GOOD NEWS sponsored by Liberation Farm: HORSE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION OF FLORIDA
By Ray Paulick
Yes, I know it’s a tired cliché, but Christmas did come a little early this year for Kim Heath, who with husband Bonnie Heath III operates Bonnie Heath Farm near Ocala, Fla.
Kim, a first-year director of the Horse Protection Association of Florida, was charged with an enormous task the day after Thanksgiving, when most Americans are consumed with Christmas shopping or resting up from their holiday feast. The HPAF had been contacted by Loren Nichols, owner of Trackside Training Center in Williston, Fla., and asked to rescue 49 Thoroughbreds said to be abandoned there by an owner from England. Morgan Silver, the founder and executive director of the HPAF, called on Kim Heath for help.
She immediately went to work, reaching out to the local horse community and sending an email blast alerting people throughout the Thoroughbred industry of the situation. She secured veterinary assistance to help those horses who needed immediate attention, researched the pedigrees and contacted the animals’ breeders when possible. Within two weeks, 46 of the 49 horses had been adopted out, and the other three adoptions are “in the works.”
When I spoke with Kim last Thursday she said she “was exhausted and frazzled,” and looking forward to getting some rest. “When I think about this whole thing, it’s like a Christmas present to me that these horses now have good homes.”
The rescue of the 49 horses from Trackside was the largest in the history of the HPAF, which was established in 1990 in Miami and relocated in 2001 to a 149-acre farm, leased for $1 per year from a grant giver, in Micanopy in the northwest corner of Marion County.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the only rescue necessitated during the current holiday season.
Another eight horses were abandoned at another area farm and rescued by the HPAF, which takes in horses of all breeds. The fact these 57 horses were Thoroughbreds does not paint that industry as any worse than others, said Silver. “It’s like society in general,” she said. “If someone robs, beats up or murders someone, you can’t say all people are bad. The vast majority of horse owners, including Thoroughbred owners, take care of their horses. There are some horse owners who fall on hard times and don’t know what to do, and there is a very, very small minority who abuse animals.”
Silver said the escalation in gasoline prices in 2008 led to a spike in the cost of hay and grain, which made it difficult for many horse owners to adequately feed their animals. This year, she said, the Florida area has been particularly hard hit by unemployment and foreclosures, leaving many horses without homes.
Heath and Silver said the response to the latest rescue crisis from members of the Florida Thoroughbred community was both swift and generous. “It was phenomenal,” said Silver, citing, among others, the Steinbrenner family’s Kinsman Stud and manager Jim Scott, Niall and Stephanie Brennan, and Rosie Gonzales, who took care of the horses while they were at Trackside. The Florida Thoroughbred Farm Managers, Silver said, has been a staunch supporter of the HPAF for years, along with the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association.
“It was absolutely a Godsend we were able to do this, but it couldn’t have happened without Kim,” Silver said. “Kim and Bonnie have been supporters for many years, and we were fortunate that she joined our board this past year.”
Kim Heath said the horses at Trackside were not starving because “some people felt sorry for them and kept giving them a little hay or feed. They were ribby and wormy and hadn’t seen a blacksmith in a long time, but because of the do-gooders they were getting some food. Many were in stalls or crowded in small paddocks.
About half the horses rescued went to people in other disciplines. Some of the Thoroughbred mares will be bred to warm-blood stallions.
Silver said getting registration papers from the Jockey Club can be an important factor in finding new owners for rescued Thoroughbreds. “It’s very important to have the papers,” She said. “If they are being used for other disciplines they can look at the pedigrees. Also, Blue Horse Charities (founded by the late John Hettinger and operating in affiliation with Fasig-Tipton) grants only go to registered Thoroughbreds. It makes a difference that the papers are going with them.”
But the HPAF rescues horses of all breeds. “If the animal is in dire need, we don’t care what breed it is,” said Silver. “We’ve taken in a lot of mustangs, Arabians, quarter horses, Passos and Paints, but this year was a heavy one for Thorougbreds. We specialize in cruelty and neglect and emergency situations, working with sheriffs departments around the state. We don’t take a horse in if someone simply doesn’t want to keep it. We are happy to try and adopt them out or work with other rescue operations.”
The HPAF is a 501(c)3 organization that depends on charitable donations for its operating revenue. For more information, go to www.HPAF.org.
Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report
Savvy businesses recognize value. Advertise in the Paulick Report.
Sign up for our Email Flashes to get the latest news, analysis and commentary from Ray Paulick
Tags: florida horsemen's benevolent and protective associatio, Good News Friday, Horse Protection Association of Florida, Jim Scott, Kim Heath, Kinsman Stud, liberation farm, Loren Nichols, Morgan Silver, Niall Brennan, ocala, Rosie Gonzales, Stephanie Brennan, Trackside Training Center
December 14th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Again, Ray, if each handicapper who reads this story would donate what would be a daily wager or two and those in the industry donate a percentage from the winner’s circle (and there are plenty of those circles outside a track), then these stories would have even happier endings. No matter if you are a railbird or top gun on the backside, WE all have a vested interest in this issue and to assist those who understand that life begins…..after the finish line.
December 14th, 2009 at 11:44 am
I hope everyone who reads this story will take a couple of extra minutes to follow the link to the HPAF website and make a donation.
December 14th, 2009 at 11:52 am
The world is a better place with people like Bonnie and Kim in it as well as all the souls that stepped up and found a place in their hearts and on their farms for those horses. This is the kind of news we need to hear, not who’s sleeping with who. Thank you for making us aware of the responsibility all horseman have to care for that magnificant animal that gives our lives such joy.
December 14th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
I own an Off the track Thoroughbred and I am very concerned about the fate of all Thoroughbreds when they are finished racing. I love hearing stories like this and wish I could do more to help these wonderful animals find homes. Thank so much to Kim for dedicating her time to these horses!!
She has reserved her place in heaven!
December 14th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Thank you to Kim and Bonnie and thank you to all self-less race and breeding horse rescuers!
December 14th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Thanks for posting this story. I’m a small owner, two on the track and a barn full of the slow and elderly, all loved. Been doin’ this for many years. I cannot imagine abandoning any of my horses.
Abandoned TBs are the worst because NOBODY gets into this business did so without a bankroll. The semi-literate unemployed toothless dude in Rural Jehosephat who fails to adequately feed his unregistered spotted racking horses, no excuses although understandable due to dude’s ignorance and lifelong poverty. But anabuser/abandonner from the TB industry? No excuses, and a special place in Pergutory reserved for such persons to do their time.
TB horses abandoned at farms and sent to the meat man aren’t victims of the economy; they are victims of the culture of greed which has come to permeate the racing industry.
December 14th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Thanks go out to all involvedin this happy ending story. Before the final rescue there were the “do-gooders” who took from their own supplies and gave to those starving horses. The economy has devastated the TB business over the past few years. We are small time breeders and lost our shirts at the sales in 07 and 08. I am still paying the consigner fees. All our horses are still here and still fed, so we understand the difficulties, but not the response. Abandonment is not an option. I do hope some legal actions are being looked at for the owner. The Jockey Club needs to get involved. Thanks to all who helped, from the horses who cannot speak for themselves.
December 15th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Bonnie and Kim Heath are extremely good people and a class act. I hope they have a fantastic holiday season.
December 15th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Many thanks for all the encouragement!
The HPAF has rescued 2 smaller groups of TB’s since Thanksgiving. The latest rescues are so debilitated we had to put 3 of them down. The stories go on and on. Please pass the word - there are alternatives.
If anyone knows a lawyer that would donate time to help prosecute, we have several cases. We cannot afford to pay lawyers, and therefore do not pursue many cases.
Kim Heath
board member - HPAF
http://www.hpaf.org
December 16th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
In most places the county prosecutor handles cruelty to animals cases. You should not need a lawyer the person who starved the horses is the one who is supposed to hire a lawyer. The sheriff is supposed to go out and arrest the guilty person.
December 17th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
Our experience is that this is the last thing they want to do. Even when hand fed all they need to do their job. The abandonment case goes back and forth across 2 counties. Think about that one. They really don’t want to be bothered with it.