Supporting Something (That Makes You Feel Pretty Good, Too)

I got a picture sent to me yesterday via email of a thoroughbred race horse. He was in his stall, perfectly groomed, with super-clean bedding and a stall that looked like a room at the Waldorf. This horse is a darn good horse who has made some money, but it really is not uncommon.

We see it each day.

I remember betting Keeneland last week and a horse in the post parade jumped right off my TV screen. He was glistening, his ears were up, he was fat and happy. He looked like a show horse. Some people look at win percentage of a trainer to choose one as an owner, but I often find myself looking at how the stable looks itself. I figured this horse was trained by Jonathon Sheppard or Graham Motion or someone like that, but it wasn't. This ten claimer was trained by a woman I had never heard of, who had a zero percent win percentage.

We see it each day. Walk a shedrow of a harness or thoroughbred racetrack and the care these horses receive is amazing. Probably unparalleled.

Unfortunately, what happens to some of them afterwards can be the exact opposite. And that's where other organizations have to come in.

One such group, that transforms horses from this to this, is Southern California Thoroughbred Rescue (I picked that one because I know someone who runs it, but I could've picked others). They are currently having an Ebay auction of some amazing items. Halters of the could-be horse of the year Game on Dude, possible Breeders Cup Classic winner Mucho Macho Man, and the iron tough Richards Kid are all there for the taking. For smaller budgets, their 2014 calendar is for sale, too.

Just because a horse stops racing, does not mean he or she transforms into something else. They are still horses, still our buddies, still that glistening horse in a post parade.  Please consider helping them out.  One donation can keep a horse fed and cared for a month or two, which might be just enough time to have them post parading in a field near you, as a wonderful life-companion for a lucky adopter.