Visitors were feeding peppermints to thoroughbred horses at Claiborne Farm. Not only does it taste delicious to horses, but it also has many health benefits associated with it. Peppermint oil has been known to soothe colic symptoms, help digestive issues, and relieve sore muscles and joints.
Here is a horse waiting for a peppermint.
Looking for Peppermint
Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky, has stud barns that house world-renowned Thoroughbred stallions. Visitors can walk through the iconic shed rows of stallion barns and see the stables,
Open Horse Stud Barn
Bright Colored Horse Stable
Claiborne Farm is a thoroughbred horse breeding operation near Paris, Kentucky. It was established in 1910 by Arthur B. Hancock, owner of Ellerslie Stud in Albemarle County, Virginia, and has been operated by his family members ever since.
We will post images from a tour there and were surprised to see statues of jockeys instead of horses there.
Claiborne Farm Sign
Jockey Statue
Another Jockey Statue
“Down the Stretch” is the “home stretch” in Thoroughbred Racing. It can also be called the “last leg,” but certainly not as often. The home stretch is the last quarter of a mile to the 8th of a mile of the race and is parallel to the backstretch.
Here are the horses coming down the stretch at Churchill Downs.
Down the Stretch
Most track ponies at Churchill Downs are thoroughbreds, ex-racehorses. It’s their second chance at life, horses that didn’t run fast enough or got hurt. But they must be level-headed thoroughbreds because they have the same stride as a racehorse.
Track Pony Leading a Race Horse
Two Riding Together
The slick Thoroughbreds in their colorful saddle cloths at Churchill Downs catch everyone’s eye. That is, until a large, lead pony steps onto the track!
As a track “pony,” such ponies must be calm, confident, and strong to safely lead Thoroughbreds to the starting gate.
Companion Ponies Waiting for Race Horses
Riding Together
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