Freeze Branding Horses Unfit
for Slaughter
Donna Keen
Remember Me Rescue
4100 Conveyor Drive
Burleson, TX 76028
817-689-1214
We
are all aware of the problem the thoroughbred industry faces with our injured
and aging horses ending up at slaughter houses in Mexico and Canada and now very soon in America. I believe I have come up with a solution to
not only protect our thoroughbreds but to save the lives of people consuming
tainted horse meat in other countries.
Children who eat horse meat are at the most risk. Aplastic Anemia is on the rise and horses
that have been treated with phenlybutazone are the cause.
Phenlybutazone,
(bute), is a substance given to almost every racehorse at some point in his
life. Any horse that has ever received
even one dose of bute is banned for life from being slaughter for human
consumption. I personally do not know
of a horse that has not ever been treated for a high temperature, a mild colic,
or been given bute as an anti-inflammatory.
In asking track veterinarians most agree 90-95% of horses at the
racetrack have had bute, making them unsuitable for slaughter. There are 17 other drugs that also have
lifetime bans from slaughter including nitrofurazone, the most common leg sweat
and wound ointment at the track.
By
placing a small but easily recognizable freeze brand on horses who have
received a banned medication I believe we will greatly reduce the number of
thoroughbreds that are slaughtered. At
the same time we will put in place a system to take care of them when they
become aged, injured, or unwanted.
The
brand will be voluntary and the decision to brand will be made with a
veterinarians assistance. Freeze
branding is safe and almost completely painless.
This
brand will signify a horses’ meat is contaminated and unsafe for human
consumption. I am currently in the
process of registering the brand in counties in Texas where horses cross the
border and notifying every Texas sale barn and known slaughter buyer about the
brand and what is stands for. The brand has been registered in New York and applied for in several other states.
Notices
and photos of the brand with a description of what it represents will be sent
to the holding pens at the border and all known feedlots where horses are ‘fed
out’ before completing their journey to slaughter.
The
freeze brand we have in mind is the nationally recognized symbol that refers to biological
substances that pose a threat to the health of living organisms, primarily that
of humans.
It
should be placed on a visible part of the horse, such as a shoulder or a hip. It shall be as small as possible but be easy
to read and recognize.
To ensure the brands authenticity, the
veterinarian administering the drug or prescribing the medication that will
make the horse unfit for slaughter will be asked to fill out a form. The form
will certify the horse as receiving the drug or medication. This will rule out any discrepancy to whether
the animal is contaminated.
There
will be a fee paid to register the certification. This fee shall be placed in a ‘horse savings
account’ and will be used to aid in the rescue, placement, or euthanasia of any
horse in need with the brand.
We
will keep a national data base of every horse that has received the certified brand complete with
photos, markings, and ownership information at the time the brand was placed on
the horse. The data base will be very user friendly and any horse can be positively identified with a lip tattoo number.
A little about
Remember Me Rescue,
The
Remember Me Rescue Program was formed by Dallas and Donna Keen in 2008 to
assist retired or injured racehorses when their career at the track is over. RMR has accepted, rehabilitated and
retrained over 350 thoroughbreds. We
have three permanent residents and 5-15 horses available for adoption at any
given time.
Remember
Me Rescue is an approved 501(c)3 tax exempt foundation and operates solely on
donations and sponsors. We have no
salaried employees and no paid board members.
RMR
has been very blessed. Midwest Thoroughbreds donated a 20 stall barn
this year. We now have the capability
to provide care for up to 30 horses if the need arises.
Our
greatest mission is to provide retired racehorses the opportunity to learn new
skills so they will never be unwanted.
Each horse goes through a retraining program including desensitization
techniques and basic riding skills. All
adoptions must go through an approval process and adoption contracts are signed
on every horse.
We
have had overwhelming support from thoroughbred owners and breeders. Rich Papiese, the leading owner in the
country, has offered to be the first to implement the freeze brand by placing
it on all of the Midwest Thoroughbred horses.
I
hope you too will support us in this mission. It can change the way people look at our
industry by showing we care about our horses before, during, and after their
racing and breeding careers are over.
Please
feel free to suggest any changes or additions to this proposal. It is still in the planning stages and I
want to make sure we do not forget anything.
Thank
you for your time and please feel free to comment with your thoughts or ideas. Your opinions will help me shape this program into one that will work.
Donna
Keen
