Zenyatta

Queen of Racing

Ask The Experts

Ask The Experts #2

Q:

When a mare has a foal, and then is sent to another farm to be bred for the next season, is the foal left back at the farm until the mare returns or does the foal accompany mom in the horse van to the stallions farm ? Is someone assigned to the foal to keep it calm while mom is being bred?

Sally Wade

Saginaw, MI

A:Typically, as long as the stallion is local, the foal will be left at home while the mare is bred. They usually return within a one to two hour period, and someone in the barn will watch them closely while the mare is absent. In our breeding shed we will make concessions for mares that are travelling some distance to be bred and allow them to bring the foal with the mare.

Photo by Kyle Acebo

Q:

Zenyatta has always been a big girl and has packed on quite a few since retirement—do you have a way of providing structured exercise to those horses that need it?

Karen in Indiana

Indianapolis, IN

A:In Zenyatta’s case she came to us in peak physical fitness off the track in the dead of winter. Due to the dramatic climate change for her we had to let her down slowly and carefully. Obviously she needs the extra condition for farm life as she has the elements to contend with now. She gained weight gradually and she is a mare than can hold a lot of condition due to her size and depth of girth.

Typically we do not have issues with broodmares becoming too overweight—in fact when they have a foal at their side they need a lot of calories to maintain the foal and their own condition. We feed the mares grain at least twice a day and sometimes three for those who warrant more. The mares are turned out as much as possible when the weather permits, as free exercise is the best way to keep them in shape and healthy both mentally and physically.

We do sometimes have weight control issues with the stallions. We have a horse walker in place at the stallion barn to keep some of the bigger guys from getting too heavy, especially before the breeding season when they need to be fit and ready to go!

Our Expert

Alys Emson

Client Management, Lane’s End

Alys has been at Lane’s End for fourteen years. She has worked in every division of the farm and is now in charge of client management, keeping owners up to speed about the lives of their horses.

Reader Interactions

625 Comments

  1. / Reply

    While sitting at my computer this morning (too hot to go outside) I just thought about what a blessing Zenyatta, the Mosses and John and Dottie have been to us who participate in the Forum and Blog. Also, I think we have saved the lives of several horses. We are a force to be reckoned with and a way to spread the news of horses and organizations that need help. One or two people can be ignored by the abusers. Hundreds cannot.

      • / Reply

        Absolutely we are a force to be reckoned with!!! And we HAVE saved horses. We are the new conscience of the sport – much as the men don’t want to admit it.

        Hooray for us!

  2. / Reply

    A happy Fourth of July to all!!! I hope everyone has an enjoyable and safe holiday.!! God Bless America!!

  3. / Reply

    Freedom and the 4th of July … with bombs bursting in the air … at the dawns early light … I smell freedom …. I feel free! … and it’s for me and thee … at the dawns early light … I will pray for thee … and will bless ye with celebration … lights bursting in the air with song on the air … fly the red, white and blue … O’ the happiness in our hearts … for it is for you, God Bless the USA for ye and thee are free! O’ God Bless America for I am free … free!!

  4. / Reply

    Great in-depth profile on Mike Mitchell-life, training, family. Well worth the read!
    Racing Stripes: Redondo Beach trainer sets records
    by Michael Hixon Redondo Beach News
    (Updated: Thursday, June 28, 2012 11:32 AM PDT)
    Trainer Mike Mitchell has been playing high stakes poker for decades, not with cards or slots, but with flesh and blood, a 1,000-pound animal, the thoroughbred.
    He has made a career out of finding the right claim, purchasing a horse for his owners and hoping they can turn a profit. His claims have gone on to win Grade 1 races against the top horses in the country.
    Mitchell, who makes his home in Redondo Beach, has his base at Betfair Hollywood Park in Inglewood, a track that opened on June 10, 1938. The legendary Seabiscuit won the inaugural Hollywood Gold Cup in 1938, and Triple Crown champions Citation and Affirmed, as well as Horses of the Year John Henry, Cigar and Zenyatta, made history at the track. But most of the racing across the country involves claimers, horses that are for sale up to the minute the gates open for the race, and are considered the lower rung of horses in the sport.
    http://tbrnews.com/articles/2012/06/28/redondo_beach_news/news47.txt

  5. / Reply

    HAPPY FOURTH TO ALL….
    ….
    just saw tweet on drf….R Dominguez will ride Trickmeister in Suburban sat…
    so MMM needed a jockey…..got the best…OUR MICKEY….
    ….
    Sorry Bernie….I know some of your boys are in the race….but I will cheer for
    MICKEY & MMM…to bring it home…
    ….
    Have a great day to all ….kisses for soft noses and peppermints for all

    • / Reply

      The 2012 Suburban is coming up loaded
      An excellent field of older males will be hoping to use next Saturday’s 127th running of the $350,000 Suburban Handicap as a kick-start to what their connections hope will propel them towards a divisional championship. So far there are six horses who have indicated they will run in the July 7 race, and each of them brings a lot to the Belmont Park table.
      To Honor and Serve may be coming off a tough 3rd place defeat to Shackleford and Caleb’s Posse in the Grade 1 Met Mile on Memorial Day, but the attractive son of Bernardini is still considered to have a big upside and his first race at more than a mile since last fall will be a good test. Before the Met, the Bill Mott trained multiple graded stakes winner was coming off overpowering victories in the 2011 Cigar Mile, and more recently the Westchester Handicap. To Honor and Seve is not the only headliner sired by Bernardini expected to contest the Suburban.
      Last year, Stay Thirsty accounted for the Grade 1 Travers, the Grade 2 Jim Dandy and the Grade 3 Gotham in New York on his way to racking up more than $1.3 million in earnings for owner Mike Repole. Stay Thirsty returned to the races on May 17 for trainer Todd Pletcher when he chased the talented speedster Trickmeister in the Vanlandingham Stakes in a solid prep race for bigger things to come.
      Next on the Suburban hit parade is the loveable giant, Mucho Macho Man. Trained by the inspirational Kathy Ritvo, the big fella had a three-race win streak snapped when he finished 3rd to Successful Dan and Fort Larned in the Alysheba at Churchill Downs. Before that though, he announced himself as a major force in the handicap division with impressive wins in the Sunshine Millions Classic and the Gulfstream Park Handicap.
      Others expected for the Suburban include the 2012 Grade 1 Donn Handicap winner, Hymn Book for trainer Shug McGaughey, Buffum, another son of Bernardini, and an explosive eight-length winner at Belmont in his 2012 debut which earned him a 105 Beyer, and last but not least, is the still lightly raced four-year-old Rogue Romance, who followed up a sharp allowance score with a deceptively strong fourth place finish in the recent Grade 1 Stephen Foster on June 16, when he was bothered both early and late in the race that he was only beaten by two lengths to heavyweights Ron the Greek and Wise Dan.
      http://www.horseracingnation.com/blogs/zatt/The_2012_Suburban_is_coming_up_loaded_123

      • / Reply

        David Grening‏ DRF tweeted on July 4th
        Suburban draw: 1 Endorsement 2 Stay Thirsty 3 Caixa Eletronica
        4 Buffum 5 Hymn Book 6 Trickmeister
        7 Mucho Macho Man 8 To Honor And Serve

      • / Reply

        Carol. My iPad is always taking over and inserting words that I do not want to use. It’s a struggle. No one blames you.

        • Max,there is a web site devoted to auto correct. It is hilarious and some are just plain weird. Do you talk w/ Siri? That is interesting.

        • I do! I talk to Siri! I ask about the weather all the time, but I never hear or see anything positive. Just heat and more heat. I stopped asking. Lol

    • / Reply

      I’m with you, Carol. Our Mikey sure has enough experience at getting a big horse like this out of the gate and on it’s stride. It seems like a good match.

  6. / Reply

    Paynter Update- First Work since Belmont
    Retweeted by Thoroughbred Times from Zayatt
    Wow. Paynter first work , Is Great.
    Galloped out 3/4 in 112.1. Real nice.
    Power up Paynter !!

    • / Reply

      A very good work. I would have expected Paynter’s speed to be somewhat dulled due to the fact that he went 1 and 1/2 miles in his last race.

  7. / Reply

    Hi Z Family I am back from Kentucky. I loved every minute of all 17 farms I visited.
    YES I will be going to WV Derby. I would love to meet up with any Z Family members. I am so close to Mountaineer. I am going to call Dr. Hansen to see if i can meet him in person. I also want to meet Hansen. It would be fun to have some of my Z Family there to cheer Hansen on with me. If anyone would like to meet please email me. Titus8@yahoo.com Thanks. Love, Shari

    PS I LOVE ZENYATTA HAPPY 4th : )

    • / Reply

      Shari. Welcome back. When you have time, we would love to hear what you would like to share of your visits to the farms. How was Mo?

    • / Reply

      Dearest Shari, I’m so glad you’re going to see Hansen run! I hope other Z-sters join you there.

    • / Reply

      PS. That’s a GREAT idea to call Dr. Hansen–I’m sure he will be thrilled to hear from you, and maybe he’ll show you Hansen himself!! Shari, this is very exciting news–we are all so proud of you! Please remember to tell Dr. Hansen that you know MANY Hansen admirers, not only in your classroom, but also here on Z’s site.

    • / Reply

      Ms. Voltz-Glad to have you back posting. Hope you get to meet both Hansens. It is great to have Hansen, the horse, back in action. Let us know how everything comes out.

    • / Reply

      17 farms,Wow, you ladies did not waste a day. I bet it was a great trip. Have fun at the race and hope you meet the dynamic duo. I am happy for Hansen,he seems to be back in good form. I hope the kids know he is back winning!!!

    • / Reply

      Thanks for the link Max! Always great to see our girl and nice to see some shots of Mario again!
      Sandy

      • / Reply

        Sandy. I love to watch her run. Effortless superiority and poetry in motion. She is never aggressive with the other horses. It is like she is saying to them – “pardon me but I am coming through here.”

    • / Reply

      Sign. 3 Bernies in one race! I am going with Stay Thirsty. I love him. He is related to Hastings on his distaff side. Love you, Hastings. And Big D!

    • / Reply

      Thanks, sign. Unfortunately for me, the sound didn’t come through. Peggy Sue is early Holly, when he still had the crickets with him.

    • / Reply

      Thanks sign,
      I love this song but the sound didn’t work for me either. I recall twisting to this song w/ my big brother. He was preparing for his big date. I loved the names of some of these groups. Now, some of the names are so weird,odd or dark. The crickets!!!

  11. / Reply

    Dear Max,
    Another “hot tempered” guy from the 1900’s and sire of Man O War. Stay Thirsty is sooo very mild mannered and laid back, may be he will “fire up” in the Suburban.

    “Hastings was known not only for his speed, but for his temper. Handlers and grooms carried large sticks in his presence to control him. He was retired to Nursury Stud outside Lexington, Kentucky and became one of the most successful sires of 1902 and 1908. Of his offspring, the most notable are graded stakes race winners Gunfire, Field Mouse, Masterman, and Fair Play, sire of Man o’ War. On June 17, 1917, at age 24, severely crippled with paralysis, Hastings had to be euthanized.[4]
    [edit]”

    • / Reply

      Sign. Thirsty was 1 st in the workouts last week at Belmont. Hoping that he does the same in the race. There is a lot of talent and spirit in that pedigree. As the leading foal, Thirsty is the main reason that Bernie raised his stud fee this year. I also read that Thirsty’s mother raced on turf in Europe. Storm Bird, sire of Storm Cat, is his dam sire.

  12. / Reply

    Interesting entries in Race 6
    Ray Paulick‏ DRF tweeted
    If you like Unusual Heat as a sire, u shd have R6 winner today at Betfair @hollyparkracing –
    all 6 runners are his sons or grandsons

    Keta note: This is in Twitterese, Here is translation
    If you like Unusual Heat as a sire, you should have Race 6 winner today
    at Betfair Hollywood Park.
    All 6 runners are his sons or grandsons.

  16. / Reply

    Just to let everyone east of Utah know ….
    this am 20degrees cooler….raining ….well sprinkling anyhow ..at least its wet…
    We have had record high temps and something like 42 wildfires so far this yr..
    today a little relief….doing everything I can …praying… to send it east

    • / Reply

      Carol,

      That’s wonderful news for Utah. The monsoons are coming. Colorado is supposed to get it in earnest beginning tomorrow. Of course, the concern will be flash flooding in the burn areas. These wild fires HAVE to STOP!!

      • / Reply

        It’s just not fair Marty that the very thing that could help quell the fires is going to cause yet another problem for all of these people and animals (and the environment in general). Everything is OK where you are?
        Sandy

    • / Reply

      Prayers to all in this intense heat. Hoping fires are getting contained. Only 102 here in NC w/ horrible humidity.
      Be safe everyone.

  18. / Reply

    Hi everyone. I have just heard that the Quarter Horse Champion of Champions for 2009, Freaky, has been sold to someone in Mexico. Does anyone have connections in Mexico, just so I can find out how he is doing, is he o.k.? I am heart broken to get this information today. It happened sometime in the last couple of months. Thanx.

    • / Reply

      Yvonne-I, too, am sorry to hear of this development. Freaky was a favorite of mine, racing wise. However, in the quarter horse community, the US and Mexico have a relatively good relationship and everything should be OK unless the cartels become involved. Information about Freaky can probably be obtained by contacting Los Alamitos Race Couse via email. The people there are very good about returning emails posted to its web site.

    • / Reply

      NOOOO! I hope we can keep an eye on him! Do you suppose it is for breeding?

  19. / Reply

    Mike Smith’s Official Web Site has been improved
    Hello everyone!
    Some of you have noticed that Mike’s Official website was down for 24 hours.
    Well Mike is excited to announce that his website is back up and new & improved!
    The website is brand new so there may be some kinks here and there so please bear with us!
    I am sure all of you will notice a huge improvement! Please take a look!
    http://mike-smith-jockey.com/
    Posted on Facebook with some minor editing by Keta

  20. / Reply

    I found an interesting article about a race between a horse and a kangaroo in Australia in the 20’s. The Kangaroo won. I do not have the ability to post a link, but, if you are curious, the article should be on the web. Here are today’s redneck jokes. You might be a redneck if your husband keeps asking you what you want t be when you grow up. You might be a redneck if you are wearing a camoflauge jacket in your driver’s license photo. You might be a redneck if you ever tried to pull a tooth using garage door. You m ight be a redneck if you buy neapolitan ice cream for one flavor.You might be a redneck if you’ve ever used the limbo to get into a pay toilet. YOu m ight be a fredneck if you take the back window out of your pickup because its easier to chuck the empty beer cans in the back that way. In the same vein, you m ight be a redneck if, when the back fills up with beer cans, you gvet another pickup and start all over again. You might be a fredneck if the duct tape on your car seat sticks to your butt when you get out.

    • / Reply

      TC….HAHAHAAAAA!
      Hey TC, my president of the NC chapter left you a message, on the last blog post. Something about a car and a number!!!! check it out good buddy, over and out!

      Duct tape, never leave home w/out it.

  22. / Reply

    To: Terry Crow GP

    Thank you so much. I will definitely contact Los Alamitos. Thank you again. God Bless.

  23. / Reply

    @Terry C., GP–you were building to a crescendo with the last 3!

    @Yvonne–please keep us updated on Freaky. I just cheked his pedigree, and he has lots in common with our Money (Beduino, etc.). Will pray he doesn’t end up in the wrong hands at any time.

  24. / Reply

    Hi Terry and Barbara. I received an email back from Los Alamitos – it suggested I research internet portals re: match races in Mexico. I have checked out Chihuahua, Mexico and You Tube re: match races. Cannot located anything on Freaky. I am not that knowledgeable on the computer – do you have any other suggestions? Thanx so much.

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