new kids in school- little scared, don’t know anybody, shunned by the other kids. Plus new surroundings, new barn routine and new people. Most horses are a at least a bit subdued, a few act out but, IME, they are very easy to work around. For a few weeks anyway.
When you add stiffness, body and foot soreness and possible improper nutrition it slows them down some. As they recover, they can get….ummmm…a little full off themselves. Until they do, great time to polish and/or install good ground manners while hand walking in a safe, enclosed space and while grooming.
Looking forward to a recap of the farrier visit and pictures of 2024s first glow up.
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I don’t know, to be honest. He was out in a run of some unknown size with a shed since December, and now came to me.
This when I freaking wish the ground wasn’t muck and/or we had an indoor - I don’t have anywhere to really handwalk that isn’t a slip and slide right now. We will try today, maybe, as the wind has dried things up a tad. It may get interesting 🫣
He was good in the cross ties with the garage doors going up and down and the four wheeler ripping around. It’s quiet here, but not ALL the time . He is also BFFs with the kindergartener who is a tornado on legs - kid proof here we come
He’s certainly closed off but very interested in people. He has discovered soft peppermints come in a crinkly wrapper and are THE BEST.
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His last race was 9/1/23, so I really don’t know exactly what he’s been doing since then. Vet comes out next week for teeth and chiro/acupuncture, so I’ll have them look at that puffy hock and knee. I’ve been putting DMSO, Surpass, and clay poultice on the hock (separately). I have some BOT hock boots I thought about putting on for some gentle compression and heat but I haven’t yet.
ETA he’s not my first OTTB, and I’ve done this before. He’s just the first one I haven’t been able to hop on the first week (I wouldn’t due to his feet, not until the farrier is out anyway). Learning curve for both of us, we can go handwalk on the softer grass once it’s not actually slop!
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Bribes are good and just crinkling the wrapper can get their attention focused on you even if the treat does not follow. Just don’t overuse the crinkle with no treat option.
If you cant hand walk, concentrate on cross tie behavior, walking in and out quietly increasing the time he spends there. Handle his feet, hold them up for longer periods (abscess or two are likely in your future, prepare for poulticing and wrapping). Prepare him to stay focused on you and build that bond of trust.
Remember at the track, they usually come out of the stall for work or to race, sometimes hand walk. But many never come out just to hang around. That creates a good entry point for you to get started with him despite soundness issues and weather related challenges.
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100%. We put him in the cross ties for the first time yesterday - I usually handle them in the stall with a helper at first for basics like blankets and in this case poultice. He was a bit confused but I keep the regular lead in hand and remind them where to stand. He’s not wanting to hold his feet up for long but I’m sure they’re sore - he does all the basic racehorse things like brushes and hoof picking etc. Now I get to work on Just Standing There!
Peppermints are for blanket changes and saddling mainly - I find a really tasty snack can help overcome accidental static or memory of poor fitting saddles - this one has a scabby rub right on the wither where a bad saddle would sit. Or a really bad blanket.
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Sounds like a great start. IMO too many who get projects like this don’t realize horses off the track only know the basic track lifestyle. The horse just flat does not know what to do and some less experienced owners don’t realize how much the horse has to unlearn and relearn. Those owners get frustrated, iften don’t have the time to work with the horse daily as horse off the track is used to. They often pass the horse along to a similar situation. Too bad.
Some track trainers don’t have the staff or time to do anything but the minimum, you never know what they know or don’t until you start working with them.
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Gosh this is so true. They know more than people generally think - they can WTC and usually get a racehorse swap, aren’t bothered by machinery, loudspeakers (usually), and farm traffic. They usually load and trailer and single tie. But some may have never seen a bath with a hose, stood in crossties or been turned out daily (and very few have been handled by the general horse public vs track trained staff).
I tell people OTTBs aren’t mustangs - they know how to be handled and how to work, but they don’t know the pet or sport life. You get to skip the backing and a lot of desensitization, but you do have to put in a lot of work. I think they’re really fun, smart creatures, usually.
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He looks like a Bob to me. 
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So much depends on who they come from, too. My late DH and I restarted many, many TBs from the track. We had some you could trail ride the day they came home, some who needed a fair bit of time to decompress, and some in between. They are all individuals.
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Forest or Forrest? It sounds like it could be derived from his JC name, but can still be considered a human name 
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I just looked up his pedigree. I’m not familiar w his dam. He has Alydar and In Reality. I know they are pretty far back, but I never met one w Alydar who couldn’t jump the moon. And I just love In Reality horses. Lucky you💗. Supershorty’s spectacular mare is In Reality, as is my spectacular gelding.
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DING DING DING we have a winner! Forrest was on my list of random names I keep but I’d missed it. Honestly a perfect fit for this guy, so congrats on naming my horse for me! You should win a prize
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This is so cool! He’s a bit gangly and tracky right now - honestly he looks like an Appendix. Long everywhere but his neck (relatively) and has a BOOTY. It’s funny because my other gelding wears a 72-74 but this guy who feels significantly bigger can wear some of his clothes, depending on the brand. My smartpak stuff all fits both horses.
His knee was warm today and I noticed an old scabby bit - looks like he whacked his knee on something before he got here (much like when my other one whacked his knee on a trailer ramp). I poulticed it and will have the vet X-ray the knee and the hock just to be sure.
Horses. He’s a sweetie though.
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I love him
Omg I am honored 
my prize is you keep updating us on his progress because I adore him! I think that name suits him perfectly as well!
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Now that I can do!
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I own a Phorest. It wouldn’t have been on my list, but it is his registered name, and when he first arrived, he came when he was called after a traumatic unloading incident where he was running alongside a 4 lane freeway. So Phorest it is, and he is the biggest sweetie - it fits.
Congrats on your new boy, you’ll have fun once you get going with him.
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Forrest is a great name!
But I had a funny flashback to the only other horse I knew with that name. He was used for beginner lessons at the barn I boarded at and had fallen into the habit of ignoring his hapless riders and doing what he wanted instead of what they were asking for, including refusing to go faster than a walk and wandering into the center of the arena when he felt like being done.
The BO (who doesn’t ride anymore) asked me if I could get on and give him a tuneup. Forrest was definitely invested in doing his own thing and since the BO was anti-crop I tried normal leg cues to get him to move off my leg, and then to Pony Club kicks while chanting “Run, Forrest! Run!”, lol!
Finally I told the BO that I could fix the issue in 5 minutes if she’d let me use a crop, so she reluctantly agreed. I grabbed my personal one and asked again for Forrest to move out. No response so he got a single smack on the flank. He trotted off smartly. 
Back to the walk and I asked again with no response, so another smack. It took four times in the first direction and only two when we reversed.
Forrest figured out that his days of self-rule were over, but I moved barns not long afterward, so I’m sure he deteriorated back into his bad habits within a week or two without corrections.
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