Scotty, 85 ex-racers, and a little Faith...

Scotty - Dec 2008

The chestnut gelding shivered in the pasture, his eyes dark and lifeless, head hanging low. I could see every bone in his 16 hand body, fungus had caused his hair to fall out in patches, leaving his skin exposed to the harsh December winter. As I entered the pasture, I watched him take a few painful steps toward me. He still wore a racing shoe, which twisted and dug sharply into his hoof.  I had been told the night before about a skinny Thoroughbred gelding needing help, and having a soft spot for the breed, I found myself immediately interested.  I had no idea at that time what I was getting myself into, but after seeing him I knew I couldnt walk away. He had fallen through the cracks after his racing career ended just four months prior. Sporting knee chips, atrophy in his hindquarters from a botched nerve block and pinfiring on both front legs, he was no longer productive as a racehorse. Through no fault of his own, he bounced around from owner to owner until he finally became unclaimed and ultimately, unwanted.  I immediately named him after my dear friend Scotty Marion, who disappeared over the Swiss Alps while paragliding. Scotty had such a passion for life, and could light up a room with his infectious smile the moment he walked in. He loved horses and I had hoped that by naming this horse after him, it would give him a will to live. We lifted the weak gelding into the trailer and brought him home. After a couple days the life returned to his eyes and I promised him I would never give up on him. That was December, 2008.

Scotty - Nov 2011

  Today Scotty happily munches hay in my pasture, the spokes-horse for Minnesota Retired Racehorse Project and the reason the program exists. Officially founded in 2009 by myself and Dr. Jennifer Selvig, the program has since placed, or facilited the placement of, over 85 horses. A rather large accomplishment given our extremely limited budget. Most of the horses accepted into MNRRP's program during our busy season are donated by trainers or owners. Once the track closes and the rush to place horses is over, we make rounds to the local auctions and feedlots in an attempt to find retired racehorses that may have fallen through the cracks. Always a relief not to find any tattooed horses, it's equally as sad to see the hundreds of others being sold by the pound. I've gotten used to the saying "you cant save them all", as for nearly 12 years I've rescued, rehabilitated, and placed countless horses of all breeds. There are times; however, when you simply cannot walk away no matter what the breed. Thus was the case with a little chestnut mare I found on a recent trip to the feedlot.

Chestnut mare - Oct 15

 She wasnt anything special, nothing about her stood out. A plain chestnut mare, no taller than 14.2 hands, blaze skewed to the side at her nose. She had a red halter on, unlike the majority of the 200+ horses at the feedlot which had collected there, having come from various auctions. She seemed friendly, and allowed my daughter and her friend to pet her. For whatever reason I took quite a few photos of her on our first visit, October 15. She was in good weight, and they wanted $300 for her. Judging from her teeth she was older, probably mid teens. She had what appeared to be an ambilical hernia, but I was told she had been a broodmare and it had something to do with her milk after weaning her colt. Weather this was true or not I have no idea. Maybe it was her facial resemblence that reminded me of Scotty that drew me to her. At any rate, we continued our journey through the feeldot, looking for Thoroughbreds. None were to be found that day.

  I had posted photos online of a few horses, in hopes of finding homes before they were to be shipped south. Since I had some interest I decided to return a few days later, October 18. Again, I found the mare with the red halter. It was colder that day, misty rain and a chilly wind. I remember seeing her shaking. I asked more questions about her and the gal jumped up on her to see if she was broke. I didnt have my camera this time, but took a couple photos with my phone. For some reason I kept thinking about her. Again, I walked away.

Chestnut mare - Nov 18

  Fast forward exactly one month later. I again returned to the feedlot in hopes of finding, or not finding, ex-racehorses. As my friend and I walked the 200 acres of hilly pastures searching through the horses, we took pictures and made mental notes. We ducked under an old barbed wire fence, seperating two of the fields leading us to the bottom of the back pasture. In the distance I saw an extremely skinny chestnut laying down. I used my camera to zoom in and couldnt believe my eyes. It was the same mare with the red halter, only this time, she was only a shell of a horse. Every bone stuck out and even from a distance I could tell she was severly emaciated. It was evident to me she had given up. As we approached, we could see her halter had twisted sideways over her head, making her appearance even more disturbing. I fixed her halter and with a little coaxing we managed to get her up. The temperature was supposed to drop drastically that night, and there was no way I was leaving her there. If she was going to die, she was going to die in a nice, warm, bedded stall with people around her who cared and a mountain of grass hay in front of her. She would not die all alone in the back of a pasture at night in the cold.

 That evening we managed to get her home and make her comfortable. I named her Faith. She enjoyed being brushed and pampered and had a great appetite. The following few days she perked up and the life again returned to her eyes. Although she has only been with me for 5 days so far she has continued to make improvements.She is not out of the woods quite yet but I have faith she will make a full recovery. No, she's not an ex-racehorse and yes, I will be taking her on as a personal rescue, but I did feel her story was worthy of this blog. Many of you have asked how to donate to Faith's rehabilitaiton. Since she is a personal rescue, donations are not tax deductable. If you are ok with that and still wish to donate, checks can be sent to the following address: (and of course if you wish to donate to the retired racehorses you can do that as well - please specify)



Faith - safe at home, 3 days after being rescued



MNRRP

3850 182nd St E

Prior Lake, MN 55379

Thank You


We are also accepting bags of Purina Equine Senior feed,

More Topper....

I know many of you enjoy the updates on Topper and love to see photos. These were taken earlier this week. Topper also went to a clinic at Cleary Lake, where he was supposed to be the model "lame" horse. To our surprise, he was sound.  I will be monitoring him for another month before we'll be ready to let him got to an adoptive home. If interested please contact me at retiredracehroses@yahoo.com . If you would like to donate in honor of Topper, please mail checks to

MNRRP 3850 182nd St E, Prior Lake, MN 55372.

Many of you know his rehab and recovery was expensive and even the smallest of donations are greatly appreciated.

Topper, in front, with Scotty and Noelle

Topper jumping bushes

(left to right)
Topper, Zanzi the rescue arab, Scotty, Noelle, and Moses (retired racehorses) and Titan the TB feeldot rescue. If you look closely you can see them chasing the resident farm dog, Dixie.

For those of you following Topper's story.....

Here are photos of him in the pasture yesterday.

Nice horses still needing homes for winter

We still have horses looking for homes this winter -

Twister - Weanling TB colt - have JC papers ready to go. Sweet, quiet, easy to handle. Good 4H project. Won't get too tall. Slightly toed out in front but will not effect recreational or low level performance career. Adoption fee waived with small donation of hay, grain, beet pulp etc.

Topper - Miracle horse. Recovering from severe abscesses, he is still sore. Has reverse shoes now and getting correctivly trimmed. Super sweet horse with loads of potential. You can lead him around with a rope. Quiet and friendly - will make a great youth horse once re-trained. Aprox 15.3h. 4yr gelding. Adoption fee waived with small donation of hay, grain, beet pulp etc.

Noelle - Standardbred mare. Anyone can ride her in the arena. Safe, quiet and forgiving. She was a pacer and has a smooth gait. 21 yrs - Does well with routine, needs grain 2x daily and good hay. She is boss mare. Good trail horse, you'd never know she's older. Really a nice mare and fun to ride. Adoption fee waived with small donation of hay, grain, beet pulp, etc. Aprox 15.2h

Rigalo - 10 yr grey TB gelding. This guy needs a job! He's been sitting around bored in the pasture for a couple years. Was raced as a youngster and has been used for lessons for a few years. Has also been on trail rides. I could see this guy as a barrel racer! 100% sound. Will need someone with experience to remind him of his job. Sweet personality, easy to handle, easy keeper - just an all around nice horse. Cribs but it's controlled with a collar. $600

Westley - Awesome TB gelding just being restarted under saddle. Sound, healthy, athletic, everything you'd want in a horse. Easy going, hacks out nice on the trails. Has been free jumped and shows a lot of potential as a jumper. Could really go just about any direction at this point. Willing and brave. 16h. 6yrs. $1500

Free horses!!!

MNRRP is waiving the adoption fee on the following wonderful horses. Each is available FREE to approved homes with a contract- the catch being we are asking a small donation to the program in return. This could be monetary, or bags of feed, beet pulp or bales of hay. Whatever you feel can be donated.

 "Hidden Character"  City is a 2005 16.1h, TB gelding who won nearly $60K on the track. He was retired this past fall and would benefit from the winter off. He has arthritis in his front right knee but will be suitable for recreational riding. City has an awesome personality, is easy to handle and gets along well in a herd. He will be easy to re-train and has a laid back attitude. Give him some time off and watch him blossom!

"Twister"  Weanling Tb colt. Papers are in order for registration. Sire is Late Edition out of an Irish bred mare. Twister was born with a crooked front leg - in just the short time I've had him, combined with corrective trimming, he's straightened out considerably. He will always toe out slightly on the front, but it will not effect his ability to be a riding or performance horse. He has a sweet personality and is easy to handle. He's halter broke and he leads well. He's been out in the pasture with the boys enjoying his childhood. He's so laid back I can see him being a kid's 4H project.

"My Topper" 2007 TB gelding -  If you have read our previous blog, Topper is the miracle horse. He's been fighting abscesses and now is on the mend. I'm hoping to find someone with a kind heart who will want to take Topper in and continue his rehab process. He doesn't need much - a pasture during the day, and a stall at night, and a watchful eye on his feet, along with correct hoof care. He has a lot to offer and is a very special horse. This guy needs a chance - with the winter off, he could be riding by spring. Eventually I think he's going to make a phenomenal kids horse. Topper won over $23K on the track and retired this fall.

"Hot Sax"  2003 TB mare - Sax was a recent feedlot rescue. Over the years she's won nearly $100K for her owners. Unfortunately, she has had a few leg issues along the way. We took films on her and she shows an old cannon splint and some ankle chips along with arthritis. Sax is a sweet mare, and would be ok living in someone's pasture as a companion horse. As of now we are planning on having her euthanized unless we can find a home for her.

ADOPTION FEES REDUCED FOR WINTER!

"Almost Dangerous"  Don't let the name scare you - Addie is as sweet as they come. She is 5yrs old and just doesn't want to race anymore. She bowed her RF tendon at 2, rehabbed and raced sound for 3 years. It's a low bow and doesn't effect her at all. She will be sound for any discipline - and we could see her excelling in Dressage or as a Hunter/Jumper. Addie is aprox 16.1h with excellent conformation and great breeding. She is by Prime Timber out of Private Pouf. Addie is available through MNRRP for $500 and located in Shakopee.

Proxy Fight" - This guy is absolutely stunning and amazingly athletic! Rigalo, as he's know around the barn, is a 10 yr grey TB gelding who was retired at 3 from racing. He has been re-trained and used in lessons for the past 5 years. He was also used as a trail horse for one season; however, he prefers to be in the arena. He has been free jumped and shows a lot of potential and talent. This horse can go in any direction. He does need a knowledgeable rider as we were told he does know his stuff. He has an extended trot to DIE for!!! Rigalo is a bit out of shape at the moment, but could be in the show ring by the fall. He's had only the best care and his owner donated him to MNRRP to ensure he found a wonderful home. Rigalo is aprox 15.3h and has substantial bone. He is an easy keeper and kept out on pasture. He is super easy to be around and his only vice is that he cribs on the fences. Rigalo is available for $600 and is located in Shakopee

Another wonderful horse available for adoption.....

AVAILABLE!!!
Slow Down Sones is a 16h, 6yr old Thoroughbred gelding who retired from racing in September - "Westley" as he's known around the barn, has been re-started under saddle and has a solid walk, trot, and canter both directions. He is soft in the mouth and responsive and willing to learn. He has jumped cross rails under saddle and he also shows a lot of potential free jumping as well. Westley has been on many trail rides and is not spooky or reactive. He'll just hack right down the trail or road. This horse is full of personality and really wants to show off, but is sweet and easy to handle. First day he went out and jumped a 3ft branch in the middle of the pasture, just for fun! He has great ground manners and can really excel in any direction.  He has been evaluated sound and healthy. Westley's adoption fee is $1500.
Watch Westley's video .

Special thanks to Dark Horse Farm for fostering and working with this wonderful horse!!!

Do you believe in miracles?

This last week was proof miracles do exist.

Topper leading his last race - June, 2011

At just 4 years old, retired racehorse, My Topper had his entire life in front of him. He retired relatively sound and spent a couple weeks relaxing in the pasture upon his arrival here in late June. Shortly after, he became extremely sore and was unable to walk. Abscesses can be common in recently retired racehorses, as their feet and bodies adjust to barefoot, outside living and I thought nothing more of it. In early July, Topper went on stall rest and I began soaking his foot with epsom salt. His pain seemed centered in his front left foot; however, some days he exhibited pain on his front right. I alternated soaking and started wrapping with magna paste and animalintex, trying to draw out whatever infection that might have been in there. This process went on for a couple months and finally Dr Selvig was able to spot, and open an extremely deep abscess in his toe. This abscess went all the way down to his sensitive tissue, no wonder why he was so sore.



Topper with Daria

 Typically, after an abscess is drained, the horse will begin to feel a lot better. This was not the case with Topper. He had his good days and he had his bad days. His good days consisted of being able to step out of his stall and stand in the isle, in the foundered position, shaking. His bad days he seemed to spend more time laying down than standing up and because of this he developed bed sores on his hocks.  Dr Selvig monitored his progress and we noticed his white line was extremely en flamed and red. Although is left front was still bothering him, his right front seemed worse now. After numerous farrier visits and consultations, nothing was found in the foot. I kept boots on to try to keep him comfortable but nothing seemed to help. Topper's bad days seemed to out number his good and soon, all he was having was bad days. It was painful to watch and I didn't think I could take much more of it. We had been buting him daily for such a long time and it just didn't seem to be helping at all. It was not looking good for Topper.

A couple of days ago, Dr Selvig came out to check on him and discuss our options. She noticed his coffin bone had started to possibly drop (without films it was impossible to know for sure though). He was having one of his bad days and was not able to even lift his feet at all. Once lifted he'd bend down, almost in a bowing position, just to relieve the pressure. He stood in the barn isle, shaking and hunched up, clearly in pain. Although I have seen this many times with him, almost on a daily basis, I was glad Dr Selvig and the others there that night were able to see the extent of it.  He was diagnosed with acute laminitis, which could have been caused by compensating for the severe abscess on his front left, or he could have possibly been laminic prior and that could have caused the abscess. Either way, the decision was made to bring him to the clinic and have him euthanized the following day.



Daria riding Topper bareback before he became sore



I am not much of a crier. In fact, only a few days earlier we had adopted a wonderful, sound and healthy horse out to a great woman, only to have him die in her pasture 12 hours later. Colic was suspected, but without a necropsy there was no way to be sure. Such a sudden and sad death,  my heart hurt, but I didn't cry. Now here I was with Topper, sobbing into his mane like a little child. I did not want to lose this horse. My daughter and I were there to cheer him on for his last race. We took him home and rode him all around. I spent countless hours doctoring him. I felt like such a failure but I had done everything possible for this horse. There was nothing more to do except help him on his next journey over the rainbow bridge.

I would miss his goofy personality. The funny faces he'd make in his stall before feeding time, the way he would pull his hay out of the top of his hay bunk so he could eat it off the floor instead. I would miss his daily greetings (he was very talkative) and I'd miss how he'd bury his head in my chest, almost hugging me. I have had to euthanize horses in the past - never has one been so difficult. Although I do not practice religion on a daily basis, what could it hurt to ask for help? Possibly a miracle?

The next afternoon I brushed him in his stall, gave him treats and hugged him. He stood like a statue, as he always did. I opened the trailer doors, got his last meal ready and proceeded to halter him with the best looking halter I could find in the barn. I cut a small lock of his tail off to keep as a reminder and opened the stall webbing to lead him out. What happened next was amazing, if not impossible. Topper pushed through the webbing, nearly knocking me down. As that happened I lost grip on the lead rope and it slid out of my hands as he trotted down the isle of the barn. He stopped a few steps later and looked back as if to say "I'm fine, see?".  I stood there in awe thinking did that really just happen? I walked up to him, grabbed the lead and led him up and down the barn isle. He walked cautiously, but with a purpose. There was hardly a head bob. This was a horse that the previous night, could not stand up without shaking, hunching or stretching out. He had difficulty walking in his stall from the bucket to the feeder and now he just trotted down the isle and was walking normally?  I have not seen this horse walk normal for nearly 4 months. Topper had just bought himself more time.

Topper enjoying pasture life again

It has only been a couple of days but Topper continues to walk normally and make progress. The following day, he was bucking  and rearing in his stall. When I took him for his walk he was rearing and squeeling on the end of the lead. Yesterday he enjoyed the entire day in the pasture. I couldn't be happier. Although we cannot explain this amazing and drastic recovery, I'm not really looking for an explanation. I'll take what I can get - in this case, a miracle.

Topper's recovery took it's toll on our program, financially. If you feel compelled to donate in his honor, checks can be sent to MNRRP, 3850 182nd St E, Prior Lake, MN 55372

Donations are tax deductible.