60 Thoroughbreds seized at Louisiana Farm

On January 7th and 8th 2012 Remember Me Racehorse Rescue and the Louisiana Horse Rescue assisted the Sabine Humane Society in conducting a 60 horse seizure at a thoroughbred breeding and training farm in Many, Louisiana. There were originally reported to be about 120 horses on the property but by the time the case was built and the seizure was conducted half of them were either missing or deceased.

When we arrived at Charles Ford's farm it reminded me of a puppy mill. Horses everywhere. A large pasture that originally had 20 yearlings only 6 were still alive, 14 had died before we arrived. 53 broodmares were reported on the property, only 23 were still alive. 25 dead horses were either found or were euthanized upon arrival and countless fresh graves were found. Most of the broodmares had aborted their fetuses and their tiny little bones were scattered across the pasture along with the bones of many dead mares that were left out to rot. A true death count is impossible to obtain without resuming bodies from the graves.

Not only were the horses at Charles Ford's farm in horrid condition there was a large dog kennel full of hungry barking dogs with deceased dogs only feet away. There were also pigs and goats on the property that looked like staggering skeletons.

Remember Me Rescue and the Louisiana Horse Rescue are in possession of most of the horses and the Sabine Humane Society has fosters for a few. The SHS has moved the dogs and small livestock to safety. As of 1-10-12 Ford has still not signed over his rights to the horses.

Louisiana law gives owners the right to place bond for the horses in the amount of $1500 per horse within 15 days from the seizure. If he does so the horses will remain in foster care with the above mentioned agencies for 30 more days when Ford will appear before the local judge. With evidence that seems to be piled ten miles high we don't forsee the judge giving him rights to the horses.

We estimate the cost to care for these horses will exceed $450 a day while in our care. We are in desperate need of financial assistance to care for and meet the needs of these unfortunate horses. Please give if you can and support our efforts to not only save these horses but to ensure the owner Charles Ford and the trainer, William (Bill) Young never touch another animal for the rest of their lives.

Please visit the official Remember Me Rescue website at http://www.teamkeen.com/ and click on the LA Horse Seizure page for more information about this project. There is a paypal button provided for donations or you can mail your check to:

Remember Me Rescue

4100 Conveyor Drive

Burleson, Texas 76028

attn: LA horses

Don't forget to share this story with everyone you know and ask them to do the same! By sharing this you are helping us to inform irresponsible breeders that we are looking for them, we will find them, and we will prosecute them to the fullest extend of the law for abusing these animals.

CATSKY nearly euthanized, now coming to Remember Me Racehorse Rescue

A trainer contacted me a couple of weeks ago about a horse that had been injured on December 21st during a race at the Fair Grounds. He asked me if I had any openings at our rescue for a horse needing rehabilitation. When I asked what had happened to the horse he told me the horse had torn his suspensory ligament and would need many months of rehab if he had any chance of having a normal life. I told him to fill out our horse donation application and also asked if he wouldn't mind keeping him at the track until we could get the horse a ride to Texas.

I immediately contacted John Christensen who owns and operates a Cold Salt Water Spa at the Fair Grounds and asked if he would consider donating a few treatments to our new injured horse. John not only offered to treat him a few times, but graciously offer to treat him daily until he can be moved to Remember Me Rescue.

I arranged with the trainer to pick up the horse for his first spa treatment. When I first saw Catsky he was standing in the back of his stall, ears pinned, and shaking his head as if to scare me away. His leg with the suspensory injury was swollen twice the size of the other and the back of his ankle was dropping nearly to the ground as he stepped away from me. He didn't want to be bothered but his aggressive behavior was ignored as I opened his webbing and slipped the halter over his beautiful refined head. Just as I thought, he was all bluff.

I was very concerned as I led him towards the Salt Water Spa that I would be causing more harm than good by asking him to limp on the concrete from barn 35 to barn 11 where the Spa is located. He was nervously looking towards the racetrack but as soon as he would attemp to trot he would begin to limp terribly. We arrived at the Spa Catsky was a little shaken up from the excitement of being out of his stall for the first time since December 21st. He walked into the Spa and as the nearly freezing water started to fill under him he began to dig, splashing cold water on me and the Spa attendant. He spent 15 minuets in the Spa for his first treatment. Our walk back to his barn was much more comfortable for him.

To my surprise when I arrived to pick Catsky up for his second day of treatment he greated me a the front of the stall. I noticed his swelling had reduced a little, not much, but any improvement was much welcomed. This time he actually drug me to the Spa, not like the same sore horse from the day before, but happy and much more comfortable. He stood much better for his second spa treatment almost like he knew it had helped him the day before. He stayed in for nearly 20 minuets this treatment.

As we walked back to his barn I ran into Dr Hays, the vet that had taken care of Catsky after his injury. I told him that Catsky's trainer had donated him to us and that I was taking him to the Spa for daily treatments until he left for Texas. Dr. Hays commented on how well his leg was looking after only his second treatment and said, "I am so glad they didn't euthanized this horse". Catsky has a chance to be a very special horse for someone. Dr. Hays has always been quick to help with our rescue program and donated a wormer for Catsky and also told me that he was recently vaccinated.

Catsky is scheduled to arrive at Remember Me Racehorse Rescue by the weekend. He will be able to have visitors as soon as he gets settled in and gets used to his new surroundings.
We will need help while Catsky is here. His rehabilitation costs will be expensive and he will need long term stall care before he can be placed in a small outside paddock. We are accepting donations in Catsky's name through paypal or by sending a check to Remember Me Rescue, 4100 Conveyor Drive, Burleson, Texas 76028 and writing Catsky on the memo line. Please consider sponsoring Catsky with a tax deductible monthly donation to help with the cost of his rehabilitation and care. (For more information on donations visit our website at www.teamkeen.com.)

Catsky is a beautiful 6 year old bay gelding by Sky Classic and out of a granddaughter of Storm Cat. During his racing career he had 12 starts with 2 wins, a second and a third place finish earning $44,122 before being injured in his last race. Now he can just be a horse, thanks to his owner, trainer, his caring vet, a Salt Water Spa owner, and all the people that donate to our program. Thanks to everyone who has been a part of this racetrack rescue!

26 Year Old Horse, Rescue Update

On May 18th a skinny old grey thoroughbred was donated to our rescue program. He was severely underweight, drastically needed teeth work, and his hooves were actually starting to turn loose from his hoof wall. When his tail was lifted his anus was over a foot inside of him and his eyes were sunken into his head.

His owner said he bought the horse he called Sunny from a horse trader 8 years ago and he though he was about 15 years old. He said he couldn't afford to buy special feed for him anymore and that he had lost several hundred pounds in the last few months. He had tried to donate him to other rescues but with no luck. Then he informed me we were his last stop before heading to the public horse auction. A terrible ending for any horse story.

This big skinny horse had a bright eye despite his skeleton like appearance. I knew he didn't want to die and if he had any chance at all of making it I was going to give him every opportunity.

I offered him a flake of timothy hay only to notice Sunny had to picking up, chew, spit it out, and repeat this process several times before he could swallow a single bite but. Nearly in tears I made a phone call to Dr Gene White of Diamond W Equine. He drove through 6 o'clock Ft Worth traffic to work on his teeth that evening. It appeared he had been kicked in the mouth at some point in his life rearranging his front teeth and causing one of them to grow straight out like a tusk, which we pulled. The bottom molars had grown into the top gum where teeth were missing and completely prevented normal chewing. The old grey gelding fought us through his tranquilizer from the pain.

The next day I started attempting to research his tattoo. With help from Andrew at the Jockey Club we found him. He was 26 year old Yeah Me Do. I posted about him on the Alex Brown Forum and was contacted by people who knew Yammi and soon after was contacted by his breeder who wants to visit his old friend soon. His breeder lost track of him after he was claimed in California back in the 80's. Years after the claim he was told Yammi was dead by the trainer who had claimed him. He was so thankful to hear of his rescue.

In less than three months Yammi has fully and miraculously recovered. He is fat and healthy, his feet have grown out enough that he is out of danger of loosing them and we have even started riding him a little, bridle-less of course.

For more updates on our other rescues or to donate to the care of horses like Yammi please visit Remember Me Racehorse Rescue at www.teamkeen.com.

Missing for 20 years, Yeah Me Do is back on track

In early May I received a call from a local man named Kevin who owned an old thoroughbred gelding that he was no longer able to take care. He said the horse needed special senior feed, vaccinations, and needed major teeth work that he was unable to afford. I asked Kevin how old the horse was and if he had his registration papers to establish his eligibility for our racehorse rescue program. He told me he didn't receive papers when he purchased "Sonny" from a horse trader 8 years ago and didn't have any luck reading the faded, scarred tattoo for the Jockey Club to research him. Kevin mentioned the horse was very thin and that he had tried to donate him to several other rescues who refused him. Kevin's last call before dooming Sonny to the local sale barn was Wings of Hope, a therapeutic riding facility in Burleson, Texas who recommended that he try contacting us.

We arranged a time for Kevin to bring Sonny to Remember Me Rescue. He arrived in a stock cattle trailer and never picked up his head up even though all the other horses on the farm were whinnying at his noisy arrival. Kevin's 9 year old son opened the trailer and climbed in with the 16.3 hand white hide stretched over the big framey skeleton. Dallas and I were appalled at the horrid condition of this once beautiful thoroughbred. Kevin went on to justify why he was so thin. His age, who he thought to be around 15 to 20 along with being kicked in the mouth sometime during his life were his excuses.

Sonny was led to his new deeply bedded stall and given a timothy alfalfa hay mix. To eat hay Sonny had to chew, spit it out, pick it up and chew again. Trying not to cry I called Dr Gene White of Diamond W Equine Hospital to come perform a much needed power float on what was left of Sonny's teeth. Realizing how upset I was Dr White fought traffic and arrived for duty at 6 pm that evening.

After heavy sedation Sonny allowed us to examine his mouth. None of us had ever seen such a dental train wreck. One of his bottom teeth was growing straight out like a tusk and was pulled. The remaining front teeth resembled a roller coaster. While floating the back teeth a molar fell to the ground. There were 2 other top molars missing and the bottom molars had grown up into the top gum causing major pain and preventing his jaw from proper chewing motion. The sides of his cheeks were raw from the hooks that had developed from neglect. Upon further examination we found that Sonny's hooves were actually starting to turn loose from the inside out and required immediate attention to save them.

Sonny was immediately started on a special senior diet and hoof maintenance program and within a few days began to enjoy eating grass and walking without limping for the first time in years. He has continued to gain weight daily and his personality has bloomed.

During the first week Sonny was here I started my own research on this big grand gelding I had become so fond of. I called the Jockey Club and spoke with Andrew Chesser who was extremely helpful. Although the letter at the beginning of the tattoo and one of the numbers were not legible we searched through all the grey geldings born between 1980-1990 with 2 back socks and a blaze. Andrew told me we could be reasonably sure the horse we had was a 26 year old thoroughbred named YEAH ME DO. Yeah Me Do won six races in his career at Bay Meadows and Golden Gate back in the 80's. I was so excited about the possibility of learning this guys history that I posted on the Alex Brown Racing forum about our new discovery and talk about being in the right place at the right time.

I was notified by a member of the forum that her partner trained a horse called Romantically, Yeah Me Do's dam, and that they wanted to donate towards his recovery. Days later I received a call from Joe Shell, the trainer of Romantically who passionately referred to Yeah Me Do as Yammi-Do. What Joy this call brought to everyone. I asked Joe about Yammi's breeders and he said he would try to contact them.

Another miracle, Roy, Yammi's breeder was so excited to find he was still alive. They were told he has died by the folks who claimed Yammi from them during his racing career in California. Roy and Joe confirmed without a doubt that the horse we had was definitely Yeah Me Do through some unusual hoof markings.

Who knows how this once beloved gelding found his way to Texas but as many thoroughbreds do I assume he was brought here after his racing career ended to be butchered in a Texas slaughter house many years ago when it was still a booming practice. I am sure if Yammi could talk he would have an incredible story to tell about his life long journey.

At Remember Me Rescue we work hard to help all exracehorses find permanent homes after the careers at the track are over but occasionally one comes along that touches our hearts in a very special way. Yammi not only blessed us but left a lasting impression on everyone his life touched. I hope his story has brought joy to you and that people everywhere will recognise the importance of supporting your local horse rescues to keep helping horses like Yammi. Please visit our website at http://www.teamkeen.com/ for continuing updates on Yammi and our other horse rescues.

LIGHTS ON BROADWAY's in the news

LIGHTS ON BROADWAY's story is on the front sports page of the Ft Worth Star Telegram today. Gary West's article about Lights is great and has some good pictures of our horses. It also gives the Remember Me Rescue website address and talks about some of our other rescues.

For more information go to http://www.teamkeen.com/ and click on the link to the story.

Last of the 20 Horse Rescue

Anyone who follows our blog or keeps up with the website knows we have been working on a 20 horse rescue for quite sometime. The first seven horses from Louisiana were brought here in February and the remaining horses were taken to the owners farm in Oklahoma until we could accommodate them. We posted about the horses being moved and asked if anyone in Oklahoma could help. Many horses were placed with people that lived in the area. There were still 6 horses needing new homes.

I had a gentleman named Andy Peele contact me a couple of weeks ago. He was interested in adopting a few mares for his small thoroughbred breeding operation. He offered to transport the last 6 horses here to our farm and adopt a few broodmare prospects from the group. Andy and his family decided to adopt 4 of the last 6 horses and brought 2 geldings to our farm the following morning.

The first 7 horses from the 20 horse rescue were in good shape and healthy. These were not so fortunate. I was very angry when I first laid eyes on these geldings. Very thin, lame from lack of hoof care, full of worms and still holding on to their winter coats, these horses were in terrible shape. Their teeth were so sharp they could hardly chew grain. No vaccinations records and several hundred pounds underweight I have my work cut out for me on these two guys.

Luckily both of these geldings are very sweet and enjoy all of the attention they are receiving here. They have been introduced to grain slowly and have 24 hour access to grass hay along with receiving timothy/alfalfa flakes during the day. We will not be able to ride either of the horses until they gain some weight, their top lines are too thin and we don't want their first experience to be an uncomfortable one. I will be taking pictures to update everyone on their progress.

This rescue will be an expensive one. Just to list a few costs, 2 power pack wormers $120, Vaccinations for 2 $230, shoeing $200, floating teeth another $140. We are already up to $690 and we haven't included what is it going to cost to feed them. Anyone who would like to can donate to their fund on the Remember Me Rescue website at http://www.teamkeen.com/. There is a link to paypal there and also a donation widget. We appreciate your support in helping these two geldings start a new life.

Lights On Broadway in the Spotlight

The story of Lights On Broadway seems to be getting lots of attention these days. Between the news crews, reporters, and camera people our barn has be a busy place to be lately. I can only hope somehow through this horses mishaps others may be saved. Lights was lucky, he was in the right place at the right time and escaped a terrible end. So many more are not as fortunate.

Lights On Broadway was the inspiration for our project which started after he arrived at our farm in Burleson, Texas. Dallas and I were already involved with horse rescue placing over 35 horses in the previous two years. We had been doing so without any financial assistance or donations but after Lights arrived I was inspired to do more. We called our project Remember Me Racehorse Rescue and applied for a non profit status. By December of 2008 we were an official 501(c)3 and we began to bring more exracehorses to our farm to be retrained and placed in new homes.

Since the beginning of Remember Me we have retrained and placed 9 horses and have 6 horses currently for adoption at our farm. The sound horses are easy to find homes but the horses with problems are much more difficult. Some of these horses we will need to keep for several months while they rehabilitate before they can be placed in permanent homes. This gets very costly. 4 of the 6 horses currently in our program are in the rehabilitation process.

We have been very fortunate so far that I have kept a waiting list of potential adopters and been able to place sound horse very quickly. We have decided due to the large amount of horses that need homes not to charge an adoption fee. This is where all animal lovers and the horse community come in. We have hoped to fund our program totally through donations. We added a paypal widget to our websites and blog as well as invited others to copy the widget to their sites in hopes of raising money online but it hasn't been enough to totally fund the project.

On the Sunday before Derby Day our local Channel 8, WFAA, will be running a story on Lights On Broadway. This weekend sometime his story will be in Gary West's horse racing section in the Ft Worth Star Telegram, (thanks ST and Gary for the great picture by the way). Hopefully we can raise awareness to our mission and attract a few big sponsors to help fund our Remember Me Racehorse Rescue project. Anyone interested in becoming a Remember Me Sponsor please contact Donna at remembermerescue@live.com or call 817-689-1214. Donations can be through the official website at www.teamkeen.com and are tax deductible.

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.

September 30th, Lights On Broadway Update

Lights On Broadway is adapting well to his new leisurely pasture life. He is currently turned out with a few other rescues and retired OTTBs and Blue, Dallas' famous retired racetrack pony. Lights rules the roost. He's not mean but he does let everyone know who the important rich guy is.

Getting here wasn't easy. At first Lights protested being left out. He was upset by the loss of his fan in the heat of the day and would only stay out for an hour or so before he would come to the fence by the house and wait on someone to put him back in his stall.

We gradually increased his out time in a paddock next to the horses he would eventually be turned out with. After a period of a couple of weeks I led Lights out with the other horses to sniff noses, squeal , etc. It wasn't pretty. Lights acted like he had never been allowed to be social. He didn't make friends very fast except for Blue.

Blue liked Lights despite the squeals and rubbed his old grey nose all over Lights ignoring his aggressive behavior. They have been best buds since. I guess Blue recognised Lights as being another 'old guy' and knew they had something in common. Another thought crossed my mind. Horses are so smart. I wonder if Blue remembers Lights from the track. He almost acted like he found a long lost friend. Even though these guys weren't in the same barn there is something to it. I am convinced they recognise each other or at least know there is a common bond between these two incredibly intelligent horses.

On occasion when I have time we bring Lights in to play. He really enjoys getting to interact with people. I have taught him a few tricks that he likes. One is giving hugs and the other is what we call praying, where a horse will lower his head to the ground while you knell down beside them. He loves the attention and the praise when he does something right. He has been exceptionally easy to teach. We have ridden him a few times and even started his bridle-less training which will be very easy. He wants to do right all the time and never argues or disagrees.

I can't wait until he puts on a little more weight. We are looking forward to using him as a pony at the track this next spring. Hopefully he will be a great ambassador for the OTTB's showing their incredible retrainability.