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A New Life for Jett

Published on Thursday, October 18, 2012 in Feature Horses

Jett - week one

Jett - week two - already looking happier!

Have you ever had that feeling when you meet a horse that you are meant to be together? Inglis employee Teale Toohey recently had that exact experience and has now welcomed a new man into her life!

The new man is King's Clan (aka Jett) an 11 year old Thoroughbred gelding and since meeting Teale, life is starting to look much brighter for this boy, who had fallen on hard times.

In his previous life, this unassuming black gelding was a bit of a success on the track, winning eight races and earning $157,700 in prize money. Jett's last start was in January 2008, where he placed second. His story since then is a bit of a mystery, but now Jett has found Teale, he's about to embark on a brand new life.

What exactly was it that made Teale fall for Jett? "I think I could see his soft nature and he was so friendly. He didn’t know who to get a pat from, he wanted to say hello to everyone. He is very laid back, calm and loves attention. He could stay tied up all day being groomed, I think at the moment he is really enjoying going with the flow and having someone doting on him."

Teale's first concern for Jett is getting condition back on to his thin frame. She has him on a hard feed morning and night, which consists of two dippers of pellets, four dippers of lucerne chaff and four dippers of oaten chaff. He also has four biscuits of hay. "Jett will stay on this feed until he has gained a substantial amount of weight," says Teale, "I will then just maintain his condition. Because we don’t know where Jett has been or what type of environment he was living in we thought he would no doubt be full of worms, so he was wormed the day after I bought him and will be done again in a month."

Teale is already impressed with Jett's trainability, saying, "In just a week of riding Jett has already learnt a lot. My thoughts are he was retired from his racing career and just left in a paddock. He doesn’t know anything, he is all over the place when I’m riding him in the dressage arena. He has no idea about leg aids, so I'm trying to get him balanced and moving around the arena nicely with lots of leg yielding. He has lovely movement and is very calm while riding, he is a fast learner and picking up the basics very quickly. I also have put Jett over a few tiny jumps and he is going over them beautifully. It’s a great starting point for him."

No stranger to Thoroughbreds, Teale was previously leasing a retired racehorse, "I was doing this to make sure I had enough time to commit to a horse. And after five months of loving every moment of it I offered to buy the horse I was leasing but the owner rejected my offer, so I thought well it’s time to buy my own! The horse I was leasing was also under condition when I got him and I brought him back to looking show ready."

As for Jett's future, "My plan is to show Jett in Dressage. We have a long way to get there but I think he has the potential and willingness required for the sport. Over the next few months I will be concentrating on the basics and getting him ready for a Dressage Day in March at Como in the Sutherland Shire."

We wish Teale and Jett all the best for the future and are sure they'll have a long and happy relationship!

Stay tuned to Horsezone as we follow Jett's progress to see how his feed and exercise program progresses.

By: Jo Johnson/Horsezone

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