70 SIDELINES AUGUST 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
been adopted, starting his new life with an accomplished hunter/
jumper rider, who’s also a previous New Vocations adopter. In
June, Old Friends welcomed the winner of the Breeders’ Cup
Marathon, Eldaafer, who won’t go anywhere without his two goat
sidekicks, Yahoo and Google. “Already I love the goats — they’re
like celebrity sidekicks,” said Michael. “You don’t even need lead
ropes. They just follow Eldaafer wherever he goes.”
Little Silver Charm is a popular attraction at Old Friends. The
gray miniature horse is the smallest stallion on the farm and came
off a slaughter truck 15 years ago, part of a $40 package deal with
two ducks and a goat. “He’s been a phenomenal pal, probably the
most popular horse on the farm,” said Michael. “He’s tiny and cute;
the kids get to play with him. He plays soccer with me, puts on a
little show. He’s very intelligent. He even comes in the house.”
There are many reasons to visit Old Friends and they all have
four legs and a tail. “You get really close to these horses,” said
Michael, whose outgoing, easy nature, gift of gab and obvious
enthusiasm for his job makes him a natural emcee as vans, buses
and private cars pull into the parking area of Old Friends. “”People
say you shouldn’t make pets of them, but we make them all pets.
That’s what these horses do now. They’re not racing, they’re not
breeding — they’re pets. All of them eventually become very easy
to deal with.”
One of Michael’s missions is bringing horses home from
abroad to retire at Old Friends. “Another of my dear favorites was
Sunshine Forever — we just lost him a few months ago and he
came here in 2004, the first horse we ever brought home from
Japan,” said Michael. “After we found out about Ferdinand, we
made arrangements with the Japanese breeders to notify us when
the horses were done with their breeding careers and we would
raise the money to bring them home. So far we brought five home
from Japan and one from Italy. We have a real good relationship
with the Japanese breeders now.”
Michael became involved with racehorse retirement, because
he’s a racing fan. He used to own racehorses and was an assistant
trainer. He has one ex-racehorse at Old Friends, claimed for
$3,500 up at Fingerlakes in New York. When asked how they
deal with losing these wonderful Old Friends, Michael paused for
several seconds before replying.
“We know we’re assisted living, we know we’re an aftercare,” he
said. “The horses know that we’re their waiters, their butlers and
their maids. They know that we don’t run things — they understand
that they run things. We know that when they come to us, this is
pretty much the end of the road, but still we hope that they’ll last a
long time. With the tours we see them four, five, six times a day.
We get to know them so well.
They’re such individuals and
characters. They’re like family.
You never get used to it. It’s
heartbreak.”
For visitors, however, Old
Friends is a place of joy, hope
and celebration — a living
history museum, populated
by
magnificent
creatures.
Before you leave, visit the
memorial garden, a small, tree-
shaded area with benches and
engraved markers. It’s a happy,
peaceful place where you can
sit and dream of past glories,
a place of great love and Old
Friends.
For more information, visit
Michael Blowen and newly arrived Eldaafer with sidekicks,
Yahoo and Google.
Photo by Rick Capone
Danthebluegrassman (chestnut) and Flick reign in the nearest
paddock where the congenial geldings “meet and greet” admiring
visitors.
Photo by
