THE BUZZ

To: 5R RACEHORSE <office@5rstables.com>

Date: Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 12:17 PM
Subject: Re: HELLO - FROM DAVE TO 5R STABLES

|

Hi Sean,

I wanted to touch base with you before you go down this weekend to see the horses and give you my thoughts.

The new farm is a beautiful facility.  It is the perfect spot for these three to grow to their potential and to get the foundation they need to hopefully become sound racehorses.  The difference in them physically after just two weeks at the new farm is quite noticeable. My opinion of course is based on the pictures and video you have sent and my one visit with these animals, but I feel that the move was a good one if not essential.  Paula performed miracles to get them to this point. 

If they are to become race horses, the exercise and turning them out each night will help them mature physically.  They have some catching up to do, but Dee says constant exercise should help them develop.  We knew this going in that this was going to be a catch up kind of process so I think we should give them as much time as possible to build them physically, build confidence and trust and get their heads into running. Who knows, maybe waiting until now to actually start their race training will be a benefit.  Time and patience will tell. Apparently Billy Turner (New York trainer, Seattle Slew winner of the Triple Crown 1977) has seen them and was surprised that they were doing as well as they were.  She said he was expecting to see even smaller animals than what he saw but she did not elaborate any further on what his opinion of them was.

Let’s take them one at a time:

Star - Of the three she impressed me the most.  She seems to enjoy her new surroundings and I was impressed with the shine of her coat.  When we took her for a walk to get some video of how she moves I was again impressed with how smooth her action was.  And when we got to the fence where Dee had them stop for a photo op, this horse posed as if she was in the winner’s circle.  Wait until you see it in the video.  Let’s hope it is a sign of things to come.  I found her to be confident and comfortable with all her surroundings.  She looks like once she grows into herself, she will at least look like a serious race horse.  Whether she can run or not who knows but she definitely looks the part.

Sara the exercise rider was very careful with mounting her at first but once she got on her back, Star took to it like a champ and went through her routine.  Dee was tempted to let her out of her stall to train along the shed row but as she said, " I do not like doing things for the first time when owners are around because that is when things happen but she is definitely ready for the next step and we will probably have her get out of her stall tomorrow to train."  So this weekend she should be walking the horses around the shed row instead of just in their stalls like I witnessed.

Stripe - She had no problem with letting Dee up on her back and went through her motions without a hitch.  Dee thinks in some ways that Stripe is a little more mature than Star and is a little further along mentally.  After her bath and back in her stall she was very curious and playful as she watched the others go through their routines.

Hopefully the saying, big things come in small packages applies to Stripe.  Again we won't know for several weeks and hopefully once broken she will prove to have more heart and speed than her size would indicate.

Bravo - this one is a handful.  He has a mind of his own and is less trusting than the rest. He had to be reprimanded several times for trying to bite me but like you said in a previous email, it is like a pecking motion.  He is in constant motion and doesn't really know what to do with all his energy yet.  He was cautious when walking to the outside fence and very curious when the sun hit him outside.

Once outside he seemed to enjoy taking in all the new surroundings but was a bundle of nervous energy as you will see in the video.  Prior to coming out of his stall, he reared up on his hind legs twice.  She said twice that she felt that gelding him might actually help calm his boyish ways and help put his mind at ease, helping him to concentrate on training rather than goofing off and hurting himself.  It might be the way to go with him.  I had it done to the first horse I owned and it did make him concentrate on racing rather than the girls. Even putting the bridle on him or combing his head was a chore for Dee. 

As you had once mentioned to me, he does not like anyone touching the top of his head.  I have a feeling something happened to him in the past that he remembers and associates with having someone around his head.  If we can harness all that energy we might have something.  He is a big striking colt and once he gets some exercise in him and is given a chance to grow, who knows.

Collectively as a whole I was much more impressed than I thought I was going to be.  Coming from where these three came from, I was not expecting to see what I saw.  They all need time, patience and a lot of exercise but the potential is there.  I think gelding Bravo is something that needs to be considered before he seriously hurts himself.  You should feel confident that you moved the horses to the new farm.  They get to be turned out each night and eat real grass, run on their own and enjoy being a horse.

I guess you can tell I am a little excited about this whole thing.  I feel alive again being around those horses.  It is strange how being around them can energize you the way they do but it has been missing from my life for way too long and I just want to thank you for allowing us to join you in this venture.  I just have this feeling that something really good is going to come out of all this. 

With that in mind please send me another contract as we would like to buy additional shares so that my wife, my daughter and I can each have a share to call our own.  Enjoy the weekend.  Give me a call when you get back.

All the best,

Dave C, Connecticut