Divine Intervention

First let me preface this.  It is not about me or what I have done.  This is all about a blessing from God.  He did it all and I am so thankful to Him. 

I NEVER EVER want to forget this experience...... NEVER EVER EVER!

In the post named "Finally" I wrote about a foal that was born on our farm.  It was a wonderfully magical time and another example of God's handiwork - the miracle of birth will never cease to amaze me. 

Anyone that knows me will agree that I am a "horse-crazy" gal.  I was born that way and don't think at this point I will ever outgrow it (since I am pushing sixty).  I took that skinny, long legged foal and raised him to the best of my God-given ability, enjoying every minute of it! 

I brought mom and baby in each night, basically so that the little fellow could lay down and rest, but also so that I could sleep peacefully knowing that they were inside where he would be safe.  Corki is a good mom and very protective, but you just never know what might happen in the dark of the night.  In doing things this way he was handled twice a day, putting his halter on and taking it off.  I feel that this is very important for the foals but that's a topic for another post.  At any rate, he continued to grow and flourish on his mother's milk and my care and weaning time came without incident.

We named him Indy Mint.  Indy comes from his sire's bloodlines, Indy King by A. P. Indy.  The Mint came from me..... I always carry peppermints with me to feed the horses and he developed a strong liking for them very early in life.  In fact, he grabbed his first one out of my hand when I was feeding it to his momma.  I don't think he had very many teeth yet because he bit my thumb when he grabbed the mint.  He probably knew what they were because his milk was saturated with the taste.  Yeah.... his momma likes peppermints too.

So Indy continued to grow and learn about being a horse.  He learned about standing for the farrier and we were fortunate that his first experience with this was uneventful.  The farrier took his time introducing him to the task while I held him and cooed to him to keep him settled.  He was a biter though and left many bruises on my body..... sometimes in places that I can't tell about.  But that's what stud colts do and he was ALL stud colt.  I didn't hold a grudge but did learn to watch him real close. 

Indy Mint continued to grow and he looked more and more like the real deal.  He was very athletic and looked the part of a race horse.  Of course he should look that way..... his pedigree is full of very talented racing stock on both the dam and sire's sides..... and he LOVED to run.  I decided that if we kept him he would just be wasted.  While I have a Thoroughbred Trainer's License in the state of Indiana it has been several years since I have done my own training and our half mile track that we once had is now back to being part of the grain farm acreage.  We certainly could not afford to send him off to a trainer to the tune of $75.00 a day.  We are just common, hard working people.  The decision was made to put him up for sale.  I made a flyer on him and posted it on the backside of Hoosier Park.  I received several phone calls inquiring about him but no one was serious enough to come look at him.  I decided to consign him to the yearling sale that the Indiana Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (ITOBA) was having in October.

You might be wondering where all this is leading.  Why the title?  What does God have to do with any of this.  I don't want to seem boastful and I really hate to mention monetary amounts but without that reference it isn't clear where the title does come from.    So..... here it goes.

One morning I went to Hoosier Park to watch my other race horse train on the track.  Being on the backside of the racetrack is truly one of my most favorite places to be.  We were just getting ready to load Jazzical on the trailer to bring her home when one of my acquaintances came riding up to the trailer.  He offered me $5,000 for Indy Mint sight unseen - my asking price was $10,000.  I told him that I had consigned him to the sale and that he hadn't seen him, at which he said he had seen the picture and that's all he needed to see.  He told me to think about it.  Here is the picture that he saw (along with all the other people on the backside).

It's hard to believe that that skinny baby grew into this guy!  He looks like a 2-year-old here not a yearling.  So.... I went home and thought about the offer that had been made.  One never knows how a auction is going to go and I really thought we should grab a legitimate, live buyer if we had one - and the man is a very good trainer.  However, I knew I would have to pay a penalty to pull him from ITOBA's sale, so I calculated what that penalty would be.  I talked it over with John and decided to counter the offer of $5,000 with $6,500.  That would allow us to pay ITOBA and still get a reasonable amount for Indy.  I called the man back.  Blah, blah, blah...... he talked about colts that he had sold and what he had gotten for them..... blah, blah, blah.... then he said he would see me at the sale.  Okay.

I continued to groom Indy both in manners and on his coat.  I kept him out of the sun so his coat wouldn't get sun burned and put him out at night.  At this point he was more than able to fend for himself and keep any predators away, but I still slept with one ear open listening for anything that sounded amiss.  My mares were in the lot behind the house and if he got out I would be able to hear the commotion that they all would have made.  He didn't.  John put the trailer in the round pen for me so that I could school Indy on loading.  Some horses are skittish about the trailer but I had to close it up if I wanted to just put him in the round pen because I couldn't keep him out of it! 

Sale day came, well actually it was the day before the sale because we had to be there on Saturday and the sale was on Sunday.  I had wrapped his front and back legs before and we had been on little short trailer rides.  I believe that the more you can get them acquainted with at early ages the better they will handle when the big stuff comes along..... again a topic for another post.  Legs were wrapped in white leg wraps (I'm big on making a positive impression) and on the trailer he went.  It took us close to two hours to get to the farm where the sale was, he rode very well, and when he got off the trailer he was strutting his stuff.  It was a beautiful place and after being in the trailer for the longest period ever he was taking it all in.

I wish I had pictures from this point forward but I don't.  I was busy handling Indy Mint so I will have to rely on my memory.... another reason for this post.... as I said at the beginning, I NEVER EVER want to forget this.

We got him settled in.  I had consigned him early enough in the registration process that allowed us a stall in the main barn.  I'm not sure he would have stayed in one of the portable stalls that they had set up under a tent but you can tell by the picture that this is a very nice place and the main barn was a horse lover's paradise. Thank you, Lord.  Our stable mate next to us belong to a very nice lady and she kind of took me under her wing, advising me on certain things to do.

Horse sales are designed to allow prospective buyers time to inspect the horses.  We didn't have many lookers on Saturday.  I could have hung around in the barn all night, because that's who I am, but we didn't.  We gave our cell phone number to the night watchman and headed on our way to get a bite to eat and some rest.  I believe there was a World Series baseball game on TV that night but I couldn't tell you who was playing, nor who won.  I just wanted Sunday to come and I wanted to know what the outcome of all this hard work was going to be.  Two years of hard work.... yes, he was only one year old, but I had taken care of his mother the year before he was born..... so two years hard work.

Day of the sale.  Wow!  It's been over three months and I am still in the clouds over this.  Many people came by to see Indy Mint, some more than once.  We had decided early on that it would be better if I handled him since he was more accustom to me.  I had gotten him a leather sale halter with a brass name plate on it.  His coat was shining like a new copper penny.  He looked good!  One of the leading trainers at Hoosier Park looked at him and was very complimentary on how I had gotten Indy ready for the sale.  He said he knew that I had not just done that over a course of a couple of weeks.  He knows horses and he knew the hard work I had put into getting Indy to where he was.  There is something exciting that happens inside of you when your peers compliment you.  John and I have been doing the race horse thing since Indiana got parimutuel wagering and a race track.  We have seen a lot of people come and go, many thinking that it is an easy way to make a quick buck.  Once they see how hard it is, they quit.  We haven't quit, and I don't plan on doing so anytime soon.  I enjoy it too much - but you have to enjoy it or it is too much, and too hard of work.

They had a stage set up under a tent but the wind was blowing extremely hard and the tent was flapping and making a great deal of noise.  The babies were not wanting to walk up on the stage and they actually had a couple flip over backwards so they made a makeshift sale ring on the ground encircled with bales of straw.  I was able to stroll around a little and watch some of the horses sell.  The handlers that ITOBA had were kids that worked at the farm.  They had trouble with some of the horses and they even had one get away from its handler.  Again, it was decided that I would take Indy in the ring myself.  There were 72 yearling consigned and he was Hip No. 66.  When they got to around Hip No. 50 I started to get nervous.  My heart was pounding, I was dizzy, and I was having pains in my chest.  I prayed.  I turned it all over to God and asked him to see me through this.

I waited until the very last minute I could to take Indy Mint into the sale ring.  I didn't want to risk the chance of him getting away from me.  He had not been out of the barn since we had gotten there.... there was no need for him to be.  When we went into the ring he had his head held high, ears up, and he was standing as tall and proud as could be.  I walked him in a circle and then we stopped.  I stroked his neck and shoulder as he looked out over the farm.  Every time we did that it seemed like the bidding went up another couple thousand dollars so I just kept doing it.  He was behaving himself and and I felt very comfortable.  Maybe I was numb or maybe it was God answering my plea.  I know what I believe.

The man that offered me $5,000 earlier in the year at Hoosier Park was there.  John said he quit bidding at $19,500 and that was because his wife pulled him away.  Indy Mint sold for $20,000!  I walked away from the sale ring saying WOW!  And three months later I am still saying WOW!  I would have been happy to have sold him for three times less than what I received.  God had other ideas.  He knows what we need and He is so faithful to those that delight in Him and I praise Him for what He has done for me!

Once the sale is over you are still responsible for your horse until the new owner comes to get them.  We watched a lot of yearlings either trying to be loaded into their original owners' trailers or new owners'.  The resident Vet was busy tranquilizing the babies to get them to load.  Finally the buyer came to get Indy.  I had brought a bag of feed so that they could transition him over to what they would feed and I brought a bag of peppermints, telling them that he would go anywhere, do anything, for a peppermint.  He thought that might help to get Indy loaded.  I walked out to the trailer with them.  It was hard to let someone else take the lead, but he wasn't mine any longer.  One man walked up into the trailer to be able to head him and hook him, the other lead him onto the trailer.  Indy Mint loaded in that trailer like he had been doing it all his short life!  It was almost like, okay.... so what are we going to do now?  He made me soooooo proud! 

My Indy Mint is a fun and playful spirit.  He loves life and has always been eager to see what is around the next bend...... trusting that it will be okay..... just like I trust my Lord and Savior.

Please enjoy the video of my "Indy Guy".  It will make you smile and we can all use a reason to smile every once in a while.