Arabel's Story
(Aka: High Roads First)
With tears rolling down my face, I remember watching the Derby. "If I ever get another horse, it will be from the track." My husband just looked at me. I'm not sure at that moment he knew this would soon be our reality.
We live in New York City on the Upper East Side. I have had horses and been passionate about them throughout my life and started riding at age 6. My husband has never been around them, and with no place to keep a horse in Manhattan ...I'm not sure he took me seriously about owning an ex-racehorse.
The Derby events continued to play in my head and I wanted to know what happened to these beautiful athletes. Where did they go when they stopped making money or were injured. I started doing online searches for ex racehorses, thoroughbred rescues and tracks that sold their unwanted horses. I came across FLTAP. I liked their web site and that they were a rescue onsite at a track. I emailed and started corresponding with Kerri Gaffney. I told her I was not sure how soon this would happen; I would first need to find a boarding facility and then convince my husband that we wanted a race horse, plus get him to agree to drive 6 hours to meet Kerri and her ex racers of the Finger Lakes Race Track.
Once my adoption application was approved, Kerri and I started talking and emailing about a few of the horses she thought would be a good fit; a 3 year old black gelding named Louie Knows Best, who has made it through race training but was just too slow to race and a 4 year old mare named High Roads First that had won some races but was becoming too difficult to handle at the track.
I let Kerri know I was looking for a horse to retrain in all the english disciplines, but the stable we had found just 30 minutes outside NYC in Rockleigh NY was a hunter pace stable so it would be great if my potential horse would be suitable for jumping.
We made the trip to The Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program on Saturday, September 6th, 2008. On out drive to Finger Lakes my husband was saying, "wouldn't it be easier to just buy a horse." No, that was not for me. We pulled into the track and drove over to the barn with the big black horse statue out front and my heart was racing. I knew my new best friend was somewhere just beyond those doors.
We walked inside and Kerri was talking to visitors. The barn was beautiful and the horses looking out from their stalls looked very well cared for. I introduced myself to Kerri, turned and immediately in front of me I recognized the mare High Roads First. She was beautiful, a dark bay almost black with a large white stripe down her face. Kerri went into detail about her trust issues, but I don't remember the words. I just remember walking into her stalls and High Roads First put her head down between my legs and leaned into me letting me rub her ears. We told Kerri that we would like to take her and the gelding, Louie, into the ring to look at each of them, one at a time.
High Roads First came into the ring first and galloped around us with her head held high and her tail up, snorting and blowing. I think my husband was a little freaked out by her power and presence. I was in love with her beauty and wild streak that the track had not seemed to tame. We then brought Louie Knows Best in and he was calm, pretty and a clean slate with no history. I looked at my husband and asked his thoughts. He said he felt Louie was much safer for re training, but he already knew I would be taking the spirited mare, and right he was. From the moment I saw her I was totally in love. High Roads First was my horse.
We filled out some paperwork and made arrangements to pay the adoption fees. Then we spent the next two weeks preparing for her arrival. High Roads First is now known as Arabel. She arrived at our stable on Friday September 26th 2008. It was a tough trip for her. She had never been alone in a trailer and the trip was 6 hours. She came off the trailer really mad, glistening with sweat. She had cuts and abrasions from jumping around, but she was finally here.
Every day since her arrival has been about giving her the best life possible at her boarding facility. I have kept her barefoot and we are working with a wonderful barefoot trimmer. I have ridden her only a few times as I truly believe what she needs most is some time to just be a horse and for us to bond. She will no longer have a bit in her mouth and the few times I have ridden her she is going happily in a Dr. Cooks' bit less bridle. We have doubled the size of her stall from 10x10 to 10x20 and installed a superstall latex mattress system through Northbrook Farms that is stress-free on her legs and hoofs when spending long hours in her stall. It also allows her to sleep completely stretched out in complete comfort.
Arabel has a huge personality. She is beautiful and very smart. I think she was too smart to race, as she easily learned how to take charge of her trainers and for that was discarded. We recently traced her pedigree and found that she is a 5 times great granddaughter of Man O War and a cousin to Barbaro, but to me she is the spirited beauty that calls out to me when she hears my voice and nuzzles my pockets knowing there is always a treat for her. She now has a lifetime home that will be filled with love. I do not train through force, so Arabel will ultimately decide what discipline suits her and my dream now for my husband and I is to eventually buy a house and land outside of the city and finally bring Arabel home.
I cannot thank Kerri and FLTAP enough for facilitating my adoption of Arabel, and always being available after the adoption process for insight and mentoring of these amazing and deserving horses.
