Zenyatta

Queen of Racing

Ask The Experts

Ask The Experts at Lane’s End

Photo courtesy of Alys Emson/Lane's End

Is there something you’ve always wondered about Zenyatta, Baby Z or Lane’s End?

For the next few weeks we will be collecting questions from Zenyatta’s amazing fans—questions about thoroughbred breeding and life on the farm.

Zenyatta will help us pick some of your questions to use in upcoming features on the the website. We’ll collaborate with the expert staff at Lane’s End to answer your questions.

To send in your question, please fill out the form below.

We look forward to hearing from you!
-Team Z

Edit: We have receieved so many great questions from all of you! Submissions are now closed for the time being. If you didn’t get a chance to ask your question, don’t worry, there will be more opportunities in the future.

Reader Interactions

959 Comments

  1. / Reply

    Jay Privman‏@DRFPrivman Wed May 30
    Matz was planning on shipping Thurs.
    When I told him Union Rags needed to be on grounds by noon Wed, he said,
    “I guess we’re coming Wed.”

      • / Reply

        Only Ms Zenny could do that. I loved the video of her biting on the edge of the check offered to help the victims of the storms in Ky. She’s much more than a just a horse. It reminds me of a comment by a woman asking about their doing a saliva test on Secretariat after his once in a lifetime Belmont triumph. She asked, do they think that he is just another horse?

  2. / Reply

    What a great idea!
    So many questions pop up in the Post that are really directed to Lane’s End and/or Zenyatta.
    Thanks again Lane’s End & Team Zenyatta

  3. / Reply

    Look at that cute baby peeking through the fence… what a cutie patootie he is! Well, with Zenyatta as his mother, how can he help it?

      • / Reply

        He is too young for treats; not able to eat carrots or anything like that at his
        age yet.

        • Not sure if he gets grain yet, or just grass and mom’s milk.

          Will look that up and post.

          Foals just let the carrots and other treats roll around in their mouth
          and they eventually fall on the ground, humans then pick them up and give them back repeatedly until they learn to chew. Don’t think he is there
          yet, as his little windpipe maybe just big enough for a carrot to lodge
          in, I am sure they are very careful about things like that with all of their foals.

        • Dear Jan S and Z fans;

          Here is a generic article on feeding a growing horse, it includes
          feeding a foal; he should be now at 8 weeks eating grain of some sort.
          LE probably has a special way they wean their foals, mothers milk begins
          to taper at 3 months, to allow for additional nutruition to be added, as
          it can not sustain a growing foal. Horses do not belong to La Leche League so their bodies tell them when to taper. I am really looking forward
          to seeing him play with other youngsters soon.

          tp://www.uky.edu/Ag/AnimalSciences/pubs/asc111.pdf

  4. / Reply

    Oh, my TOO CUTE! Hi Prince, Sweetie! ♥

    I will put on my Thinking Cap (maybe one of my Zen hats) and see if I can come up with a good question and not make a fool of myself LOL!

    All my Love! ♥ XOXOXOXO

    Auntie Judy aka JAG

    • / Reply

      No party spoiling from me. I support Zenny’s cousin (via Chris S), I’ll Have Another. Even Steve Cauthern, jockey for Affirmed, and Affirmed’s owner, Patrice Wolfson, support I’ll Have Another’s triple crown bid. And Ron Turcotte and Richard Migliore support him.
      I think I’ll Have Another could possibly be a reincarnation of Affirmed. He’s a beautiful, gutsy chestnut. And he has a lot of fight in him along with a long, beautiful stride. He’s intelligent and sweet like Zenny and her family.

    • / Reply

      Good article, JAG.

      There are going to be some challenges for IAH, and if he becomes the best man,
      and he is looking like he is heading in that direction, he will win.

      Otherwise, who knows, facing Mike Smith on another horse is intersting. Just goes
      to show you a Hall of Fame Jockey can not with without the best horse. The best
      ride for the horse does not always get the win.

      Beyer figures of 106 for IHA are impressive, because he did it with an end to the race
      acceleration, which is raw talent. Being and front runner and running all the way around the track on the lead, may not get the win, a mile and a half is pretty far
      for all these 3 year olds.

      I do like Union Rags, but he gets himself into trouble. I think it is the horse and if you try and push the horse out too much or correct too much, the jockey could get
      into trouble. Really like him, maybe he will be better at 4 yo.

      Bernie’s boy Alpha I really like also, not sure he is going to put up much of a challenge, but one never knows.

      May the best horse win the Belmont Stakes, in a safe and sound manner.

    • / Reply

      Spoiler? I really hope there is not one, however I have been on the ALPHA bandwagon since I first saw him last year. Love Bernie Babies…..emotional attachment since he was Zenny’s first :))

  7. / Reply

    ….That awkward moment where you have a ton of questions and they all leave your brain as soon as someone says they’ll answer them,…..

    • / Reply

      This is exactly how I feel! HA I really would like to see a pedigree of Zenyatta that goes all the way back to the beginning of keeping records! And where does our precious Zenny get her incredible height? How tall is her dam and sire? What size shoe does Zenny wear? Is anybody riding her at all? And speaking of that, how many of you have noticed that Mike Smith has fallen off the face of the earth now that he’s got his 5,000th win? Not on Facebook anymore or his own website! Kinda says it all doesn’t it?

      • / Reply

        I noticed that he said he was going to go and visit Zenny and the baby while he was down there for the Derby and post pictures.

        Disappointed he didn’t follow through on it.

        • Mike Smith did go visit Zenyatta and Z12, but he never sent pictures. He said what a handful little Z12 was and he was seeking attention all the time. He whinnies when he runs as if to say look at me.

      • / Reply

        Jeanne, when Z retired, someone on Team Z said no one would ever ride her again. I remember feeling sad.

      • / Reply

        Jeanne from Texas

        Zenny no longer wears shoes, she has been barefoot since she arrive at
        LE and is now officially “barefoot and pregnant”. Street Cry in only a little over
        16 hands, her dam always produces large foals and is a large mare herself
        although not successful on the track. Broodmares are NOT ridden. Even breding throughbred stallions are not ridden except for those at Three Chimney’s.

      • / Reply

        Jeanne, I posted this on an earlier Blog.
        Mike Smith posted on Facebook Tues. May 28
        hello everyone, Mike here, sorry it has taken so long for me to reach out to all of you!
        I want to thank all of you for your support! I will do my best to post as much as possible but as most of you know I am not too good with computers, lol.
        I am very excited for the Belmont and Paynter is training great so good lord willing we can get a good trip and have a shot!
        Today has been a great day off so far, Gary Stevens interviewed me and Laffit Pincay up at Garys house, went to the gym, and now relaxing having some lunch!
        I look forward to being more connected with all of my fans in the months to come! Thanks again for your support!

        • Keta and others….thank you for updating me on Mike’s status. I have looked and looked for him and just couldn’t figure out how he dropped off FB and his website all at the same time. So glad he’s back on the radar!

  8. / Reply

    Nice idea, will think about a question.
    Good to see our little champion in today’s photo.
    He’s already a champion just because of his parents…especially his Mama.

    • / Reply

      Mikey’s Facebook page is back up…he is very much front and center and is riding horses for John Shirreffs and John Sadler (both trainers for the Mosses), also for Bob Baffert and many others. He’s on my stable tracker and I notice he’s riding at least 4 or 5 horses a day at whichever Southern Cal track is open, and he has ridden several horses during the Derby and the Preakness meets in Louisville and Baltimore, flying in. He also will be riding several mounts at Belmont. Mikey did a very classy thing after both the Derby and the Preakness, he saluted Mario and I’ll Have Another! Stand-up guy and a wonderful rider. :-)

        • Cathleen, at either DRF or Brisnet/Equibase, you can register and put the horses, jockeys, races, etc., that you want to track in your personal database. You can get email updates if that is an option you choose. You also have the ability to put comments next to your selections. http://www.Equibase.com and go to the Virtual Stable. At DRF, look for the “Handicapping & PPs” tab, then look for “Tools” tab to see “Horse Watch”, “Trainer Watch”, etc. You will have to register at each site in order to use these tools. I think I prefer the Equibase stable tracker….and they just recently upgraded it. I haven’t checked out all the new functions yet, myself. Good luck!

  9. / Reply

    Thank you Lanes End for being so supportive of all of us Zenyatta and baby Z fans.

    I was wondering when baby Z will be weaned? I’m sure that that will be a very sad day for both Zenny and baby Z.

    How is Tasty and her foal doing? Has she been rebred?

    • / Reply

      Tasty actually rejected her foal, Angie. A nurse mare has been taking good care of him (and before anyone freaks out about the nurse mare, she lost her own foal). Some mares just aren’t into motherhood.. But Tasty was a maiden, maybe she’ll get into it. I imagine they rebred her already but don’t know for sure.

      • / Reply

        I had a mare that looked like she was going to be a horrible mommy based on turning away her first foal. We almost decided not to breed her back, but for some reason, Mother Nature kicked in and from that point on …she was a model mommy. The first foal…did great and went on to be a very nice western pleasure and trail horse for my cousin winning several all arounds.

  10. / Reply

    @Sandy in Ohio…..try looking up Tim Ice Racing…that’s how I found it…
    …..
    I will put on thinking cap for a good question
    …..
    look at NotSoWeeZee’s neck in photo…going yo look a lit like his mommy

    • / Reply

      I think I read that sometimes maiden mares that have rejected their first foals do fine with their next one. Is that common?

    • / Reply

      Ice Racing has a wonderful program to connect school age kids and their teachers with horses and the racing industry.

      In case anyone out there is a teacher or knows of someone they can pass the information on to.

      • / Reply

        yes, that’s what our own Shari Volz has done with her 5th graders! It seems like a great program and I hope other teachers will take advantage of it! Glad you mentioned it, Markay.

  11. / Reply

    What a wonderful idea. Thank you Lane’s End and Team Z for always being considerate of Zenyatta’s fans. I hope when 12Z is weaned, we can have an interview of someone who will be taking care of him in his next step to find out what he will be doing at that stage.

  12. / Reply

    What a great story about Dr. Hansen & Hansen!
    Kendall Hansen Reveals Future Plans
    Dr. Kendall Hansen has done it again.
    The owner/breeder, who is known for pulling such wacky acts as dying his champion colt Hansen’s tail blue prior to the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I), recently revealed some other unusual plans.
    Kendall Hansen’s future hopes include mating Hansen with the Danzig mare Lady Primrose, who he recently adopted from Omega Horse Rescue. Oh, and he also expressed interest in someday having Hansen perform double duty as a racehorse and breeding stallion. But we’ll get to that later.
    Shortly before Hansen competed in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), Kendall Hansen saw an advertisement in the back of The Blood-Horse magazine that Lady Primrose was being offered for sale by the Airville, Pa.-based Omega Horse Rescue.
    “It was such a coup to get a 7-year-old Danzig mare,” said Hansen. “(Danzig) was pensioned the year before (Lady Primrose) was born, but then he was bred 18 times the year she was born, so she’s one of the last 18 (offspring) by Danzig which is cool.”
    http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/beyond-the-blinkers/archive/2012/05/29/kendall-hansen-reveals-unusual-future-plans.aspx

    • / Reply

      Doctor Hansen may be an unusual guy but he is good for racing and he loves his horse. The way he has treated Shari Voltz’s kids says a lot about him.

      • / Reply

        Terry
        Thank you – I agree! Too much chat over dye jobs – hell, look at my roots after 6 sweeks LOL :-))))

        Dr. Hansen donates money, too! As I’ve always said – there could be “worse” things being done to horses………..

        JAG

      • / Reply

        Definately agree with your comment, TC.
        He is a very special guy. So interesting to by a Danzig mare
        to breed Hansen, too. Being a physician he has been
        thinking reproduction since last year championship and in
        a very different way. It is always good to have a new
        look on things.

    • / Reply

      Love this article …not only adopted Lady Primrose and her foal…but 3 other mare/foal pairs too…got special permission from rescue to breed Lady P because of who she is…Dr H was up front and honest about whole thing ..he might not be “typical” but he sure is ineresting

      • / Reply

        Got this wrong….happens a lot at my age…Dr h adopted one horse and made what must have been pretty large donation …the rescue decided to make Lady P an exception to their “no breeding” rule because of who she is…my guess is the donation probably covered the cost for saving and training the other 3 mares and the 4 foals who are now yearlings…saw picture of the Lady P baby on Omega horse rescue site…he has a perfect heart on his adorable face…

      • / Reply

        I guess his donation paid for the other 3 mares and their foals, right.
        He did not take the other three mares and their foals only Lady P.

        What a wonderful story. He is really a very out of the box guy.

    • / Reply

      I like the idea of letting Hansen breed and also race. Other disciplines do that
      dressage, grand prix jumping, why not racing ????

      • / Reply

        There’s no physical reason that it can’t be done. I suppose it’s not common practice for practical reasons. It would be difficult to have the horse race during breeding season, as he has to be available to his booked mares when they are ready. The window for breeding is narrow. Of course, one could breed the horse from mid-February through mid-June, and race him the rest of the year. In that case, the challenge would be to keep the horse fit enough that he could return to racing in a reasonably short period of time. Also, owners of breeding shares would rather the horse not risk injury on the track. I assume Dr. Hansen would get around this by retaining sole ownership of his namesake.

        The comparison with sport horses doesn’t work well, as breeding is usually by AI (except when it’s TB to TB).

        • I think it would be a challenge for Hansen’s owner and to realistically
          breed 130 mares a year, would definately be a challenge.

          Guess having at a facitlity that has a training track would be an idea.

          Realized that other disciplines use AI so it is less controlled.

          There are a couple of other TB that have bred and raced, but not
          the volume of mares Dr. Hansen is talking about.

          Probably having him breed a set number of months, while keeping him in shape, is an option, but it would limit the races he could run in.

          Dr. Hansen will figure it out, a very out of the box thinker, as most MD’s
          are.

  14. / Reply

    Hi to all Zensters, Zenny & Z-12, as well as Team Z & Team LE (whew!)….

    Thank you for this terrific opportunity to learn more from your LE experts. Great idea!
    As for Z-12, I’m noting the bedroom eyes and that suggestion of the faraway look of eagles that is associated with almost every champion thoroughbred I know!!!!!

    Peppermint kisses to you, my sweet Zenny. There’s not a single day that goes by that I don’t miss you!!!!

    • / Reply

      ABIGAIL
      I’ve had the honor of looking into John Henry’s “eagle eye” AND Zenyatta’s! Prince Z appears to have been blessed with great eyes, too!

      JAG

        • Terry
          I doubt many will believe this: I not only stood in JH’s paddock with HIM and got to hand feed him peppermints and chocolate donut holes, I also hugged him in his stall. YES, I got to hug him on my birthday (photos of both memorable moments to prove it!) I guess he “tolerated” me because he knew I adored the ground he walked on…

          My last memorable day was me kissing him good-bye on October 8, 2007. THAT photo is nicely framed and on my desk at work.

          Why do you think John sent me Queen Zenyatta…? :-)

        • p.s. These moments were when he was living at the Hall of Champions!

        • Really love your post about JH, JAG.

          He was a very special horse, really love those fiesty, firey ones
          as they show the true quality of the TB. “See if you can connect
          with me, I will give you a challenge, but if you do I will be your
          champion |”.

        • For you, JAG, JH was THE one. He must have felt a kinship with you. So I will ask what you have asked several times before. Why is there not a significant race named for him? At one time I thought that the Arlington Million would be appropriate. Now I think only a Breeder’s Cup race would be worthy for him.

        • TERRY
          I stopped and spoke to The Guy at SA. I asked him to check into it. He said he would – however, emails to him would not only remind him, but encourage him to follow through. It doesn’t look like the Arlington Track will be adding Jhn Henry to that million dollar baby any time soon… John’s been dead for 5 years!

        • If you will provide me with that guy’s email address, I will be sending him reminders. JH should have been honored by now. I really don’t understand why he hasn’t.

        • “The Guy” video from March 2012
          http://www.hrtv.com/videos/across-the-board-mark-verge/

          They will provide his email in the video (I’m at work and cannot watch it to get the info shhhh)

          Thanks, Terry, and anyone else who writes to The Guy about a John Henry Grade I Stakes Race (truf or dirt – John won on both surfaces!) He’s my man!!

        • JAG-After reviewing the video, I think we can do some good here. This “guy” Mark Verge, was appointed to his position by Stronach. He is sort of an advocate who is way up there at SA. I will also send an email to Roger Stein, who knows this guy and has had him on his radio show.

        • ♥ Thank you Terry!! This means so much to me! John Henry sends his thanks, too :-)

          JAG

    • / Reply

      Article today at Blood Horse website says Santa Anita is having a contest to name a stakes race, turf I think.

    • / Reply

      On the Bloodhorse interview with Lanes End after the birth and 12 Zenyatta; Charles said 5 months and he will be on his way to becoming a man.

  16. / Reply

    Thank you Lane’s End for coming up with this excellent idea! I’m sure many of us will come up with good questions to put you to the test.

    EARnie, you are just adorable peeking thru the fence…….just like your mama always looking for the camera. Oh how I would love to plant a kiss on that sweet star of yours!! You look like mama and I see some of your daddy there too. I bet you are just a devil, full of energy, and keep mama and LE staff hopping.

    Can’t wait to see and hear more about the beautiful Morning Line and his antics. What a great horse from Tiznow and an A P Indy mare. He should do well under John, who probably can work out the quirks!

    Hugs to all

  17. / Reply

    Dear Lane’s End Team and Z Fans:

    This photo of Little Z is just gorgeous. Look at the beautiful face and set of his eyes. OMG he is going to be a hunk. Thank you LE for giving us updated photos of him and he grows. Love this boy and his Mama. Hugs, JB

  18. / Reply

    What a great idea to answer our questions. Thank you, Team Z and Lane’s End! Unfortunately, I am all outof them at the moment. Will try to think.

    I know absolutely nothing about prepping a horse for the Belmont, but one would think that the horse would need to be there before Thursday.

    @Kelli–thanks for the reassurance on the matter of the nurse mare for Tasty’s foal. Some, including me, were hoping that no foal was deprived if its mom.

    Will have to look up the Omega folks. I don’t know about them and I’m so glad he is promoting rescues. Thank you, Dr. Hansen.

  19. / Reply

    Yikes! Must read all the security protocols & rules!
    Special security planned for Belmont Stakes entrants
    Posted: Wednesday, May 30, 2012 12:26 PM
    Edited press release
    The New York State Racing and Wagering Board will implement comprehensive protocols for horses running in the Belmont Stakes (G1) in order to “ensure the safety of horses and riders, and to ensure that the integrity of the sport is upheld.”
    The plans include provisions to house all entrants in a secured area after Wednesday, June 6, out-of-competition blood testing, and limited veterinary access.
    http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/national-news/2012/05/30/special-security-planned-for-belmont-stakes-entrants.aspx

    • / Reply

      Wow.. Honestly, that’s got to be a drag for the guys with the Belmont Stakes horses. Clearly they’re worried about some kind of foul play..

    • / Reply

      I am really glad they are doing this after what happened to Animal Kingdom on the
      track last year. I am sure IHA has 24 hour watch and he should.

      • / Reply

        The only way to stop what happened to AK last year was to suspend the jockey who was responsible for the start before the fact. The race is 1 and 1/2 miles. The start is just not that important unless you have a grudge against a horse or a trainer. Why was the jockey’s penalty not more than slap on the wrist? Kinda makes you wonder about all of the security.

        • Definately agree, this guy should not race period in my book.

          That may be a harsh statement, but race riding is enough for
          me, I don’t even like that. Everyone needs to ride their own
          race.

          I am so glad Mario did not go inside of Creative Cause and
          behind Bode; He would have got the squeeze and it would
          have been over in the Preakness.

    • / Reply

      According to a NY Times article, the heightened security at Belmont is due to Doug O’Neills numerous drug violations in the past and his recent 45 day restriction put into place by the CHRB. I’m not accusing, I’m quoting.

      • / Reply

        The security also serves other purposes, which needs to be heightened, with
        what has happened in past Classic races.

  20. / Reply

    Just love the pic of Zenyatta’s adorable son peeking out through the fence, he sure captures the heart of whoever puts their eyes on him-I will surely forever be hooked on him.
    Like the new idea and concept of everyone being able to submit questions and etc about Zenyatta, Baby Z, life on the farm and other things. Looking forward to reading what others inquire about and the responses that are given. Apt to be quite interesting indeed.
    Sure miss you Zenyatta and sending my Love, Blessings and hugs to you and Baby Z and of course, the little one that’s in the oven.
    You sure are a star that shines and sparkles brighter than any star up above-just the mere thought of you, makes me smile. I love you very much!

  21. / Reply

    What a great picture of Baby Z! Thanks to Alys and Land’s End for another awesome
    look at the youngster. He is sooo cute! :))
    Off to Betfair Hollywood Park tomorrow. Yippee!!! I will think of you Zenny. :))
    Peace & Blessings to all in the Zenyatta Nation,
    Kathy from SoCal xoxo

  22. / Reply

    Hello Team Z:

    Wonderful idea about sending questions in. Thanks for the cute picture just posted.
    Hope Zenyatta is doing well since she is in foal again. We have not heard much.
    Thanks, Marilu

  24. / Reply

    Dear Z Family this is really cool. I wish they would have done the questions a little sooner. I would have gotten the class involved. Baby Z is just Beautiful and growing like a weed. I also think what Dr. Hansen is doing is amazing. He really is one of the good guys : ) My children have been treated so nicely this year by Jennifer Wirth Ice and Tim Ice. Then Dr. Hansen. I think I have made little racing fans out of my classes. Now we have our new guy El Vino. I hope everyone has a good night. Sharon in Ohio if you go on FB type in Tim Ice. My Homeroom along with Mistletoe is on his page. Love, Shari

    • / Reply

      I think you meant me, and obviously I am a total idiot. I tried “Tim Ice” and got a number of results – none of which seem to be him (although somewhere along the line a Wikipedia reference came up so now I know who he is). What does his profile picture look like? I also tried Tim Ice Racing as suggested by Carol in Utah, and it said there were no results??

        • Thanks Ann! Having the right name sure does seem to work wonders :-) I’m still trying to put this all together, but now I have a better idea of how Mistletoe got into the picture.
          Sandy

        • Ann-It looks like you have to sign up for face book to access this. I refuse to become a member.

        • Terry – as one who joined “kicking and screaming” to help put Zenny over the 100,000 friend mark, I can empathize with your stance. I can also attest to a fairly steep learning curve – especially as they convert to a new “time line” format. In this case, I think you can just “click” (like Zenny’s page which anyone can access).

      • / Reply

        You can go to the Bloodhorse.com website and look up Tim Ice under their site. You can also find him under the horse Summerbird, as he was his trainer.

        • Thanks Terri – unfortunately, that would have required knowing who he was (which I clearly didn’t). Think I’ve got it know.
          S

      • / Reply

        Sandy I would never think that of you. I was just trying to help. I am sorry if I hurt your feelings. I did not mean to come off as mean.

        • No – it’s just that you wrote “Sharon in Ohio”, and what I was saying was that I thought you probably meant ME! I did have a lot of trouble finding the page, but as always, peeps helped out. I missed all of the history on Mistletoe so I’ve been confused for a long time. There are two women in the picture along with the students. Are you the one on the left?

  25. / Reply

    Such great thoughtfulness for you at Lane’s End to answer our questions about all things Zenyatta there at the farm. Thank you so much Team Z and Lane’s End. You’re all the Best!

  26. / Reply

    I love the latest pic of Little Z. There is no doubt who he looks like and he seems to mirror her personality. LE, you are wonderful folks to keep us in Z’s and little Z’s world.
    She will always be my horse of a lifetime and he is bound to be a “thriller”, too.

  27. / Reply

    On the topic of wearning…

    Prince was born on March 8th – 5 months from then would be August 8th. Wouldn’t it be cool if they weaned him on Dottie and Mikey’s birthday, August 10th :-) Just sayin’!

    Auntie Judy (JAG)

    • / Reply

      I’m still “ouching” about 5 months, as I read some educational article that said six months should be the minimum, for the foal to learn stuff his mom teaches him, about behaving around other horses. I always think, “But what do I know?”, but I still worry it’s too soon…

      • / Reply

        I have read 4-6 months, so they are picking the month in between and I am
        sure for very sound reasons. Zenny’s milk is already declining which begins
        at her 3 months after foaling, naturally for all horses.

        REMEMBER MARES DO NOT BELONG TO LA LECHE LEAGUE !!!!

      • / Reply

        Why are you “ouching”? This is a normal part of life or every horse. In fact, I’ve read of a vet who promotes weaning at 3 months! Not sure I like that but…

        Zenyatta is once again pregnant. So right now she’s for eating for three. It’s really okay. Mother Nature in all her wisdom has put in natural safeguards for her. Z12 nutritionally speaking needs less of mom’s milk–so that frees up some of her resources for the baby still developing inside her. But Z12 isn’t quite ready for the big change to come.

        It’ll be rough for a day or two for both but really in the long run both will be fine. Zenyatta will head back to her stall well away from Z12–so she can’t hear or smell him. Horses live in the now–not the past nor the future. Since this is her first it’ll be hard but then the needs of her baby inside her will begin making his demands known.

        It would be very unkind to Z to leave baby with her while once again pregnant. In the wilds mares will kick, nip, bite the baby (Z12) until they go away.

        I guess I’m old school that believes in just getting on with it.

        Z12 will soon settle into a new routine without mom. Part of it will be social and lots of it will be challenging all the other colts to race. This is a normal part off rowing up. You want them challenging each other because later on that turns into heart with the will to win.

    • / Reply

      He was born on my birthday and will be weaned possilby on the same day as my daughters wedding. Aug. 12th. But, Dottie and Mike’s Birthday would be cooler for everyone else :)))

    • / Reply

      I’m not sure that I would want the weaning to occur on a “special” day. It is going to be a painful and confusing day for Mom and son, you would think.

      • / Reply

        Yes it is a very tramatic day. I used to dread weaning day. I do not have a big farm so I could not take the mare far away enough that she could not hear her baby scream for her. I would put her in the barn and close the doors and turn on a radio and the fan for her. I had a miniature horse that was the “baby sitter” for the foal. He did a great job teaching the foal. He also put him in his place when he got to roudy. They were fun to watch out in the pasture.

  28. / Reply

    For those who were wondering, Doris has solved her computer problems and posted on the previous thread. I would like to take this opportunity to once again welcome her to the redneck club as president of the Alabama chapter. I do not understand why everybody isn’t a member, but that is another story. @Vicki B and signofthetimes-Looks like I will have to miss Loudon Wainwright’s performance here in LA tonight. Pity. Here is a combination horse and redneck joke. In honor of Doris, I will designate these guys as Alabama rednecks. Two Alabama rednecks bought a bunch of horses at an auction, paying $100.00 for each one. They then drove to another town and sold all of the horses for $90.00 each. After counting the money at the end of the day, they discovered that they had less money than they started with. “See!.” said one of the rednecks, “I told you that we should have bought more horses.”

    • / Reply

      Do you think they had had a little too much of the moonshine or something???

      DMCQ_AL – you might want to post your update again here – lots of folks have been asking about you – glad to have you back. I actually lived in Alabama for about two years, but I think many people don’t consider Huntsville “real” Alabama (too many imported ex-Boeing engineers!!!).

    • / Reply

      Gosh, wish the Loudon Wainwright concert was this weekend. I would have come
      to LA for it. Sounds like a really fun place to go. Guess you will have to go and
      see Yellow Submarine instead, TC.

      Maybe LW will come to LA on a weekend next time or Marshall keep us posted
      on any NC appearances.

      • / Reply

        Sounds good. When you access The Dead Skunk Song on You Tube, it makes note of any upcoming personal appearances. That is how I found out about tonight.

    • / Reply

      terry, I had thought about going to see Loudon, but it seemed like trying to do too much on a weeknight, esp. with several people out at work. And I didn’t think his appeal would sustain a whole show for me, as a headliner.

    • / Reply

      Marilu V
      Thank you for sharing this story with us in an email! I’m like Karen – crying my eyes out at work!!!!

    • / Reply

      What a wonderful warm hearted woman this is. I wish I lived nearby I would gladly go over every day and help her out!

  30. / Reply

    Here are today’s redneck jokes. You might be a redneck if you got Odor-Eaters as a Christmas present. You might be a redneck if you have a pallet in your yard with tires stacked on it. You might be a redneck if you have beer cans all over the yard. You might be a redneck if the figures on your wedding cake wore overalls. You might be a redneck if the fountain at your wedding spewed beer. You might be a redneck if the words NASCAR, tire, dog or shotgun appear in your wedding vows. You might be a redneck if you got your pickup truck from a lake.

    • / Reply

      TC GP
      I saw this on my way to work today.

      You might be a redneck if you enjoy the Oxtail dinner special from the Marathon Station.

      LOL

      Terry Crow GP
      May 30, 2012 at 1:11 pm

      Is the Marathon Station a restaurant?

      Terry the Marathon Station is a gas station. I thought they were nationwide. It is one of those giant 30 pump gas stations with a store. I was at a light stopped and read the Oxtail dinner special poster out front and just thought that is a redneck special if I ever saw one. Too Funny

      • / Reply

        Oh yeah, Marathon Oil. I once owned its stock. We don’t have those stations out here. Oxtail? Definitely sounds like a redneck delicacy.

        • Oxtails a Northern delicacy; my mom always cooked them.
          I do use odor-eaters in my white nurses shoes; great product
          until your feet get too dry.

          Love the jokes today, TC. How was Loudon Wainwright at
          that Museum concert hall? Sound like a great place to go
          during the BC 2012.

        • I don’t know, the performance is tonight. I will read the LA Times review of it tomorrow. That’s a good idea for BC time. A northern delicacy? Thanks for the info.

        • Please summarize the review of Loudon Wainwrights, LA appearance
          if you don’t mind. May be he will sing “Dead Skunk in the Middle of
          the Road”??

    • / Reply

      No odor eaters, but my very redneck aunt gave me 3 pairs of nylon stockings for a Graduation present years ago, because she was t’d off at me, but pretending otherwise.

        • Yeah, Terry, she was po’d. I just said t’d off because it seemed a politer way of putting it. That aunt would start feuds with any and everyone, and stay mad a long time. So at any given time, she would not be speaking to one or more of her sisters, and over the years, that rotated among all six of them.

          You might be a redneck relative, if you ask your 9-yrs.-old niece what she wants for Christmas, and she tells you, “Not a doll”, and you tell her, “Oh, I think a doll would be so nice!” You might be a redneck relative, if you ask, “Wouldn’t you like a nice big doll?”, and your niece says, “No!” You might be a redneck relative, if you ask, “What would you do if someone gives you a doll for Christmas?”, and your niece says, “I would tear off its head, and throw it to my little brother!”, and you laugh. You might be a shocked redneck relative, if your niece opens her Christmas present, and it’s a big doll with curly hair, and with only a slight pause, she wrenches the head off, and throws it on the floor!” You might be an indignant redneck relative, if you angrily appeal to your sister to punish your niece, but her mother laughs and says, “She told you what she would do if you gave her a doll, and she did it!”

        • P.S. This aunt was my “godmother”. Maybe needless to say, our relationship was not “divine”.

    • / Reply

      Hey now,
      Cousin Edna Earle just had a shot gun wedding and honeymooned at the Coca Cola 600.Please,brother Ricky Bobby said….start respectin my Nascar man. You don’t want to see him spewing mad. Lord help us.

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