20 Horse Rescue Underway

The first seven horses of the 20 horse Louisiana rescue arrived at our farm on Monday morning. I was supposed to be there for the arrival but Sunday evening on my way in from New Orleans I had engine problems in Dallas' truck. I broke down in Opelousas, about 25 miles north of Lafayette, LA in his new Ford F350, (everyone knows what F-O-R-D stands for, Found On Road Dead). Luckily I didn't have horses on the trailer and Dallas came with my dependable 3/4 ton Chevy and picked me and the horse trailer up. We were back in New Orleans by 2am.

I got an 11 am flight the next morning from New Orleans to Dallas Love Field and got to the farm about 2 to find the horses had arrived in good shape and all looked to be healthy and sound. There were 5 geldings and 2 mares. Whew... what a fiasco.

I had prepared for their arrival by inviting a few folks to be there to meet and consider adopting horses when they arrived. Ann Best adopted two horses, Ruby Knolls and Little Doctor and my neighbor Archie Salinas, a polo horse trainer, adopted Queen of Belen. I have had several people contact me about the remaining 4 horses and I am very optimistic I can place all of them in good homes.

Another one of my neighbors has shown interest in Shawneboy. He is going to need throat surgery to be a riding horse but she is willing and able to have it done. She is also considering Imbizzyrunning as a pleasure/trail prospect even though he is a little on the nervous side. I have been talking to a few other folks about the 2 older geldings. I would really prefer to find companion homes for them, especially if they could go together. Both ride okay but cry like big babies for each other. I am sure the stress of the move has complicated things for them but none the less they have paid their dues and should enjoy their retirement, hopefully together.

I have waived any adoption fee for these horses and I am depending completely on donations to pay for this rescue. There were too many horses involved that needed to be placed quickly. I am only asking for proof of income and 3 good references, one from a vet or farrier, and hoping the horse community will chip in for the cost of the shipping and for the care of the horses while they are here at our farm. I couldn't do what I do without help from others and I thank everyone who has stepped up to help. If you would like to donate you can do so through our Remember Me Rescue Website. All gifts are tax deductible and very much appreciated.

One of a Kind Fund Raiser, Friesan Fire Item

Dallas and I have been raising money for the rescue, retirement and retraining of exracehorses since December when we formed Remember Me Racehorse Rescue Foundation. Today, I had an inspiration. After the races we waited around to congratulate Larry Jones on Friesan Fire's big victory in the Risen Star and I told him about our non profit organization. I asked Larry for Friesan Fire's shoes so we could auction them on EBay and he offered me his halter as well. Not only is Larry a wonderful horsemen, more importantly he is a horse lover and a big supporter of horse rescue.
I also hit up Brett Calhoun who offered a framed print of Barbaro and asked Steve Asmussen for help and he said he would get us something really nice for our auction.
My mission now is to acquire a few one of a kind objects that not just anyone could get there hands on and sell them on EBay with all proceeds going to Remember Me Rescue.
Our most recent successful rescue was a 12 year old gelding named Joe Favorite. Joe ran his 101st start at Retama Park and my phone was ringing off the wall with people concerned for his safety. Joe had raced 6 times in the previous 40 days. The next morning we sent someone over to ask the trainer if he would consider selling Joe and he agreed to sell him for $500. Being a new rescue organization we didn't have the funds to purchase Joe and to continue to fund the horses we already have in our program. I immediately got online and asked for help from the Fans of Barbaro on the Alex Brown Racing site along with mentioning Joe on the Dallas Keen Racing Stable website and our blog. Within 4 hours we raised enough money to purchase Joe from his trainer, pay to ship him to our farm, and enough to pay for Joe's care for about 2 months.
The project I am current working on has been a little more difficult. I received a phone call from Angelo Trosclair of Thoroughbred Transport a couple of weeks ago concerning a few horses in Louisiana that needed homes when an owner decided to quit the business. Angelo was contacted by the owner because he wanted to take them to a local auction barn. Being that Angelo is a huge supporter of horse rescue he asked them to give us a chance to help with the horses before they were sold to the highest bidder.
As it turned out there were a more than a few horses, there were 20 horses that needed immediate placement. As of today we have placed 4 of the 20 horses and saved them from slaughter. Now our time is ticking. I only have about two weeks to get the others to safety or the owner will have another transporter who has made him an offer for the remaining horses pick them up.
My one of a kind fund raiser will help pay for this rescue project including the transport, care, and retrain these remaining horses for new careers. I am asking everyone to share this information with everyone they know and go to our Remember Me Rescue website at http://www.teamkeen.com/ to donate funds if you are able. If you wish to donate an item for our auction please contact me at remembermerescue@live.com . We will also donate a portion of all proceeds from the sales of horse supplies and training aids from Keen Equine Products.
All donations are tax deductible and will go directly to fund the rescue and placement of exracehorses.