Marty is an off track Thoroughbred and is one of our original 2 boys that began our quest for TimberLane Ranch.
He was known as Grand Marnier throughout his racing career. When he bowed a tendon during a race, at age 5, his owners decided to retire him and he convalesced with LongRun.
When we visited his foster farm to view one of his pasture buddies, he stood politely by until we were ready to depart. All of a sudden, he did everything possible to attract our attention. First he called out to us. Then he bobbed his head, arched his neck, and grinned his biggest horsey grin. When he pranced out to be viewed, he lowered his head for the attention he was seeking, stuck out his right front leg, and bowed.
All factors weighted out, it was decided that Marty would be our new pasture companion. Marty came with some issues. He bit and cow kicked when he was nervous or didn’t like something. He was ticklish, and afraid of everything, hands, plastic, a leaf, a mouse . . . Patience was something he knew little about, but he loved to entertain, always the clown. His biting issue turned in to an incessant need to kiss. His kicking seemed to have disappeared after a major knee injury that required extended stall rest and a lot of hands on TLC.
He learned to trust and seek the attention provided by his people world, even learning to let his belly be touched. His ground manners are now impeccable, he responds well under tac and is a comfy bareback ride for a thoroughbred. He is still extremely herdbound and somewhat aggressive as our pasture manager, but he is our guy and just nuts for Dave.