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Oh no, I've fallen in love with my OTTB project (New mare update, post 64!)

I second the motion for photos. :blush:

starts chanting Keep him! Keep him! Keep him!

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:laughing:
I never wanted to flip a horse, save for the one OTTB I bought in partnership. Then partner fell in love & bought me out after less than a year :smirk:

I did, however, turn down 3X purchase price on my TB (never raced, but ponied at the track for 4yrs) after our first year together.
Then 3yrs later, turned down 10X what I’d paid.
My thought was: How can I be sure I’ll get another this good & fun.
Never regretted the decision & had him 20yrs. :sunglasses:

@vxf111 I’ve been “found” 7 times & still have the last 3 :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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I grew in to horses through the late 60s and early 70s when hunter = TB. Every time I see a fine Tb i sigh at the elegance and the fine intelligence . I can see why you are in love and look forward to hearing and seeing his progress

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I did the same thing, 16 years ago. And now, after more than a decade in the FEI Grand Prixes my fell-in-love-and-couldn’t-sell-him horse is now packing my 14 year old daughter around her first 1.10m and 1.15m classes. Sometimes they’re just meant to be yours.

Good luck with your boy!

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We definitely need some photos!

Love this thread! What a wonderful guy!

Another vote for keeping him! :wink:

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I’ve seen your posts about that one - what a special guy!

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Thank you for indulging all of us! He is gorgeous! Hard not to fall in love with him.

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I think there’s a law somewhere. You fall in love with a project horse, you keep him/her for life. Honest!

P.S. Beautiful horse! :heart_eyes: (Admittedly, I love me a bay TB).

ETA: Love his pedigree. I’m partial to Hail to Reason horses (not that they’re normally so easy-going as this one). And Damascus was my favorite racehorse when I was young (along with Native Diver, CA girl here). :slightly_smiling_face:

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Totally love this thread. I can not wait to read all of your adventures!

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Oooo I love his EYES. What a nice boy!

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OMG!!!

My first impression–a horse who could be trained to do anything you want, and if you change your mind he will be able to switch right along with you, learning together.

His neck, his throatlatch, his legs, oh my.

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Here he is his first time through the full grid with flowers. He’s not perfect, of course, but I just love how intelligent he is about where to put his feet and how to navigate the exercise. He still gets a little tired (mentally and physically) on days we jump, so we don’t really drill flatwork those days but rather successfully accomplish the goal of the day, make a big fuss of him, and then go for a chill walk outside or a long hand-graze.

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What a nice chill guy this one is! You can see that he’s already figured out the exercise and isn’t rattled at all.
If you don’t decide to keep him, a whole bunch of us will be in line. He’s going to be a nice one!

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That second photo belongs on a mantel framed.

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I know you probably have way more experience training horses than I do.

One thing I HAD to learn (and boy did it take me a long time to learn this) is that horses have absolutely no idea what a negative modifier means.

As in when you say “don’t rush” your horse may be hearing just the “rush” part.

At least this horse seems smart enough to realize what you really mean, obeying your aids while tuning out the confusing talk.

I sure do wish I could afford to buy him!

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To quote Greg Best: “God, I love a good TB.”

And personally, I adore a good BAY TB.

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I think that’s the trainer talking to OP, not OP talking to the horse.

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