Today’s OTTB Spotlight has one of my favorite blog names since it’s both her horse’s name and good advice for life … Keep it Low Key! She’s moving right now, and anyone who’s made a major move knows how stressful that can be with a horse. Hopefully this spotlight on her awesome OTTB, Loki, will bring a smile to her face.

What is his registered name?

Too Many Whyz (jockey club) Keep It Low Key (USEA) Barn name: Loki

Lineage?

You can see his entire lineage here:http://www.pedigreequery.com/too+many+whyz  He’s a grandson of Mr. Greeley whom I’ve been told is a good sport horse sire. Otherwise I’m not very breed savvy and really only recognize the “big” names such as Mr. Prospector, Secretariat (5 gens back) and Man O’War (8 gens back).

Did he race?

Yes, 21 times earning just over $17K. He only won once.

What do you do with him now?

Mainly I bought Loki as an event prospect and we are currently training to that end and so far we have completed three sanctioned events at Beginner Novice and a handful of combined tests/unsanctioned events. But, I think our favorite thing to do together is trail ride and I’d really like to take him on a limited distance ride sometime. We also occasionally dabble in our local schooling circuit in both dressage and hunters.

If your horse was a musician, who would he be?

I don’t really keep up with many musicians so I’m not sure. Instead I’ll just say that if Loki were a song I imagine him being “New York State of Mind” by Billy Joel. Not so much the lyrics specifically more the melody that is a bit melancholy but peaceful. The feeling of the song is about being exactly where one should and wants to be and that is exactly how I feel when I’m around Loki.

What three things would your OTTB bring to a deserted island?

Grass, grass and probably his buddy, Monte. They are by the same sire, look like twins and out in the field are pretty much inseparable.

What is your OTTB deathly afraid of?

Honestly, Loki hasn’t proven to be deathly afraid of anything so far. His idea of a spook is to stop and stare, maybe snort once or twice and then move on. Every once in a while we will pass a log or piece of grass or just something that has been moved out of place or must look weird and all the sudden he is pretty sure it is trying to eat him but these moments are so unpredictable and so few and far between that I can’t really say if something was truly scary or if he was just bored and needed to liven up the ride. For instance, at our last XC schooling there was a handful of white weeds that had blown about four strides in front of a trakehner we were jumping. We did the jump twice and both times Loki wiggled up to the weeds and when I made him go forward he “jumped’ them. Silly horse!

What is your OTTB really brave about?

Hmmm, this is hard for me to pinpoint. Loki just seems mainly brave in general but not necessarily “superman brave.” He doesn’t mind leading on the trail and for the most part he’ll jump whatever I point him at. He falls asleep to the clippers, could care less about fly or any other kind of spray, and he stands for the farrier and the vet even when given shots. Nothing much seems to phase him except those weird moments mentioned above. Oh, I will say that he is completely un-phased by ditches so far. So much so that he has been known to step in them rather than jump over them. Hopefully he’ll be a little more careful when we get to some of the deeper/wider ones!

If your OTTB could change one thing about his training or environment, what would it be?

More grass and less training! That is an easy one. Loki is not one of those horses that thrives with work. He is perfectly content to just chill. Not that he seems to mind work he just likes relaxing better. (Don’t we all?)

How would your OTTB introduce himself to a new herd of horses?

Loki is somewhat of the “shy kid” in a new herd situation. He’s the kid who finds someone to buddy up with as quickly as he can and then just follows them around letting them do all the speaking for him.

Your OTTB makes you proud every day because…

Well mostly because he puts up with me! As an adult amateur with no experience retraining an OTTB he has really been remarkably easy. Sure, we’ve had plenty of ups and downs but looking back at how far we’ve come together I’m pretty awed. This huge, powerful animal has started putting his trust in me, letting me be his leader and that is very humbling and also makes me feel very proud indeed!

Want to submit your OTTB to be featured on this blog? e-mail me answers to this set of interview questions and some pictures to be featured, and maybe next time you check She Moved to Texas your horse will be featured as the OTTB Spotlight of the week!

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