Have you ever wondered...

what Antonio Banderas would look like as a horse? (What do you mean, I'm the only one?  Huh!)  Well, I can answer that question for you right now, because I have the pictures!

See what I mean?  This is Riverlea Bandit, a 12 year old standardbred who is just retiring from the track.  Now, just take a good look at the above picture and the one just below:

Looking at this horse, you can really see the Morgan influence on the Standarbred breed.  He's really got a lovely shaped head and a gorgeous curved neck.  He does have the typical Standardbred conformation between his hips and his withers, which was celebrated for giving the foundation sire Messenger and Hambeltonian 10 their speed and impulsion.  Get this hind end collected under you and you will really be going places!

Now, Bandit's mom and dad love him dearly (pretty obvious in the pictures, I think!) and they really want to find a good home for him.  Bandit is a very strong horse and will test you to see if you are enough man (or woman) to handle him. That being said, he loves to work and, by gum, he's gonna win, too!  No matter what! His mom and dad say he can be jogged by anyone (and they look like they are having lots of fun!)

He will need an experienced handler, who knows how to handle a strong horse, at least for the moment.  We will reassess his personality after he has had a bit more time to relax from the track atmosphere.  With his Type A, win at all costs personality, he should be a good candidate for retraining for saddle.  Now, like any horse who has been on the track for that many years (he only stopped racing at the end of the summer--tough guy), his legs have taken a bit of beating on the track.  We can tell you he is pasture sound and gets along well with other horses in a turn out situation, that he has been visited by one of our members, who stated that he seemed 'sweet', but we cannot guarantee what degree of rideabiity he will have.  If you have the time to train him to saddle, you could have a nice pleasure horse to head out on the trails with, 2 or 3 times a week. Because of his legs, we are listing him as a 'pasture companion', and simply looking for a donation of any amount in exchange.

Well, it's getting late and, since I can't hug Antonio Banderas, I just have to run out and hug the Greedy Grumpy and the Stick Pony (aka Penny and Chance)

Have a great week, don't let the flu bug bite and don't forget to hug your horse!