Meet Joey
If you have listened to either Jordie or Tamara's podcast, both were asked about a very special horse. In light of these interviews we thought we would take the time to introduce Joey here...
Joey was found on a Kijiji ad by Jordie’s uncle. He was close to home and we thought why not go take a look at him. When we arrived at the place, the lady took us to see him. He had just come off the track in Vancouver due to an injury sustained on the track, ending his horse racing career as he knew it. His trailer ride to Airdrie was less then stellar. The endgate to the trailer did not end up closing properly and for part of the trip drug and flopped around - I’m sure you can imagine how terrifying that would be for a horse!
Fast forward to him coming home with us to be a part of our team. He was very scared of everything. Jordie spent hours just standing beside him in his stall, petting him, talking to him and just reassuring him that he would be ok. The first time with harness, Jordie took it slow. He talked to him the entire time, reassured him and used nothing but patience to climb this mountain. Same thing when hooking him to the wagon to break him. The first few times were slow, monotonous, tedious and cautious. Joey loved his newfound purpose, but was still a little shy. He always needed a friend and that friend was Jordie.
Joey came to be one of our main staples on the ‘good outfit’. He would get mad in the barn when he heard the harness jingle and it wasn’t going on him, so far to the point that you couldn’t walk behind him as he would be that mad at you. Joey ran with us for 4 years consecutively and helped immensely with the success of Jordie’s wagon career.
We always took extra care of his back legs. I personally would wrap them every night he ran and when we moved to other venues. It was at the Calgary Stampede in 2011 when we had one of the animal care team vets come to take a look as Joey was not himself and I could not get the swelling in his leg to go down like usual. The diagnosis was not good- Joey had a septic joint. The vets suggested the best route to take would be euthanasia, but as Joey was Jordie’s favourite horse, we opted to do the $10,000.00 surgery just to have him pasture sound so he could live a life of retirement like he so deserved. Even though the veterinary staff advised us that if the surgery was actually successful, it would not be likely he would have a long lifespan as the infection was prone to reoccurring.
The morning of the surgery, Jordie left with Joey and a pocket of mints. Neither of us had a dry eye that entire morning or night before. We said our goodbyes as the doctor told us if it was not good when they opened things up, they would peacefully lay him to rest then. After what seemed like an eternity, we got the call that Joey was up, awake and doing well. I can’t even begin to explain the joy that phone call brought us. We would be able to spoil him and love him a little longer. We were still on the racing circuit at this time, so we arranged for him to spend the rest of the summer at a facility with nothing but the best care. We received daily updates, and knew he was getting spoiled and treated like one of their own (which is second to none).
When we were able to bring Joey home, he had a special pen made for him in lush grass, with his best friend and driving partner right there with him. His bandages changed daily and treats to go with that.
Fast forward again to the next spring. It was never our intentions for Joey to be a part of the team again. We just wanted him to live out his days as a fat, sassy, happy lawn ornament. That, however was never Joeys intentions. As soon as that truck training truck fired up, he was pissed if he wasn’t on it. When the harness jingled he would run the fence because he wasn’t tied up in the barn. He was telling us something, and that something was that he wasn’t ready to retire. He wanted to race. Joey was back in the lineup and it was entirely HIS decision.
We were lucky enough to have Joey with us on the road again that year. But tragedy struck again with Joey. After our longest trip of the year, we took him off the trailer (his legs were wrapped as per usual) and he could hardly walk. We immediately pulled his wraps to take a look. We called the local vet and she came to do take a look and do some X-rays. Again, the diagnosis wasn’t good. It was there we decided to lay Joey to rest. And let me tell you, this was not an easy decision. It took a few days of talking to the original veterinary staff from the first surgery, plus the new vet caring for him now. I will never forget the night we said goodbye to Joey. Neither of us left his side the entire time. The staff was excellent and let us have as much time with him as we needed. When we returned to our barn, his partner and best friend was distraught. He was the only horse Joey would tolerate, and their love for each other was like none other. Kap winnied for him for days.
We loved Joey like family. He was special. They all are. They all have unique stories, hurdles and milestones. They all mean something to us. Joey’s best friend Kap is still with us, still racing and I can promise you when he is ready to be done, he will retire here at home and be loved by both Jordie and I and 2 little girls Joey never got to meet. 
