Sir Prize Birthday, 35, dies; an iron horse
Sir Prize Birthday, 35, the oldest retired racehorse in the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation’s (TRF) herd of 900 OTTBs, died this week following a brief and sudden illness. The stakes-winning racehorse ran 206 times and earned north of $300,000 before retiring on Aug. 1, 1998 to the TRF’s Wallkill Correctional Facility in New York. As the alpha horse in the herd for 17 years, Birthday occupied a prominent position in the herd of Thoroughbreds participating in the flagship Second Chances program, which pairs inmates with racehorses in a mutually beneficial horsemanship program. Known as a horse “not to be trifled with,” […]
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Historic anti-slaughter vote taken in Md.; it’s time
Saying it’s time to end the practice of shipping American horses to Canadian and Mexican slaughterhouses, the Maryland Horse Council last month took a historic vote to support the federal SAFE Act, legislation aimed at outlawing the sale and transport of American horses to slaughterhouses. By a 28-to-3 vote, (with one abstention), the board made an unprecedented reversal of its earlier decision against taking a stand on slaughter following three months of deliberation among its vast membership. “We just felt it was the right time,” said Council President Jane Seigler. “This is an issue that has been evolving with us.” Following months […]
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OTTBs saved from slaughter on Thanksgiving
The sweet, soft expression of a 3-year-old filly who didn’t understand where she was, nor where she was headed, was what compelled a Texas woman to make room on her farm to save her and another slaughter-bound Thoroughbred over the Thanksgiving weekend. “I’d received a message the weekend before Thanksgiving from a lady telling me there was a filly named Master Fer in the Kauffman Kill Pen (in Texas),” said Vicki Morgan, a Texas horseman and Thoroughbred advocate. “I told her we’re drowning in horses here. We’re full.” Master Fer Sire: Milwaukee Miracle Dam: Nowhere Jones Foal date: Jan. 19, […]
