OTTB Copper Rocket ROCKS His New Mom’s World
This horse is awesome!!! He is so sweet and is extremely intelligent. It is amazing how quiet he is you would never know he had been recently shipped across country or that he is an ex-racehorse. Well that is until I turn him out in the arena.
We are taking his new life adventures very slowly. We are working on lunging and the word “ho”. He picks things up very quickly. A few days after being here he began following me everywhere around his stall and paddock. He loves to be kissed on the side of his nose. He is so funny. Loves all the attention. He has definitely found his forever home.
A friend of mine came to visit for the weekend, she is an assistant trainer in Woodside California for the A Circuit and has worked with a lot of young horses, worked with horses off the track and has owned and shown a stallion. She is only 21 years old, however, she is incredible.
I was really interested in Copper’s response to her as he did take time to warm up to me. He had no problems being around a stranger, and is very people friendly; he did keep coming back to me. Of course she loved him and his wonderful temperament. She gave me tips on how to work with him and also said to take it slow.
From the pictures on the Internet he doesn’t seemed to have lost any weight. His coat is still in great condition and shinny. He has settled in so quickly. Actually, if you were to see him you would think he has been here for a long time he is that comfortable. I went out the other morning and he was just watching the turkeys walk by the back of his paddock. My other horses have definite herd bound issues so I left Copper in the barn by himself which I was hoping he would be all right and he is just fine.
Copper does have a few complaints about his new home first there is not enough grain!!!! At feeding time he stands by his grain bucket as if to say, “excuse me this is a grain bucket where my grain should be!!!!” Second he is not real fond of the California orchard grass. I have recently found four-grain hay that my horses love. It has beardless wheat, beardless barley, red oat and another oat hay. Copper also loves this hay and has this for breakfast and the evening includes grass hay with a few handfuls of grain with beet pulp, alfalfa pellets and corn oil. He seems to be very comfortable with his new life of light work and just hanging out. Thank you so much for bringing this wonderful horse into my life.
My vet will be here in two weeks so I will be having him float Copper’s teeth as he definitely needs this done and then he will really gain some serious weight! Thanks again for all your help in getting this awesome, wonderful horse to me!
Patti
Elizabeth’s Note: You should be careful to provide a well balanced diet for your horse. The feed manufacturers have nutritionists on staff that make sure your horse is getting the added vitamins and minerals that may be lacking in a grass or hay diet. Buy a feed that is formulated for your region from a respected manufacturer. If the feed is cheap, then something has been left out. READ YOUR LABLES! If they say “grain products” or “processed grain by-products”, you are not getting a guaranteed analysis. The label should read: oats, corn, barley etc. Know what you are feeding your horse. Be sure to discuss your feeding program with your veterinarian. I once had a boarder who decided to her horse needed a diet of 80% beet pulp! Fortunately I discussed this with our vet and looked up valid data on the Internet and found that beet pulp should not exceed 40% of a horse’s diet. Alfalfa also needs to be fed carefully as it is 16% protein and can make a Thoroughbred very “hot”. Call your feed manufacturer and talk to your vet and make any feed change very gradual to avoid a sudden colic.