Great- I got a 5, 2 at 6 and a 9 in the backyard. Go ahead tell them they are on a diet I dare you! And the 9 is ridden 5 days a week and gets NO grain 
[QUOTE=SuperSTB;2187182]
Great- I got a 5, 2 at 6 and a 9 in the backyard. Go ahead tell them they are on a diet I dare you! And the 9 is ridden 5 days a week and gets NO grain :O[/QUOTE]
Yup until recently my mare was an 8 or 9 in the summer, she could get fat on air. She’s eats 1/2 of what my old App did even now (when she’s getting older and not so easy a keeper). He was NOT an easy keeper and only a couple times got anything NEAR a 7, the rest of the time a long lean 5 or 6.
I knew some morgans up in maine that were also that way. (easy keepers I mean) They only got a handful literally of feed just so they wouldn’t tear down the walls while the normal horses ate.
Um…
Didnt Secretariat die of heart failure, with a heart 3X to big?
[QUOTE=spidey-jack-azzy;2189472]
Didnt Secretariat die of heart failure, with a heart 3X to big?[/QUOTE]
No. His heart, while much larger than normal, was healthy. He had a large heart, not an enlarged heart. A large heart is a good thing that is caused by an x-linked recessive. An enlarged heart is caused by illness.
His large heart almost surely contributed to his stamina on the track.
I’m new to this forum because I wanted to add this post.
Here’s a link to a photo I took of Secretariat in September 1988.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&viewitem=&item=290042850790&rd=1&rd=1
He was more then “pleasingly plump”. One thing is that Secretariat seems to have passed down his body type to his maternal grandsons.
Storm Cat(stud fee of 500,000), AP Indy(stud fee of 300,000) and Gone West(125,000). All 3 of these stallions are very important sires in Thoroughbred racing. The name of this item escapes me right now, but I do know that AP Indy never goes into his field without a basket type muzzle on his halter. This keeps AP from being able to eat too much grass. He has been limited on his grass intake for close to 5 years.
It is thru his daughters that Secretariat’s name will live on in the Thoroughbred breed.
Sorry, but image didn’t work
I’m sorry about that, but the photo link was cut off in my post.
Is there any way I can import the photo right into my messages?
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! If he was at Ashford stud at the time, well, that is just laughable.
I would think they certainly COULD afford to have someone ride him, but the stallion syndicate said, “NO WAY.” These horses are worth megabucks and are insured up the wazoo. They are also housed at very, very, very busy breeding farms and if a stud isn’t being ridden, it is because the horse is either unrideable, too busy breeding, or someone said “absolutely not.”
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;2181857]
I think you might be viewing his very thick neck and chest as being bloated girth, whereas I just see that as more common muscle found in breeding stallions.[/QUOTE]
I haven’t yet read the posts since this one, but I agree with Glimmerglass. If you look at his neck and shoulder, yes, he looks a little beefy. However, his barrel, girth, and hindquarters are not at all fat. Secretariat was a big boy with a big front end. Being a stallion makes the neck bigger and crestier yet. I do not consider this picture to show him as being obese. I see a big, solid, well built stallion.
[QUOTE=hitchinmygetalong;2190505]
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! If he was at Ashford stud at the time, well, that is just laughable.
I would think they certainly COULD afford to have someone ride him, but the stallion syndicate said, “NO WAY.” These horses are worth megabucks and are insured up the wazoo. They are also housed at very, very, very busy breeding farms and if a stud isn’t being ridden, it is because the horse is either unrideable, too busy breeding, or someone said “absolutely not.”[/QUOTE]
As I said, there are, IMHO, some pretty strange economies out there. I once trained a horse for a woman who returned from a trip to Hawaii, showed me the art pieces she’d bought there, and responded that she couldn’t afford it when I told her her horse needed shoes.
I think a lot of racehorse owners/investors might look to their stallions to support the horses they have and/or want to have in training, i.e. while a given stallion may be enormously profitable, the enterprise as a whole as not. Extreme example would be Calumet going bust despite the gold mine they had in Alydar.
If you read some of the books and accounts of Secretariat when he was racing – no one thought he could win the Derby (much less the TC) because he was heavy. People thought he was too fat to be a good racehorse… So the fact that he looks “fat” in his later years should be no surprise…
Here is the quote from espn website
While Secretariat had good pedigree, there were some who thought he wouldn’t be a champion because as a two-year-old in training he was too fat.
here is the website to read more
Some of that espn posting is out of date. Monarchos ran the Derby in under 2 minutes as well…
Ok – not sure what that has to do with what I pointed out or the subject… But ok – point taken…
Just stating… Sorry.
So did Sham.
Question about Secretariat’s Death
[QUOTE=eventerdmo;2193093]
If you read some of the books and accounts of Secretariat when he was racing – no one thought he could win the Derby (much less the TC) because he was heavy. People thought he was too fat to be a good racehorse… So the fact that he looks “fat” in his later years should be no surprise… [/QUOTE]
Defend it all you want but the horse WAS too fat. Looks to be suffering from EMS and he fatally foundered. Regular exercise is at least as important as any other aspect of responsible horse keeping. Secretariat looked overweight and very out of shape. A BCS of at least 7 (founder waiting to happen).
Here are some other pics taken in the summer before he died (1989) by the artist who created the bronze of him at Kentucky Horse Park:
1 Like
IMO those photos show closer to a “9” body score.
1 Like
Question about Secretariat’s Death
[QUOTE=Fairview Horse Center;2227527]
IMO those photos show closer to a “9” body score.[/QUOTE]
You’re right, Darlyn. I didn’t want to appear too harsh. :no:
OK, just for compasrision…
Horse with body score of 9: http://www.ecmagazine.net/ecSummer06/ecsumwebphotos/Fat%20Horse.jpg
[QUOTE=Freebird!;2231444]
OK, just for compasrision…
Horse with body score of 9: http://www.ecmagazine.net/ecSummer06/ecsumwebphotos/Fat%20Horse.jpg[/QUOTE]
This horse has more belly but Secretariat carries more fat over the topline. I put him between an 8 and a 9. Whatever he was still too fat.
Secretariat WAS too heavy. IMO, he was in fantastic shape when he was racing. He looked more like a sprinter but could somehow carry speed a distance. A real freak! When he was a stallion, he was heavy. When he was in training, his weight was no problem (althought I believe he was a typical fat 2yo). He was a glutton for food, and a glutton for exercise- and he sure could exercise! I think this was lost with his racing career. Not that he wasn’t handsome!
![http://www.ecmagazine.net/ecSummer06/ecsumwebphotos/Fat%20Horse.jpg[/QUOTE]](http://www.ecmagazine.net/ecSummer06/ecsumwebphotos/Fat%20Horse.jpg%5B/QUOTE%5D){kind=link}