Early Days

McVille wasn't always as calm as he'd been for that first ride - in fact, far from it. I quickly learned that his behavior on the longe line was NOT a barometer of how he would be under saddle that day (a fact that holds true to this day; rarely does he run or buck on the longe, and I usually end up getting more exercise than he does). As soon as I took him to the outdoor ring, I discovered just how nonexistent the steering was - while my other horse got angry if you rode with too much contact, I felt like I had to drag this horse around by the nose. His trot gradually developed more than one speed, although at first he used any attempt to slow him down as an excuse to stop completely. He hadn't raced in 4 months when I got him, and I suspect his fitness level was not what it should have been even then. For the first several months that I had him, we would work for fifteen minutes and he would decide he was done. I always made him do more, of course, before he was allowed to stop for real. After the ride I would put him back in his stall and he would lie down and take a nap.

I had him vetted, of course. I hadn't noticed any obvious soundness issues, but wanted to be sure. I was also a little concerned about those oozy lumps he had on his chest; I'd also noticed one in his ear, although it didn't look nearly as nasty. My vet did a standard pre-purchase exam, told me that she thought the masses were sarcoids and they might be difficult to get rid of, but they probably weren't a deal breaker. When she was palpating his legs I remember her saying, "This horse must not have run very hard!" In fact, when I brought him home he had one small scar near one knee, and absolutely no other blemishes on any of his legs. We took radiographs of both front feet just to be safe, and they were fairly unremarkable.

Over the next few weeks, I discovered the fun and athleticism of a young Thoroughbred. And by that, I mean: trying not to be run off with, attempting to turn right, occasional rearing, many fruitless tries to get the right lead...you get the picture. Although he wasn't the first OTTB I'd ridden, he was the first one that I'd gotten on right off the track, and while not that different from most of the green horses I'd ridden, there were definitely some habits that he'd acquired from being a racehorse. It was very difficult at first to get him to take his right lead, for example. I had to resort to extreme counterbending (not that he had any idea what "bending" actually was!) and even then we'd get it about half the time. He was also extremely stiff on the right side of his body, so turning right was a bit of a challenge sometimes. Still, he was clearly very athletic, and was learning a little bit every day.