Lessons From A Lame Horse Owner

My Journey with Wasabi

I want to start out by saying that having an unsound horse is terrible for many reasons, but the lessons I learned from owning a physically challenged horse made me the horsewoman I am today. In honor of Wasabi's birthday April 23, 2009, I am dedicating a longer post to his story and what his journey taught me and allowed me to bring to others as an equestrian and photographer. Wasabi was much more than just a "lame" horse, but let's start at the beginning of my equine journey to understand how I got where I am today.

I started riding non-competitively in 2011-12 with a focus on hunter/jumpers but with a foundation in dressage as my trainer thought it was important every horse and rider had a foundation in dressage. I grew up riding any horse I could get my hands on, which usually was the naughtier ones who taught you to sit back quickly and stay in the saddle. I would wait patiently just to cool down horses after other people's lessons and help groom or muck stalls for fun. I was ready for any opportunity to be around horses. I had been riding and jumping friends' horses and my favorite horse I had been riding for years moved barns, so my parents and trainer decided it was the right time to start looking for a horse of my own to move up the levels so to speak. I loved riding my friends' horses and almost a decade later am still riding several of those who taught me first, but it was time for me to start a new partnership with my very own horse.

That is where Wasabi comes in. In 2017, my friend found a Facebook ad for a 16.1 hand bay thoroughbred gelding less than two hours from me. He was called Zapper at the time as his Jockey Club name was Kingzapper.

Back to 2017...

I tried Wasabi twice at his barn and liked him, got a PPE with some notes to work on, and soon enough they brought him to the barn I ride at. I was looking for a "step-up" jumping horse and Wasabi was jumping 3ft+ courses and had potential for more. He was on the lazier side and not very scopey, but would jump what was in front of him. When he first arrived, he was a bit quiet and didn't have much personality. I remember leaving him in the middle of the aisle untied and he would just stand there and look at you (soon he'd try to pull into everyone's supplements and buckets like there's no tomorrow). There wasn't anything striking or remarkable about Wasabi when I first got him. He nice looking, but nothing extraordinary. But my favorite thing about him was his face from the front. He had a cowlick in his thin forelock, inverted V shaped contour on his forehead, and a half crescent shaped "star". He was always naturally shiny, but I didn't realize until later on that he was the shiniest and softest horse I've ever met. Several people-- including my trainer who is quite the honest type of person-- told me he was the softest they've felt as well (so I'm not totally biased). Especially while Wasabi started struggling with soundness issues and was not rideable, I put a lot more effort into grooming and massage, which I attribute part of his shine to my grooming routine (and nutrition and genetics).

The Start of Soundness Issues

After I got Wasabi, we continued to jump and work on some of the issues he had when I got him. He had a few weaknesses that needed some strength building to help him overcome, such as plating (aka tight rope walking), jumping with his front legs swinging to the side to avoid picking them up as high, and struggling to come off on the correct lead to the right of jumps. We took it slower and started on much lower jumps and working on the flat a lot to build up his hind end and topline more.

Wasabi was progressing, but unfortunately we hit our first road bump about two years after Wasabi came home. Our farrier who my trainer had worked with for a decade had a personal issue that led him to likely rely on on apprentices more than him doing the work directly. He used to be the type we trusted to come and do our entire group of horses' feet great and send a bill. However, one day someone took too much hoof off Wasabi on all four of his feet. Those who know Thoroughbred stereotypes, they are not known for having the greatest feet. Wasabi was not an exception when cutting all four hooves too short, it resulted in cutting off parts of his soles and leaving the bottoms of his feet soft like play dough. He was in so much pain and discomfort that he refused to leave his stall for days.

We let go of that farrier by email after that experience and slowly waited for his soles to grow back, hoping for no permanent damage caused. But what did we know? 8 weeks later, someone came back and cut Wasabi's hooves too short again! Again Wasabi was so lame he wouldn't walk out of his stall for weeks. Our stalls are very heavily bedded and he was so sore for months after. We had a long road of slowly just growing Wasabi's soles back and getting him back to regular turnout.

Riding was out of the question for months. When I was able to start riding Wasabi again, he didn't want to move at all. He had always been so lazy people were surprised he was a thoroughbred, but this was something else. Even asking him to walk was a struggle. We ended up in a cycle of trying different things to get Wasabi's feet to heel up faster and figure out how to get him back on track. Due to being in so much pain and on stall rest, he started to struggle with back pain, sacroiliac pain, ulcers, and problems with weight as a result. He started needing much more frequent chiropractic work, ulcer treatment, diet changes, pain management, and lots of patience.

Wasabi was never the same horse after that incident, however in some other ways he would become an even better horse. It took at least a year to get Wasabi comfortable enough to ride, but would exhibit some undesirable traits under saddle and on the ground that started due to pain. I struggled mentally with having a horse that was so unhappy and not sound to jump or ride hardly that was also quite costly to afford. I had the mindset of why would you own a horse that is expensive to care for, not sound enough for what I wanted him for, and not the happiest horse to have in the barn after his pain.

One time when I was really feeling down about my situation, decided I would give Wasabi one more good shot before "giving up" on him and selling him. I struggled with the idea of selling him before a few times while we were struggling with various issues and worried that a horse like Wasabi wouldn't find a good home due to his issues, which kept me from selling him as well.

I started one intramuscular joint injection, and saw a bit of improvement and better mood. From there, I decided to move to joint injections to his largest sources of pain, which were his SI joint and his hocks. We gradually were able to start riding again and even started to jump again. Seeing all his progress gave me strength to continue working to treat Wasabi's conditions and look for deeper diagnoses. The harder I worked to help Wasabi physically and the more time I spent with Wasabi outside of the saddle, the more he started to be receptive to more in the saddle.

I decided I couldn't part with Wasabi after seeing how well Wasabi was started to improve once he got more medical care and attention. Though the road of horse ownership can never go too smoothly. We met several more hiccups a couple times the next couple years. One time he coliced, but luckily he didn't need surgery. He got a hives several times from bad reactions to flies. He struggled with arthritis and ulcers again especially in the winter months as the cold and decreased amount of turnout in the icy months was hard on him.

Overcoming Obstacles

But with a shift in perspective, I started to do more with Wasabi outside of the saddle. I started teaching him to be a model as I was gaining an interest in photography. I always said "if he isn't sound, he might as well look good and be well dressed". I trained him to stand on command without walking toward me and to pose without being tied or held by anyone so I could photograph him if I was by myself. Later on, this transitioned to standing 15-20 feet away and indoors, outdoors, in the aisle, and outside by the grass over time. I started working more at liberty with him, trick training, grooming thoroughly, and learning equine massage online for him when he wasn't feeling as well.

But in the warmer months and once I was able to manage his arthritis and other conditions better, he started doing fantastic. He was back to jumping higher than when I first got him, we started to focus more on dressage, and went on a few fun outings including taking him to Northwestern University for my graduation photos. We faced another setback when he was diagnosed with mild navicular changes in 2023. He got other injections and was sound enough to ride again, so I decided to pivot and do dressage since jumping was now not an option for us. He was a flatter moving horse that didn't have the natural movement for dressage, but he was starting to move from behind, carry himself better, and get more supple in the bridle.

Seeing his progress despite dealing with physical challenges and feeling how his movement changed while focusing on dressage exclusively helped me gain more of an appreciation and love of dressage. His movement felt the best its ever felt in the spring of 2024 before he started to struggle again. So we pivoted again and I started teaching myself mounted archery using a cheap bow I bought online to start. Wasabi was a natural and I was cantering him around in a halter and bareback shooting off him on day 3 of introducing archery to him. On his fifth time doing mounted archery, I rode him bareback and bridleless cantering around the outdoor arena. After all those struggles, our bond got so much stronger. Even after dealing with all those issues and when he wasn't feeling his best physically, all those times of hanging out in the pasture, just grooming him, taking my time with him for everyday tasks, and having fun with him on the ground made our relationship so much stronger.

Our last setback was in May of 2024, Wasabi started to be unsound on his right front leg again. Due to a virus at our barn, I was unable to get it diagnosed or treated immediately. At the end of July, I was able to get his diagnosis. Unfortunately his arthritis spread to his pastern and to his hoof, which made surgery unrealistic and risky for a horse of Wasabi's age. The risks greatly outweighed the benefits of surgery and in the meantime, we tried joint injections again. This time, they hardly put a dent in Wasabi's lameness and he was still limping noticeably at the walk. I knew it was time to plan for Wasabi's permanent retirement.

Planning for "Retirement"

I knew I needed to say goodbye to Wasabi because he would not realistically be pasture sound without surgery and extensive maintenance afterward if he survived the surgery and recovery at all (even if costs were not in the equation). I made a bucket list of things I wished to do with Wasabi before I euthanized him. I wanted to have a "retirement"/celebration of life party for him to say goodbye to friends be celebrated, I wanted to do several photoshoots with him including with another professional photographer for portraits of us together, and to let him graze in the pasture with his horse friends as much as possible.

For our last professional photoshoot, I asked my friend Alexis Malin of Unbridled Media to capture photos of me and Wasabi together. She did a fantastic job and I felt she captured some of the best parts of our relationship. Wasabi was not sound for real riding, so his body conditioning and muscling was not at his best, but his attitude was overall fantastic. He could be pushy and opinionated when he knew he could (such as when I wear heels or open toed shoes...), but now I miss those little quirks. For the most part, he was responsive as he was trained to model and he surprised me in the end. Wasabi was always the most honest horse about his discomfort and his desires, so I knew that if he wasn't up for what I wanted to do, he would refuse to move or tell me in less subtle ways... if you know what I mean.

I told Alexis that I wasn't sure it would happen, but I wanted to gallop him bridleless where we often liked to gallop and oftentimes bareback. I wasn't sure he'd feel up to any riding shots or how he'd behave bridleless since he hadn't been ridden since April and it was September when the photos were taken. But sure enough, Wasabi offered to trot and canter with only verbal cues. He was not sound-feeling, but I allowed him to stop if he wished, but he did as I asked. It was a truly magical feeling to have this horse who used to refuse to walk at all due to pain offer to canter for me without much prompting just because he loved to do what we did together.

Enjoy some of my favorite shots Alexis (Unbridled Media) took of Wasabi and I. Plus Sinatra for a few images. I am so happy she was able to capture so much of our relationship even with Wasabi being not at 100%.

Wasabi's Legacy

Even until the day Wasabi died, he would gallop at full speed entering the grass pasture. He would walk there unsound and gallop straight in, eat for a few hours, and then walk back in unsoundly. That's another reason I am confident Wasabi was comfortable and happy to still have that drive to run. When I first got him, he didn't even run into the pasture with that level of enthusiasm and preferred to calmly walk in. He was the type of horse to firmly refuse to do something if he didn't want to but was equally passionate about a few things. Those things were primarily food-related, but he loved his horse friend Sinatra and he loved having a fun, easy life.

I am grateful to be able to provide him with the life he had. I had decided after our vet visit that I would give him a last summer he deserved as long as he was happy and comfortable enough. He continued to get his chiropractic work and acupuncture, weekly massages, pasture with friends almost daily, and lots of treats. I had a few personal photography projects I wanted to so, such as a final Black Background session with him. I compiled a list of sessions I recommend everyone have done of their horses (here), but it is different when you have a final date in sight unfortunately. I've done dozens of sessions with Wasabi over the years, so taking his final photos to represent him was quite the challenge. I will show the results from that session and some of my other favorite photos I've taken of him before at the end as well.

Wasabi was humanely euthanized on October 25th, 2024. He had the best last week and end of summer he could have had and was surrounded by loved ones when he left us to be able to gallop pain free forever.

While Wasabi's story was a roller coaster ride with an abrupt stop that I had not intended on riding, it was a thrilling ride full of joy, exhilaration, tears, and lessons learned along the way that I would absolutely ride again. Wasabi's soundness issues led to a much closer and deeper relationship that I'm not sure would've been possible without this catalyst forcing me to adapt my goals and find ways to help him while finding fulfillment out of the saddle. I'm sure many people learn these lessons without such struggles, but I was young(er) and naive about some realities of horse-ownership. Wasabi gave me a crash course in how to be a responsible horsewoman with the tools I had at the time, and I am now able to bring skills and knowledge to my future endeavors. I am both a stronger equestrian photographer as a result with the increased acknowledgement of the fragility of life and what so many of us take for granted every day with these beautiful animals.

I will never forget Wasabi. I hope one day soon to find that next forever partner to create something close to what I had with him. Wasabi was so fun to jump, his progress with dressage was so fulfilling, and playing with him at liberty and grooming him are all my favorite memories. I really miss all those quiet moments and can still remember how every part of his body felt. I’m sure over time those memories will fade and I won’t be able to picture how every cowlick felt under my hand, but I hope I don’t lose that.

It isn’t fair how his time was cut short, but I know he had a happy life and was surrounded by love when he said goodbye. But I regret not appreciating him as much when he was younger and healthier. It was always another goal. Another problem to fix with him. Some frustration that in the grand scheme of things is inconsequential. When I was younger I didn’t take the time to spend with him outside of riding. When he started dealing with soundness issues, I was frustrated with the costs, little hope in improvement, and his negative attitude as a result of his pain. But it was also a turning point for us when we finally got to the root of his problems both physically and taking the time to step back let go of resentments and enjoy Wasabi for his own sake no matter what he brought to me riding wise.

I’m not afraid to admit my mistakes with Wasabi and what I’ve learned over the years through owning him. I had thought about selling him several times and had even written up ads and listed him casually once. But I’m so grateful I just couldn’t find it in myself to part with him, and it ended up being the best decision. He became the horse I wanted through those experiences and I gained so much insight into horses that I never would have with a sound, push-button horse I had thought I wanted.

I do hope my next horse will be sound—don’t we all— but I look forward to the challenges new partnerships will bring and I know Wasabi’s legacy will live through my knowledge I have now plus some residual back pain. He was so special and I still miss his dearly. The moral of the story is to hug your horse, give them that extra treat, and do whatever you can to make their limited lives happy. I always say our time with them is limited and having to say goodbye so soon made me think literally about how would we treat our horses if we only had a day or week or year left with them? Because no day with any of our loved ones is guaranteed. (Also, buy the photos and get the photo session. You will never regret it, especially if something happens unexpectedly).

I hope you were able to learn a bit more about me through my journey with Wasabi and our struggles. I hope it sheds some light onto how I approach horses and photography capturing memories with them. Please enjoy a handful of my favorite images I've taken of Wasabi particularly over the last three years.