Meet The Swinging Bear, “Bear”, who is an 8-year-old OTTB. For those who aren’t familiar with the term “OTTB”, it simply means, “off-track Thoroughbred”. Bear is out of Foundational TB Lines, including Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Nearctic, and Mr. Prospector. His sire is Tiz West, who is known for producing level-headed babies for post-race careers. Bear is a handsome grey, with a stripe and snip on his face. Bear is owned and loved by Leanne Hinners who trains with Taylor Manning at Manning Estate in Magnolia, TX.
Bear was a Covid adoption! When the pandemic started, Leanne had finally found time to ride again and rediscovered her passion for horses. After a couple of months, she decided it was time to get a horse. “I adopted Bear site unseen from Facebook through Horse and Hound Rescue. Their trainer had been working with him and said he would make a great jumping prospect. I rented a trailer and drove from Houston to Guthrie, OK starting at 5 am and getting back around 2 am. It was a tiring day, but I’d do it all again for this guy! A $1,000 tax-free donation changed my life so much for the better.”, shares Leanne.
The pair love to go on long trail rides when they aren’t practicing their jumping. Their barn friends, Cigar and his rider Remy, go on all-day adventures to ride the trails. Leanne shares that Bear is such a brave guy and insists on being the leader during their trail rides.
Bear is a silly and loving boy. He absolutely loves snuggles, and will happily rest his head on you for hours. During group lessons when they are watching others do courses, Bear likes to slowly creep towards my trainer, Taylor Manning, for extra pets — which she always gives him! He’s a little goofball that loves other horses and people. He’s a horses horse for sure and loves to have a buddy, very extroverted.
Bear’s favorite treats are the cookies that Leanne makes at Pup & Pony Patisserie. Leanne shares that Bear was a big part of her motivation for starting the company. He is a picky eater and the only snacks he liked were the expensive ones!
Leanne started riding Arabians at Bay Area Equestrian Center when she was 8 years old. When she graduated high school, she couldn’t take her horse with her, which led to her having to sell him. After college, she bought a quarter horse paint named Delta. She was reliable and so fun to ride. “When I got my first “real job” and started to pay my way, I couldn’t afford to have horses and had to sell Delta. I rode here and there for years…but didn’t have money or time to commit. Covid gave me the time to rediscover my love for horses and now I can’t believe it took me so long.”
