Tag Archives: horse

Pre-parade Ring and Paddock

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Ready to race at Churchill Downs!

Often referred to as the parade ring, the horse paddock is where the runners in the forthcoming race are paraded for racegoers to get a proper look at them. The parade also gets the horses moving and relaxed.

Pre-parade Ring and Parade Area

Pre-parade Ring and Parade Area Balcony

Secretariat at Claiborne Farm

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After his racing career, Secretariat stood as stud at Claiborne Farm until he passed away at 19. Here is the nameplate of the barn where he was stabled.

Secretariat’s grave is in an understated horse cemetery, past two brick pillars with granite roosters atop them. It is a simple headstone often surrounded by flowers, apples, and peppermints left by fans.

Secretariat Nameplate

Secretariat Tombstone

“Albino” Horse

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We saw a distinctive horse at the barn at Churchill Downs. “Albino” horses are a color type of horse born white and have pink skin, but they are not true biological albinos. They have slim heads, muscular necks, compact bodies, sloping shoulders, muscular croup, and long tails. Their eyes are blue, dark, or light brown rather than pink. Their hooves are often weak, but they have flat, smooth gait.

Albino Horse

Blue Eye of a Horse

Playing with a Toy

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Although it seems like the horse is rapidly eating straw, the “Hay Ball” provides mental enrichment and stimulation for the horse at the barn at Churchill Downs. It functions as a slow feeder, which makes it perfect to prevent boredom in the stables.

Playing with a Toy

Ferring a Horse

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Ferring or shoeing a horse is a process performed by a farrier, a professional specializing in horse hoof care. Farriers also clean, shape, and balance a horse’s hooves and can help identify and treat hoof health problems.

Here are images from Churchill Downs of a farrier doing work. He starts by examining the hoof and pulls the nails.

Ferrier Started Work

Pulling the Nails

Twin Spires at Churchill Downs

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Initially designed and created as simply an addition, these structures have become permanently linked to Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby. Used countless times over the years as a promotional tool, links to numerous stories, and a reminder of the place, the Twin Spires have become a revered symbol.

If Churchill Downs is American Thoroughbred horse racing’s cathedral, its steeple and eternal landmark is the Twin Spires. These two pinnacles cast a glow up and down Louisville and across the landscape of horse racing history.

Twin Spires

Trees with Fences in Lexington Countryside

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Regardless of whether the tree is toxic, horses may eat or chew the bark and damage it. If the bark is removed in an entire circle around the trunk, this is called girdling, and the tree may die. To prevent horses from girdling trees, separating them with a fence is best. Many trees with fences are visible in Lexington, Kentucky, in the countryside.

Trees with Fences in Lexington Countryside

Dual Trees with Fences in Lexington Countryside

Double Fences in Lexington Countryside

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Compared to white picket fences, dark fences are now common in the countryside around Lexington. In 2014, the state of Kentucky passed an ordinance called Paint it Black. It required that miles of white plank fencing that had been in place since be painted black to lower maintenance costs. Now, the most common color for horse fencing is black.

Double-fencing between paddocks or fields keeps horses from interacting across a typical fence and allows vehicles and farm machinery to move easily around the property.

Double Fences in Lexington Countryside

Dual Fences in Lexington Countryside