Tsar
Tsar is a 15-run racehorse who earned almost $380,000 over his three year career. His last few runs were for our valued owner Marc Chan in Hong Kong and he came from there to us at Lindsay Park in Euroa to be assessed as a potential retirement candidate. After a spell and treatment for his foot abscesses, we sent him to our accredited rehomer Jade Willis to be re educated and find his forever home.
Tsar’s story
by Alana
On April 22 2023 my 15YO daughter Alice said she had seen a horse for sale that she really liked and she wanted to go and look at it. A whole 260km away in Barnawatha! So to save us the chance of a second trip, we took the float along just in case.
Finally arriving at Jade Willis’, Jade told Alice she felt that the horse she wanted to look at wouldn’t actually be suitable for her. But she had selected two others that were better suited and in the stalls waiting to be tacked up.
Off Alice went on the first one out to the arena. I stayed in and said hello to the other horse who was waiting patiently in his stall. I’m not a horse person as such but this fellow took a step towards me to be patted. My gut said this was the one.
I went outside to the arena to watch Alice ride the other horse. I could tell by her face that she wasn’t keen on it. ARROW-ALT-TO-RIGHT
Arrow-Alt-To-Left So back inside they saddled up the other one and out we went again. Walk, trot, canter and she looked at me and if she had nodded any harder her head would have dropped off. So money paid, literally shoved the horse on the float and we drove the three hours home.
On the way home she named him Zebedy. As it turned out his birthday was the next day on the 23 April. I thought wow, we just bought and are bringing home a 6YO green ex racehorse.
Alice has Autism with a mild intellectual disability, ADHD, anxiety and she is severely dyslexic. Horses are her passion.
The last 19 months with Zebedy have consisted of joy, laughter, anxiety and tears.
The first thing Alice started working on was float training. It was taking an hour to get him on the float which was crazy and I had to deal with an overwhelmed teenager. Recently Alice found out that he’d had two barrier incidents so this probably contributed to his reluctance to go into the small float we had. Now we have a fabulous angle load which he tolerates much better and things are going well.
Ground manners around food was another thing she worked on as he would swing his back end around at her when she brought him food. With the challenges Alice faces this behaviour was never going to be tolerated. She is a feisty girl at times and Zeb quickly learnt that if he wanted his food he would need to behave.
Both have been having regular riding lessons with Colleen Waddell. A wonderful instructor who understands both rider and horse so well. Zeb loves to jump and has come such a long way in such a short time from falling over trot poles to jumping 80cm. They have competed in show jumping, combined training, eventing and attend monthly pony club rallies.
At one stage Zeb was put out to spell for 4 months. He has terrible feet and dropped soles in both his front feet. Alice was devastated to say the least. Luckily a friend introduced us to a fabulous farrier who spent months correcting his hooves. He also started treatment with the super amazing Dr Sabine Ware of Equine Health Spine and Dentistry, for his back and neck as they were very tight and this wasn’t helping every other aspect of his recovery.
With these treatments and now a different farrier who does amazing corrective shoeing Zebedy is looking and feeling a picture of health.
At the end of October Alice and Zeb competed in the Yarrambat Horse and pony club Horse trials. They placed a very respectable 10th out of about 28 riders.
Alice now 17 and Zebedy 7and ½ have come further together than I could have ever imagined! They just adore one other.
