This filly doesn’t let her unusual-looking ears slow her down!

This video was originally released in November of 2015, but definitely deserves a second look. Meet Texas Gem, a now-three-year-old Thoroughbred filly with an unusual look about her:

Clearly, her floppy ears aren’t slowing Texas Gem down one bit (though you could perhaps argue that the fold-over can’t be very aerodynamic). She broke her maiden in her first start, and then raced again in December for fifth according to her racing records. As stated in the video, the “floppy ears” developed after surgery for cysts.

We’ve covered “floppy ears” before in our “What the Muck” series — learn more about the painless and harmless condition here!

Go Texas Gem and go riding!

“A lot of people don’t understand how important that is — to just leave ’em be, leave ’em in their natural state. Always good for a horse.”

If you imagined that a Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner and earner of over $4 million in purses would be bubble-wrapped and kept in a padded stall on her R&R layoff, we wouldn’t blame you — after all, that’s a big investment. But as this video reveals, the great stakes mare Beholder actually gets to be a horse with all the associated rights and privileges, such as rolling in sand, splashing around in the water trough, and even being ridden.

Much credit should be given to trainer Richard Mandella’s individualized approach to this lovely mare. How cool would it be to throw a leg over Beholder and just go for a ride?

Go Beholder, and go riding!