Good news and bad news

Posted by Avram Freedberg

Hi all! Whichever holidays you’re celebrating, I hope you are enjoying them. All the best to all for 2010.

Spoke with Pat Hoppel today. He has Ahvee’s Destiny at his farm. He was the bearer of some very good news. Her feet seem to finally be getting better. He tried adhesive shoes, the other shoes, now she is going barefoot (as Linda told me she had been suggesting) and that seems to be doing the trick. She threw another abcess from the inside of her front right foot but now seems to be growing new, healthy hoof. She had been piling up her bedding to give her extra support and it seems to reduce the pain. Now, she has stopped that. She seems like a happy horse again. I love what he said, “there’s no telling how good she can be with healthy feet!” Go Ahvee!

The two yearlings are progressing. Though, “Yes It’s True, I’m Stuck with You” is tough to train. Nonetheless, he really likes him (Of course, that’s why he bought him in the first place!). The Midas Eyes colt, he says is a nice horse but is not as mature as the first one. In any case, it’ll be 6 weeks (Pat’s magic number) or so before he can make an evaluation about their potential.

It’ll take Ahvee’s Destiny 6 weeks to heal. So, as I said, it’s the magic number.

One of these days I’ll hear from Linda about the other horses and, maybe, we’ll actually get them to the racetrack. I’ll let you know when I finally hear something. When I called her number, her mailbox was full. I guess she’s really enjoying the holidays!

The bad news is my good friend, Don Stern, had another heart attack. They say he’s a cat, but he’s going through those nine lives rather rapidly. It seems he will require more bypass surgery. Please keep him in your prayers. I can assure you that if you knew him, you’d agree with me about what a special guy he is. We love you, Don (and your lover and caregiver – also known as your spouse – Barbara)!

My tribe is off to Cancun next Wednesday. We’re back late New Year’s Eve. As I said before, our best wishes to all.

Sincerely,
A.




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Update

Posted by Avram Freedberg

It’s nice to hear that some of you are missing more frequent updates. We certainly miss having more to say, since we have not been racing.

Hear the Footsteps returned today from an extensive (and expensive) hospital visit. He will be hand-walked for a few days and, if all remains well. Go back into training shortly thereafter.

Ahvee’s Destiny is showing signs of improvement. They did not take off her horseshoes yet. However, if she continues to make progress, they will leave them off next time they would normally change them. No racing in her near future.

Holy Blitzer was a little thin, so Linda has delayed breezing her for several days. Hopefully, she will be ready to race by year-end.

The other three fillies are or will shortly be in training. Earliest racing will probably be 2010.

The two yearling colts continue training with the Yes It’s True being a bit of a handful.

We are going to Saratoga Springs this weekend to help decide what we’re going to rent and for how long next summer. The racing season has increased from 36 to 40 racing days.

Best,
A.


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