Fitz and The Fool

On October 16^th this year, Harper Voyager announced that it signed a new trilogy from fantasy novelist Robin Hobb. When I read this headline, I got so excited that I could not help but jump up and down with joy. Robin Hobb is by far my most favorite fantasy novelist of all time. The even better news? Her new trilogy is based off of two of her most famous characters – Fitz and the Fool. The first book in the trilogy is scheduled to be released in August 2014 and is titled Fool’s Assassin.

My love for Fitz and the Fool, and consequently my love for all of Robin Hobb’s characters and stories started when I stumbled upon a book years ago in a Barnes & Noble called Assassin’s Apprentice. I was looking for a new book and it sounded ok, so I bought it to see if it was any good – not really expecting much. I was blown away right from the beginning as Fitz tells us his tale: a bastard son of a prince, thrust suddenly into the intrigues and dangers of court life. I followed the life of Fitz as he grew from boy to man in the other two books of the Farseer Trilogy: Royal Assassin and Assassin’s Quest. Through him, you meet lasting characters like Burrich – the stable master and man who raised Fitz, Chade – Fitz’s assassin mentor, the Fool – the court jester that befriends Fitz, and the two brothers of Fit’z father – the kindhearted Prince Verity and the cruel Prince Regal. With these pivotal characters, deep and complex plots of betrayal and power play out through Fitz’s viewpoint. And as the royal assassin, Fitz is always right in the thick of things. To try to explain the full complexity of the storyline would be near impossible without re-writing the whole book. What makes Robin Hobb one of my most favorite authors I have ever read is how well she develops all the characters in these novels – she writes them so that they are very real, in all their good qualities and in all their imperfections.

Throughout the novels, Fitz struggles with the Wit and the Skill. The Wit is an abhorred magic that is believed to give people power over animals. In reality, the Wit is something much more natural in its essence, and allows people to bond with an animal and understand what animals are saying. Throughout the novels, Fitz’s bond animal, a wolf named Nighteyes, is an essential part in who Fitz is as a character. The Skill is a magic of more esteemed lineage and is often associated with the royal family. The Skill is more of a person to person contact that allows users to do such things as talk to another user with their mind or befuddle the minds of their enemies. It is often with both the Wit and the Skill that Fitz is able to protect the royal family from harm.

While Fitz is focused on the present day problems, the Fool is focused on the bigger picture. Claiming to be a White Prophet, the Fool names Fitz as his Catalyst and insists that through his actions the world will be set on a better path. Through a series of events in which Fitz dies, is brought back to life, and completes a quest to awaken the legendary Elderling dragons to fight off their enemies, Fitz proves that he will sacrifice much to ensure the royal family remains in power. His only reward, he asks, is to be left alone in peace with his wolf Nighteyes. By the end of the Farseer Trilogy, you would never expect to hear from Fitz again.

"The Farseer: FitzChivalry" by Maija Pietikäinen

http://www.elfwood.com/~maija/The-Farseer-FitzChivalry.3006416.html

When the Tawny Man Trilogy deputed, I was beyond happy to find out that Fitz was once again the focus of the story. He truly is a character you grow to love because of his flaws and quirks, because everything about him is believable. The three books in this series focus much more on the relationship between Fitz and the Fool and delve even deeper into the Fool’s belief that he needs to set the world on a better path through their actions. The rich storyline from the Farseer Trilogy picks right back up again as Fitz is brought out of his retirement and thrown back into the intrigues of the royal Farseer family court. Fitz is determined to keep his identity a secret upon his return and chance meetings with old friends and family only make you feel for all the characters even more. Throughout the trilogy, Fitz has to face court intrigues, a journey to a distant island to unearth a frozen dragon, and political uprising throughout his homeland. All is well, however, by the end of the novels when he is re-united with his long lost love, Molly. The end to his story is content and happy. I was certain this time that I would never hear from Fitz again.

But I was wrong. With the release of Fool’s Assassin in 2014 it seems that Fitz and the Fool will be back at it again. At the end of the Tawny Man Trilogy, Fitz and the Fool never get to say a proper goodbye – Fitz settled into the life he had always wanted and the Fool went out to learn more about his purpose in life. Fitz is happy now with is life in the Withywoods – he has Molly and his daughter, Nettle. The Prince Dutiful, who he forms a close bond with in the Tawny Man Trilogy, visits often. He lives a settled and comfortable life – finally able to stop revisiting the pains his past has caused him. In the Tawny Man Trilogy, the Fool always said that he regretted having to find Fitz and that he wished he could leave Fitz in peace. Fitz never fully understands what the Fool means – he sees the Fool only as his best friend. The Fool also views Fitz as his closest friend, but he also knows that he is the White Prophet and he must use his Catalyst to set the world on a better path – no matter what it takes. I am almost sad that the Fool will find Fitz again in this new trilogy because it means that the happy ending that Fitz had in the last trilogy wasn’t really an ending, only just a break.

"Verity-as-dragon" by Perkan

http://perkan.deviantart.com/art/Verity-as-dragon-122585661

Despite my forebodings for what is to come of Fitz, I am still very excited for 2014 and the new release. Robin Hobb is a master storyteller. She has created an entire world with it’s own unique and detailed history in the Farseer and Tawny Man Trilogies. The Liveship Trader Trilogy is another series that ties in with this world and contributes to a plot line that weaves throughout all of her novels. Set to take place in a time between the Farseer Trilogy and the Tawny Man Trilogy, the Fool even appears in the story, but as a woman named Amber. While Fitz is many, many miles away recovering from his ordeals, the characters in this trilogy have their own unique problems to face and overcome. Althea, Brashen, and Paragon are just as powerful and real characters as anyone else Hobb creates and it is hard to put these books down.

The last installments relating to this world Hobb has created were four books called the Rain Wild Chronicles. These stories are set to take place after the Tawny Man Trilogy and expand on the theme of dragons that runs throughout all of the story lines. Although missing characters like Fitz and the Fool, the Rain Wild Chronicles introduces a new set of characters that you easily grow to love and sometimes hate. The Fool has always wanted to see real dragons come back into the world, and with their release of the dragon Icefyre in the Tawny Man Trilogy, he and his mate, Tintaglia, are desperately trying to revive the serpents of the seas and help them change into dragons. But the serpents are weak and when they are born into dragons, they are not fully formed. Enlisting the help of several youths from the city in the Rain Wilds, the weak dragons and their handlers set out on a quest to find the ancient city of Kelsingra: the long lost tale of Elderlings and dragons that Fitz grew up listening to as a child has suddenly become a reality. With dragons in the skies once more, it seems that the Fool has completed his mission to set the world on a better path – but it appears Fitz is once again needed.

I look forward to reading more of Hobb’s writing. Just recently, I purchased the short story The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince – which tells the full tale of the legend of the Piebald Prince that is often referenced in the Farseer and Tawny Man trilogies. I even got my fiancé Michael to read it despite its unfortunately girlish sounding title. Even though he took off the book jacket while reading it in public, he enjoyed it very much. The tale is just a taste of what the world of Robin Hobb is like, however, because it lacked the character development that is always found in her longer novels.

The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince

 The Soldier Son Trilogy is another story by Robin Hobb that amazed me with a very unique storyline and characters that you had an easy time relating to and finding believable. However, it is not tied into any of her previous trilogies and is set in a whole different world with a whole different set of magic and histories. I have read the Farseer and Tawny Man Trilogies easily seven times through, and the other series almost as often. The Soldier Son Trilogy is one that I always have in mind to read again, but then I find myself reading Fitz’s story again instead.

What amazes me the most about Robin Hobb, besides the world she has created that is full of history and complexities and unique characters, is that she is also a completely different author! That’s right, before she was Robin Hobb, she was Megan Lindholm. To this day, she writes as both Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm, depending on the type of story she is writing. If you haven’t already, go read The Inheritance. It is a collection of short stories by Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm – the first time “they” have published a book together. The most remarkable thing is that I have tried to read several books by Megan Lindholm and have not enjoyed them at all! It amazes me that she is able to write in two such different styles that I would absolutely love one and not really enjoy the other. As an aspiring author myself, it is so interesting to see how this one person can become two different authors depending on the story. I couldn’t ask for a better author and I am looking forward to 2014!

Ghost Stories

The days are getting colder and windier, the leaves array the trees in a variety of oranges, reds, and browns, and all throughout my neighborhood pumpkins adorn porches and doorsteps. Fall is perhaps my most favorite of all seasons and I have been outside as much as I can to enjoy it before it is gone. There is one more thing that seems to really be a part of the fall season – and that is Halloween! With this spooky holiday around the corner, I have put together a list of my three favorite books to get into the Halloween spirit. For those of you who don’t know, I really hate being scared and could do without all these horror movie marathons going on right now and anything by Stephen King. So instead, I give you the Halloween book list for horror lightweights – these stories are creepy enough to get you into the Halloween spirit, but not so creepy that you have to sleep with all your lights on for a week. Enjoy!

1. Blackwood Farm by Anne Rice

 Blackwood Farm

Ok, so I lied. After reading this book, I did sleep with my lamp on for the night – but it is so worth it. I love every book in Anne Rice’s vampire chronicles (there are currently 10 books total), but the one that has creeped me out the most is #8 in the series, Blackwood Farm.

When you first start reading Blackwood Farm, you immediately know you are entering a world created by Anne Rice. The main character, Quinn, lives on his family estate in New Orleans: a large mansion, huge stone pillars, and the lure of the dark and mysterious Sugar Devil Swamp that edges the property. The deep south holds many secrets and when Quinn is made a vampire against his will, his life is forever changed.

Now I know what you are thinking – a young man is made a vampire against his will and now he has to find out how to deal with his newfound powers and newfound desires. Sounds something similar to what Lestat goes through in The Vampire Lestat and what Louis goes through in Interview with the Vampire. Wrong! What makes Anne Rice such a brilliant author is how she uses each character to develop differently with all their changes and the little twists and details put into the story that take it to a whole different experience.

In books such as The Vampire Lestat and Interview with the Vampire, you can still relate to the main characters Lestat and Louis because they were once human. Because you can relate to them on a human and moral level, you tend to look at their vampiric nature and tendencies not as something bone chilling, but as something part of their human nature that now has a vampiric form. For example, Lestat always loved to push the limits and loved attention as a human and does the same as a vampire – often disregarding the rules to get what he wants. Louis on the other hand, was a very moral and compassionate person that detested himself and the thought of killing people when he turned vampire.

What makes Blackwood Farm so frightening is that the main character, Quinn, was more unusual when he was alive than most humans. Since he was born, Quinn always had a haunting doppelganger or spirit that attached itself to Quinn. His name is Goblin. When Quinn is a human, Goblin is a spirit that is sometimes funny and sometimes kind of scary – more like a nasty troublemaker than anything else. Above all, Goblin loves Quinn. The trouble starts after Quinn is turned into a vampire. It turns out that not only does Quinn now love the taste of blood, but so does Goblin too – and his hunger for it turns the spirit into a most demonic and unpredictably terrifying specter.

I promise that this book will keep you on the edge of your seat (or if you are like me, huddled under the covers with all the lights in your house on). Lestat even plays a big role in the story as he teams up with Quinn to try to banish Goblin for good. There is a plethora of frightening goblin deeds, creepy swamp scenes, and all the “vampire-ness” you need in this book. Blackwood Farm is still easy enough to follow even if you haven’t read the other books in the Vampire Chronicles, but it is even better if you have. So if you haven’t already, add these books to your reading list too:

The Vampire Chronicles

Interview with the Vampire

The Vampire Lestat

The Queen of the Damned

The Tale of the Body Thief

Memnoch the Devil

The Vampire Armand

Merrick

Blood and Gold

Blackwood Farm

Blood Canticle

2. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Frankenstein

This book is one of my all time favorites, but I think it is especially fun to read in the fall when the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting darker. Mary Shelley originally wrote Frankenstein as part of a competition among friends to see who could write the best horror story. Contestants were the now famous poets and authors Percy Shelley (Mary’s future husband), Lord Byron, and John Polidori. Mary Shelley came up with her idea based off a nightmare she had and Frankenstein was born.

Victor Frankenstein is a young man ardent in pursuing his studies of natural philosophy or the study of the human body and how it works. Talented in the sciences and swallowed up by the wonders that science seems to offer, Victors becomes immersed in a project to bestow life to inanimate objects and gives birth to his creation. Essentially, with this creation, Victor himself has performed an act that only God has done before – create life. Victors cannot handle the fact that he has overcome the qualities instilled in nature by God and has realized that instead of creating something beautiful, he has created something horrifying and disgusting.

Born with what is essentially a good soul, the Creature is spurned, feared, and hated by his creator and by everyone he meets and quickly becomes bitter and angry with Victor. Instead of finding love and support from Victor, the Creature faces an angry and inhospitable world alone. Beside himself, the Creature forces Victor to create for him a wife so that he will no longer be an outcast. Under threat of the Creature, Victor tries to create life once more, but he is sickened now by his work and is full of horror and apprehension.

Unable to create a wife for the Creature, the hatred between creator and creation reaches its highest level. Both Victor and the Creature are convinced that their miserable existence is each others doing and they vow revenge on each other – setting off a series of events that will eventually lead to their downfall.

This book is not so scary that I had to sleep with my lights on, but it is scary enough to kind of make you hesitate about walking alone somewhere in the deep of the night. What I love about this book is that not only is a good scary story - the tone and setting of this novel lends itself to the perfect horror story. What I love about this book is the deeper commentary. Mary Shelley subtitled her novel, Frankenstein, as “The Modern Prometheus.” Prometheus was a god in Greek society that gave humans the gift of fire in order to advance human culture. During the Enlightenment, Promethean ideals were so advanced that they gave people the belief that they could essentially replace God and the rules of nature through science and the knowledge that comes from it. The novel is a commentary that shows how ill fitted man is to play God and seems to directly comment on Promethean ideals. The advances in science and technology always seem to be pushing the limits of what is natural – combine that with man’s ambitions and emotions and you have one scary story indeed!

3. The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

The Fall of the House of Usher

Anything by Edgar Allan Poe is spooky, but reading The Fall of the House of Usher had me tense and jumpy for the rest of the night. The mood is set as the narrator approaches the house of Usher. His friend, Roderick Usher, has asked that he come to the house because he was feeling ill, both physically and mentally, and was in need of a good friend. The house of Usher is foreboding – dark and silent with crumbling stonewalls surrounded by diseased trees and swampy water. The description of the house makes it sound nothing less than evil.

Soon it becomes clear that the house really is evil. Rodderick is pale and weak from his nerves and fear of the house itself. His sister is also ill with some mysterious illness and soon dies. The house itself seems to be the cause of all of the misfortune of the Usher family. The narrator helps Rodderick bury his sister in the tombs below the house before the two men retire.

In an attempt to calm Rodderick’s nerves and to pass the time, the narrator starts to read a story aloud. Soon, however, they start to hear noises in the house that correspond to what he is reading aloud. Frightened, the narrator notices that Rodderick is no longer listening to the story but is muttering about his sister and how he thinks they buried her alive and that he bets she is trying to escape. Suddenly, he yells and the narrator turns to see that indeed, Rodderick’s sister had been buried alive and she has finally escaped. She is on the brink of death, but is able to attack Rodderick before she dies, and Rodderick seems to die from sheer terror. The story ends as the narrator runs from the crumbling house.

This story is in true Poe form and is vague enough in the details to really let your mind take a hold of the mood and setting and run wild with it. Was the house really evil? Was Rodderick a victim of the house or was the house of his creation? The main reason I find this story so scary is because you are never quite sure if what is happening is real or imagined. It is a true horror story. Halloween is the perfect time to read more of Poe’s stories – my other favorites are classics like The Black Cat, The Cask of Amontillado, and the Tell-Tale Heart. And, of course, don’t forget his poetry – my favorite being The Raven.

Maggie

Today I want to tell you the story of Maggie. Not because it is particularly uplifting or even because there is some deeper meaning to the story for you readers to figure out. Mainly it is just because it is a moment in my life that will always live with me and that I still think about. Actually, I hadn’t thought about it for a while, but on Monday I was interviewing for a job and we were talking about horses and rescues and the story just kind of came out because I still think about why it happened and what would have happened if just one thing had gone differently.

It was midmorning in February when I got the call. The winter had been oddly mild that year and that particular morning was only slightly chilly with the sun peaking in and out behind the clouds promisingly. A horse had fallen into a pond not too far from where we were and needed our help. The owner was frantic and didn’t know what to do. The humane society was all volunteer based and everybody was at their day job. The horse owner had called the dog warden because she did not know who else to call and the dog warden forwarded the desperate call for help to us. Quickly packing the car with blankets and rope and our first aid kit for horses, we sped away to a to help the horse. On the way there, I reviewed what I knew about horse rescue in my head. There is horse rescue where horses are taken off property if they are abused or neglected and then there is emergency horse rescue, which is when a horse’s life is in danger because of fire or flooding or some other disaster. Horses are big animals, an average size horse usually weighing in between 1,000 and 1,500 pounds. Rescuing a horse from a sticky situation isn’t as easy as rescuing your kitty from a tree. I had taken a few clinics with Rebecca Giminez of TLAER (Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue), and she shared a story with us about two horses that had gotten up into the hayloft of their barn and couldn’t get down – talk about a rescue! I had never actually expected to use the knowledge I had gained in those clinics, but I am so glad I had gone.

The home where the horse lived was 40 minutes away - even though we sped down the country roads. By the time we got there, the firefighters were already on the scene. Behind the quaint house was a large field and a tiny man made pond. The scene was bleak, made even more so by the gray sky and the dead grass. One firefighter was in a wetsuit and in the pond with the horse, a chestnut mare. Both horse and firefighter pretty much filled the man made pond. The water was neither deep nor large, but there was no bank, only a steep drop off. They had a rope tied around the horses’ neck and attached to a truck. The mud around the area was churned up. The other two firefighters, both very young, stood around, not really sure what to do – they had been at it for almost an hour.

The second we arrived on scene, it was apparent what the problem was. The bank was too steep and with only the mares’ head above water, the bulk of her body was weighing her down and was too heavy to make it over the incline. When I attended the TLAER course, my classmates were predominately firefighters, and now I understood why the clinician was so adamant that they attend her course. She had been on horse rescues like this before; she understood that firefighters are generally not trained to deal with rescues of large animals. You don’t think that that is such a big deal until you realize that this horse has been in freezing water for over an hour because they did not know how to work with her. In seconds, we had the rope off of her neck and around her chest (behind her front legs) and I had enlisted the help of the homeowners and found a scrap piece of plastic siding that we could slide under the mare. With everything in place, the group of us took a hold of the ropes and had the mare out onto the mud in less than two minutes. Still in action mode, we put blankets down on the freezing mud and tied ropes to her legs in order to flip her over. It is amazing the strength a few people can have at times like these. Once she was on her other side, we covered her with more blankets and the real work began. The firefighters got another emergency call and the dog warden felt all was good, and soon we were left with just the family.

Things did not look good. The owner had noticed the mare had fell in the pond just moment after it happened. Once second Maggie was lying in the grass taking a nap and the next, she was trying desperately to climb out of the freezing water. There was a small hill right next to the pond (probably the dirt that had been dug out to create it years ago), and we speculated that perhaps Maggie went to roll before standing up and instead found herself sliding downhill into the water. Maggie had been with the family for 20 years – they had trained Maggie from a foal to become a winning barrel horse and confident companion on the trails. When she was old enough, her daughter learned to ride on this kindhearted mare. Anxiously, we awaited the arrival of the vet as we watched Maggie lie still under the mound of blankets. In an attempt to warm her, we started to rub her legs and neck. Her long winter hair was curled and soaked through and thick mud matted it down flat against her. She had been in that water for an hour. She was still and made no attempts to try to get up, we started to talk to the owners about euthanasia.

Horses are not designed to be laying down for long. Horses do and should lie down to achieve REM sleep, which they only need about 20 minutes a day of. Some horses like to lounge around for a bit more (we had one Tennessee Walking Horse that liked to come in for the morning and take a 3 hour nap), but in general, most horses prefer to get most of their sleep standing up. Horses are creatures of flight and evolved to run away fast from predators. They have almost 360 vision, long, light legs made entirely of bone and tendon, and large lungs. They also have a locking mechanism in their back legs that allows them to lock a leg into place so they can remain standing while resting. It is a horses’ natural instinct to stand up, especially when they are in danger. The fact that Maggie was content to lie on the ground despite just overcoming a near death experience was not heartening. Not only does the horses’ mind encourage it to stand, but also physically, the body needs the horse to be standing. It becomes uncomfortable for a horse to remain lying down on their side for long periods of time – their lungs literally start to crush under the weight and their digestive system cannot function properly. At the bottom of a horse’s hoof is a cushion of nerve endings and blood vessels called a frog. When a horse walks, the pressure on the frog helps to circulate blood through the legs and back up to the heart. The longer a horse in distress lies down, the worse the distress becomes.

When the vet arrived, he wanted to try to save her. The owners told us that Maggie had always been a fighter, and they were willing to try. And so the fight began. Spreading out some straw around her legs and sides and underneath her, we tried to insulate her against the cold and tried to encourage her body to try to warm itself. Grabbing towels, we scrubbed her all over in an attempt to increase circulation while removing the wet mud that caked her hair down. The vet started an IV with warm water. The day was getting colder. The sun that had thought about coming out this morning had been beaten off by the bleak, gray clouds. I was in long underwear, sweatpants, several long sleeve shirts and my thick purple Carhart overalls and jacket. My hand warmers I sacrificed along with the others to line Maggie’s jugular – our thinking was that it might do nothing, but it might end up helping, so we had to give it a try. My hands were muddy and frozen and despite my hat and thick layers, I could feel the cold starting to creep into me. I don’t remember what time it was, sometime around noon. Maggie’s eyes were open and staring so that little ice films were forming, so I sat by her head and rubbed her eyelids and kept her nostrils clear. She was moving her neck more and her legs were now scrabbling against the mud, and we praised her efforts to try to stand, but she was just too weak.

We waited patiently for her to recover while we did all we could. At some point, the owners came out and offered us all some hot chocolate that eased some of my shivering. I was very touched and grateful that they thought of us. Something about that day just felt unreal, I can only imagine what victims of flood or fire or tornadoes must feel like when some kind stranger reaches out and offers them some small comfort. It instantly bonds you when you realize you are in it together. My situation was not near as bad as that, but the worry and sadness for the horse combined with the bleak weather and cold make everything endlessly long and yet, it passed too quickly. You lose track of time. I remember just sitting by Maggie, her head in my lap, listening to her breathe, just looking out at the pasture in front of me. The dull green grass met the steel gray sky and almost blended. There was no wind, thank God, but tiny soft snowflakes had started to fall. Slowly, slowly, they twirled and dipped their way to meet the dead winter grass before settling into stillness.

I was woken out of my reverie by the vet as he told us we needed to make one last ditch effort to help her, or the hypothermia and shock would surely settle in and take her. Stacking bales of straw on her side, we pushed and we pulled and we encouraged until we had her laying sternal – that is, laying up with her legs underneath her, rather than her being flat out on her side. Taking time to let her rest, the vet told us that she had a 90% chance of recovery and she should be fine now. He had to go on another call.

Heartened, it was decided that I would take the car back to the ranch and get some more blankets and some of our heat lamps we could set up in their barn when she was walking. When I got into the car it was 4pm. I sped the whole way there and back. Pulling back into the driveway and grabbing the stuff form the car, I walked through the back gate to the yard, confident to see Maggie on her feet and ready to help her walk into the barn and get her fully warmed up. Instead all I saw was Maggie, lying back down on her side where we had first pulled her out. My coworker and the owner were the only ones by her side. Everyone else had left. She was still alive when I walked up and dropped the extra blankets and towels. It was then I knew that Maggie was not going to make it. The snow was still softly falling and all was quiet, it was almost peaceful.

Perhaps we were just so used to trying to save her that what we did next was natural. We all grabbed the new towels and started to rub her all over. Her skin was cold under all of the blankets. The owner had a look of numb despair in her face. We met eyes briefly, before looking away. It was at that moment that I was rubbing her hindquarters that Maggie lifted her head and looked back over her shoulder to look directly at me. I don’t know what she was trying to tell me; perhaps that it was all right, that it was her time. Horse’s eyes are always so deep and intelligent and full of expression, but I have never locked eyes with a horse like this before. Never felt like, just for that brief instant, we were connected somehow, that more passed between us then than words or whinnies ever could. Shocked, I stopped my rubbing and Maggie laid her head back down in the straw and breathed out her last breath.

It took a while for it to set in that she really was gone. She had fought it for so long, but she had decided when it was time for her to move on. She fought it for the love of her humans, for the love of the greener pastures to come, and for her love of life. Maggie’s story could have unfolded so many different ways. What if the firefighters had been trained in animal rescue, what if we had gotten their sooner, what if the vet thought she didn’t have a chance and she was euthanized, what if she had just been a year or two younger, a little bit healthier, what if the sun had won out and shined through the clouds. A lot of “what ifs”, but that is not how it happened, and I would like to think there is a reason for that. Life does not always make sense, but we have to learn from it and take meaning from it to make our lives better and make the lives of others – human and animal better. Maggie’s soul may no longer be with her body, but part of it is certainly carried within me.

And They're Off!

I am standing in the paddock at Arlington Park Racecourse in Arlington Heights, Illinois watching the horses get saddled up for the fourth race. I have a $2 bet on number 6, a cute little chestnut mare in the black and yellow saddle pad. Watching her wide eyes and prancing step, I wonder if she is excited to run, or merely just petrified. She reminds me of a new horse named Robin that I have just started working with. Robin is also a chestnut mare, but she is a little bigger because she is older now and fully mature. According to the program, the chestnut in the paddock is racing a $5,000 claiming race for fillies 3 years old and younger that have never won a race. The filly circles again and the jockeys mount up, I try to imagine Robin when she had raced on this very same track a few years ago.

Number 6 as she walks past in the paddock

Robin today is a horse that has still not fully recovered from her days on the racetrack. Physically, Robin is in good shape – no tendon bows, no broken legs, no odd lumps or bumps. The only physical reminder from her days on the track is a series of scars and scuffs on her forehead that seem to be signs of problems with the starting gate (but this is only our best guess – in reality, many other things could have caused this). Mentally, however, Robin still has a ways to go. She is very responsive and actually very well mannered. When something distracts her, however, she tends to forget you are there. The first time the farrier tried to put shoes on her she had a meltdown and started panicking and striking out with her front legs. Something about the sound of metal tends to put her over the edge. The first time I worked with her, she really wanted nothing to do with me. Every time I looked at her, she would look away and disengage. Horses that are raised around friendly humans that ask what they want from their horse and listen to their horse when something is wrong are always horses that are eager to greet a human and curious as to what that new human may do. Horses that are used to being treated like machines are often disengaged and try to avoid humans so as to escape unpleasantness in being forced what to do, whether this is with cruelty or with simple thoughtlessness that a horse is no better than a machine.

 It took several groundwork sessions with Robin before she would walk up to me on her own accord and be interested enough to follow me around and trust enough to look to me for direction if we were doing something new. The first time I tacked Robin up; she displayed the previous sort of discontent with the situation. She swished her tail and danced while I put the saddle on, she would not open her mouth for the bit, and she danced around the mounting block several times before I could get on. Determined to give Robin a good experience this time around, I kept the ride very short. My idea being that her reward for listening to me and doing what I want should be that I get off – something that she wanted. What sort of reward for doing something right is more work?

Eventually, I will build up the amount of time I ride her, but for these first few rides, I want her to realize that it is not so bad every time a person gets on her back, that she can enjoy the experience as much as I can. Our first ride had us swerving around the arena helplessly, as it became pretty clear that Robin did not have that much fine tuned steering other than what it took to run around a racetrack. She displayed her dispassion in moving forward by suddenly stopping in mid stride. It was a rough first ride, but I could not help but like her. She wasn’t evil; she was just expecting the worst and trying to evade it. After a few good trot circles and when she stopped when I asked her, I got off and put her back in the pasture.

Robin is not a horse that was supposed to run. I have a feeling that she was one of those racehorses that ran simply because she was petrified, not because she liked it. In time, I believe she will make a wonderful riding horse (I’m crossing my fingers for a dressage horse!). I have been on ex-racehorses that were constantly grumpy and mean and others that settled into their new lifestyle and really found that they enjoyed it. Watching number 6, the chestnut filly, as she heads out onto the racetrack, I wonder if she will be one of my project horses one day.

Number 6 coming out of the starting gate

A close finish for #6, but no win 

I truly believe that Thoroughbreds like to run, but I believe, just like people, it takes a certain horse with a certain trainer and a certain jockey to really become a winner. Some horses have the will to run, while others just don’t. I love going to the races, I love the thrill of watching the horses go thundering past. Growing up, I learned everything I could about famous racehorses like Secretariat, Man O’ War, and Seabiscuit. Do I think that people should wait until horses are more matured at 4 years old before they race them, rather than starting at 2 years old? Of course. Waiting until their bones and joints are fully developed before subjecting them to the stress of race training would save a lot of heartache and breakdowns. Paying attention to breeding for strength rather than just speed, speed, speed may also help to lessen the amount of broken limbs. Everyone knows the right way to do it; the problem with racing however, is how to do this while still making money? When I am walking around the grandstand at the track, I tend to forget that most people here – the bettors and the owners are more interested in making money.

This horse looked pretty nervous walking around the paddock - he placed second to last

On the other hand, this confident horse is galloping home easily for the win

This is not everyone – every horse sport has their share of people in it for the money and people who just love the sport and the horses – some people that can even accomplish both. Horse racing is under heavy public eye because it is widely televised and has highly attended events. Other horse sports – from western pleasure to saddleseat to dressage and show jumping also have their fair share of problems. Many western pleasure and saddleseat horses are also started at 2 years old, the biggest dressage controversy is the use of Rolkur -  a method used to force the horse to do what the rider wants, and even hunter jumper horses are forced to continue jumping through sore backs or arthritic knees. It is seen in every sport, it is all a matter of how you look at your horse – friend or machine, investment or partner? A healthy balance of both viewpoints is the best option for both your checkbook and your heart.