Anything But Standard

ABS isn't a rescue - we have always gone by the mantra Race Retrain Ride ...

I suppose I knew it was coming though, when I had to go to Camden Sales on the 21st of December to pick up Bluey Mahoney, a 100k winner with a best winning mile rate of 1.54, who was picked up by a dogger at Moss Vale sales on the 12th of November ... He was 'lucky' enough to be picked up by Les Evans - I say lucky, because Les's partner Dianne and a lovely lady named Ali, are rehoming quite a few horses that would otherwise end up 'you know where' .... Les took him to Camden for me after I purchased him, and I picked him up on the day (he wasn't run through) ...

But when in Rome, as they say, I stayed to watch to sales .... Towards the end, I ended up bidding for a black/brown STB mare ... The only ones bidding on her, were me and the dogger ... He could have pushed me higher I suppose, so I appreciate that he stopped bidding and let the hammer fall (previous mare went for more than her) ... She was branded on her shoulder, as well as her neck ... Turns out she was a winner too, in 2.03 and is quite nicely bred ...

While we have racehorses, we wouldn't send one of ours through the sales ... In all honesty, a rifle on the property would be a much kinder end ... (Not that we'd do that either, before anyone freaks out, haha) .... We don't normally buy from doggers, but I felt an affinity for this gelding (his dam was just gifted to us, and we stood his Dad privately last year) ... That left a spare spot in the float in sales day ... Was always gonna happen, wasn't it? ;o) ... With the sacked pacers that come in from trainers, it's not like we needed to add to the numbers here - but who can say no?!

Finding the right homes for all these horses can sometimes be hard!! We're just about to buy another of our rehomes back - and that's fine by us .... We'd rather they come back here, than end up somewhere like Camden passed around like meat .... Finding the right owners who will do the right thing, and send them back when circumstances change is just as rewarding ... While dealing with people is often troublesome, we've met some fantastic people and made some great friends along the way!! ... The bad times upset us, the good keep us going!! ...

We've never asked for help - we're 100% self funded .... I am kicking around the idea of expanding the work ABS does, but best laid plans are the ones thought out carefully .... It's not easy to balance fulltime work, and fulltime ABS, hahaha ...

But.. For now, enjoy this piccy of what I guess would be the first 'rescues' to come to ABS!