One more Chance
A Thoroughbred racehorse, a three-day event horse, and then left as a cast-off. . . this was Chance’s bio. When we stumbled upon this handsome, huge, grey gelding when he was an “extra’ lesson horse at a barn about an hour from our Vermont farm. All three of our girls were riding regularly and on Saturdays, we would load Sterling and George onto our trailer and head over to New York for lessons and shows. Two horses for three girls posed a bit of an issue, but it was one way they learned to share. And, if necessary, the barn where their trainer was at that time often had an extra ride.
It was Sophie who climbed aboard Chance for the first time. She was so tiny upon this very large animal, but his gentle demeanor told me she was in no danger. One lesson became three, and soon Chance was the horse she’d look for every time we pulled into the barn on Saturday mornings. And then one day we were asked if we might want to add Chance to our family.
The why and how of Chance’s road to us were never fully known. He was bounced from one owner to another up and down the east coast, but at some point was in the care of a young girl who had loved him. Years later, we would learn that after her departure for college, her family, under the strain of finances - an all too common problem in any economy for horse owners, donated him to the barn where eventually we found him. It was here that he fell between the cracks - everyone riding him as the “extra horse” and no one paying attention to his long term care. Until we found him, fell in love with him and heard the words “he’s free to a good home - do you want him?”
And we did want him. But we were about to get a fast lesson in equine rehabilitation. Sterling had emotional wounds which often made him very difficult to deal with, but Chance’s problems were physical and stemmed from neglect. He was a Thoroughbred and had started his life on the race track. Horses who are average or not so good racers are in trouble - they are raced before the age of two, and if they don’t succeed their future is grim. The fact is there are just too many of them; they are overbred, raced to exhaustion and injury, and then the best that can happen is that they make their way to a someone who will retrain them for another “career’ — the worst that can happen I won’t get into here. When I start talking about the world of racing I get very high on my soapbox — it is not a glamorous life for a horse and most people would have no way of realizing that - it looks pretty fantastic when you watch The Kentucky Derby right?
As soon as Chance arrived at our farm, he totally fell apart. It was as if he knew he could relax, and suddenly all of his health issues erupted. The list of what wasn’t wrong with him would be shorter than what was, but we had a vet “on-call” for him consistently for months. Horses need dental care just like people, and when they don’t have it they often develop eating issues in their older years. Chance’s teeth were so bad he could barely eat his grain and hay, which he desperately needed because he was very underweight. We had an incredible equine dentist who worked tirelessly to get Chance out of pain - his dentition was so bad that it caused him pain down his neck and into his back. His hooves had been ignored as well; he had terrible feet and needed a special farrier. He was also prone to something called “colic” (mom’s know this term well) and it’s similar in horses. The quick take is that horses cannot throw up, so anything that becomes stuck or impacted is a serious problem, causing extreme pain and if not caught early, death. Chance was prone to colic and had had a former surgery, so we were constantly vigilant. After one too many middle of the night vet calls, I found a certain supplement that alleviated his problems almost immediately - basically a probiotic. I learned so much about equine health issues and preventive care in the years we had Chance and for that, I was always grateful. And believe me, there are no free horses. But as we watched Chance slowly improve, relax, and become part of our “herd” I realized what a profound effect this experience was also having on our daughters. They learned that we get back what we put in, and that just like people horses thrive when shown love and respect.
Eventually, we left the little farm in Vermont and headed to a more metropolitan area - Saratoga Springs, New York. We packed up our human family of five and our creature family of 11 (after finding a home for about 18 guinea hens and a flock of sheep) and moved to New York. Our horses went from living on acres of pasture on our farm to a boarding barn not far from our new house. It was a huge adjustment, for all of us. But it was the right time for our children to spread their wings and we loved our new city. The horses adjusted and we all adapted to our new world.
Sophie tried her hands at a new sport and born of this was a high school rowing career. It was this rowing team that opened the last chapter of Chance’s story. One fall day, a new coach joined the team and as she called out names at roll call, Sophie noticed they made eye contact. Later that day this coach pulled Sophie aside and formally introduced herself. She told Sophie she used to own Chance. She had been searching for him since she graduated from college and moved back to Saratoga; all she had been told was that a family with the last name “Coco” owned him now.
Sophie jumped in the car that night after practice and out came the big news “Mom, I met the girl who used to own Chance - she’s my new coach!” I remember a pit in my stomach because I knew how this might all turn out.
We all became fast friends and one day “coach” (I won’t use her real name) got up the courage to ask if she could come to visit Chance. As an animal lover who believes deeply in the bonds between animals and humans, I’ll never forget the moment they laid eyes on one another after years of separation. And anyone who doesn’t believe animals have memory isn’t paying attention. There was a connection there, a deep one, and it was the beginning of Chance’s road back to his girl.
Her visits became more frequent and she began talking about moving back to her family’s farm. And then one day as we stood watching Chance graze with George and Sterling, she asked if we would consider letting him go back to live with her. My initial reaction came from such a deep place it was almost maternal and I distinctly remember thinking NO, there is NO way. He’s become such a part of us. And then, as so often happens, my children helped me to see through the emotion. “Mom, what if we had to give up Sterling or George and years later found him. Wouldn’t you want them to let us take him back?” From the mouths of babes.
And so, on a brisk fall day a trailer pulled up and we watched Chance drive away. We had packed his trunk and I felt the loss similar to a mother leaving her child at college. I was full of chatter . . . “He has three blankets and he wears this one in the rain. He takes these supplements in the morning and needs these at night.” I was crumbling inside and to this day I can almost feel the way his soft nose nuzzled me goodbye. Coach phoned us once they arrived home and I’ll never forget her words - “He remembers this farm - he totally remembers.” And I knew we’d done the right thing. He was back home.
We visited Chance frequently, bringing carrots and taking photographs, and he remembered us too. We were comforted because we knew he was happy and he was in a better place with acres of pasture like we’d had for him in Vermont. And Coach loved him; it was the way it was meant to be. Chance’s journey back to her had given us all a life lesson that we carry always. And in turn, we gave him a second Chance.
