January 15th I received an email from a concerned FOB about a 12 year old gelding entered to race at Retama Park. The horse named Joe Favorite was racing for the 101st time in his career, and the 6th time in 40 days at the bottom claiming level where he had been for quiet some time. Needless to say he finished nowhere.
The morning after the race I sent someone over to the trainers barn to see if he would sell Joe. He agreed to sell him for $500 and I quickly summoned the FOB family who post on the Alex Brown Racing Forum for help in raising the money. In 4 hours we had raised enough to purchase Joe and have him shipped to Remember Me Rescue.
Joe arrived thin but unbelievably sound. He had no major issues other than some girth itch and a little rounding to his 'racetrack' ankles. We put him on a special diet to help him gain weight which he did very quickly. Joe was very happy at Remember Me Rescue and enjoyed freedom to run, graze and socialize for the first time in years.
When Joe was ready to adopt I posted his information on our rescue site. I received tons of interested emails but one lady, Deirdra Marr, got my attention. Deirdra came to the farm to meet Joe and the two bonded at first site. Within hours Deirdra had brought her husband to meet Joe and scheduled his vet check.
I called Dr Roeber at Diamond W Equine Hospital and told him I needed to do a pre-purchase exam on a rescue horse. He exploded with laughter when I told him the exam was for a 12 year old with 101 racetrack starts. Much to his surprise Joe passed with flying colors. He was a freak, totally sound after 101 starts.
Deirdra took Joe to his lavish new boarding stable where she gave him some time to acclimate and then start his dressage training. Joe is now loving his new life. This goes to show you can teach an old dog, (or old racehorse), new tricks. You have got to watch this video. Joe absolutely loves his new lifestyle and it truly shows in the ring. Thank you Deirdra for giving this horse the life that he so much deserved.
The morning after the race I sent someone over to the trainers barn to see if he would sell Joe. He agreed to sell him for $500 and I quickly summoned the FOB family who post on the Alex Brown Racing Forum for help in raising the money. In 4 hours we had raised enough to purchase Joe and have him shipped to Remember Me Rescue.
Joe arrived thin but unbelievably sound. He had no major issues other than some girth itch and a little rounding to his 'racetrack' ankles. We put him on a special diet to help him gain weight which he did very quickly. Joe was very happy at Remember Me Rescue and enjoyed freedom to run, graze and socialize for the first time in years.
When Joe was ready to adopt I posted his information on our rescue site. I received tons of interested emails but one lady, Deirdra Marr, got my attention. Deirdra came to the farm to meet Joe and the two bonded at first site. Within hours Deirdra had brought her husband to meet Joe and scheduled his vet check.
I called Dr Roeber at Diamond W Equine Hospital and told him I needed to do a pre-purchase exam on a rescue horse. He exploded with laughter when I told him the exam was for a 12 year old with 101 racetrack starts. Much to his surprise Joe passed with flying colors. He was a freak, totally sound after 101 starts.
Deirdra took Joe to his lavish new boarding stable where she gave him some time to acclimate and then start his dressage training. Joe is now loving his new life. This goes to show you can teach an old dog, (or old racehorse), new tricks. You have got to watch this video. Joe absolutely loves his new lifestyle and it truly shows in the ring. Thank you Deirdra for giving this horse the life that he so much deserved.
To donate towards the rescue and rehabilitation of other ex-racehorses like Joe please visit our site at www.teamkeen.com
1 comment:
Thanks for the update on another one of your successful rescues. And thanks for sharing the YouTube link - Joe's lookin' good, for dressage that is (and my education on dressage consists of watching 'National Velvet' when I was a kid).
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