Lil Man
From AlexBrownRacing
Lil Man was foaled March 5, 2001 by Romanov out of Dutchie’s Splendor by Leo Castelli, and is the Great Grandson of Affirmed, the last Triple Crown Winner in the United States as of data available May of 2008. Affirmed goes back to War Admiral who goes back to Man O War.
Lil Man has raced at many tracks, including Churchill Downs. He’s started 55 times, and has nine wins between his first win on 6/4/04 and his last win on 4/27/07.
Lil Man was injured in his last race, and had bone chips in both of his front knees. He underwent surgery for the bone chips, and made a full recovery. His veterinarian cleared him to begin training for racing once again, however his owners felt that Lil Man had worked enough and did not want to risk having Lil Man injured again.
Through a horse rescue in Nebraska, the owners were put in touch with The Best Little Horse House in Hastings, Inc., a 501(c)3 horse shelter that focuses on taking in a small number of horses at any given time, rehabilitating them if necessary, working with them, and finding them good adoptive homes.
Kristy Heidorn of “Horse House” talked to the owners of Lil Man to find out his medical history. She then sought the experience and advice of people like Alex Brown and others on his forum that had information about bone chips and recovery. Horse House had never taken in an OTTB, let alone an OTTB that had a medical history such as Lil Man’s After considering the advice given, Horse House decided that Lil Man would be a new member of their small herd. Lil Man arrived on the 25th of April.
Kristy’s concerns about Lil Man included whether he would have a good disposition, whether he would be easy to work with or would require outsourced training to get him in to a new vocation, and how he would adjust to “farm life” after being a track horse thus far in his career.
The day prior to Lil Man arriving, he met his first dog. He raced the dog down the fence line, one on either side of the fence. When he arrived at Horse House, he met his first chickens and tried to race them, too. The chickens weren’t interested. Lil Man decided that the barn made strange noises, but quickly adjusted to them. He also discovered that there were a couple of horses in stalls at the Horse House, and he did not see any reason for that to happen, having been confined to a stall for a good part of his racing life. So, he promptly worked on all of the doors to the stalls and let the stalled horses out, including the miniature horses. He also investigated the smell of something in a plastic bag that Kristy carried to the barn, and it took him about two minutes to discover that he really liked what was in that bag. Molasses and oats horse treats, homemade from the Horse House kitchen. Lil Man instantly bonded with Kristy, or at least with the treats that Kristy brought.
His personality filled the barn, and then it was time to see how well he would adjust to a new vocation. Kristy and two members of her board of directors rode him and discovered that he does not get in a hurry to go anywhere unless he is asked. He has excellent brakes, too. He responds extremely well to leg pressure and can be ridden on little rein at all.
Lil Man is a very welcome addition to the Horse House herd. He has a home here for as long as he needs it, and will not be adopted out in any hurry. Whoever does adopt Lil Man is going to end up with a wonderful horse to use for pleasure riding or to train to another vocation.
The Best Little Horse House in Hastings, Inc. is very happy with their decision to take in Lil Man, made with the help of those who have a history of working with OTTB’s, and looks forward to helping more OTTB’s in the future. TB owners who race their horses should be made aware that alternatives do exist for their horses, and that their horses don’t have to end up in a bad place.
