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Syb and Red

From New Mexico track with Love, Red is home

Some might say Redabyebye was once a horse with a pile of cards stacked against him. As racehorses go, he wasn’t all that good. And, he ran in low claimers at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico, a racetrack recently investigated by the New York Times for its high rate of death and injury to jockeys and horses. In seven starts, Redabyebye hit the board only once, winning a mere $1,800 for a second-place finish.  With such a poor showing at a track so near to Mexican slaughterhouses, his fate could have been in question. Yet, the stars aligned for this sweet-faced […]

Lila hugs a visitor to the farm's therapy demonstration. The child is not in therapy.

After leg fracture, gray mare helps people

Walk among the horses milling around the dusty, well-trampled arena, and it won’t be long before she finds you. Her gray muzzle, soft and inquiring, will tickle you as she draws near. And, if she really likes you, she’ll press her delicate head against you, and wrap her neck around you in a hug. To be chosen by the gray mare, Lila B, is a moment that brings optimism, even joy, to those participating in a unique horse-therapy program in upstate New York. At RoseWal Farm, where Lila B lives with her herd, people struggling with a range of psychological […]

Relaxing with her closest friends

Q&A: The unstoppable Allie Conrad

Allie Conrad, executive director of CANTER Mid Atlantic, and a national CANTER board member, is funny, irreverent, and an outspoken voice for ex-racehorses, with a knack for telling it like it is. Her humor and no-nonsense opinions have landed her a regular column in the horse bible known as Chronicle of the Horse, as well as stints shooting photos of the best equine athletes competing at Rolex and beyond. In this week’s Clubhouse Q&A, Conrad discusses her work, and what she thinks of the growing popularity of ex-racehorse Thoroughbreds among horse buyers. Q: Allie, as the executive director of CANTER […]