One week and counting...

Badge is doing very well. In fact, I believe he has put on some weight! He certainly has a lovely demeanor, until Artie tries to eat the pellets he drops while eating. There's Artie, patiently waiting in the stall for them to fall out of Badge's mouth so he can eat them off so he can grab them below. Badge pins his ears and shakes his head and Artie scrams! Rinse and repeat. Artie, is a rather artful dodger, but still comes back for more.

On Sunday he showed me he had a sense of humor, but splashing 1/2 the water out of the water trough. Dunked his head in up to his eyeballs, then pulled his head out of the water and smacked his lips. I'm convinced that if horses could have a good time, he was having it.

Tuesday, he got his hooves trimmed. A much needed pedicure, but Marijke Ellert. (You pronounce her name Muh-Rye-ka. Not Margie-KEY) Marijke stands about 5' 6" and probably weighs no more than a gnat. Well, she might weigh about 100lbs soaking wet and is a graduate of the Pacific School of Farriers. She's very knowledgeable and complimented Badge on having nice feet. That's what $40 bucks get ya, 30 minutes of her time and a compliment.

Here's Badge's feet before and after. He's ready to go dancing!














And here is Marijke doing his back feet. Yep, she tucks under his belly quite nicely. I might also add that he wasn't tied up at all during the whole process. The lead line was on the ground and it was all very routine to him. I'm really glad he is not a fractious horse- so is Marijke!

Badge has been on a Super-Power diet and is receiving some much needed nutrition to aid in his recovery. I've been giving him Forco to aid in his digestion. Bringing a horse back in such poor condition, you worry about ulcers and colic. I'm giving him Super 14, which is supplement that contains 27% fat, that will help bring some gloss and shine back to his coat. Some folks subscribe to pouring corn oil on their feed, or ground flax seed, but I've had success with Super 14 in the past and so far so good. He is shedding the dead, ugly Winter coat and there are signs of a new coat that is a rich, shiny mahogany brown. Should be another month or so of this great weather and he'll look very different. Lastly, I am giving him a supplement called CA Trace. I've never used it before, but Sally Hugg has rehabbed a couple of TBs and the results, I must say are phenomenal! Along with 20lbs of CA Trace, Sally sent me pictures of Slow N Easy, a neglected TB off the track. Used up and discarded. If you haven't heard me say it before, I will now. This is horse racing's dirty little secret. They aren't all Seabiscuit, Secretariat or Zenyatta.

Here's the before and after of Slow N Easy.


The day Sally got him, and 4 mos. later. I can hope for such results for Badge.

"We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer any less because they have no words."

One of the more exciting things I did was some research via the internet on Badge. I went to the Equibase website and actually found his race record! Turns out he ran a total of 13 races, in 2004, 2005 and 2006, and the best he placed was 2nd and 3rd in four of the races. Not exactly the stellar performer. They raced him 7 times as a 2 year old. That sucks.

Summary by Year:
Year	Starts	Firsts	Seconds	Thirds	Earnings
2006	4	0	1	0	$ 2,500
2005	2	0	1	1	$ 3,045
2004	7	0	0	1	$ 7,820

He earned a total of $13, 000 in three years. While that may sound like a lot of money, it didn't even barely begin to cover his training, entry fees, veterinary care and feed. Nope, frankly, he was just considered a money pit.

Here is a video of him racing. You can see him, and hear them call the race. This one was at Golden Gate Fields in 2006. It seems he was a late starter and liked to come up from behind. Remember, he is a huge horse and when asked, his stride can cover a lot of ground very quickly. He's on the outside with the jockey wearing the red and black silks and his saddle blanket is yellow with the number 4 on it. John has a new found respect for Badge.

I was a little torn watching the videos. Watching him in such magnificent condition and running like the wind, but also knowing the condition he is in now and wondering how he came to be this way. What happened to him in the last 5 years?

I did find out who his last trainer was, Steve Miyadi. I told my friend Linda that I was considering sending him an email or calling him. He's well known in the CA racing circuit, can't be that hard to track him down.

I think of things in simplistic terms. I just want to know what he knows about him, not necessarily how he was as a race horse, after all his record speaks for itself. More along the lines of whether he had any injuries, who his owner was, things of that nature. Linda on the other hand, has an incredible imagination (Insert background music-the Temptations singing, "It was just my 'magination, running away with me...")

Over the years, Linda has been a good friend and a constant source of entertainment for me. She has the uncanny ability to turn situations into plots that would make Janet Evanovich jealous. When I mentioned I would like to speak to Badge's trainer, she decided it wouldn't be a good idea. "What if they declared the horse dead and got a huge insurance payment and now the horse shows up alive?" She pressed on saying that she envisioned the mob coming to dispose of me and the horse too! The Mob in Placerville? Unlikely, but it makes a good conversation on the front deck at dusk. Linda is one of the greatest mystery writers I know, and she doesn't even write! Time for another beer and swat the mosquitos.

Today it was in the low 70's. Welcome Spring. Finally. I worked in the garden area and let the horses out together. Promise has now decided that since she is in season, Badge is worth his weight in gold. Promise who is 26 years old, was a cougar before being a cougar was cool. If she was an elderly woman in a nursing home, she'd be painted and powdered up every day and they would have to tie her to her bed at night. She's a shameless hussy!

Here they are, enjoying the day together..

He's so tall, he reached over the fence like it was nothing...

Promise the Cougar-Badge who could care less