Do you believe in the tooth fairy, too?
Sep 14 2009
Horrible Fox News story about rescued ex-racehorse
Before and after pics of the horse on the Second Race blog.
“Brill said she “started rehabbing him” but his injuries were too daunting. Then, she said, a man whose name she didn’t know bought him for $500.
“They loaded him on a trailer and left,” she said.”
And gosh golly gee, he went to a bad situation! A broken-legged racehorse that you sold after YOU realized his injuries were “too daunting.” Marian, you are just a flaming pile of you-know-what. You had a moral responsibility to euth this horse if you couldn’t get him sound or find him a checked-out companion home and you failed miserably. Of course so did his owner, Herman Heinlein, who should have known better than to believe trainer Jose Pinchin’s story that Brill would find the horse a good home. (And for god’s sake, it’s a Claiborne Farm bred. The Hancocks have rescued their ex-horses on numerous occasions, most notably Gato Del Sol, who was brought back from overseas at great expense to enjoy a safe retirement here. Why didn’t you call them?)
Marian is described as a “44 year veteran of the racing industry.” Great, another little old lady who’s a money-grubbing jerk with no ethics. Marian, maybe you and MeSue Babcock can have coffee sometime – you ought to get along great!
As someone posted on the Pedigreequery forum, “I know Ms. Brill and she knew exactly where the horse was going. People at the track give her horses all the time for her to find a “good” home for.” Yeah, no kidding. I’m sorry, but not a one of you in the racing industry can plead ignorance in these cases. That excuse has gotten all the mileage it’s ever going to get. You ALL know about slaughter. You ALL know where your broken down racehorse is most likely going when you give it to someone at the track who says they will find it a “good home.” Here’s the reality: There are almost NO good homes for broken down geldings and colts not good enough to be stallions, or unaccomplished, un-spectacularly bred fillies. Good homes for horses like these simply do not exist. If you believe they are easy enough to find, I have a bridge to sell you. On sale today only, and I do accept paypal!
We have a local situation here at Emerald Downs with the wife of a jockey who plays sweet, promises good homes and then runs them straight to the Enumclaw Auction. I am sure there is a person like that at every racetrack in the world. And the truth is that very often, the owners don’t want to know…they just want horsie to disappear and they want to be able to delude themselves that it “got a good home.”  Â
The facts are out there and it’s way too late for owners, trainers, jockeys or anyone else to plead innocence in a case like this. You might find a decent broodmare home for a mare if she’s well bred and accomplished, but the low end fillies and the geldings and the colts not good enough to make stallions out of? The only way they’re going to have a good retirement for sure is if you keep them in your pasture on your hay/farrier/vet tab! If you won’t do that, do the decent thing and put them to sleep. It’s a piddly little amount of money compared to what you spent racing them, and it is the right thing to do. Buck up, grow a damn spine and call the vet out when you have a broken down racehorse that you know will not return to soundness and that you are unwilling to keep and retire yourself. We all know you can afford euthanasia, and if you can’t handle it emotionally, get out of racing – you’re in the wrong industry.
58 comments to “Do you believe in the tooth fairy, too?”
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What a gorgeous horse. At least he was saved by some sort of miraculous fate. So many others went straight to the frying pan.
For all of you Emerald Downs folks reading, I am looking for an OTTB. Specifically I’m looking for a gelding that wasn’t talented enough to race. Don’t send them to the auction, send me an e-mail first. A picture would be helpful. Also please include the horse’s height, age, and specific injuries. kmanchas@gmail.com Thank you
Because this is all such shitty news for a Monday, here’s a GOOD organisation that’s doing something for OTTBs:
http://www.thoroughbredrehabilitationcentre.co.uk/
And an ex Grand National runner who’s now in a happy home:
http://ex-racehorse.blogspot.com/2009/04/grand-national-to-dressage-royal.html
And a reminder that one of the greatest showjumpers in the world in the 1950s was an OTTB, Pat Smythe’s Prince Hal, who won a vast haul of Grand Prix all over the world, and held the European Ladies’ High Jump record. Never went to the Olympics because of the selector’s anti-TB bias, but in a competition after Rome (1960) he beat the silver and gold medallists.
Amen.
I think we should have this essay printed on cards, laminated, and passed out on every race track in the US of A.
Perhaps you could write a different version for the Arab breeders who cull all their colts without papers, the QH people who overbreed, the Krazy Kolor Breeders, and a generic version for all the BYB asshats that keep pumping out horses. Just the plain truth so people will quit kidding themselves about what they’re doing and what the probably fate of their horses is. It’s time to face up to reality.
This is what I would think of when they would advertise that show “Jockeys” on A&E or wherever.
Oh and here’s said Prince Hal, less than a year after leaving race training.
I live in the north-east where there are plenty of tracks within a 1-2 drive. I don’t know very many people who own an OTTB. I’m not sure how many cast-offs there are, but it has to be a lot. So my assumption is that a minority retire to a good home. OTTBs seem to sell for a lot less on the 2nd hand market than comparably trained horses of other breeds, around here at least. I think there is a bit of a stigma against TBs and OTTBs in particular.
Yeah, it really applies to anybody who believes in the myth of the crippled or otherwise unrideable horse being able to find a “good home.” Now, don’t get me wrong – those homes DO exist but they are few and far between. I would not be surprised to find out there are hundreds of homeless horses for each potential good quality companion slot out there. Right now, there are just so many free rideable horses that it doesn’t make much sense for someone to choose to feed a horse they know is unrideable. There just aren’t that many people who want them only to pet and love on. (And if you actually do want or need that, please contact me immediately and I’ll hook you up with one!)
If I could afford a horse at the moment, I would like nothing more than to give some of these horses the retirement they deserve. I take great pleasure in just grooming any horse I can get my hands on! I think my first horse will end up being a horse I wouldn’t ride- some people think a horse has to earn its keep, but I think so many OTTBs have earned their keep several lifetimes over, and deserve nothing less than a permanent home on green pastures with access to hay, water, grain, vet/farrier, and as many carrots as you can stuff them with.
I’m not saying I’d just stick them out in the pasture for the rest of their lives, I would still make sure they’d mind their manners (and teach those to them if they hadn’t been taught yet) and stay mentally sharp through longing, ground driving, teaching them cute tricks (NOT REARING!!!), etc.
And groundwork is also something I really enjoy doing with horses… just because they’re big doesn’t mean they have the right to run you over. Just doing something with them keeps them sane and safe from slaughter (meaning: if they’re sane, they get to stay in their home… if they’re batshit crazy, there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to stay in one place long).
I find this an interesting post on the day of the Keeneland yearling sales. The irony that some of these babies are sold for hundreds of thousands -or even just piddling tens of thousands – today, yet may become $300 canners in a few years, is not lost on me.
WhooHoo! Perfect!
I’m so sick of these people saying they can’t afford to euth their broken down racehorses. No way could I afford the thousand$/month to keep a horse in training at the track but I sure’n'hell can affort $700 to put one of mine down when necessary.
Just curious if the wife of the Emerald Downs jockey Fugly wrote about is named “Judy”.
If so, Fugly, this is probably the woman who told me baldfaced that she and her husband race them til they drop then send them for meat.
And I HATE that Animal Planet has this incredibly stupid show Jockeys glamorizing a sport which does nothing but use, abuse and destroy not only animals but people too.
Heinlein says he kept title to the horse “because I didn’t want somebody to get him back to racing.”
**********************************************************************************************************************************
They also sold a horse they didn’t even have “title” to………..Pieces of GARBAGE!!!!! Or else, Heinlein was contacted to take the horse back and refused, even though he still held the title, which is just as bad!
Slightly off topic but I thought this would be of interest to you; there is a moderately well kept secret in PA called “Ryerss Farm for Aged Equines.” (http://www.ryerss.com/index.htm) They have been homing retired and broken-down horses for over a century and recently one of their two barns were severely burned in a hay fire (no one and no animals were harmed.) They are well liked in the horse community and have an excellent mission.
I got my mare from Days End- I volunteered there from 13ish to when I was about 16 when I finally had convinced my parents to adopt Foxy. She was crazy but I had never seen a more gorgeous horse in my life, to be honest. I don’t work her nearly as much as I used to and she never loses muscle tone- I dunno how she does it. I’m talking about muscle tone that a horse worked every day gets- she’s got great conformation and I constantly resist the urge to breed her.
But, I digress,
When I first took an interest in her she was pretty much feral (no harshing on defhr, they have so much to deal with that sometimes the crazies just sit out in the field and get crazier.. she was always fed and tranq’d for the farrier so they took care of her), she had been beaten and tied up crazy ways with a rope by some idiot cowboys who thought they knew how to break a horse. They tied a line around her girth section and everytime she bucked they tightened it (so intelligent, I know.), and true to her nature she fought them until she literally passed out. I was told they beat her while she was down and they were going to SHOOT her right then and there but someone evidently had an idea and said ‘let’s take her to auction!’ so to auction she went, to some guy who abused her even more, the people that took her to days end said they passed by his farm and he was just beating the piss out of her, she was on her way to being emaciated and had some open cuts on her and they stopped right there and offered him money- he spat on the ground in front of them and said ‘She’s not worth anything, just take the worthless thing’ and stormed off. They retrieved their horse trailer and took her home and tried to rehab her but the mother who owned the riding operation told me later that she realized that she just didn’t have time between lessons and barn chores to rehabilitate this traumatized horse, so she took her to days end knowing that she would at least be taken care of for the rest of her days.
It bothers me to know end when horses don’t have good ground manners so I polished those extra shiny. She’s wonderful to work with on the ground, she’s as calm as a lesson horse that has done everything- peopel don’t believe me when I say I can’t ride her. She’s great for tacking, lunging, roundpenning.. again she acts completely broke on the ground but you try to get on her and then she freaks. I’ve since hired 4 trainers and worked with them endlessly with no luck.. I’m not talking about bad trainers either- I’m talking about people I knew and saw break horses and trusted them. (except that off-kilter ‘natural horsemanship’ guy) I’ve ridden her for brief periods but she’s just too neurotic under saddle- I can tell that it really upsets her and she’s just a pasture pet now. I’m sure she has flashbacks.. and she’s back sore a good amount of time so I just go out to the barn and love all over her. I still lunge and work her but I just don’t ride. Luckily, I know a girl who lets me ride her horse anytime because she begged her mother for one and now never goes to see it or ride, my boss also lets me school her greener horses- so I don’t miss it at all.
I’m 18 now so I’m still immortal and able to ride any crazy horse.
I’ve been in a few situations where I thought I would have to re-home foxy.. but never was able to go through with it. I had a ton of offers for her by a lot of shifty people and of course turned them all down. I came very close to giving her as a companion to a friend of a really good family friend.. however I balked because I was getting really bad vibes- and guess what!? Turns out the girl was bipolar and something else I can’t remember now, refused to take her medication and often just went nuts. I heard later on that she went crazy on her landlord, trashed the place she was living in and tried to get into the landlord’s house.. she ended up having to get a restraining order against her and her biker boyfriend. Go me and vibes!
Whoops- the point of my post was the auction point where she fell through the cracks.. if those people had not been driving by who knows what that jerk would have done to her.. you know?
Also, for those who are convinced a broken down OTTB would make a perfect ‘Therapy’ horse, let me enlighten you. Even if your OTTB is a saint, and will put up with all the chaos a therapeutic riding horse has to deal with. (balls bouncing, sudden shouts and arm waving, fluttering blankets, and the need to creep along slow enough for the side handlers to keep up) Therapeutic riding centers are looking for young, sound horses. They can’t afford to board, feed and supplement a horse that’s only sound for one or two sessions a week. Or one that needs expensive injections and meds. They operate on donations and fund raisers. They have waiting lists for kids and adults who need the therapy. It’s not even a fair choice to ask them to give up an extra horse they could board to med and inject your cripple.
Lets face it, if someone needs a companion horse, they will pick up that free mini, or air fern Morgan retiree who can stay fat on air before they take on a horse who will need special care.
“And the truth is that very often, the owners don’t want to know…they just want horsie to disappear and they want to be able to delude themselves that it “got a good home.†”
I think you really hit the nail on the head there, Fugs. This is absolutely the truth. I see it more often than not. I find that people who do not take the time to go look at the person’s facilities who are taking the horse or who don’t go to find out (if it’s a broker) the kind of homes the horses go to and if they are resold or not is not serious about finding a good home for the horse.
But there are the rare moments when it backfires on you. I have a friend who moved from AZ to FL and just didn’t think her 34 yo MFT mare would do well on the trip due to her severe arthritis. So she did a bunch of research (including visiting the facility) and ended up sending her horse to an equine sanctuary out here that was specifically for old horses only. Well, they shut down due to funding, and instead of contacting the former owners of the horses to see if they wanted them back (which she would have done in a heartbeat–I would’ve taken in the old girl myself), they just shut down and no one knows what happened to the horses. It was even in their contract that they would contact the former owners if this happened, so my friend could sue if she could find them. We’re very afraid that the old lady ended up on the meat truck. It’s very upsetting, that’s for sure.
Like you’ve said before: the only forever home is your own.
OK, I’ve been watching the Keeneland auction most of the morning, and now I’m reading about TBs going to slaughter. A horse just sold for $25,000. and that’s the lowest I’ve seen one sell for, a little before that a horse sold for $550,000. How many of these horses are going to be limping through some auction and sell for $100. to the Killbuyer in a few years?
People who have this kind of money can certainly afford to support these horses for the rest of their lives after they are done USING them. There is just no excuse.
RE: my previous comment.
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The original story FINALLY loaded (my computer is super slow today). I had assumed it was about slaughter, not abusing and dumping ex-racehorses. My original comment still stands, though, these people can afford to take care of their horses. Just wanted to address the mistake since I know someone will point it out. Thanks (won’t ASSume in the future
Off topic…but can someone critique this cremello stallion for me? http://grandeprairie.kijiji.ca/c-pets-livestock-for-sale-Standing-at-Stud-for-2010-AQHA-Cremello-Stallion-W0QQAdIdZ155462441 I don’t know enough to persuade a friend to NOT breed to him but I do know I *don’t* like the looks of him for some reason…he’s just not pleasing to my eye. She doesn’t care about conformation–she wants a purdy color (from the yakkiest looking paint mare you ever did see). I keep telling her that she could get a funky colored baby at the auction for alot less than $400 (not to mention vet care and baby expenses) but she (get ready to gag) “wants the grandbaby to grow up with her grandbaby colt”.
@ dontbanbreeds: It just makes me feel so warm and fuzzy inside to think about what’s probably hidden under that saddle! He barely looks old enough to have dropped. And he looks like a jerk.
As one who “rescued” an OTTB, I can tell you it is not for the faint of heart. There are LOTS of issues that come with ex-racehorses, both mental and physical. My guy raced five times, was in the money four times, and had a “paralyzed flapper,” which means he roared (laryngeal hemiplegia). When a roarer races, only one side of his larynx opens to permit breathing, and the paralyzed side can be “sucked over” to the opposite (open) side which in effect shuts off the airway. The horse becomes reluctant to race (duh).
My horse also “worried” about everything. He looked worried at weaning (I have a snapshot that his breeders sent me). Hence, everything had to be done patiently and since time is money on the track, and being patient TAKES time, he was not the trainers’ favorite.
SOMEONE, however, saw that he was a really nice guy — great ground manners, very nice disposition, pleasant demeanor (pick one) — and sent him to be reschooled for a second career. The people who bought him weren’t able to keep him, so they sold him to the man who sold him to me. Had I not bought him, the horse would have had “a date with destiny” (as the trader was fond of saying) at the sale that occurred the first Monday of each month in Tulare, California’s central valley.
I had the horse checked by a young vet — just out of vet school, my first error — and she pronounced him sound of wind and limb. He was a bit over at the knee, but other than that, he was fine. Two checks written, and I had myself a horse. Did not know he was OTTB at this point. Thought he was appendix QH — he had a lot of bone and was about 16hh.
Eventually we discovered the roaring. Then after some chiropractic adjustments that got him standing square rather than over at the knees, we found other problems. A SECOND pre-purchase — with the more experienced vet at the clinic — discovered a crappy knee, a sore back (he was born with a roach back, also not mentioned by the first vet), and changes in both front feet. Those changes responded well to corrective shoeing and regular injections for about four years. The left front responded rather quickly to the injections, which the horse got yearly; the right front was every six months, then yearly, and then none. We haven’t had injections in the front feet for the past five or six years — he has grown a new navicular bone (radiographic proof) and is manufacturing his own fluid in the navicular bursa.
I was very lucky in that I had a veterinarian who is very pro-active when it comes to treating situations and that I was able to do what it took to get him to this point. Today he is sound and happy and while he can still take me on the ride of my life, his only issues are regular hock injections.
As for his worries, well he still gets very suspicious when “something is new.” However, he is very trusting of me, and everyone who works with him — vet (regular vet, the acupuncturist, the chiropractor — all DVMs), the shoer and his assistant, the dentist, — compliment me on what a nice horse he is. And he goes willingly for anyone who rides him.
Emotionally, it has been a roller coaster for me. Financially — well, I have my $40K dressage horse. I paid $1250 for him and have spent the rest in vet bills, shoers, the truck and trailer that have become his limo, etc.
Knowing what I know now, would I do it all over again? In a hot minute, damn betcha. I have always had a soft spot in my head … er, HEART. Soft spot in my HEART … for TBs and am absolutely in favor of giving the ones that make it off the track a second career in the best home possible. TBs have a wonderful work ethic, and while none of them should be a FIRST horse for an inexperienced rider, TBs are a great deal of fun for the experienced or intermediate horse person who wants a horse whose heart is full of “try” and that has been “around the block a time or two.”
My horse loves dressage. As I have said before, the “jockey” may be a bit heavier than he’s used to, but the “oval” is smaller and because he’s the only horse in the “race,” he is always going to come in first.
Althea, check out TTEAM for your mare’s back soreness. Can’t hurt, she will like it, and it might relieve her.
DBBBSO-
That cremello is familiar. I wonder if he’s been featured here before??
Here’s the nickel critique – he’s back at the knees. He’s got an ugly neck. His back legs are too straight. He’s got a weak rear end, especially for a quarter horse. They’ve got him way too thin, at least on their own web site, so who knows what kind of care they would take of the mare.
In short, they epitomize the worst of Krazy Kolor Breeders – the heck with the underlying quality of the horse – all they care about is color.
I don’t hold out much hope for your friend tho, sounds like she’s drunk the Krazy Kolor Koolaid.
Joe@Tb Friends has some very nice horses, if anyone is in the area. He pre screens the homes, looks out for them, hard to believe those other folks are so heartless, there are some beautiful TBs out there. My family has them. People stopped and complimented us repeatedly at a show we went to with one, during the summer. They can have second careers, you just have to be willing to put some time in. I’m happy that here in Ma. they have made it a lot harder for these horses to be shipped to slaughter. It’s a start, and they kicked several people off the track for trying to ship some horses.
Is it me, or does the horse in the picture look like he has an “X” on his head?? WTF… maybe he was just hours from being shot?
We visited Old Friends while in Lexington KY. They take in old or young race horses and keep them there forever. They spent $40,000 to get back a horse that had been sent to Japan and was now going to the Korreans for stallion fighting. Or so we were told. Not a great end. But should $40,000 be spent on one horse?
dontbanbreedsbadstupidowners:
You are absolutely correct, that Cremello stallion is not pleasing to the eye, and needs to be gelded.
Tell her he`s ewe necked and very weak behind – definitely not breeding quality.
Dear BOWELSERISED, thank you for sending the link to Prince Hal. I still have my childhood copy of Pat Smythe’s Book of Horses that told all about Prince Hal, her gray mare Tosca, and many other chapers about fox hunting, showing, the Royal Mews, Pony Club, etc. A great book for kids of all ages. I was tickled to see Prince Hal in action in the video link. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
I just rescued my first OTTB two months ago. A year ago he was racing at Calder Race Course in Miami and won in May of 2008. From what I can tell, he bowed a tendon during his last race but still placed 2nd. He was laid up for several months recovering and then was given to “a good home” when the local celebrity owner (whom the horse is actually named after) got tired of not having a horse to race and got a new one. The guy who was given the horse by the trainer is a major drunk and doesn’t work. He already had two horses he couldn’t afford and took the TB as his third. No one ever checked his situation or asked if he could actually AFFORD three horses, let alone ONE!! Our hay is $14-17 a bale and partial board ( a stall to stand in and water) starts at $150 a month and up. So how can he pay for board, feed, shavings, farrier, etc when he needs beer and smokes? Hmmm, a pack of cigs and a case of beer, or a bale of hay…. He ALWAYS has beer and cigs. He asked my BF to put the horse in a dry pasture we have so he could save the $150 a month for board and use it for food, so my BF said okay. Well, the horse arrived and the guy never did. Not a penny for feed, never showed up, and basically abandoned the horse.
I’m a police officer, so I had the BF call the owner and tell him that he could give up the horse or face animal cruelty charges. He gave up the horse to satisfy part of his $1000 farrier bill and now I have him. He was 200+ pounds underweight, had rainrot, was wormy and hadn’t had any shots, a bath, or any care whatsoever in months.
I’m glad I have the horse now, and he’s turned out to be fabulous. He’s only 4, but he’s so spook proof from being at the track that he seems much more mature. He loves people and doesn’t cause any problems around the barn. I guess why I’m extra pissed is that the old owners STILL to this day have a Myspace page for the horse that they updated for about a year while they were having him trained and raced. There are over a hundred “friends” of the horse, including about half a dozen TB rescue groups. They can take the time to post his race videos, a hundred pictures, and say that he’s “RETIRED TO A NICE FARM WITH LOTS OF HAY AND CARROTS” but they are too lazy to actually ask one of these groups to take him and just trust a butthead trainer who says he found him a great home??
I so wanna out these people because they are major local celebs in south Florida and even people that don’t follow horse racing know this horse’s name because he’s got the same name as the celeb. I’ve kept my mouth shut, but I was raging for weeks after I started getting this horse back to a normal life. It would be such a big deal in the media with all the horse slaughter, the Freedom’s Flight situation, and all the other crap going on down here in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area. Check out the SPCAs website for more updates on the slaughter and the seized horses down here helpthehorses.org.
For A Bay Horse,
I live in NY and your observations reflect accurately what I have seen-not so many OTTTBs find good permanent homes, despite heroic efforts by several organizations. There is definitely a bias against them in the HJ show community. Many will tell you they are only suitable for eventing. I think if transitioned by someone who knows what they are doing and can evaluate them, they can be directed toward an appropriate new career. As for mine, he will be showing HJ and hunter pacing. I’ve encountered biases in all aspects of the horse (show) industry, and I do not let them fluster me. It is unfortunate, though, because it realistically impacts the “marketability” of these horses, and there must be many as good as mine.
Don’tBanBreeds:
EEEWWWW! That stallion is FUGLY!
http://www.chevyacres.com/sinatra.cfm “Leos Perfect Ghosts AKA Sinatra” UGH!
Ameteur appraisal:
Front Legs:
He looks tied in at the knee on his front legs, and something is weird is going on with the line of his front leg OR they have the horse standing all funky and getting a horrible shot.
Decent angle of neck to shoulder connection, but his neck looks a bit short.
Back:
Can’t really tell because he has almost no muscling and is obviously still growing at 2yrs old. In these photos he is very downhill, and even looks wormy. And gee- want to feed your “stud” before taking pictures Chevy Acres?
Butt- nasty angular hip and steeply sloped croup.
Back legs-
Back legs lack proper angles.
Not sure if some of this will out grow, but this horse is far from spectacular. And I did not see once single achievement on his page other than having some semi famous horses in his ancestry and being “purty” color. (His eyes kindof creep me out. No offense intended to cremello fans).
Yuck. I think this guy is a big canidate for the gelding knife, and would have been gelded long ago at my place. Sadly he is becoming their “herd sire” UGH. And has she ever seen a tube of Ivermectin? Seriously…
GET ‘EM FUGS! Chase the TB racetrack slimeballs with a flaming torch all the way to hell if you have to. They’re going there anyway.
Shove these sins in to the light of day, baby!
Yes, I happen to own one of those yearling sales horses that get picked up cheap years down the road. My horse sold as a yearling at one of the big Florida sales for $37,000. Fast forward 7 years and $92,000 in earnings, he shows up as a CANTER trainer listed horse for $800. I offered $700 and bought myself an OTTB. I had looked and looked for months before coming across his picture and I just knew he was the one. What made him stand out for me was he was presented in a way that made him look suitable for my purposes. He was relaxed, yet interested, in his photo, legs cleaned of any poultice, in good weight. If any of you have looked at some of the trainer listings on the CANTER sites, you’ll understand what I’m saying. If you’re really trying to help these horses move into a new home, make an effort! I am glad for the TB organizations that are trying to help, and both my horses have been OTTBs. I just wish the trainer listings showed the horses in a better light- if you really want to get the horse into a better home, make it look like a horse someone would want.
That being said, yeah, they are basically disposable to most owners/trainers. I just wish that those individuals would humanely destroy the horse (yeah, I would be okay with a well-placed bullet, if the cost of the pink juice was too cost prohibitive), rather than sending it to auction and God knows what fate. Better yet, quit breeding crap to crap in the hopes that you are going to get the next Triple Crown winner. I LOVE TBs, but I hate to say, there are a lot that are just hideous and its no wonder that homes can’t easily be found for them, even the sound ones.
“For the next two months, Freedom’s Flight endured both insult and injury. Based on conversations with state parimutuel investigators, Cuoto believes that for part of that time, he hobbled along on his broken leg as a riding pony for kids.
And someone gelded him — ruling out any future career as a stud.”
No. Nonononono somebody did NOT spend time, money, and vet care on a horse and not notice a broken fucking leg. NO. Goddammit.
Stop the planet, I want to get off.
@ rider: Should $40K be spent on one horse? If you’ve got the means, and the money is being spent to get the animal out of a horrific situation that could go on for years, by all means. If it’s being spent to save a horse that could be put down, maybe not. That would depend on the person’s emotional attachement to the animal.
Adding to the nickel critique of the cremello — plain head and yes, too thin. To me he looks like a gelding with a big jowl. He also needs a good grooming. And show him under saddle if there is only one full-body picture? What is the saddle hiding?
This can happen way too easily, even with quality horses. I was given a 14 year old TB a while ago. After some research we found out he had been a big money winner (won near a million), ridden by big name jockeys, in big name races. Sold in the high 6 figures as a yearling. Came to me near emaciated. He was by far the most level headed horse i ever worked with. Within a few months we had him jumping 3′ easily and confidently. I also gave beginner lessons off him. Unfortunately the race track was hard on him and he wasn’t comfortable jumping (never lame just nqr) so i sent him on his way to a wonderful dressage barn that still has him today. He was given to me b/c he cribbed.
My fiancee and I play the what if game all the time. Our favorite is “what if we won the lottery?” He thinks I’m crazy b/c i always tell him i want a 20 stall barn. 5 for my riding horses and ponies (1 for me, 1 for him, 1 for the baby, 1 for my mom, and 1 for friends when they come over), and 15 for track rejects and other horses that are cast off.
dontbanbreedsbadstupidowners: Weak back end, under muscled, ewe necked (and has the bulge on the underside of his neck that says he’s not carrying himself well). I don’t like the look of his front pasterns, either, but can’t tell you quite why. He’s also underweight in the picture on the front page http://www.chevyacres.com/home.cfm, has a very long back and I don’t like his shoulder.
Even my non-horsy husband looked at that and went “that horse is just wrong and I don’t know about horses.”
I’m glad the gelding got a good home after such a terrible ordeal. I know I’ve posted my horse’s story here before, who suffered under similar circumstances after five long years on the track. If my avatar is working, you can see that he’s a fat and happy guy now, but when I first met him he was a rain rotted skeleton with a tiny little spark in his eye. He too had been passed from person to person with no questions asked until he nearly starved to death and could barely move.
I agree with TBDancer: rescuing these horses isn’t for the faint of heart, or the light of wallet, and so few of them get the good homes they deserve after enduring life on the track.
For folks in Ontario:
http://longrunretirement.com/
Thoroughbred racing always was a hot button issue with me.
BTW SnowFalling, Jockeys is on Animal Planet. I’ve caught a few eps, but I don’t watch it religously, mainly because it disgusts me. I’m both angry and disappointed that they’re, in essence, “romanticizing” horse racing. Of course, the romantic, noble image of TB racing has been propagated ever since it was concieved. People don’t know about, or rather they more likely don’t want to know about the dark, ugly underbelly of horse racing. Most people also aren’t aware that asking a bunch of two year olds to compete is akin to asking a bunch of eight year olds to run a marathon, or compete in the Super Bowl. Also, I’m pretty sure that upwards of 70% of ALL TBs end up going to the kill buyers. I could be wrong, though. I also hate it when people say that they just “loooooooove to run.” Uh-huh. I’m sure they also love winding up in some feedlot waiting to be shipped south of the border, or on up to Canada to become dog meat, after their “glorious careers” are over.
Because of recent high profile deaths and breakdowns during the Triple Crown races, they (the NTRA) are supposedly going to impose better “safety regulations.” What those regulations are remain to be seen. I think the very least they could do is up the minimum age limit to four or even five for horses to run, although I’m not holding my breath.
It was obvious these changes were mainly triggered by Barbaro breaking down in the Preakness, and then Eight Belle’s very public death on the track in 2008.
In my lifetime, I would love to see horse racing as a whole become a thing of the past, because it’s sickening, barbaric, and cruel in my eyes. It’s always the horses that pay the ultimate price, as we know all too well.
I don’t believe the Brill story either….sounds like a real piece of work. I don’t know how men do it but I REALLY don’t understand how women take horses to slaughter!!
I have to say the horse looked pretty bad–and I realize those photos don’t tell the whole story but he sure doesn’t appear to be a ‘three legged horse’ as he’s standing square and not quite the embellished FoxNews story that is probably as simple as a chipped knee and they turned it into a tragic fractured nearly dangling leg incident. This is not to say he didn’t survive a horrible time, indeed he looks pretty resigned to that life tied to the tree. It just sounds like A) the trainer of the horse didn’t give a rip where he was going, nor did the owner B) they were correct that his stud value was zip C) but they blew it because he’s a nice looking horse and obviously had SOME potential somewhere….
And I don’t believe that the new owner spent $30k on THAT horse’s vet bill for one second. Sensationalism at its best. Especially when racing is trying hard to eliminate the bad players and create new fans–pretty hard to do when a story like this hits the pages.
But at least he got saved!
@dontbanbreeds… Here’s the one HUGE argument I would give your friend: HE’S A FREAKIN’ TWO-YEAR-OLD. Of course his conformation is sketchy, he’s not done growing yet! If she wants guaranteed color she can find a full-grown stallion with a crop on the ground who’s done something (I looked at their other horses–the mares are all in good flesh and appear cared for. I don’t think he’s skinny because he’s badly cared for, I think he’s just a growth spurt because he’s a BABY.) The ONLY points I would give him is his bloodlines are decent–Leo and Poco Bueno without an Impressive horse in sight. But there are plenty out there with good lines and color who are done growing to maturity, too. Why would she want to breed to a May 07 colt?
re: tooth fairy
Freedom is boarded at the same farm that I keep my horse and in fact they are pasture buddies at night in a lush 3 acre pasture. They have a small herd of 4 very nice passive geldings. Freedom is gorgeous, his coat gleams, very sweet and is well cared for now. He’s come a long ways.
And let me tell you, the owner, is easy on the eyes as well. When he comes out, he takes Freedom to an empty pasture and turns him loose, then runs laps around the pasture and Freedom trots and canters beside him like a dog. Several of the women at the barn watch him (Cuto) since he always takes his shirt off for his morning run….
Thanks to everyone who replied about the cremello stud colt. Trust me when I say that her mare is a kicking witch and ugly to boot. She’s a paint…that’s ALL she’s got going for her, her flashy color. I swear I would have shot her if she was mine, I won’t have a dangerous animal around. Period. (Yes, trainers and experienced people have worked with this horse, she’s a nutter.) This woman doesn’t care AT ALL about bloodlines, she knows nothing about them (neither do I but then again I’m not trying to find a horse to breed to) and only wants a pretty colored baby for her grandbaby to grow up with. This stud is close enough to haul to. That’s the only reason she’s interested in him I think. I politely mentioned that her mare isn’t exactly a horse you’d want a baby learning manners from and that I’d go to the auction with her to pick a youngster out in her choice of color. Nope, she wants it from THIS mare. Even though they can’t trust this mare even on the other side of the fence they “loooooove her” because she’s there horse. A useless, ugly pasture pet that you have to watch like a hawk or she’ll try to kick your teeth out. I’d love her too. Why not? I don’t know why I’m even friends with her, she drives me freaking crazy. She has a small dog she wants to breed too–not a purebred, just a mutt, but she’s “wittle”. OK, mind made up–I’m just going to terminate this friendship. I’m getting nothing but a headache from this whole relationship. She can breed to whatever she wants, I can’t change the world.
@ Freisian Lover: I completely agree. It sickens me that 90% of the population doesn’t know what goes on (“Ooh, look at the pretty horsees run.”) in the industry, which makes it okay. http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=14861
@dontbanbreed Sounds like you need to do a 180 and run as fast as you can in the opposite direction. Fugly stud + nut job mare probably equals fugly fruit loop foal, dead or maimed owner and grand kid. Pretty sad some people just never learn. Credit to you for trying to talk some sense into her.
Yah, that cremello should go for a ride on the gelding bus. I didn’t even have to look at the picture. No pedigree info, no HYPP/Herda status, no show record, breeding him at 2… it all adds up to color breeder. Shoot, he’s a QH and doesn’t even look like one!
Some people… you just can’t get through to them. I hope their foal doesn’t have HERDA; doesn’t it go back to Poco Bueno?
Send in the Daleks.
Ruthie
I have always loved TBs. Owned 2 OTTBs, my btdt mare Chick and a 17 hand gray gelding I sold as a field hunter to a MFH after 6 months of re-schooling. He retired from racing sound at age 10. Bred several TB foals that sold as h/j prospects. Only one went to the track and I still regret selling him as a race prospect. I later heard he bowed both fronts. I tried to locate him to retire with me but never found him.
Only about half on topic…no, it’s NOT easy to find a home for an unrideable horse. One of my trainers is trying to find retirement homes for multiple elderly lesson horses. She did finally find homes for the three that *are* rideable (Two of them only some of the time), but still has an incredibly sweet, big half-bred who is in his thirties, can’t be ridden, and just needs a corner of a field to live out what time he has left after thirty plus years of duty.
It still impresses me that she goes to all of this trouble when so many lesson barns would just send these horses to the auction. (And yes, she is seriously trying to place this horse, although he probably doesn’t have that many years left in him…I believe he is 34 or 35 which for a big horse is very old).
St PetersGal–in fairness, if you look at the cremello’s pedigree, he is unlikely to be H/N or H/H. He actually has some nice ancestors in the first five generations, from functional working lines. No links to Impressive, so he’s unlikely to carry the HYPP gene and also will probably not grow up to look like a prime beef steer. HERDA, don’t know how that gene is carried so I couldn’t guess. The problem is….HE’S TWO! He looks like a gangly two-year-old (and I personally can’t stand cremellos. It’s not fair, but I just think the color’s ugly and wouldn’t breed for it on purpose.)
Yeesh, this is the second discussion lately that has had colts who are barely more than yearlings standing at stud. They might have decent bloodlines. That sabino Arab might grow up to be something nice. This colt is still in the gawky awkward stage. Because they’re just colts! Are there so few colored horses out there they have to start listing them as standing at stud the day after they’re weaned?
Dontbreed–sounds like the mare alone should be a nonstarter! And she wants to breed canine junk, too? Sheesh.
Sigh. While having my coffee I decided to look around that cremello stud’s site, just for fun. ‘Six Toes’–what a clever name–is a male kitten of unknown breeding kept unaltered because they hope to have a litter of six toed kittens spring 2010? WTF? I don’t know cats but isn’t that considered a defect? And can’t you get one of those kittens at the SPCA, and the cost usually includes spay/neuter and a vet visit! Who is going to want to pay for one? Oh wait. I know who. Sigh.
I couldn’t resist and finally went to the site myself. lol….six toed cats are actually bred by many people. They are called Polydactyls and sometimes even have 7 or more toes! And, yes, it is an “abnormality” but one that some people seem to look for … ?? Oddly enough there is no mention of these cats being for sale? I know MANY farm owners who have a litter or two of kittens each year to help with the mouse population and these cats are simply “barn” cats. Unfortunately, a lot of these kittens/cats “dissapppear” to foxes and coyotes…..just a way of life on the farm. Sad, but true.
I’m going to reserve judgement on the cremello for now. I’d like to see him when he matures at 4-5 yrs old. He has a decent pedigree and like BoldsLass says….cremellos are not pretty! But, I do like my buckskins and palominos and one way to get them is thru a cremello! So, I guess if he’s not “perfect” hopefully the mare that breeds to him is “close to perfect” and that foal inherits all the good stuff from each one. It’s a total crap shoot! Giving credit where credit is due tho – this is a 2 yr old that has NOT been used as a stud yet and it sounds like he won’t be used till he’s 3. There are WAY to many 2 yr olds being used and not trained to be anything other than a sperm provider. Hopefully this cremello will mature out nicely but if he doesn’t at least he’s getting the training to be something other than a stud. Oh, and definitely no chance at HYPP (no impressive lines) but Herda should be tested to ensure he’s not a carrier. JMHO.
Polydactyl cats often can do things with their paws that other cats can’t, which can be a rude shock to owners who were sure that the dry cat food was safe in the cupboard, for instance. But if you really want a six-toed cat, you can usually find one at the shelter.
‘Nother fun fact: According to a study that unfortunately I lost track of, the way to get your mouser to hunt more often is to spay or neuter and feed regularly. It will be less distracted by mating/breeding/fighting and with a guaranteed meal just inside the catflap, it will happily hunt for fun instead of conserving its energy until it’s really hungry.
Not to mention that teaching all of your cats that humans equal food and pettins will help you spot injuries and illnesses before they become much worse.
Man, I’d love to know how far from civilization these people live that they have to breed their own mutants as barn cats? I live in the real boonies and still get strays (well, more likely neighbour’s cast offs who aren’t being fed) coming over to fight with my two (spayed) girls, spray my flower baskets till it smells like a real classy joint when you step outside and eat all the food I put out for my cats. My two cats are both approaching ten years of age and have survived farm life just fine, probably for the simple fact that they are fixed and fed. I sure won’t breed my own replacement litter when they go to the big mousehunt in the sky…I will adopt a good mouser, fixed and all, from the SPCA. Who NEEDS twelve cats on a farm?? Even real farms (as opposed to the ‘ranchettes’ we see around here) don’t need a litter of kittens every year. Why is it that nobody seems to grasp the concept of ‘flooding the market’–if there are more than 8 of whatever you are breeding sitting in the pound/in the auction pens YOU DO NOT NEED TO CREATE MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, breeding scruffy cats for no good reason?
Oops, this isn’t fuglycatoftheday, ha ha. I just get so angry when people breed stuff just because there’s an empty uterus and some swimming sperm available. Just because. How many animals die every day, heck every second, because these kind of people think they can make $5 per kitten or $400 per sperm sample? (No, they aren’t advertising the kittens but you can bet, come spring, they will.)
This is slightly off topic but I was wondering if anyone can help me. I have a rescue mare, who is now going blind, and its beyond my skill level to work with her. Does anyone know of any rescues in the Minnesota area that could possibly take her? She is an excellent riding horse if ridden consitently. But at the moment, she is so hard to catch that all the time I had to spend at the barn is over by the time I have her out of the pasture. It isn’t fair for her to sit out in a pasture with no human contact, but I lack the skill level to deal with her. If anyone knows of any rescues, or euth clinics please let me know. She won’t be leaving my place until I find a suitable alternative for her, be it euthanasia or a rescue. Thank you for your time. – Katie Heetland kthtrainer@gmail.com
Well, sometimes injured or washed out ex-racers find good homes. We used to have several as hunt horses (all ridable, obviously) in our club. I had a 4yo gelding off the track when I was a kid. He was a great hunter after we got him trained over fences. One of the most amazingly beautiful hunt horses I knew was an ex-racer with a bowed tendon.
Sometimes the tooth faerie makes a visit.