Freedom has been remarkably sound over the 12 years that I’ve owned him. Yes, I brought him home in early 2005, thinking that I would foster him for just a few months. He was a skinny, nervous horse that didn’t have much idea of how to be a riding horse.
Freedom came off the track with an apical sesamoid fracture that had been rehabbed. However, it turns out that SI pain is pretty typical for racehorses.
This problem really is the number one [issue], as every ex-racehorse has damage to the ligaments in this area.
The fact that Freedom showed no SI problems until last year is impressive. As a TB he’s officially now 19 and it’s very possible that he’s having some other joint pain as well. Overall he’s quite a balanced horse who has managed to use his body correctly and keep himself sound. He had 28 starts as a racehorse, retiring when he was six.
We haven’t given up. In between the snowflakes I’m still working on conditioning for both mind and body, waiting until the footing is good enough for the next lameness exam and hoping he’ll feel better in the spring.