December 12, 2016 
The life of a broodmare manager is not a glamorous one, which means that the life of the significant other to a broodmare manager isn’t either.
Sun up to sundown the work is hard, demanding and never ending. And that is just during daylight. Once dusk settles, the real labor begins. Mares are programmed to undergo parturition in darkness—both from a survival as well as an endocrine perspective, and because of that we must adapt to their schedules.
Vet work at 7am. Mucking out until lunch. Treatments and medications spaced throughout the day in 6 to 12 hour intervals, and the constant leading to and from the pastures. Then the deliveries begin. Sometimes 2 to 3 mares a night, always in the most inclement of weather at the most inconvenient of times.
From January 1st until mid June, this is a broodmare manager’s life. I left this lifestyle when I returned to school to obtain my doctorate, and yet somehow found myself living it vicariously through my manfriend Luke. He has worked on and managed some of the most successful nurseries in the Lexington area and to him, this lifestyle is the norm.
Long sleepless night to produce this.
So it came as no surprise when we received a phone call a few years ago to meet the nightwatchman at the clinic. Although it was technically “Luke’s “night off”, as the broodmare manager he was required to oversee all extenuating circumstances regarding his charges. One of the mares was colicking, which meant telling the waiter to cancel our order as we raced to the nearest equine surgical unit.
While Luke ran into the surgery wing of Hagyard Medical to assess the situation, I waited in the wings. Standing in heels and without a jacket, I silently shivered in the barn aisleway. From one farm manager to another we all acknowledge this lifestyle. We all know the horses come first and everything else second, and because of that, I could handle being cold for a couple of hours.
To keep myself distracted I began roaming down the cement aisle and peaking into the other stalls and assessing the other patients. I looked at one after the next before my eyes locked onto a particularly pitiful case.
A chromey chestnut newborn colt was nestled into a deep pile of straw with his nose tucked in between his front legs. His right hind leg was plastered in a cast from hoof to stifle, and a catheter protruded from his neck. His eyes were tightly shut as he slept, and his breathing was deep. He seemed completely unaware of his rather unfortunate start to his life.
I shook my head at the unfairness of life and the hurdles it places in front of us. But the sorrow soon turned to giggles as I heard him begin to awaken and nicker out for attention. One of the technicians let herself into the stall and Luke appeared from behind to stare into the stall alongside me.
“Oh, thats another one of ours. He came in a few nights ago. His leg was completely useless to him immediately after we got him out. Dr. Rodgerson says that he tore his gastrocnemius muscle and will have to have that thing on for a few months.”
I shook my head and looked back into the stall as the technician helped the colt stand to allow him to nurse. I asked what the prognosis was, knowing such an injury to a crucial part of the infrastructure of a healthy racehorse—what this colt was bred to be—did not look great.
As the technician planted her left leg under the weight of the plaster cast to give an anchor for the shaky colt to lean against, she mumbled, “Steadyyy, steady now buddy” under her breath. And with that, the journey of “Steady Eddie” began.
As we all stared at the otherwise beautiful colt with grimaces on our faces, we acknowledged that this journey might be over for Eddie.
Eddie spent the first month of his life in the clinic where he could receive around the clock care and intensive treatment. With his leg encumbered by a 30 lb. cast, he was unable to stand up or lie down on his own, requiring constant assistance.
But Eddie was smart. He quickly learned how to get the attention of the technicians and residents in the barn with his incessant nickering. He would whinny when he was hungry, nicker when he wanted to urinate, and scream when he wanted to play. He became a 250 lb. labrador retriever and the entire staff of the clinic fell in love.
Then he came home and was placed in the isolation barn with just his mom. Luke quickly texted me to let me know that this personable foal was back on the farm and I hurried to the barn to assess him.
Eddie being a heathen…
His leg was still in the cast but he was noticeably stronger. He was able to get up and down on his own and was happily romping around the 12 ‘x 20′ stall with his right leg dragging behind him. It was a pitiful sight to see but the sparkle in his eyes and his desire to talk his way through a snuggle session were enough to warm even the coldest of hearts.
For months, this was his life. A large foaling-sized stall, a plaster cast, and the attention of his mother. We attempted to change his puppyish behavior to that of colt, but to no avail. Most nights Luke and I would take the dogs for a walk up to the barn to check on him, and this usually ended up with extra snuggles, a romp, and a giggle or two.
He quickly became a member of our family, but as is life, we knew in the back of our mind we didn’t actually own him. He was owned by a large thoroughbred breeding operation that bred their horses to either sell or run. If Eddie couldn’t do either, he would be of minimal use to them.
Even worse, if Eddie couldn’t even be turned out, he would be of minimal use to the world.
So with diffidence, we awaited the removal of the cast. The big day came and Eddie was a free man…only he wasn’t. His leg had almost no strength and the muscles were completely atrophied. His gait was irregular, with little impulsion offered even at a walk. As we all stared at the otherwise beautiful colt with grimaces on our faces, we acknowledged that this journey might be over for Eddie.
But we just couldn’t give up now. He had become a favorite of not only ours, but the entire farm. From the grooms to the owners, he had become a point of pride and a creator of smiles.
When even Luke gets attached, you know its a cool one…
Eddie went through extreme physical therapy and rehab but never fully regained strength in his hind leg. Our efforts to turn him into a racehorse, or just a rideable horse, quickly became a campaign for life as a pasture ornament. But at 4 months of age, Eddie had never been turned out. By 6 months, he had never met another horse besides his mother.
His owners had already put over $50,000 into vet bills and were looking at a lifelong commitment to an apparently useless horse. A horse that would require future vet work, farrier bills, feed and water, not to mention a paddock and a stall. And in exchange, he would never earn them a dime.
So this is where the story ends, right?
Everyone knows the thoroughbred breeding and racing industry is in this entirely for the money. For the pewter and the roses, the accolades and the press releases. Popular perception is that these cases end up either with a horse euthanized or sent to slaughter as the owners kick back on their fancy bluegrass farms toasting each other with decanters of bourbon.
Wrong. In a few weeks, Eddie will turn 2-years-old.
He still walks with a hitch but he gallops out with a strong, although irregular, stride. He exists within the same stone walls that he was born on, and happily grazes in his personal 30 acre field. He has a best friend—a retired graded stakes winning gelding who earned the farm almost a half a million dollars.
One horse was profitable, one was not. One earned the pewter and the notoriety, one earned them nothing but sleepless nights. One horse’s name is recognizable by many, while the other was never officially named. The only thing that bonds these two thoroughbreds is an owner who cherishes the horses who bring her joy—all of them.
So, Steady Eddie is here to stay…as the best useless colt to ever exist.
About the Author
Carleigh Fedorka is a Ph.D. student at the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center. A Pennsylvania native, she moved to Kentucky after graduating from St. Lawrence University and has worked closely in all aspects of the thoroughbred industry. She spends her free time eventing as well as training, selling and rehoming OTTBs. Read more about her horse life at her blog, A Yankee in Paris.
