Whiskey - A History
- Emily Cristofich
- Oct 20
- 6 min read
Whiskey is an Off-Track Thoroughbred gelding foaled in 2010. He was just under 3 years old when he began racing. He was retired at 4 years old. You can view his racing record on Equibase, his racing name was Sweetwhiskeybrown.
I donāt know details but at some point he was retrained at Remember Me Rescue and became a hunter/jumper.
I first met Whiskey in May 2020. My trainer and I went to go try him out at the barn he was at. His owner also had a fancy warmblood and wanted to sell Whiskey to focus on the other horse. I loved his name and thought he was a beautiful horse. They already had him tacked up and we took him right out to the arena. My trainer rode first and commented that he was āa little ulceryā, swishing his tail when she asked for the canter. To me he looked well behaved and moved well. I rode him and all went good, we even went over a small x.Ā
The pre-purchase exam was next. They did a lameness evaluation and I got X-rays. Everything that happened was way over my head and I trusted my trainer to advise me. And so, I bought Whiskey for $7,500 on May 25th 2020 to be my hunter/jumper horse.
The first time my trainer lunged him he was acting up. This would be a recurring problem for me for a long time. I remember being very intimidated by him. He would come in, letting the lunge line go slack, and then get explosive energy and try to run off. He did several times before I finally figured out how to not let that happen. I could not lunge him at shows, in case he got away, my trainer did it for me. I was embarrassed I couldnāt control my own horse.Ā
Whiskey was always trying to bite me when I tacked him up. I was instructed to ignore it or let his face meet my hand, not in a nice way. I opted to ignore him at first but he bit me good one time so I started trying out option 2. Nothing worked. Still to this day he does not like being brushed. Certain areas like the girth area or flank he is especially protective of. But sometimes even touching his shoulder is met with pinned ears and a head swinging towards you.
During our year at the hunter/jumper barn he required injections and expensive special shoes. I remember doing the Succeed Test for ulcers and the result being unclear, I believe we treated him anyway but I don't remember with what. He had abscesses that would take him out for a while. I remember the first time he had an abscess I was so disappointed I couldnāt ride him after all the money I had already spent. I was at times much more concerned about the sport than my horse. He took good care of me for the most part and taught me how to ride.
The first time I jumped with Whiskey was not at all like the other horses I had jumped. He would take off after the jump, it felt out of control. My trainer would always say, not everyone can ride a thoroughbred, so I did my best to stick it out even when I was scared, because I didnāt want to let her down.Ā
The last show Whiskey and I ever did my trainer wanted me to switch to double reins. This was to give me added control after jumps and slow him down. To me it was too much in my hands when I already had a lot to think about. Around this time I had a bodyworker come out and work on Whiskey. She told me Whiskey is in pain all the time, that he had TMJ, the double reins were not a good solution and maybe I should consider a new trainer.Ā
Long story short Whiskey almost bucked me off at that last show which wasnāt so bad but I was starting to see that he was really unhappy. I did not enjoy riding a horse that was always trying to bite me and wouldnāt stand still at the mounting block. Even though I was told otherwise I finally accepted his communication as valid.Ā
In December of 2021 I was able to move him home with me to the property in Bandera. I took him barefoot and had high hopes of helping his under-run heels. I was just starting to learn how to trim. Being at home sounds nice but I had no trainer to guide me and things got worse before they got better.Ā
I had hauled Whiskey to Houston a couple times, where I was learning to trim, and at some point he stopped loading in the trailer for me. It had never been an issue before. I got help from a horsewoman that graciously took her time to teach me the basic horsemanship skills I had never learned.Ā
The best thing she taught me that re-started our relationship was round penning. Whiskey and I were all of a sudden communicating. We understood each other and he excelled, even with me as a relative beginner interacting with him. After moving to Bandera and taking him barefoot, it was 6 months before I rode him again. We started off slowly and built trust. I was able to trail ride him, which I had never thought would be possible. I even trusted him enough to let friends ride him. We went on lots of adventures, he especially loved splashing around in the Medina River.
I gave up trimming him myself and had a professional try different options for his hooves including glue-on Eponas and Forma hoof. I treated him for Ulcers several different ways, Ulcergaurd, Sucralfate & Omeprazole, and Ulcer Tea. None of the treatments improved his sensitivity to touch.
In late 2024 I made the decision to stop riding him. His attitude about being groomed and saddled never improved and neither did his hooves. We had to sedate him for the Formahoof and over time he got worse and just could not stand for long enough to allow them to set properly. He blew two abscesses in his hinds at the same time and was dead lame in December 2023. I gave up on his hooves after that. Without boots and wedges or other support riding would be an extra stress on his body. I think about all the blood, sweat and tears put into Whiskey and he never got better. But really, that's not true, we did accomplish more than I thought possible, it's just that there's a limit to what his body can do. You can't reverse bony changes, I can see that clearly now after uncovering Atlas's bones. It makes me feel better about my decision to stop riding Whiskey, even if it doesn't make sense to other people.
Whiskey has always had a spot above his right eye on the TMJ, but in June 2024 a lump appeared right by his eye that concerned me. I had it biopsied because I was concerned it may be cancerous and potentially affecting internal structures. Luckily it was just a benign sarcoid. More sarcoids have appeared on his right ear. Heās also had spot on his girth area that has gotten bigger over time.
Another concern for Whiskey is collapsed pelvis. You can learn about collapsed pelvis from this video. You can see from the photos that Whiskey has the classic hunters bump and I cannot fit one finger between his tuber sacrales. These bony changes cannot be reversed and adds another layer to the dysfunction in his body.
In 2024 I started ground driving him and he took really well to it. His normal walk is super slow but when Iām behind him and can encourage him better he will have a nice swinging walk. Unfortunately I haven't been giving Whiskey much attention lately. I had a volunteer that used to come out and ground drive Whiskey once a week and that kept me motivated to keep him tuned up in between. But she stopped coming and people donāt pick Whiskey for lessons. Itās mostly because I donāt encourage him for beginners so someone has to really show an interest in him. He still threatens to bite being groomed and thatās not the experience I want beginners to have.Ā
Whiskey turned 15 this year, he should have much more life left in him. But he had a tough start and I also donāt want him to live in pain. He needs movement and daily interaction to thrive. I do my best, but the other horses that get used more for lessons take precedence over Whiskey when it comes to time spent with horses each week. This year Whiskey has gotten on average 2 days a week with interaction. Ideally I would like each horse to consistently get 4 or more days/week for their fitness and wellbeing. I hope things can change, we need more capable volunteers to spend time with the horses. I have learned I canāt do it all, especially with 5 horses.Ā
Whiskey has been a big part of what led me to starting Heritage Oak Rescue and I believe he still has more to teach me. Thank you for reading, your interest and support means so much!
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