Favorite Things #4

Horse Breath

"...and god took a handful of southerly wind, blew His breath over it and created the horse"


Yes, I realize that sounds silly, but it's true. I love being in a barn and the soft fuzzy gentle nose that nuzzles your neck. I love the warm breath when they curiously investigate things. It's something about the smell. Not a bad smell, just a horsey smell.

Just reading about some famous horses tonight. We have all heard of SeaBiscuit, Secretariat, and Man 'O War. But, tonight I want to introduce you to Ruffian...
She earned the nickname "Queen of the Fillies" after being named Two-Year-Old Filly of the Year in 1974 and winning the Filly Triple Crown in 1975. She was undefeated in her first ten races, covering distances from 5 1/2 furlongs to 1 1/2 miles (1106 to 2414 m) with an average winning margin of 8 1/3 lengths.
Her eleventh and final race, run at Belmont Park on July 6, 1975, was a match race between Ruffian and that year's Kentucky Derby winner, Foolish Pleasure. The "equine battle of the sexes" was heavily anticipated and attended by more than 50,000 spectators, with an estimated 18 million watching on television. The first quarter-mile (402 m) was run in a blazingly fast 22 1/5 seconds, Ruffian ahead by a nose. Little more than a furlong (201 m) later, Ruffian was in front by half a length when both sesamoid bones in her right foreleg snapped. Her jockey tried to pull her up, but she ran on for another 50 yards (46 m), apparently unwilling to give up the race.
She was immediately attended to by a team of four veterinarians and an orthopedic surgeon, and underwent an emergency operation lasting 12 hours. Tragically, when the anesthesia wore off after the surgery, she thrashed about wildly on the operating table despite the efforts of numerous attendants, breaking the cast and causing even more catastrophic damage to her injured leg. The medical team, realizing that further surgery was useless, euthanized her shortly afterwards.
Regardless, Ruffian herself may be regarded as one of racing's best and brightest. The Blood-Horse ranked Ruffian 35th in its list of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century. Sports Illustrated included her as the only non-human on their list of the top 100 female athletes of the century, ranking her 53rd.
Ruffian is buried near the finish line in the infield at Belmont Park. It is often said, "she died on the lead."

Just something about a horse that brings out happiness in my soul...and the breath that drives that magnificent mysterious creature.