Planning For The Unknown

52 Thoroughbreds needed homes or were going to be sent to slaughter in Ohio....or so went the email, Facebook and Craigslist campaign that swept the internet last week.

I even received six emails from several of my huge hearted non-horse friends about this story asking if I knew anyone who could help. I had also seen it posted on Facebook a dozen times through various organizations I "like" &  my extended friend network that includes many rescuers and other equestrians (and non-equestrians too!). My first reaction was that there must be more to the story and so I didn't immediately pick up the phone and call the number listed because a) I had no way of placing them from my corner of the county & b) it did appear they were getting plenty of attention.

So as it turns out, there really was an owner who passed away recently; a breeder, owner & vet in the Ohio Thoroughbred racing industry by the name of Daniel Stearns. If you'd like to read more about the internet sensation and resulting discoveries, you can read it on the Fugly Blog. As it turns out by the time most of us heard about it, the horses were reportedly rehomed to other racing barns and that by late last week, there were no horses who needed to be placed and the plea then went out to please stop calling the real phone number that had been posted over and over and over....

So it sounds like an acceptable outcome for these horses but I saw an underlying question in this drill...

Do you have a plan on what to do with your horse(s) should you become unable to care for them? This is about to go in a few directions....but one would be the obvious first concern (to me)....if I died, what would happen to my beloved Coconut? My son, Corey, says he wants her but is he truly prepared to provide for her in the manner in which she has become accustomed? I promise anyone who cares for my horse after I am gone that I will come back and Haunt the Hell out of you if you fail her in any way shape or form, should you accept the challenge of becoming her next forever home! So, maybe the fear of me nagging him from the other side is incentive enough to make sure he'd always do the right thing by her, is it really the best thing for her? Maeve said she'd take care of Coconut until the right home could be found. I also thought about the rescue I work with, certainly through their contacts they could find a placement for her through the SAFE Assisted Adoption Program, right!? I choose to believe in my heart that there are several others who would step up for "The Nut!" and either give her a home or find the best possible one. (you KNOW who you are!!)

All that and I only have ONE HORSE!!! What if you had more than one? What if you were a racing barn, a training facility or even a rescue? What if you had 10? ...20?....100? or more??? This idiot, James Leachman, in Montana didn't die, but he did lose his property and had no where to take his 450 horses....let's spell that out... FOUR HUNDRED & FIFTY Horses....and left them there!! Unacceptable!!! If you can no longer care for them, SOMEONE has to. If you own them, breed them or have any plan to make it your income, it is YOUR responsibility to care for them until you can find a suitable/responsible placement for them. Responsible means just what it implies. They are YOUR responsibility now and will be until you die unless you get someone else to accept that responsibility for you. I can't even begin to wrap my head around trying to rehome 450 horses!

...but back to the main subject...

There are so many things to think about & I don't know how one might plan out every scenario but it's really thought provoking to consider the possibilities. We don't need to play out every scene of Black Beauty to understand what can happen in the course of a horse's long life. Some of us need only look as far as our own stalls to be reminded how close horses can come to the brink of disaster.

What would I choose if I had the ability to? Of course I'd want her to feel very loved and that she enjoyed her new home. I would want her new partner to be a good fit and that they both earn respect with one another. Much of that philosophy goes into what I do with her. If today was my last day at the barn, what would happen when the next person steps in to grab her lead rope? Would she be respectful & do as they ask? I think she would...although she's going to eventually ask them her own interview questions like "What will you do when I jump like thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssssssssssss and get all four feet in the air while lunging?" "How will you protect me when horse eating alpaca's come to get me on a trail ride? .....show me riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight now!!!!!!!!!". She'll also ask the question (while batting her beautiful white eyelashes at them) "Can you promise to love me?" I feel I've answered those questions for her and she's pretty trusting for the most part. But then again, I do feel like she chose me and that can make a difference.

I feel like what we do together is training, no matter what it is. My trainer Chrissy taught me that! Even if it's just me coming out and grooming her and having some hand grazing. There is still the element of constant behavioral expectations. When we ride, it's done with consistency. The same cues mean the same question every time. She gets to know me and what I want, I get to know her and how she'll perform. It's a dance of sorts....an ever evolving dance. I've seen others ride her and it's always interesting to see how she responds to them. I watched her test people. When I think to myself, "She never does that for me!" I guess I have to understand that it's because we're a team and we know each other pretty well. She no longer has to ask me the interview questions (I'll add here that I sometimes see her bad behavior as a message she's sending me, not always as a question she's asking me).

How does that translate to the potential rehoming process, you ask?  It matters plenty to me since I need her to possess as many of the quality skills as possible so that her re-homing value grows. Not in a monetary sense, but in a behavioral sense. What happens if her lack of confidence or her intuitive interview skills unfairly portrays her as the rowdy sort? The likelihood that she'll make a good impression starts to dissipate and the odds that her future might hold drama grows. That is not the outcome I would want for her.

It becomes my job to make sure she's a good citizen, to borrow a phrase from Monica Bretherton's Blog, HorseBytes,  and to make sure that while I can't provide her full history, I can account for the history I've created for her over the last 4 1/2 years. I've also been marketing her to a point. She's certainly not my little secret pony at home. I share her story with the world mostly because I want others to feel they are not alone in their journey, whatever part of mine they might feel akin to but also because someday that story may help her in her next chapter if for some reason I can not be in it. No, I have no plans to ever part ways with Coconut. However, if it were not my choice, I think there is enough out there about her that someone would step up and say that she could be a good fit for them and vice-versa.

The next thing I think about are my friends who have large herds, horse facilities or business attached to their horses. What provisions are in place should you no longer be in a position to make decisions...or even care for them....tomorrow? Are your horses going to be advertised on Facebook, Craigslist & emailed out to the entire world? Is that how you want them dispersed or re-homed? If you don't, the time is, while you still can, to put a plan in place.

I like the model Save A Forgotten Equine (S.A.F.E.) has for placing horses. They assess the horse for it's strengths and needs, matching that up to potential adopters. There are a series of meetings between horse and adopter as well as a reference & site check. It's never done solely over the internet. A placement is the work of several people touching each aspect of the horse's well being before the word "Approved" is announced. This makes me feel confident when a rescue favorite ends up in a home I know I might never see them at again but knowing they found a great match is worth what I, as a volunteer, might give up.

There's also the SAFE Assisted Adoption Program that has been in place for many years but has been updated for 2011. We will go out and do evaluations on the horse, document their health care and photograph the horse, if needed, to help us most effectively market their horse. The goal would be to help good owners find responsible placement for their beloved equine companions through the same screening process that SAFE gives it's own herd with the additional promise to look after the horses' well being in that new home for the rest of its life. The difference is that the owner continues to care for the horse and has a say in the final adoption. The rehoming fee is then donated directly to SAFE. I've had the honor of being able to work on this program and invite anyone who might be looking to rehome their horse to check it out on the SAFE Website.

One horse that recently entered the SAFE Assisted Adoption Program is Walker, a 17 year old New Zealand  Thoroughbred with eventing experience. Check out Walker in his SAFE Thread.

I certainly don't have all the answers, especially for those with large herds but I'd like to pose the question to those of you who do....What is your plan?

Fly Me To The Moon...

I'm just smiling today and it's all because of a little horse named Sinatra...

Even the winter coat can't hide the neglect. Photo From SAFE Msg Board

Almost 3 years ago, a straggly little colt was seized by King County Animal Control as part of the large & highly publicized Jean Elledge neglect case. He was thought to be 4-5 months at the time he came to live with SAFE (Save A Forgotten Equine) in Monroe. His young body was thin, covered in rain rot, loaded with parasites and his tiny feet were severely overgrown. This is how Jean Elledge apparently "cared" for the colored horses she so deeply desired. Yes, this is the same herd that my beloved Coconut Macaroon came from.

Rain Rot, 2 days after the seizure:  Photo From SAFE Msg Board

His Cremello coloring was passed to him through his sire, Seas The Golden Day, the Saddlebred Stallion that Jean owned and bred to everything that walked...and then starved to death. This little guy was discovered in a 12x36 pen with another neglected colt and a dead mare decomposing just 15' feet away who, at the time, was thought to be the Dam to one of these boys.

Starting to recover. Photo From SAFE Msg Board

It was his stunning blue eyes that inspired SAFE to name him Sinatra. All along, like his namesake, Sinatra has being doing things His Way. It turned out that he was actually almost a year old at the time of the seizure, just very small for his age. He might have seemed wise beyond his years in some ways & he never let his size get in the way of doing his job, be it pretending to be a ferocious Stallion (which he isn't....all the SAFE boys are geldings...or become one!) or being the self appointed leader of the baby herd.  Over the years he developed quite a personality & has always been a volunteer favorite.

Stallion (gelding) Game at Bonnie's w/Benny. Photo From SAFE Msg Board

 There were some less than flattering images of him posted of his awkward 2-3 year old phase & he often wore a coat of green and brown because he wasn't necessarily tidy about his personal appearance (Hey, he's a horse right!?!?)

Two months post-rescue and showing some improvement. Photo From SAFE Msg Board

But when he got cleaned up, he cleaned up VERY well!!

Summer of 2009  Photo - J. Parrett

At his first horse show, the 2009 SAFE Benefit Horse Show, he won FIRST PLACE in Halter-Rescue. The judge said he walked in the arena and shot her a look as if to say "You know you want to give me the blue...now what are you going to do about the rest of those ribbons?" She was powerless to his confidence and we were all very proud of him that day.

Quite the Showman at the 2009 SAFE Benefit Horse Show

Back home, even after his Horse Show victory, he was the same old guy....up to his own brand of mischief and just a funny horse who seemed engaged with his human staff.

Nap time with the SAFE Babies. Photo J. Parrett

Some time last year one of his fans stepped up and offered him an amazing opportunity to move to a fancy barn & receive training. This week SAFE Volunteer, Sara, went over to check in on him and was thrilled to report back that Sinatra was on stage for a jumping lesson and he did really well. On top of that, he recently went to his first jumping competition at the Gold Creek Jumper Schooling Show and took FIRST PLACE in all four of his classes.

In Training: January 2011 - Photo by Sara Hall

Another show, another FOUR Blue Ribbons!! Photo by Sara Hall

He's still available for adoption  & my guess is that he'd be missed at his current home and by his current rider. But what a fantastic job they've done with him. What a transformation from gangly colt to fancy showman, but then his name gave him a reputation to live up to and I think he has.

Very soulful: Photo J.Parrett

He's about 14.1 hh and suitable for a child or light adult intermediate rider. If you're interested in Sinatra he's available through SAFE & his adoption fee is $1,000. That's a bargain when you consider all of the training he's already received and his Proven Show Record!! 5 for 5 and BLUE all the way...to match his eyes!

More information about Sinatra at the SAFE Website

Take Me Home! Photo-J.Parrett

The Disney Rewards of Volunteering

Last weekend my family had a Holiday get-together at Disneyland. We've done Disney at Christmastime a few times and I have to say it's a great way to get yourself in the mood. No one does Holiday decorating any better and they have a way of making it all quite magical.

Earlier this year Disney ran a program called "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" encouraging one million people to get out and give a day of volunteering. The program started in January and as I recall they had fulfilled all one million offers by the end of March. Since SAFE has daily volunteers, I signed us up for the opportunity to give something back to those who give SAFE so much and I think we had about 15 folks who participated in the program. I was among them.

When I got my reminder to make sure to print my ticket I looked at the calendar and decided I'd like to go at the holiday time since it's so beautiful and I hoped that my family would get excited about it. It turned out that about 12 of us ended up going & we had a great time...how could you not!? It's "The Happiest Place On Earth" according to the sign leading into the park!

What would make the Happiest Place, the most perfect place on earth for me??? Horses!

I gave myself a project of finding as many horses as I could so my post tonight will not be as wordy as usual, it will be more visual...so...enjoy the Horses Of Disney...

Once you get in the front gate, the horse you're most likely to see is one of the Trolley Horses


See this interesting article about the Disney Trolley Horse Herd . Their job is to travel down Main Street between the entrance and Cinderella's Castle.

At the center of the park is a round-about with a statue of Walt Disney, who was reportedly an avid equestrian, and Mickey. Surrounding the round-about are these white horse head posts.


At the far side of Disneyland is the attraction "It's A Small World". While I did catch a few horses in the various country displays (which were difficult to photograph without flash photography) I did capture this equine topiary as our Small World boat traveled through the gardens on it's way in.


Just inside Cinderella's Castle are two beautiful horse head's atop a couple of souvenir displays




They're not far from what I call the Coconut Carousal. Every single horse on the carousal is white, much like my horse, Coconut Macaroon.


I've noticed that not all in positions I would call "well behaved" so I chose my steed carefully. I found a Coconut who seemed somewhat collected...

In a rare moment, my family joined me on a horseback ride...

Larissa's Coconut seems to have a little head tossing issue, but it appears she had a good time...

..and Les' Coconut appears to have been pulling on the bit....

Corey was "Benched" :-/ but at least he went on the ride. (I opted not to take a photo of him on his bench). I, however, was very happy to ride...


Many of the popular Disney films have horses in them. I believe all of the Princes in the Princess themed movies have had a horse and then there was even a whole horse themed animation film, Spirit: Stallion of Cimerron. But one of the most beloved horses is Bullseye, Woodies trusty friend in the Toy Story films. The first "Bullseye" I met didn't exactly seem "trusty"


But a little later I met this charming young man playing with his "Bullseye". It wasn't until I approached his Mom to ask if I could snap a photo of him playing with his new pony friend that I noticed he was actually dressed AS Woody.


I just loved the smile on his face as he played with Bullseye but when my camera came out his brother showed up with mickey ice creams and so I missed the adorable playing shot but I did get this one where he asked Bullseye if he wanted a bite!


There's a new Disney animated movie coming out, Tangled, that tells a new tale of Rapunzel and features a white horse named Maximus as a main character. In one of the shops I found a whole Maximus herd

I carried one around until I could find a place to get a single shot for detail

This next horse is not a Disney horse but it was on the shoulder of my Sister-in-law, Tonya. It held snacks and sweaters for my nieces, Nya & Quinci

Ok, Yes, I gave it to them....

Just to show how much Disney loves horses, I ran across this random mural in Frontierland

...and finally...while there's no horse in this shot I thought I'd share this one last Disney Horse moment...

When I turned in my "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" volunteer voucher they gave me a button to wear during my visit. Disney has this great program for helping people celebrate things like birthdays, anniversaries, honeymoon, first time to Disneyland, etc...and when you wear these buttons (some with your name written on them) the cast members will say things like "Happy Birthday " or Happy Anniversary, etc... for me I was both thanked for volunteering and asked what I volunteered to do.

In California Adventure I waited in line to see Santa & he actually asked me what I had done to volunteer. When I told him I work with a horse rescue group, he gave me a very appreciative smile and said "I love horses, myself...they're a bit like my reindeer!" So there you have it....Santa loves horses too!

A Beautiful Voice

I had the honor & pleasure of being the Volunteer Coordinator for Save A Forgotten Equine for just over two years and have seen many dedicated volunteers over the years. Some of them stick around for years and some take the giant leap and adopt one of the horses they've grown attached to and most move on to do other amazing things.

Today I'd like to honor a young lady I knew mostly through emails as I helped her coordinate her volunteer availability but have always been impressed with her dedication to working with the horses.

Caiti Raimer is just 17 years and has been volunteering for almost 2 years. She obviously feels tremendously in tune with the horses she helps care for and wrote this article for the Monroe Monitor featuring, once again, Bucky B Lucky...He does seem to have that affect on the people who's lives he touches. Her story is soulful and beautiful. With amazing young equestrians like this I am extremely hopeful for the future of our passion.

Please enjoy her story: The Killing of Kings

I'm very proud of you Caiti!

Good News

I have but 3 minutes of onboard Internet credit to get this posted so I'll make it quick!

On Wednesday the star of my Super (Horse) Saver post (The most popular of my posts, btw...it still gets daily hits!!), Bucky B Lucky was featured on the front page of the Seattle Times in a story written by Seattle Times reporter, Lynn Thompson entitled "Rescue Groups Save Racehorses From Slaughterhouses"

THANK YOU Lynn for giving our Lucky boy a voice and bringing the possibilities for Off The Track Thoroughbreds to the public eye, front page no less! For those of you who may not be aware, she has been working on the story for some time and was able to bring (almost) all the players in this story to the table in order to tell the tale. Most of them showed their true colors, and not all of them were as bright as they might think they are.

Thank you too, to Keith Swagerty who I'm proud to call a friend and to Jeff Dorsch who spoke out to warn people what can happen so we can hopefully avoid situations like this in the future. Also thank you to all the people out there among the various groups who work hard for Thoroughbreds and all horses for that matter, to try to keep them out of the auction process...and of course to SAFE & Jaime Taft who basically bailed me out of my knee-jerk reaction to finding out that Lucky was at Enumclaw.

It's a fine community we exist in....I'm very proud to be a part of it with those of you who care so deeply.

Zenyatta

My favorite band ever is/was The Police! Even though there are those who are probably convinced that it's Jimmy Buffett... no, Stewart Copeland, Andy Summers & Sting had me collecting records somewhat earlier than my semi-obsession with Buffett began. My young adult years spent hanging out in Ocean Beach with my surfer boyfriend were lived to the soundtrack provided by the reggae/punk-ish/jazz sounds of Outlandos d'Amour, Regatta de Blanc & Zenyatta Mondatta. When it was announced that the band was breaking up because Sting wanted to pursue a solo career, I was heartbroken & boycotted his music until Ten Sumner's Tales was released years later. I'm just that loyal (stubborn?) but eventually I could no longer ignore that even his solo music is great...today, he's forgiven and I LOVE his music. If you ride to music, I swear, Sting/Police music is amazing. The tempos are lively & consistent, the beats are strong & enjoyable. I can no longer listen to one without mentally riding it.

So when a horse by the name of Zenyatta hit the racing scene everything in me knew there had to be a connection. To the best of my knowledge "zenyatta" wasn't even a real word. I later discovered that Zenyatta's owner, music promoter Jerry Moss, is friends with Sting and named the filly after the album Zenyatta Mondatta. See, I knew it!!

Reportedly, there is a Mondatta who never made it to the track. We might have to look into that!

Zenyatta was purchased at the Keeneland Sale but did not race as a two year old. In an interview on 60 Minutes her trainer, John Shirreffs, was asked why they didn't run her in the Derby and his reply was that she simply was not mature enough yet....

That is a statement that could be worth Zenyatta's weight in gold!

Seriously, I'd like to post it in every racing barn and at every track in the United States. This is the biggest source of contention between racing and rescue: that young horses are put on to the track well before they are physically mature and too often this results in injuries to their immature legs. The horse is used up and tossed aside for the next best prospect before it ever had a chance to prove how truly athletic it could have been. Now I hope that my racing friends know that I am not pointing fingers at them as I could only be associated with folks who I feel do try to do the right thing by their horses. It's that delicate line I dance between my life-long love of racing and the passion I feel for horse rescue.

Many in the equine community ask why is it that in every other equine sport we hold off til after 3 years to start a horse consistently and even longer before developing a horse for a more demanding discipline, yet racing starts them at two...which are sometimes a bit less than two due to the January 1st "official" age date. I totally get that the younger horse is going to have more energy...boy do I ever get that from a human aspect these days, but I have always wondered what it would hurt to let the horses wait just a year longer... let those joints fill in, let the horse's skeleton finish getting to where it's going. THEN let's see what kind of magic can happen on the track.

Look what happened with a little more time to develop...

In both this 60 minutes piece and a fascinating article in Sports Illustrated, Shirreffs talks about how beautifully she matured in that extra year she had off.

"Her legs weren't ready to take care of that body," says Shirreffs. "...if you compromise a horse when she's young, you'll never see her full talents." according to the Sports Illustrated article.

They go on further to discribe her better than I've ever seen...

"Now they have not just any horse, but a transcendent one. "She has a deep heart girth," says Shirreffs, "which indicates plenty of room for lung in her rib cage. But her chest isn't broad, which would inhibit her stride by putting her forelegs farther apart. Behind, she's very strong, when often a horse of her [height] would be narrow in back. The combination, her front and her back, it's amazing. And her heart, who knows how big her heart is. Whatever it is physically, it's huge metaphysically." Zenyatta is also uncommonly sweet at rest; Shirreffs allows fans to visit her almost without restriction."

The Zen-Mistress now has a perfect record: 19 wins in 19 races.

Today is #20 and reportedly her last...her retirement race... I assume she'll go on to be a broodmare and hopefully pass on her good genes to her offspring. Monica, Maeve & I were just talking about the X-Factor that says that the strongest genes come through the X chromosome (the female) and now I am fascinated at the possibilities of this amazing mare going on to produce more of her own kind. This is one of those rare instances where I do have to support the idea of breeding her. I think she's worth repeating...or at least trying to, right? She won't be producing 100's more, just a select few...and who will the studs be? I can't think of anyone worthy of her at this point but I'm sure her team, who seems to love her very much, will make the best choices possible. They can certainly afford to be very selective! Shoot, I think if I had a top stud, I'd almost PAY to have Zenyatta carry one of his foals!!!

Back in May I went out to the California Equine Retirement Foundation (CERF) and met founder, Grace Belcuore. She's also a big Zenyatta fan and shared with me her story about meeting Zenyatta. Grace asked if she could hug Zenyatta and they said "sure". As she wrapped her arms around Zenyatta's chest, She bent down and hugged Grace back with her head. I later hugged Grace to get my second generation Zenyatta hug...ok, mostly it was because I was so in awe of the work Grace does to care for Off-the-track Thoroughbreds but the arms that hugged Zenyatta have hugged me ...and that's a pretty cool bonus!








So I'm sitting here in a hotel room in Miami after a long day of traveling to get to Florida for a cruise we're about to take. There have been many discussions about trying to do a lay-over in Louisville on the way but the flights were just not working out otherwise Les & I would have been all over this Breeders Cup. I think we both know this is a very special one, in deed. But because we fly standby, we sometimes don't even get our second choice of flights and were bumped from a flight Thursday night which would have gotten us into Miami at 7am Friday Morning. Our perfect plan (based on not being able to go to Louisville) was to drive down to Key West on Friday and spend the day/evening with a large number of our friends who are down there for Meeting of the Minds, a Parrot Head convention of sorts (back to Buffett!) and then come back up Saturday to catch live racing at Calder so we could make sure to see the Breeders Cup Sprint with our local hero, Atta Boy Roy (or as we renamed him Derby Day, Atta Good Boy Roy) & the beautiful Zenyatta in the Breeders Cup Classic. When Friday Fun was scrubbed because we had to fly to Orlando and drive to Miami, I assumed he'd want to drive to Key West today instead, but I am very proud to say that he didn't even consider it. He's the one who said, "It's too bad, but no Key West this time!" HE wants to go to the track as much as I do!

On the 5 hour plane ride I tried to amuse myself by doing crosswords puzzles, but when the puzzle asks for an 8-letter word...I thought "Zenyatta" and I would drift off thinking about the race and this incredible horse...so I induldged myself a little bit and thought of words that belong with her...



My friend Kathleen is there RIGHT NOW (ok, maybe she's sleeping "right now") but if she's anything like me she's laying there imagining Zenyatta on the track in all of her glory with her garland, trophy and the clicks of a gazillion camera's going off...I'll text her in the morning in an effort to sneak into her moment just a second or two...and there will be phone calls & all of the excitement amongst my friends who want this win for her with our huge collective heart.

So Zenyatta, show 'em how to run like a girl...a great big beautiful, strong, amazing girl!!! (I think I may have borrowed that from Bonnie...if not, it sounds like something she'd say!)

I love a line I read recently that you've never gone anywhere but to the winners circle after you run the track...so I wish you one last happy trip there and that in the months to come you understand that it's a wonderful gift that you've been retired to be a horse. I hope you always feel loved. No matter the outcome, you're one of a kind and you inspire us.

...and above all else....have a safe trip around Churchill Downs....see you in the winner's circle!

Girl Power!

Go Zenyatta Go!!

Edit update: 11/16/10

This all took place just before I left on a cruise through the Caribbean and I didn't have (much) Internet access but I did want to update that Les & I went to Calder Race Track and watched the Breeders Cup races from there on Saturday. Bonnie & I were texting each other and we did get an ESPN feed so we did get to *see* the coverage but didn't get to *hear* the non-track coverage.

Needless to say I was heartbroken about the way the day started: in the Juvenile Turf, Rough Sailing broke down around the first turn and was euthanized after sustaining a fracture of the humerus bone in his right forelimb & then our Home-Boy Atta Boy Roy had to be hauled off the track and off the heels of the Rough Sailing loss, we were very concerned for the Washington Home-town Hero. It, according to the Seattle PI, "... was initially diagnosed as a suspensory injury in his right foreleg. However, chief Breeders’ Cup veterinarian Wayne McIllwraith said Atta Boy Roy was in no apparent danger.

“Calvin Borel noticed a bit of sensitivity in the right forelimb and jumped off the horse," McIlwraith said. "He has a mild injury to a medial branch suspensory ligament. It is certainly not life-threatening, and probably not career-threatening.”

All of this made for an even more stressful Breeders Cup Classic race, praying that Zenyatta would make a safe trip no matter the outcome. I was a bundle of nerves, especially after it looked like she might have had a bad start and seemed to be running "off" but then she settled in....far behind the pack...and made her move toward the end. Her Jockey, Mike Smith, placed her up in the pack and had to work her way out so that she could come on the outside to run for the wire. In the end it was probably the manuvering that cost her but she lost the race to "Blame" by mere inches. She gave it an amazing GO at the end and she probably really only needed a stride or two more to have won but she did it in amazing style. Mike Smith later accepted the blame for her loss but said she ranked up there with the best horses of all-time.

One of Bonnie's last texts was "she probably doesn't even know she lost"...the replay shows she kept running hard, well past the finish line & later Bonnie posted on Facebook:

Best post-race comment: "She probably went back to her barn thinking that this track just didn't hand out flowers."

Thanks for all the blog filler Bonnie!!

Angels for Horses

One of the problems with trying to write as things are happening is that sometimes SO MUCH is happening that there's no time to write it all down. If I was a professional, I supposed I'd learn to take notes and remind myself later what I wanted to write about but I pretty much depend on sitting down and just letting the experience flow through my fingertips. And then sometimes you write something, save it but convince yourself that you posted it but didn't, and then a month goes by and it's still sitting there waiting for it's release, or maybe that's only me!? That said, I'm going to leave the rest of it in the context in which I wrote it back while I was in Kentucky. Hopefully some of the other post ideas are still solid enough in my brain that it will translate well here almost a month later....

Working the WEG has been exciting and exhausting all at the same time. In order to take advantage of the gift of access to the park, venues and exhibits I have to get their early if I'm scheduled for an afternoon - evening shift or stay late if I worked an early shift. Early sometimes means getting up at 4:30am to get to the park by 5:30 for a team meeting before a 6:00am shift. Double that up with afternoon (or evening events that begin at 7pm!) and some kind of evening feeding for me, and I'm wandering into the house at 11pm. Time to write is not usually on the top of my energy expenditure lists but I am trying to keep a mental list of things that seem "blog-worthy"...and hopefully I get to them all before I have a mental crash! Instead of notes, I've been grabbing brochures and taking photos. I have a lot of jumping photos and I lost track of who's who, but the horses are amazing!!! I will get around to posting some of those and writing about a couple of angles I've been following.

I have two days of volunteering left to do and I'm trying to organize myself for an easy exit on Sunday before I have to leave for Louisville to return my car and head back to Seattle. Right now I'm trying to sort out my brochures and the stack regarding rescue has my attention.

Specifically, the items I picked up from the ASPCA are foremost in my mind because I just visited their table located inside the side door to the History of the Horse Museum on the grounds of the *usual* Kentucky Horse Park yesterday. They gave out some cute horse faces on a stick with some information on helping horses on the back & told us about a display in the museum about the ASPCA and how it started as an organization to help horses in New York City. I hadn't known that about them before!

Abbey, the youngest daughter of my host family here in Lexington & the equestrian of their family, joined me for a day at the WEG & of all the things she could choose to see, she was excited to see the ASPCA exhibition because of her love for animals and specifically horses. She had just watched a show on MTV this week and recorded it for her Mom & I to watch just the evening before: The World of Jenks episode - Freedom's Flight focused on the work of 23 year old activist, Brogan who works with a group called ARM (Animal Recovery Mission) to shut down illegal horse slaughter operations in south Florida. As of the taping of the episode ARM had been able to help close 75 operations, many with prosecutions.

Obviously Kitty, Abbey's Mom & my host for the time I am here in Lexington has fostered a deep love for animals in her children. Just here in the house "we" have a large Chow mix named Marley & a large assortment of cats! It turned out that Abbey had a day off and had not had the opportunity to go to the WEG so we had ourselves an adventure watching Vaulting and the first session of Jumping. In between the two we wandered into the museum (mostly to use the good bathrooms!) and came across the ASPCA table.

We met two very nice women who told us about the exhibit and that the ASPCA had been originally started in 1866 by a New York aristocrat by the name of Henry Bergh who championed the plight of animals & specifically the cart horses of New York City. As it turns out the official seal of the ASPCA is an Angel attending to a downed cart horse so it's support of equine rescue seems quite natural.



As the story goes, Bergh, was a champion for animals and founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 1866 as a way to become a voice for helpless horses who were mistreated on the streets of New York but included the mistreatment of animals of any kind. In 1867 he created the first ever Horse Ambulance and later a sling used for horse rescue. Among his other horse stewardship accomplishments, he advocated to build fountains on the streets of New York for work horses to drink from.



While today the ASPCA is probably best known for it's work to help dogs & cats, it's eye opening that even back in the late 1800's there were horses who needed rescuing. It's not just a recent development in the equine community.Burgh's fight continues today and even S.A.F.E. has received ASPCA grants to help us help horses in need. I did find this poster quite interesting. This outlines the results of their work in 1909...clearly there was a huge issue, even then.

If it's hard to make out here's some of the statistics:
Arrests & Prosecutions .................................................. 1,936

Animals Suspended from Labor.....................................7,606

Horses, Mules & other large animals disabled
beyond recovery & humanely destroyed......................2,870

Small animals, homeless or disabled beyond
recovery & humanely destroyed................................222,468

Disabled horses, mules & other large animals removed
from the streets in ambulances..........................................921

Complaints of cruelty reported & investigated...........11,229

Calls made for unwanted , sick or injured animals....62,408

Horses examined on the streets and in stables to determine
their condition and fitness for work...........................367,380

Yes....the year was actually 1909. The treatment of animals has been a long standing issue and for more than 140 years there are voices in America who speak for them and are truly their angels. For more detailed information please check out the ASPCA's History Page.

Updates....before I start my WEG adventure!

I had to read back through my last few posts to come face to face with the fact that it's been almost 2 months since I last posted. It certainly isn't because I haven't been doing anything with horses...perhaps it's that I've been doing quite a lot. One thing I know for sure is that I've had so much on my plate lately that sitting down to write it all out seemed overwhelming. Not all of it was horse related, but some is/was.

So here are a few updates before I get to the current excitement....

July was spent getting ready for the SAFE Benefit Horse show. I had been practicing my Into-Level Dressage tests...ok, not really the tests, but the moves as Chrissy said NOT to practice it over and over since Coconut would memorize it and would rush it, we wanted her to respond, not think ahead. I think I was ready. Maybe not ready to win, but ready to see where we needed to improve and the relaxed setting of the SAFE show would be a good place to start.

The weekend before the show we set up our home arena as a mock trails course and all of the KCJ horses did a great job of going over faux bridges, through the scary plastic waterfall and standing still near the mail box (or sometimes getting the courage to even pass next to it!). This was our second "Play Day" and they always seem to be such fun. This year we even practiced having a pop-up tent & spectators nearby. After our ride we had a BBQ and celebrated a good day with our horses and friends.

Getting ready on an organizational basis for the SAFE show was also taking up quite a bit of my time but the work was well worth it in terms of success in getting arenas & classes sponsored. It's certainly encouraging that the community came together to support this amazing event.

Friday afternoon before the show (8/6) a very nice sized group of us reported to Donida to get things set up. We ended up working until late into the evening but (most) things seemed to be moving along well. Our fearless leader, Bonnie, was in a great mood at the turnout of volunteers and the way the show had shaped up. Having it at Donida was just a great change, not only in venue, but in the way we could add events to the show and attract the numbers we needed to make it a success.

The reason I say "most" everything was going well was because while things were getting accomplished at Donida, things back at KCJ had taken a very serious turn. Jan, one of the owners, had fallen seriously ill while out of town and had to be returned to Federal Way via medical transport and was admitted to the hospital that morning. Her family was understandably concerned and needed to be with her. Kelli, her daughter, was scheduled to haul a few horses from KCJ to the show. We'd had 6 horses slated to go to the show up until that week. Kelli's personal horse, Shasta, came up lame that week and would not be going to the show but Kelli was going to still haul 3 of them. As of the night before we had a ride for the remaining two but with Kelli needing to be with her family, there was lots of planning to going on so that we could take that burden off her plate. By 6pm on Friday, we had a rides arranged and since my phone was acting up, I shut it off content to press on with show-organizational duties. By the time we went to leave I turned the phone back on to discover a text that said "No one is going to the show now". I made a couple of phone calls and learned that a trailer had been delivered to KCJ but there was no one to haul it so Lynn (Fabulous Lynn who fixes my hand, volunteers for nearly EVERYTHING and is a wonderful friend!) offered to tow that trailer with her truck if I could meet her at 5am. We agreed and I went home to try to get some sleep before I set off to meet Lynn so that at least Coconut and Lola, our SAFE foster horse could get to the show.

I got little sleep that night and even when I laid in bed, my feet tapped out every walk, trot and halt of the Intro A & B test. I probably got a total of 3 hours sleep before the alarm went off and I bolted out the door to go meet Lynn. We both arrived at the same time & discovered that the trailer that I had been told was dropped off the night before...wasn't there!!!

It was far too early in the morning to start calling people and Lynn needed to be at Donida by 6am so I made the decision to get myself over to the show because, quite frankly, the show itself was more important than the time I was going to spend trying to find another way to get Coconut & Lola there. Even though I KNEW it was the right choice, it didn't make it any easier and I truly cried the whole drive from KCJ to Donida.

Once there, I had plenty to do to keep myself busy but I must have had to answer the horrified question "Where's Coconut???" and many times, fighting back my deep sadness, I explained what had happened. I do have to say that there were many offers to borrow a trailer to go get her but the truth was that I had never driven a trailer and under stressful circumstances like that seemed like the least ideal circumstances in which to test myself. So...Coconut did not make it...nor did Lola who had also worked hard to get ready for Halter & Showmanship.

The show, however, was amazing....truly heartwarming and just a pleasure to help and spectate at. Bonnie reported 102 Horse/Rider pairs and by the size of some of the classes, I'd say we had a better turn-out than ever before.

We battled the rain and competed with a couple other schooling shows but for those who came, I know that everyone was pleased with the event and had a good time. It's hard not to smile with pride in what we did as an organization but the biggest lump in my throat was in seeing horses we had previously seen in dire situations...like Ready Say Go, who had been an auction rescue last October, wining ribbons and getting adopted AT THE SHOW!!! There were many stories of glory for rescued horses and in fact, the rescue classes were among the largest. That in itself is a celebration of the horses and the people who care for them.

The show went on until past 8:00pm that night when we finally wrapped up the last classes. Many of the folks had gone home but there was still quite a crowd for the traditional "Bribe Your Horse" finale. Most of us were drenched and tired but closed the evening with a laugh before awarding the High Point prizes and drawing the SAFE rider Campaign winner.

In the end, Bonnie & the clean up crew were tying up the last few items so that we could leave the show-grounds. Gwen Blake came into the show office and gave us (and mostly Bonnie) the ultimate complement....that our show had been one of the best run shows ever held there. She went on to suggest that next year we consider a two day event because of the size of our show and the number of entrants. We all agreed that is worth looking into & there are already some exciting ideas floating around on how to make that successful.

My next update is revisit to the Great Paint Project...

Where I left off, Chrissy had come out and worked with Sugar a bit, Basil was recovering from getting gelded and Maeve and I were immersed in getting these two in good condition before we offered them up for adoption.

John warned me when Basil turned One that the next year was going to be difficult but to stick with him as he'd get over it and would end up being a great horse. Sugar, however, was coming along nicely. She had proven to be a sweetheart under saddle. While she was out of condition, she just has a really nice heart and tries very hard. As our three-month project deadline approached, Maeve informed me that she wanted to keep Sugar as her family horse. I was delighted because that meant that she'd stay at KCJ and I'd get to see her all the time. Eventually, Sugar ended up moving into the stall & pasture next to us. Sugar & Coconut became great friends, in fact I call them BFF's. I do believe they actually LOVE each other. Sugar's certainly the Alpha but they really enjoy each other's company and get turned out together often. I really love one of the posts that Maeve shared about how initially not being very moved by Paints (ok, I think she actually said "I don't really like Paints"!) she admitted how this misfit horse seemed to blossom with love & care and just captured her heart. Here's one of her updates on the SAFE Message Board:
"Sugar is continuing to bloom in her new life as a riding horse. She is responding beautifully on the ground and under the saddle in walk trot and canter and even did some cavaetti work today. Even more, I am responding beautifully to being an owner of a horse- I have just gained so much from this experience. I just can't get enough from all the natural horsmanship training- I really enjoyed the Clinton Anderson clinic recently (and yet I somehow managed to get out of there without one of his pretty pink sticks!), and I look forward to every minute I get to spend at the barn. As much as Sugar needed a "rescue" I feel like she has rescued me- this last year has just been so difficult financially and just all around depressing. In my line of work, success and prosperity is so dependant on an good frame of mind and outlook on life, and some how this little mare has brought an endless supply of that for me. Life has been better with a little Sugar in it."

So Sugar found a home in Maeve's heart but Basil seemed to attract the wrong kind of interest and I got very discouraged in the beginning of my search for the perfect home for him. At some point over the summer of 2009, I decided that he would stay with me until I found a better home than I could provide...admitting that I was probably not the best home, but better than most that had expressed an interest in him...and so he stayed with me.

John, our farrier, continued to sing the praises of Basil each time he came out. I had to trust because in my eyes, he was nippy and somewhat awkward in his growth patterns but John has a reputation for having a good eye for horses and so I trusted him. Early on he told me that this horse would take me to the "Big Show" but when I told him all I really wanted was a good trail horse, he said this would be the best darn trail horse out there if that's all I wanted to do with him (ya' know...if I was going to keep him or something!) And that awkward year passed and this handsome horse emerged on the other end. A horse that kind of takes your breath away when you see him ... or when you get those glimpses of the Horse he's becoming because that second year is still full of changes.

In that year I was up and down on the subject of keeping Basil and at some point early in the summer I had to make a decision and that was that he'd be better off in a situation that would be able to turn him into the stellar horse I felt he could be. Maeve and I decided to put him into training to give him 30 days of solid ground work and then get him out there and get him exposed to new situations and hopefully new interested people.

I missed an opening to send him to a trainer I respected a great deal but a fateful conversation in Maeve's studio one day with Kelli opened us all up to a project in which Kelli would become his ground trainer and then we'd get him out to a few schooling shows.

The first day of training went really well, I'm told. I wasn't able to make it but Basil was a champ and did everything Kelli asked and looked great doing it. His movements were solid and his brain was engaged. By his second session, he began to draw a crowd and at the end of the first week, folks at the barn were asking what his training schedule was so they could watch. Kelli had really connected with him we were witnessing something really special. By the end of the first week, he had taken to saddling up and even accepted weight in the saddle. He quickly understood giving to pressure and seemed to already have the knowledge filed away in that beautiful head of his.

After a few weeks, Kelli admitted that she was afraid to go any further with him...not because he couldn't handle it, but because it would mean that their work together would come to an end and I'd get him out to the shows and I'd get MORE than I was asking for him. What it came down to is that she had bonded with him deeply and didn't want him to go. In an unexpected show of support, her family actually came to her and made it possible for her to keep him at KCJ and so she made me an offer and I didn't even have to think twice. SOLD!!! I can't think of a better outcome for him than to be with her AND...I get to see him because he won't move anywhere. It's like it was meant to be.

Now he lives like a King...Kelli's built him his own stall & remodeled a shed as his tack room. He's got a whole new (to him) wardrobe of colorful, quality blankets and lots & lots of love from his new Momma!! She has plans to show him eventually but for now, he's still growing and working on her lessons with him. I'm so happy for both of them!!

...and NOW....I'm on my way to the World Equestrian Games (WEG)....I'm actually sitting in a hotel in Chicago after spending the day with my husband, Les & my son, Corey. I tagged along with them to a baseball game at Wrigley Field followed by pizza at Gino's East (YUM!) and tomorrow I leave them to their Seattle Sounders soccer adventure here in Chicago while I head down to Louisville where I'll pick up a rental car and head out to Lexington where I'll be a volunteer at the WEG. I have lots to tell about that process...because it didn't just happen overnight by any means, but hopefully, I'll have lots of time over the next two weeks in the evenings to write updates....whew....so it's after 1am and my best standby flight will be at 9:45am so time to end this update.

Thanks to everyone who's been on me to get back on the "Hoofprints Across My Heart" project. I appreciate the support and that you enjoy it. I really like it too, but as I said up top, it can be overwhelming at times when there's so much to write about. Hang in there...I am!!!!

PS: I'll try to post photos. The computer was not liking my SD card and I have one back up so we'll see if that works better tomorrow!

Just Say "Yes!"; Creating A Volunteer Resume

Somewhere out in the Equine Community an adventure awaits!

It's been my experience that the more I put myself out there, the more I get to do, thus was the idea behind this blog originally; to document the horses and the fun I've had being around them. Think about the difference between standing on the perimeter with your arms folded across your chest. You may witness something but if you walk into it with your arms out & hands open, you'll get to touch it, feel it and experience it in a way your eyes alone may never fully comprehend.

I can't even say when I began to crave the "feeling" & it may surprise some to learn that I was once a quiet, shy, "Perimeter" kinda girl. I didn't know how to engage myself into the situation but took great joy in watching others having fun. At some point I figured out that I had to keep putting myself in the situation I wanted in order to start living my dreams.

At the age of seven I would get on my bike and discover my world. Perhaps the most important *find* was the local riding stable. For $2.50 I could buy myself an hour of freedom on a horse. I still don't understand what the harm would have been in doing this every day but my parents allowed me to do so once per week, typically on Saturday. Eventually I was asked to take other renters out with me and show them the trails so I unofficially became a trail guide very young...of course on a volunteer basis. That opened the door to allow me to come to the barn more often and volunteer to do other things like grooming, turning out, watering, etc. Of course they could have paid someone else to do that but I didn't care, I got to be around horses and that's all that mattered to me. It was quite a process getting to that position though...it took many days, perhaps even weeks of just coming and hanging out, standing at the fence line and looking pathetic...until they gave me something to do. Eventually I mustered up the courage to actually ask what I could to help and at some point they gave me ride time in exchange. It was a long process but I'd say that relationship lasted four years until we moved to a less horse-friendly neighborhood. I kept riding as often as I could but the lack of easy access kept me from pursuing my passion until much later in my life.

When I got back into horses in my 40's, I started off in the middle of something I probably had no business getting into, rescue. I hadn't planned it that way, but thankfully I aligned myself with a great team and got the support I needed to get my horse and myself through the process. In my adult life, I've pretty much followed my childhood habit of asking what I can do to help and eventually found myself stepping up for horses in need.

With S.A.F.E. I started out by sponsoring Kokomo and that led to a party where I forced my friends to donate money and before I knew it, I was answering "YES!" too all kinds of calls for help and discovered that usually led to meeting some really incredible folks...and more horses!

As I made more and more contacts, I kept getting more and more invites to participate in various activities as a volunteer. I welcome these invites and these days I actually have to turn some down because there simply are not enough hours in a day to do all the things I would like to.

I gave up TV pretty much altogether a few years ago. I watch it from time to time (thank you On-Demand) but mostly I spend a lot of time sending emails, cultivating the ever-growing network and actually getting out there and doing the work, riding the horses and making a difference...and encouraging others to do so as well.

When S.A.F.E. asked me to be the Volunteer Coordinator two years ago, I will admit that I was both honored and frustrated. I am a fairly decent fund raiser. I like to call it FUNd raising as I've discovered it's always easier to extract people's money when they're having too much fun to notice their lighter wallet...or care!. But it hit me that I had to be prepared to do what needed to be done and for this organization, someone to wrangle volunteers was needed. I said "yes!" (note, that's with a small "y"...perhaps not as enthusiastic as a "YES!", but still a "yes!").

Turns out my duties would be to answer volunteer email inquiries and to schedule the daily chore volunteers at Jaime's farm where most of the horses are kept. I wasn't asked to, but I also self appointed myself to increase participation by volunteers at events like the Horse Show and other community relation opportunities. I kept telling myself that I'd do it until they found someone better. While I can think of better organized people and perhaps even people who might have more time, they seem to have out-smarted me by keeping busy with other commitments and here I remain, two years later, still SAFE's Volunteer Coordinator but I can still type that with a smile for many reasons.

I often get asked how I can stomach the rescue work when there are so many horses to help and so many ways to abuse and neglect a horse. I have two philosophies that get me through...

The first, and probably most important in terms of the rescue/volunteer community, is that for every individual I am exposed to who causes harm to a horse, I get to be in the unique position to meet (at least) a hundred other people who want to help in some way. That keeps my heart full and my commitment motivated. Yes, there are sick & ignorant people out there but I like to think they are a minority. The majority of the people I come into contact with personally are amazing people who want to make a positive difference and a lasting change.

The second and obviously the most significant is the subject of our efforts: The Horses!

These horses have no real reason to trust humans and yet beginning with the smallest act of kindness, perhaps a handful of hay, they do. I believe they sense & gauge your inner value early on. I also believe we become more than hay & treat dispensers to them. I think they understand that there's a chance at something better. The relationship starts when they learn to trust and it builds until they learn to give...or perhaps we should look at it like they give-back.

Even when times get tough in rescue, when organizations are struggling, mistakes are made, personalities clash, the horses are still there....innocents... and I'm going to quote myself again "It's times like this that both make me question and confirm WHY I do this work!" We get through the tough stuff to do the good work. The work that we sometimes do for no other reason than our hearts tell us we must.

So what do you get out of volunteering? For me, I get the satisfaction of knowing that I've helped but along the way some pretty amazing things have happened because I stopped being the girl on the rail, waiting to be called upon to follow my dreams.

Like I mentioned, this volunteering thing has been pretty much a life-long endeavor for me but it doesn't take long to build what I refer to as my Volunteer Resume. For me it's not always about the horses (although certain members of my family might be of a different opinion!), I actually spend a fair amount of time supporting other community service endeavors but regardless of the subject matter, I will say that having that experience has helped in ways I might not have expected many years ago.

Let's look at my son Corey for a moment: in MY household there is pretty much a non-stop running stream of volunteer opportunities and so my kids were roped into lots of them. Sometimes it started with a grumpy face but usually ended in a happy one. When it came time for Corey to go out and look for a job, with seemingly no experience, we built a full page resume based on his volunteer experience. While it's not a real job, I believe it did show a great deal of worth by showing there were things he would do for free, just because it was a good thing to do. I'm thinking hard right now, but I don't believe there is a job he interviewed for that he didn't get. I have to believe that makes an impression & a difference.

I think about all the volunteers who work with S.A.F.E. and how following their passion could, perhaps, lead to fantastic "paying" opportunities. Whether they're mucking stalls, organizing fund raising events or making public speaking appearances; they're all showing a work ethic and commitment. That translates well in the professional world & I would encourage anyone who performs volunteer work on a consistent basis to include that in your personal resume's. It's certainly worthwhile and you never know were it can lead you.

In my own little volunteer world, I just completed my second event with the Equestrian Institute last weekend as a Ring Steward for the Champagne Classic Dressage show. Again, I get as much out of it as I give. As part of my job, I'm watching the warm-up arena and get to hear all the trainers on the rail giving last minute tips to their riders. I'd like to think that some of that is sinking in for my own use. I certainly do take their tips to heart and see if I can apply them in my own riding.

I've also accepted a volunteer position for the World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky this fall. It was actually quite a long process & I had to go through several interviews but I think my resume actually helped me land a dream position with them. I have been assigned to the Marketing/Sponsorship team and will get to participate in fun activities to promote the various sponsors of the event. I don't know that I could ask for a better role...and I get to go to the WORLD EQUESTRIAN GAMES....that alone is amazing!!

So....seriously folks....build your volunteer resume...IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!!