Maggi Moss to help Texas rescue with vet bills

Maggi Moss

Leading Thoroughbred owner Maggi Moss stepped forward this week to offer ongoing financial support to a Texas-based horse rescue that recently saved the day for nine mares in danger of going to slaughter.

Moss has granted Remember Me Rescue, of Burleson, Texas the use of her credit card in the event of a veterinary emergency like the one that ultimately claimed the life of rescued mare, Karistas Punch, July 30.

Before she died of colic, Karistas Punch, along with eight other broodmares reportedly belonging to the Asmussen racing family, were rescued at the Round Mountain Livestock Auction, a sale frequented by kill buyers.

In a team effort, the mares were bid on, against kill buyers, and brought to safety by a network of horse connections. California-based Thoroughbred advocate Deborah Jones bid on the horses, and Dallas businessman and Thoroughbred racehorse owner John R. Murrell funded their purchase.

Lastly, Donna Keen, owner and operator of Remember Me Rescue, offered a roof over their heads, sheltering half of the horses on her own property, and the others at a friend’s farm.

The good news of their rescue and quick purchase by those providing permanent homes, had a sad note however.

When Karitsas Punch was stricken with signs of severe colic, possibly of tie-up, there wasn’t enough money in the coffers to pay for the required and expensive surgery.

In a note on her Facebook page, Keen wrote: “Sadly, Karitsas Punch was euthanized this evening after a heroic effort on her part. She was very tough all the way to the end,” she stated. ”I am so sad to say I feel somewhat responsible for her death in that we did not have an emergency fund set up for something like this.

Donna Keen

“Vet clinics will not take a horse in for surgery without a huge deposit, we just didn’t have it.”

Keen, says Moss, deserves financial backing so she won’t be in this position again.

“Throughout my long experiences with horses, I have found that Donna and her facility is as close to being an angel on earth as you can get,” Moss says. “When I think of her, that is the first word that comes to mind: angel.”

Crediting Keen for being one of the first to step up and offer help, even in mass-horse rescues, Moss says, Keen should, at the very least, rest easily should one of her horses ever need costly medical aid.

“When the hospitals just want a credit card to do the work, I said, I’d be happy to give them mine,” Moss says.

This way, Keen can use the money she gathers through fundraising to handle the day-to-day operations of the facility, and not leave it sitting in an emergency-care fund, Moss reasons.

For her part, Keen says she was thunderstruck by the offer.

“When she offered to do that, it just blew me away!” Keen says.

Keen is looking forward to helping more horses transition to healthy and successful off-track lives, and doing so with still a little buffer in reserve for emergencies.

She opened her national nonprofit in 2008, and so far has helped approximately 350 horses.

Keen seeks funds to cover these stalls

She is currently trying to raise funds to add a roof onto some stalls, so that she can accommodate the overflow of horses, which tend to crowd into her facility as the racing seasons.

And while Keen concentrates her fundraising efforts on providing for the short and long term needs of the facility, Moss’s promise hangs in the background, ensuring that no animal will suffer or possibly die needlessly, from lack of emergency care.

OffTrackThoroughbreds.com salutes two angels of the equestrian world.

10 responses to “Maggi Moss to help Texas rescue with vet bills”

  1. Ken Michaels

    Dear Maggie,

    Thank you so much for helping in the recent retirement of Stud Muffin.

    He was such a genuine racehorse who gave his heart each and every time he competed. The memories he gave myself and my friends with his come from behind wins is priceless.

    Your such a great gal to do this for him and all the others you have helped.

    I plan to go visit him as soon as the weather breaks as I’m only an hour away.

    FYI….If i had the resources I would have done the same for the stud…..

    All The Best

    Sincerely,

    Ken Michaels

  2. Lisa Poppenhouse

    Maggi, thank you so very much! Now Remember Me Rescue has two angels. Donna, you are my hero for all you do for the OTTB community. Don’t feel responsible for Karista’s Punch passing. You made sure she passed peacefully instead of in the slaughterhouse. You truly are a godsend for these horses.

  3. Lynette

    Maggi is a class act! I wish more in the industry would follow her lead! And Donna, what can you say? Awesome lady and awesome rescue!

  4. Rechelle Dorsey

    Thank you Maggi!! You are truly an angel to RMR and to Donna! Donna herself is such a godsend to these horses, so between the two of you amazing women, these horses will have a wonderful life after racing! I agree, they should both get an Eclipse award for the services they give to OTTBs, especially this year, after RMR participated in the mass rescue effort in Many, LA and now the Asmussen mares. How do we bring this to the attention of the Eclipse award committee?

  5. Erin Hogan

    A true example of paying it forward! Thank you both for caring so much!

  6. Shirley VerHoef

    Maggi Moss is wonderful. And Donna is an angel. Rescuing one horse is a great deed, but taking on such a big number is heeroic.

  7. Kathleen Burnham

    GOD BLESS YOU BOTH DONNA & MAGGIE. YOU ARE AWESOME!!!

  8. Vicki Morgan

    I’m in tears after learning of Maggi’s offer for Donna and RMR. We were all just heartbroken over Karista, especially Donna! WTG Maggi!

  9. Natalie Keller Reinert

    Two angels who deserve Eclipse Awards for their service to Thoroughbreds, I say.

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