Brego

From AlexBrownRacing

Brego, formerly know as - "Captain Dudley" and his feedlot name, Espresso, was rescued on May 1st, 2007. He was advertised by Columbia Basin Equine Rescue in the - "Bay Area Equestrian Network". The ad read, "17H Tattooed Thoroughbred With Star Like Barbaro In Washington Feedlot."

His eye is what saved him.

I printed out the ad listing and all the photos I could find and showed my husband, who got very upset I was even considering another horse. I then took the photos to my trainer, who commented, "He's a train wreck." I responded, "Of course he's a train wreck! He's in a feedlot!!!" I spent the entire day mulling over the photos of him, of the knee that had soft tissue swelling, his stance and depressed look - but I could not ignore his eye. I could not tell whether it was the sadness that pulled at me or the hint of gentleness that spoke to me, but I knew that after a year of looking for an OTTB to rescue I had found him. I emailed CBER with instructions to get him off the lot, sent the payment and decided to address the knee at a later juncture.

Brego arrived at my barn on June 6th. After running his tattoo, I discovered he was the Grandson of Seattle Slew, sired by Yooneveno and his dam was Bizarre Fantasy.He was incredibly thin, malnourished, but glad to be "home". A week after his arrival I had my vet check him out. She assured me that he would look different in six months. We also began to address his knee. X-Rays revealed one knee chip, but Brego proved to be an ideal candidate for arthroscopic surgery and on August 15th, 2007, Brego had three chips removed from his knee.

The FOB's got a great boost when an article was written in the Seattle Times, Forgotten Horses Deserve A Second Chance. It was through this article that Brego's Breeder, Terry Black, tracked me down, wanting desperately to know what happened to one of her most favorite foals. Terry is a small, independent breeder in Canada and personally raises and trains each foal. She and I have kept in touch over email, and perhaps one day she will make it to the Bay Area to visit one of her favorite boys. She did send me some of Brego's baby pictures, as well as his one winning race at Hastings in Vancouver.

Brego's winning race video

Here are pictures of Brego taken in December of 2007, six months after he arrived at my barn:

Brego and my two year old son, Alex - Pals for Life.... (Brego really wants that carrot...)

This picture captures his personality in totality. My experience with him has been nothing short of multiple moments of grace on a daily basis. He is curious, light hearted, incredibly smart, and has an enormous heart. He has taken all of his training to date in perfect stride, from the introduction of the bit, to the use of side-reins, putting a saddle on his back and learning to lunge - even over trot poles. His willingness and enthusiasm has been extraordinary. He has saved me a thousand times over.

Update: June 4th, 2008 - Today was the first day Brego had a rider on his back. As usual, he took everything in stride. As we approach our one year anniversary of his arrival at my barn, I wanted to share some photos with everyone.

What we have learned: Brego has been getting a lot of body work lately, both chiropractic and massage. The woman who does the massage is incredibly intuitive when she works on a horses body. Brego's hips are tilted, one tilts more forward in inward than the other. She believes this is the result of flipping, probably on the track. We think he has compensated for it and has to learn how to move with that hip being the way it is. The other area of focus is his hind end, which we are slowly rebuilding. He is still relatively weak, but getting stronger as we work him more. The rebuilding process is critical, and slow, because of the years of compensation for the right knee. He continues to have a "no big deal" personality and is a barn favorite.

Brego in turn-out at the end of July. His body is really starting to fill out and the hind end is coming along nicely.

Brego and Mandy The Barn Cat