Silver and Smoke, a mare rescued in South Florida two years ago, gave birth to her first foal last month in New York.
A Thoroughbred mare rescued two years ago from a squalid farm in South Florida, where she nearly died of starvation, gave birth last month to her first foal.
Silver and Smoke, an OTTB mare saved by the South Florida SPCA and the Miami-Dade police from a ragtag facility in Miami Gardens, Fla., and subsequently taken back by her original breeder Danzel Brendemuehl, gave birth Jan. 19 to a bay filly sired by graded stakes winner Majesticperfection.
“She foaled very easily, very professionally, and accepted her foal right away,” Brendemuehl says. “It was wonderful. We were so impressed with her professionalism, that we’ve decided to breed her again.”
Silver and Smoke
Sire: Mountbrook
Dam: Quiddich
Foal date: March 5, 2010The longtime breeder, who nursed Silver and Smoke back to health after rescue in 2014 says she and partner Sandra Lombardo of Royal Thoroughbred Racing in Freedom, N.Y., decided to breed the Thoroughbred to continue the line, which would have ended with her. “She’s the strongest mare we have, and she’s such a kind mare. It’s a great story. She’ll never be offered for sale again, and will be with us forever,” she adds.
The longtime breeder stepped up two years ago and drove out to the SPCA to get her mare when she heard that the animal had been found. Unsure the mare would survive, Brendemuehl placed the gray Thoroughbred in a front paddock at Classic Bloodstock Farm in Florida, and took pains to help the animal regain approximately 300 pounds. It was a personal quest for Brendemuehl to restore the animal’s health.
She’d always promised to take back a horse she’d bred, no questions asked, and went so far as to affix her contact information, with that promise, on every horse’s paperwork. So when Silver and Smoke turned up in a raid the way she did, Brendemuehl made it her mission to not only restore the horse’s health, but to provide her with a wonderful life.
“We’ll keep her forever,” Brendemuehl says.
Please see earlier stories here:
http://offtrackthoroughbreds.com/2014/08/05/locked-in-tbs-couldnt-lift-heads-in-stalls/
http://offtrackthoroughbreds.com/2014/08/21/breeder-takes-starved-t-bred-home-in-tears/
Just because they will take a horse they bred back doesn’t mean anyone will take them up on it, case in point Silver And Smoke, right under their noses! They bred her just a year after she was rescued, not a lot of time to recover from her trauma, oh, and they are breeding her back, and I wonder how many years this will go on. Just what we need more horses, oh, but they’ll take them back if necessary, that’s if somebody else rescues them before it’s too late. I’m surprised the SPCA let them take the horse without signing a No Breeding Contract. When she was rescued she wasn’t owned by her breeder. If you adopt a mare from a rescue it’s on condition that you will not breed, I guess the SPCA doesn’t have that rule. I can’t fathom how you can see the awful condition of a horse when first rescued, know there are many many more in just as bad shape, and then breed more.
Very well said. I wish I could post some of the photos I have here. I have seen horses in such deplorable condition, I am surprised they were still standing, yet people go on breeding. In this case much hoopla is being made about a thoroughbred, but there are millions of wonderful horses who are not thoroughbreds, who suffer the same inglorious fate – off to the knackers. Media Puzzle is a case in point, though he ultimately was not sent and he went on to win the Melbourne Cup. Ferdinand winner of the Kentucky Derby was sent to Japan to be slaughtered and he was. Budweiser has had a horse that narrowly escaped slaughter too. But peope go on breeding. I am disgusted by the greed.
What a lovely pedigree she has. I have a great grandson of Buckpasser, too, named Barrybrown
It’s great the breeder took her back, very responsible, but PLEASE DO NOT BREED HER….her body has been through enough not to mention….TB racing is cruel in my opinion…they put too much stress on the young horses body and minds. There is an overabundance of OTTB ending up in abusive homes or shipped overseas for slaughter. Do we need more? Just because you can breed doesn’t mean you have to.
This is a wonderful story and one that all breeders should aspire to. Breeding can be a good thing if it’s done responsibly. I would much rather see the racehorse industry filled with horses from breeders like this: conscientious, responsible, caring and putting their money where their mouth is to take care of what they breed.
Yes, I am of two minds regarding this story. Silver and Smoke is stunning with a very kind eye and her foal is precious! I am so glad she is safe, it almost was not the case…. Don’t agree with breeding her at all. I know it’s not my business!
Wow… you rescued her because she was unwanted and went ahead and bred her , plan on re breeding her to produce MORE unwanted in the long run horses???? NOT a rescue afterall is it??? Not feeling warm and fuzzy here……
Sherri:
This professional Thoroughbred breeder takes back her horses,and was the first one in the history of the South Florida SPCA to come get her horse after the mare was rescued. She offers a return policy on all her horses, no questions asked.
There are many breeders that affix than info to the papers. Unfortunately when there is a load going from the backstretch, nobody bothers to check any papers. They try to remove anything that will identify them and on the trailer they go. Many times straight to the plant, do not stop at auction , do not get rescued, 🙁 Unless you retain ownership and physical custody of horses there is just no guarantee
Danzel is a professional breeder and sales consigned in the thoroughbred industry. She was not unwanted by Danzel she was a race horse that ended up in a bad situation years later . Danzel will always take any horses she has bred . For all of you not in the racing industry I know you can’t understand but it is a business .
I grew up around (indirectly) the racing industry and while it’s great to take back her foals and horses, is it really necessary to continue to breed? I don’t think so.
Isn’t this in direct opposition to what you should do? Rescuing her and keeping her safe is one thing, rescuing her and continuing to breed her is really not the same thing!
Hope they keep the foal
Why did they have to breed her? And now they have bred her again. They going to keep the foals forever and make sure they don’t end up in a bad way too?
I do question the breeding need. So many are still going to the kill buyers. What did this prove? What safety net does this little one have?
What a beautiful little girl 🙂 So glad that Silver and Smoke is with her family again and will be loved for the rest of her life. Good to see responsible breeders taking responsibility for the animals they produce.
Awesome–good for them—