Danney's Introduction

Danney, formerly Dansey, is a 3 yr old Canadian Standardbred purchased ffrom an auction yard by J & M Acres Horse Rescue in British Columbia, Canada. He is broke to cart and has had a couple rides under saddle. He's a pacer (as opposed to trotter). Much about Danney can be read on the J & M page as well as the Mare Diaries blog.

http://www.jmacresrescue.com/

and

http://marediaries.tumblr.com/

Once you begin reading this, you will likely be scratching your heads wondering what I've gotten myself into and proably the bigger question...WHY. Here is my attempt at answering these questions!

1. Supporting local rescues doing a FANTASTIC job. Even though they are in Canada, they are still under a 3 hour drive.  Even though they are not an "official" rescue, they still right a fantastic tight ship- taking in only the number they can reasonably work with. They also train and market their horses openly and honestly. These things are very important!

2. Promoting the breed. Standardbreds are not very well known out here in Washington. And overall, there are many myths about them that I'd love to dispell. When I was younger, I rode a bunch of re-trained Standardbreds. They were all hunter jumpers. Where I come from, there are a lot of Standardbreds being raised- Goshen, New York is a hot spot as well as the Meadowlands in New Jersey. I remember the breed being a laid back, willing sort- and I'd love to be part of introducing OTSB's into Washington, as they don't seem to be well known here, though they are just over the Canadian border.

3. Talent pipeline. My goal with my 2 mares was to have them both going on similar tracks. With Piper being older (12) and Tally young, (8), the plan was to compete- always having 2 to choose from. Anyone who competes knows that a simple injury or illness can ruin a season, so having bench strength is always important if you can. As it turns out, Tally isn't well suited for competition, and doesn't appear to WANT the job. So Danney is going to be developed slowly into that position. I figure by the time he's well schooled, Piper's days in the spotlight will be winding down- so it is perfect.

4. The individual: something about Danney struck me as special- and my feelings were confirmed by those currently closest to him. He has the friendly, willing nature I am looking for, and the desire to work with people. I think we'll develop a special bond and have wonderful adventures together!

5. As for the "what have you gotten yourself into?" question...Yes, I've done this before. Yes, the last time I did this I was a young sprite almost 2 decades ago. But I remember it being awesome! Yes, I know it is going to be a new challenge- but a fun one!

Danney should be coming home to Washington in a couple of weeks time. Once we know when he can be hauled home, we'll order his Coggins and Health Cert- essentially his border crossing papers. My plan is to chronicle each of these adventures. So, stay tuned...the adventures with an OTSB are about to begin!