Horse Sense

Closure of Suffolk Downs racetrack means 100 Thoroughbreds need to be urgently rehomed

Dear Fellow Equestrian,
After a 79 year legacy of horse racing, Suffolk Downs has announced that it will be closing its starting gates at the end of the 2014 Season on September 29th. Many of the Thoroughbreds that have found their first careers at the track will be in need of new homes and jobs after the closing. While there will be a grace period after the track closes in order to allow horses to be matched with new owners, CANTER New England, a non-profit horse welfare group, expects that over 100 horses will need to be re-homed by mid-October.

For those interested in purchasing one of the Suffolk Downs OTTBs, CANTER New England will be hosting an Open House at Suffolk Downs on Sunday, September 27th from 8:30am until 12:00 pm. Additionally, a CANTER New England representative will be available at the track on Wednesday, September 24th. If you are unable to attend the open house, please email CANTER at [email protected] to schedule a time. Buyer resources, such as transportation, veterinarian, and guides to answer questions about transitioning a race horse to farm life, will be available to interested buyers.

We here at Dover Saddlery have been a longtime supporter of CANTER New England and have purchased horses from Suffolk Downs in the past. In a further effort to help support the re-homing of these horses, we will be provide buyers of these Suffolk Downs OTTBs a starter kit that includes a halter, lead rope and a $20 Dover Saddlery gift certificate.

If you’d like to view available horses, please visit CANTER New England atwww.canterusa.org/newengland, and join us for the Open House at Suffolk Downs later this month. Keep following our blog for updates and special features on the promising Suffolk Downs OTTBs that are in need of a new home to help take them to their next winner’s circle.

Please feel free to forward this email to your fellow equestrians and help spread the news.
Sincerely,

Stephen L. Day
President & CEO, Dover Saddlery

Livery Yard leaves Horse to starve due to unpaid bills

This post is re-blogged from HorseandMan.com who are collecting donations to help Brother's recovery

ABANDONED BY HIS OWNER, THE PLACE WHERE HE WAS BOARDED JUST WATCHED HIM STARVE… Meet BROTHER, OUR SEPTEMBER BUCKET FUND GELDING.

C’MON, Really?!  So this horse’s owner didn’t pay his board fees for several months so the property owners just stopped feeding him…

They didn’t bother to pick up the phone and ask anyone or any service for any kind of help at any time… Not one call to anyone.  They did absolutely nothing while they watched this innocent being STARVE, knowing full well what they were doing.

They watched Brother starve to teach his owner a lesson.

Perfect.  Another story of humans behaving badly.

Barely alive, but alert and ready to GET OUT OF THAT HELL!  Brother was INTENTIONALLY starved because his owner didn’t pay the board bill.   Brother is a 20+, affectionate and grateful draft/TB cross.

Yup. The boarding place was angry with Brother’s owner for not paying board… so they let him starve. They just stopped feeding him. No calls to anyone, no asking for help – nothing.  They wanted him to starve to prove a point…

THE STORY OF HUMAN BRAVERY AND AN EQUINE’S WILL TO SURVIVE!

Luckily, a non-horse person drove by the property several times and was able to watch Brother’s decline.

She didn’t know, really, what she was seeing, but she knew it wasn’t good.  So, being a very brave woman, she approached the property owners…

The story the property owners gave this do-gooder was so repulsive that she couldn’t stand it.   She knew she had to help this being.  So, knowing absolutely nothing about horses,  she negotiated his release into her hands.  And it worked!  She now was responsible for a nearly dead horse…

So, the brave woman called the only horse person she knew who called another horse person who called another… and within a short time, a team was created to go get Brother.

Brother, who could barely walk… mustered his will to load.

He knew it was now or never.

He could barely stand, but he loaded… he knew this was his chance.

SONOMA EQUINE RESCUE – LET’S HELP THEM RIGHT THIS WRONG!

Sonoma Equine Rescue, Rehabilitation and Adoption accepted Brother and jumped in with both feet!   Their vet, Dr Katherine Szabo, was on hand upon Brother’s arrival to take all his vitals and assess the situation.  Brother, who they believe to be a 20+ draft/TB cross, was a few hours from death…. full of worms, 500lbs underweight and his body was shutting down.

But, he had a spark!  The volunteers said he seemed ‘affectionate and grateful’ – even through his pain.  Brother could barely stand and the only walking he did was between his feed and water buckets… but he was grateful!

Lifted by Brother’s will, the volunteers are steadfastly doing whatever the good Doctor prescribes including feeding Brother small meals every two hours around the clock, treating his skin infections and taking care of his eyes, ears, teeth, feet… you name it.

Can we help right this wrong for Brother?!  Thank you in advance.

 If you receive this post via email, click here to donate! 

Sonoma Equine Rescue is doing their best… he has been bathed, fed around the clock, loved and tended since he arrived!  Let’s support them in this endeavor!

Burghley Horse Trials 2014 Cross Country Course

A rider's eye view of some of the signature fences of the 2014 Cross Country Course.

 

You can now watch Burghley TV on demand, it's free.