On a recent morning at Bill Casner’s ranch in the sleepy North Texas town of Flower Mound, Well Armed breezes into the training barn after a romp in his pasture. He looks nothing like a horse who moved into his fifth year of retirement this month.

Well Armed is in good flesh but not fat. His head is held high, his eyes are bright, and the hue of his coat remains a deep caramel – proof of a cautious turnout schedule in the bleaching Texas sun. The 10-year-old gelding is still a commanding presence.

Oakmont Ranch in Murrieta, Calif., will not look the same in six months.

Set on 85 acres, the Riverside County ranch is home to owner Gary Broad’s active and retired racehorses, as well as breeding stock, yearlings, and weanlings.

They are about to have a lot of company.

Have a young horse who toes in a bit? Looking for treatment for an angular limb deformity? If you’re a commercial breeder, many farriers say, chances are you won’t just be calling your veterinarian about those issues. You’ll probably put in a call to your hoof specialist, too.

Getting a Thoroughbred from foaling to a successful yearling sale often is a team effort, and farriers play a key role – not only in simply shoeing a young horse but also in influencing how a young equine limb grows.

Havana, from the first crop of classic-placed Dunkirk, was an impressive debut winner Friday at Saratoga Race Course, as the 2-year-old colt missed the track record for 5 1/2 furlongs by less than a fifth of a second.

Havana, who is trained by Todd Pletcher, broke on top under John Velazquez and was in command throughout as he ticked off fractions of :22.18 and :44.49. The colt shook off pace pressure from fellow first-time starter Kendall's Boy and, with Velazquez keeping him to task by flashing the whip, won by 2 3/4 lengths.

Grade 1 winner and sire Fastness died in July from the infirmities of old age at Timber Ridge Farm near Felton, Pa., BloodHorse reports.

The 23-year-old son of Rousillon was bred in Ireland by Lord Weinstock’s Ballymacoll Stud Farm and began his racing career in France, where he became a Group 2-placed stakes winner. He was sold during his 3-year-old season to Evergreen Farm and brought to North America, where he became one of the West Coast’s elite turf horses, winning consecutive editions of the Grade 1 Eddie Read Handicap in 1995 and 1996.

Desert Style, a multiple Group 3 winner and sire, died in Qatar after a severe case of colic, Racing Post reports.

The Irish-bred 21-year-old Green Desert horse had moved to Qatar earlier this year after spending the past six seasons at French stud Haras du Hoguenet. Prior to that he spent time at Irish farms Morristown Lattin Stud and Corbally Stud.

Two-time Canadian International winner Joshua Tree will retire at the end of the season to become the first stallion to stand at his owners' new Haras de Gastines near Chateaubriant, France.

"He'll stand here in France at stud," co-owner Kamal Albahou told Racing Post. "We've bought a small stud [farm] and he'll be the first stallion there."

A.P. Indy

By the time A.P. Indy was retired from racing in the fall of 1992, the soon-to-be-named Horse of the Year had ascended to heights reached by few racehorses to become one of his era’s defining athletes.

Kenneth L. Ramsey is one of the luckiest men alive.

Young Adena Springs homebred Harlem Rocker, a Canadian classic winner in 2008, has been pensioned following spinal surgery.