Getting to know Ben

Who is Ben? To put it simply one could say he is a Thoroughbred gelding, standing 16.2 hands , & is turning 27 yrs old this month . He is so much more than that though he is my heart. He has been with me for over 6 years now & we have done everything from showing in the pleasure, versatility, & Hunter divisons together through the years. He has brought home countless ribbons & trophies. I retired him from the show ring at age 23 due to arthritis & to preserve his soundness. We dabbled in some dressage since he was flat work only but mostly we just had fun together. Last year I decided he needed to be free from ring work & do what I knew he loved. We then began learning how to become trail riders & he loved every minute of it. We only walk on our trail rides never more never less just a leasiure stroll. He is currently almost fully retired at his age not because he's not sound but because he has more than earned it. We would go for trail rides maybe 3 times a week. He spends his days relaxing in his large field. I know your wondering how is it possible he got ulcers to that degree? We will dabble more into that in other posts. Ben is a typical Thoroughbred in a sense he can be high strung at times & he internalizes his stress , & worries about things. Most may not always pick up on that because he is also narcoleptic (not officially diagnosed) & can be found falling asleep randomly. He loves to run & play & just have fun at random. He is not very trusting of people & isn't always the friendliest towards them, but once you've earned his trust it's the best feeling in the world. He was neglected prior to me purchasing him. My trainer at the time had saved him from going to auction & I fell in love with a skinny, furry, chestnut that I knew nothing about. He had me at hello as I like to put it. So now that you have some background on him the next posts will begin our story about his ulcers.