Latest / The Touch of a Mustang / A Second Chance for Retired Racehorses with Rebecca Forcier| Episode 40

Transcript

A Second Chance for Retired Racehorses with Rebecca Forcier| Episode 40 · The Touch of a Mustang

• 0:00
  I have learned a lot in the past 3 1/2 years, non resistance
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  because we fight tooth and nail. And you, you know what I mean?
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  And it's like push and grind and all these things.
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  And there is a part of that if you're trying to make something
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  happen. But then there's also this
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  component of like, you know, can I leave it?
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  Can I change it? Do I have to accept it?
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  All else is madness. I feel super passionate about
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  this vision and I'm so hopeful that there is an adjustment and
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  the industry evolves and I'm super excited and I'm along for
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  the ride. I think it's going to be amazing
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  and at the same time some of the decisions in there are not mine
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  and I have to be non resistant to whatever will be, you know,
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  can you look yourself in the mirror And been like I acted
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  with integrity. I was always horse first.
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  I did the right thing. I'm proud of myself.
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  Like all those things which we all have to like come up against
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  ourself in the mirror. There are healers on this planet
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  with the power to soften the suffering of mankind if they
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  have remained in the resources of the world, abused, discarded
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  and labeled as trash. This is the touch of a Mustang.
• 1:02
  I am your host, Shalise Clough, and I'm here to tell the story
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  of wild horses, Mustangs, and the humans who are discovering
• 1:10
  and sharing their gifts while working to protect their
• 1:13
  well-being and preserve their spirit so this divine power
• 1:17
  won't be lost. Join us on this quest with the
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  Wild Mustang. Thank you so much for being here
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  today. Let's start with if you can tell
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  everybody kind of what you do and how you became involved in
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  doing it. It's a little bit of a different
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  topic because we're going to be talking about Thoroughbreds
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  today, but I think there's a lot of similarities with some of the
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  challenges that Mustangs also experience.
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  For sure. Well, first of all, thank you so
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  much for inviting me. I know we've been going back and
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  forth for a while and I really wanted to do it, but then I've
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  been like scared and hesitant and I've never done a podcast
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  before. So thank you for persisting and
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  I'm excited to do it. So I guess horse specific, we'll
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  start there. So like a lot of people, I grew
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  up, you know, pony club doing three days a week lessons, a bit
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  of hunter jumper, stuff like that.
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  My parents had a farm and I had a Little Pony and so pretty
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  traditional. Like it's not, you know, I'm not
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  a world class rider or anything, but I always loved horses and,
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  and like I said, grew up riding and then my parents sold their
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  farm when I I was in my teens and we moved to Vancouver
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  Island. So gone with the pony, you know,
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  just proximity to where I could ride.
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  It just became super difficult. So fell out of riding.
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  And then Fast forward about 15 years and my daughter kind of,
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  you know, got bit by the horse bug and after a lot of family
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  conversations, we decided to take the plunge and go full, you
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  know, whole hog into it. So my daughter, we got her pony.
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  I was getting my thoroughbred. And that kind of is, is my
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  history with that. When when I had my pony, there
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  was a thoroughbred called epic solid Bay.
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  Love this off track thoroughbred.
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  And I desperately wanted him And my parents were like too
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  dangerous and you're not, we're not doing that.
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  And he was $5000, which was quite hefty at that time.
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  So I this time back around, I'm like, I'm getting that
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  thoroughbred. It's happening.
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  And so that is sort of getting back into horses.
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  And then what happened was really organic.
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  We, you know, my husband sort of saw the relationship that I was
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  building with my horse and he got his own off the track
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  thoroughbred. My daughter got off the track
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  thoroughbred. My son has an off the track
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  thoroughbred. And we just sort of became this
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  family of off track. Thoroughbred.
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  We went trail rides and you can see a lot of that on her
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  Instagram and stuff. And I just fell in love with
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  them. And I mean, I my grandparents
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  had taken me to the races growing up as a child, both
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  trotters, standard breads and then also thoroughbreds as well.
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  So I'd always just been enthralled with, you know, the
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  power and the I don't know if anyone who loves a thoroughbred
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  knows, just like people probably that love Mustangs, right?
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  It's just it gets a hold of you and no other breed will do.
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  No other horses is good. It like that.
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  You just fall madly in love with them.
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  And then so when I got my horse, I started looking around, OK,
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  where how do I get a thoroughbred?
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  Because I had never bought one or adopted or done anything.
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  And that's when I met the facilitator who runs news Dr.
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  Thoroughbred adoption, which I didn't know existed, but just
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  kind of digging down the rabbit hole.
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  And I and I met Carmen, their facilitator.
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  We became fast friends and really trying to Fast forward
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  the story. She sort of mentored me into,
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  you know, I just saw the work they were doing and I'm like, I
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  need to be a part of this. It there needs to be more of
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  this. You know, they only take a small
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  percentage of total horses coming off the track.
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  So I said, you know, is there a demand for that?
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  Like if we were to open an organization, is there enough
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  need? And she was like, like, we don't
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  even take would if you look at the total number coming off,
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  it's those that go into aftercare, it's a very small
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  percentage. So I was just, you know, bright
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  eyed and bushy tailed and here we are today.
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  So I I basically do Carmen's role, but for white, which is
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  basically all of the things, right?
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  You're doing vet appointments, you are talking to the owners
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  and the trainers. You're picking horses up.
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  You're yeah, scheduling appointments, feet done, all of
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  the things, right, organizing the trainers with the horses,
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  everything. And so that's it in a sort of
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  nutshell. What was it like going from kind
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  of just being a domestic horse owner to we're going to start
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  helping other horses and trying to funnel them into good homes
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  also? I think really the catalyst was
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  just seeing like, you know how what's that like reticular
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  activating when you're aware of something now you're seeing it
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  everywhere. So I had never really seen
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  thoroughbreds in my adult life, but now that I had my mayor from
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  New Stride, I started seeing in our BC tag group or other, you
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  know, online platforms for sale direct off the track.
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  And I just started seeing like, wait a second, there's a gap
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  here. Like how I got my force through
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  adoption. I was heavily vetted.
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  I had to send pictures of my facility.
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  I had vet references. I had like, these were the
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  demands and the hoops you had to go through to make sure she was
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  being placed in a good home follow up.
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  She continued to follow up with me well to this day, but it just
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  seemed like, wow, this is really for the horse.
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  And obviously I love my horse so much.
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  I'm like every horse deserves, especially thoroughbreds who
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  have been, you know, they are in entertainment, right?
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  For human entertainment. They deserve to be supported.
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  Like to go from being a professional athlete, you know,
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  trained to do this job, to be thrust into what I call like
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  general population. They're not prepared for that.
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  And there is a gap like I think general, yeah, people think,
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  yeah, they've they've seen, they've been there, done that.
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  I'll I'll get a horse off the race track and they're they're
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  just ready to ride. And yes, they are meticulously
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  managed and trained exceptionally for that job.
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  Your average horse rider is very, I don't want to say like
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  disheartened or caught off guard by.
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  It's not a jockey. No, like they don't stand at the
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  mounting block. They lean into pressure.
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  They're like there's everything is different.
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  It's not a blank slate like, you know, even like a Mustang in a
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  lot of cases, it's not a blank slate.
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  You're starting to get on at a deficit because they're going to
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  need to learn the opposite, not just, you know, the opposite of
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  what they've they've learned to be successful race horses.
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  So I just, I don't know, I just thought that you know what,
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  there's, there is a gap here and I saw what they were doing and I
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  thought there this needs to be across the board.
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  It needs to be 100% of horses retire, go to aftercare.
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  They're, you know, re vetted, physically assessed, personality
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  wise, ridden by trainers, handled by volunteers to kind of
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  see what, you know, who they, what kind of home that they
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  would excel at. And I, yeah, I don't know.
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  I just I had to work out at it. Yeah, Yeah.
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  Was that a big learning curve to go from kind of we're going to
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  get these horses and enjoy them as a family to we really want to
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  make an organization that's responsible and bringing in this
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  horses and making sure as much as we can that they're going to
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  have a successful life moving forward?
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  Yes, and I think too, because I people have asked me this
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  before, like if you knew then what I know now.
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  I'm so grateful that I didn't know what I know now at the
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  beginning and only because, and that's not like anything like
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  slight on racing. I I don't mean from that
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  perspective. I just mean how difficult it has
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  been and like the hurdles and the challenges and things that I
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  just didn't even anticipate. I don't know that I would have
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  started now. I'm happy we're here.
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  But if I had known that like I went in bright eyed and bushy
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  tailed. And I think that you, you kind
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  of have to go in with that. Yeah, and that because otherwise
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  a sane person would quit. That's the truth.
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  Yeah, because I imagine it's a hard process.
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  It's a lot to to walk through, a lot to learn.
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  What were some of the challenges?
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  Setting up as a charity like in Canada, so that's like a 501C3
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  to get that stamp to 8 months, like it's a very arduous
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  process. Like you, I'm like, you know,
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  we're getting it. We're not like the stipulations
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  and the hoops and all of the things.
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  That was one of the hardest things and, and collecting
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  donations without having that stamp.
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  And you can't issue tax receipts before you have it.
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  It's just like that. You really have to have it.
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  So we operate it as a nonprofit for the first maybe year.
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  And then, you know, once we, we got that, that was huge.
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  And then, I mean, I don't even know where to start.
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  There's been so many challenges. I guess when I first started, I
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  thought people are going to see the vision.
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  Like I, I have a clear vision I'm going to put out there.
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  They're going to love it. Everyone's going to want to
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  support it. It's just the best thing ever.
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  And as you know, life happens. That's not always the case.
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  You don't, you know, I thought there's North American
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  thoroughbred aftercare grants and stuff.
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  And I'm thinking they're going to see what we're doing and
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  they're just going to love it. We're going to get those grants.
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  It's going to be great. But as you kind of learn as you
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  go, many of those thoroughbred specific grants, they won't kind
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  of even look at you till you've been in operation for three
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  years. And it's like you have to have
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  minimum number of horses at a current time.
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  So there's a lot of, you know, the incentives to get into
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  aftercare versus say, to get into actually racing.
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  There's a huge discrepancy. And that's another thing that I
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  feel very passionate about is they should be much more equal,
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  right? It should people wanting to do
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  this work, which is super important and not only for the
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  horse but for the future of the sport.
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  There needs to be incentives for people to do that at minimum
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  assistance with the cost of providing rehabs and doing these
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  types of things. And I have, yeah, there's
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  probably millions more, but that's what I can think of off
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  the top way, yeah. I'm sure it has been an
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  incredible journey because, yeah, like you say, a lot of
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  times you start something and you're like, this seems like a
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  great idea and then you get in it and it is a lot more
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  complicated, A lot more obstacles than you anticipate.
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  Tell us a little bit about what is kind of the process that it
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  would be for a horse that ends up with you.
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  Like where do they start? What are some typical
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  experiences? And then how does that go once
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  they get to you, the work you do and then leading to adoption?
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  For sure. So as it stands and most, most
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  aftercares, I won't say all are the same in that we want to work
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  with the horses who are at the, I don't want to say biggest
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  risk, but we don't take horses from private owners.
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  Like we work directly with the racetrack.
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  And So what will happen is we have a forum on our website,
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  trainers and owners can it says submit a horse.
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  So they'll fill out the documentation, submit it to us.
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  It goes to our board of directors and you know, barring
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  certain stipulations, the horse is accepted into our program.
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  Then we schedule, we go and we actually pick the horse up from
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  the racetrack, bring it back to the ranch and then the process
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  begins there. And so like most other aftercare
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  organizations, we follow AAEP transitioning of a thoroughbred
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  protocols. So their diet is transition, if
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  they have an injury, it is reassessed, new imaging is done.
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  Again, they see a vet, all that happens and the rehab is carried
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  out or they have their time out, their time off, you know, let
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  down and what not. And then they will begin
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  retraining on the ground under saddle.
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  So that's kind of a Cliffs Note version of how how they come to
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  us. And we do get a lot of
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  submissions from people that already own horses off the
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  track. And this was another thing like
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  I didn't set out to do like a field experiment, but you
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  inevitably kind of learn information along the way.
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  Like we get a lot of emails from people who have purchased
• 12:52
  directly off the track being like, Oh my gosh, I bought this
• 12:55
  horse six months ago. I bought this horse, you know,
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  three months ago. Would you accept it into your
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  program? Would you?
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  And, and we that's just not a channel that we work with,
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  right? And so you start to see, yes,
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  there is an issue by buying directly off the racetrack.
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  There is a fall, there's a kink in the line down the hose and
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  it's spewing everywhere. And we need to address it by,
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  you know, proper placement and and there are lots of sales
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  agents and, you know, listing platforms.
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  And I'm not saying that that is a negative thing because it
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  needs to exist because right now aftercare is nowhere near 100%
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  in terms of, you know, a service and, and being able to be
• 13:32
  offered. So there's a place for that.
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  But the, there's this kind of idea that, you know, an agent or
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  someone going to a racetrack somewhere taking photos, writing
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  down what the owner or trainer tells the person to write down
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  post that that's aftercare. Like that's the sale.
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  And it has there's, you know, there's no additional vetting
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  independent vet seeing the horse, it's not being
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  reassessed. There's no ongoing follow up.
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  There's no, you know, calling references.
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  There's no like that. That's not horse first in my
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  kind of in my mindset anyways. I don't even remember what your
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  question was. It was a good answer.
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  Are a lot of people that get off the track thoroughbreds ending
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  up not being successful with the adoption because they're kind of
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  anticipating a finished horse and it's really kind of a
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  project horse or even a restart or completely retraining it
• 14:23
  sounds? Yes, sorry, do you mean if they
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  buy it direct off the racetrack or go through aftercare or?
• 14:29
  Both, yeah. Like for the horses that have
• 14:31
  not gone through aftercare, for someone who's just like I want
• 14:34
  an off the track thoroughbred and then they just get one off
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  the track. For.
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  So direct I guess. We definitely get a lot of
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  emails from people like that where it's it's a whole lot of
• 14:45
  it's not what I was expecting. Wow.
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  OK. What have I got myself into?
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  Do you have any resources? Can you guys help out?
• 14:51
  Would you accept this horse in your part?
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  Like we get a a lot of emails like that.
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  So that's again, I don't know if studies have been done on it.
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  A lot of what I'm sharing is just anecdotal from, you know,
• 15:02
  the past three, 3 1/2 years. We do send a lot of emails like
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  that of people who have purchased off the track directly
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  and then kind of feel in over their head.
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  And it's like if that horse had had that period and kind of had
• 15:14
  that baseline brought up a little bit, the person probably
• 15:17
  would have been a lot more successful.
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  Because we even say, you know, on our website it says and first
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  of all, adoption fees are half what you would buy off the
• 15:25
  track. So you have the benefit of
• 15:27
  having a bit of extra buffer to invest in training of the horse.
• 15:31
  You know, really to work with a trainer like it is entirely
• 15:34
  horse centered, horse first. And so but even with us, we say
• 15:38
  that what you're going to save on if you had purchased having
• 15:41
  the the horses seen a vet, we provide ample time if they want
• 15:44
  to do further diagnostics in terms of like a PPE or whatever
• 15:47
  and then still anticipate you're going to have to work with a
• 15:50
  trainer. If you're not a professional
• 15:51
  yourself, you know, your horse is going to be crazy for, you
• 15:54
  know, maybe excuse me, 3 weeks until it settles and gets to
• 15:57
  know. It's like, you know, a kid being
• 15:58
  yanked from school and guess what?
• 16:00
  New school, the rules are different.
• 16:02
  You got new friends you got new. It's very overwhelming.
• 16:05
  Yeah, you know, because horses have.
• 16:06
  Such whole new curriculum. We're wanting you to learn
• 16:09
  different things. Totally.
• 16:10
  And they have very deep bonds with each other that I think
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  people now are more aware of than maybe in decades past, like
• 16:18
  our three that we have. It's like they are tight knit
• 16:21
  and you know, they yeah, it's a lot more important that I think
• 16:28
  people think sometimes. So it's what we ask them to do
• 16:31
  is a lot. And I think a lot of times
• 16:33
  people really underestimate how much.
• 16:35
  I mean, from what you're describing to me, it sounds like
• 16:37
  you guys are putting a lot of money into these horses.
• 16:41
  Even in an ideal scenario where maybe, you know, they come back
• 16:44
  and the injuries are nothing significant or whatnot, that
• 16:47
  adds up. That adds up pretty fast.
• 16:51
  So to be able to have that process where they're able to
• 16:54
  see that you guys are able to kind of take a look at the
• 16:58
  horses, meet their needs. Yeah, our average cost is about
• 17:02
  3000 a horse. So every horse is at a loss,
• 17:05
  right. So adoption fees will range from
• 17:07
  1500 to 2500. So 1500 is going to be a horse
• 17:11
  that does have some sort of a limitation in their second
• 17:13
  career and then 2500 is the horse has no limitations.
• 17:17
  We also don't just take, you know, what the public sort of
• 17:21
  calls and it's not my term. It's just what I've been, has
• 17:24
  been said to me is broken horses.
• 17:26
  So, you know, past your pets. Yeah, you know, whatever.
• 17:30
  We develop relationships with owners and we've kind of
• 17:33
  promoted this where it's like aftercare only works like it's a
• 17:36
  rising tide, lifts all ships. You can't put all rehab cases on
• 17:40
  a charity and then sell your sound.
• 17:43
  We take both. We take your sound because those
• 17:46
  ones that retired awesome support their buddies that
• 17:50
  didn't fare as well and that's how it has to be.
• 17:52
  So we take their sound horses and we do their rehabs for them.
• 17:57
  And so those are the types of relationships that we have.
• 17:59
  So we always will have a mix of horses, those that you know will
• 18:02
  need a little bit more of a limited career.
• 18:05
  They are harder to rehome as well.
• 18:08
  And we don't take, I'm kind of going off on a tangent.
• 18:10
  We don't take pastor pets. So that's another thing.
• 18:13
  They are not adoptable and I, and I hate to say that, but
• 18:17
  that's one of the things I think that I really want to talk about
• 18:19
  on this podcast. I would love one day if we were
• 18:22
  to get a significant gift to have a sanctuary arm because it
• 18:26
  is desperately needed. But the reality is approved
• 18:29
  homes. But with the experience looking
• 18:32
  for a horse that is three years old and is going to live 25
• 18:35
  years and is only pastor sound in 3 1/2 years, we've had one
• 18:39
  pastor home approved. If they just, and I wish that
• 18:42
  wasn't the case, but that is the reality that everybody wants a
• 18:48
  sound horse, even your backyard rider.
• 18:51
  Yes, you can rehome the ones that have an injury, but it is
• 18:55
  incredibly difficult to find an approvable home.
• 18:58
  Yes, you could flog them, but it's very hard to get a quality
• 19:02
  home for those guys. So they end up staying longer.
• 19:05
  And that's another one of our advocacy pillars too is, you
• 19:07
  know, after care for all 100% across the board and retire one
• 19:11
  race early. So that's like an education
• 19:13
  piece too. I think just in the industry is,
• 19:16
  you know, a lot, there's a lot of incredible people in the
• 19:19
  industry and I have lots of amazing stories to share about
• 19:22
  that. But I think just understanding
• 19:24
  that, you know, retire on that hairline fracture, don't push
• 19:28
  that one more. If the horse has, you know, 10
• 19:31
  screws in its leg, call it right like that.
• 19:33
  That's sort of the general feedback we've gotten from the
• 19:36
  public is can racing evolve into the next century?
• 19:40
  And I think it's possible. Like, I take my kids to the
• 19:43
  races I I support and I love the races.
• 19:45
  And like two things, true at the same time, there are
• 19:48
  improvements that can be made that probably need to be made in
• 19:51
  order for it to continue, you know, thrive, I would say, yeah.
• 19:56
  And so maybe talk a little bit about that.
• 19:58
  I think a lot of people probably would go one way or the other
• 20:03
  with races like it's great, it's awesome, or it's inhumane and
• 20:06
  it's terrible for the horses. I think most of the times it's
• 20:09
  probably somewhere in the middle where you have some of both and
• 20:13
  a lot in the middle. What from your view?
• 20:18
  How is the racing industry for horses?
• 20:21
  I think it's like so many other things and we don't need to talk
• 20:25
  like politics and whatnot, but it's like, are there bad people
• 20:28
  in the church? Yes.
• 20:30
  Are there incredible the best people you've ever met in the
• 20:32
  church? Yes.
• 20:33
  The same is true for racing and the same is true for jumper and
• 20:36
  the same is true for barrel racing and the same is true.
• 20:39
  So I think it's you know, we've been very fortunate in that.
• 20:42
  I mean, we only really work with those owners who like I'll tell
• 20:45
  you a story. We adopted a horse out.
• 20:47
  The lady who adopted did sort of having some issues.
• 20:49
  The horse had no limitations and it was unrelated, but the owner
• 20:52
  saw on Facebook that the adopter was having some issues.
• 20:55
  So she calls me up and is like basically I want to make a
• 20:57
  donation to go towards helping this adopter with this, you
• 21:01
  know, unplanned for vet bill. Like, those are the types of
• 21:04
  owners, and those are stories that, you know, we want to
• 21:06
  showcase because those people exist and they're wonderful.
• 21:09
  And they should be. On a platform, that's the things
• 21:12
  that people don't see and the owners to like.
• 21:14
  They'll donate a sound horse and they still will donate 5, 100
• 21:18
  bucks or 1000 bucks for a sound horse just because they believe
• 21:22
  in the mission and, and, and whatever.
• 21:24
  So there are many, many owners like that.
• 21:27
  And then the, you know, I also have some not so good stories
• 21:31
  where it's like, yeah, that's how the bad rap happens and you
• 21:34
  got to really nip that and how, you know, make it less possible
• 21:39
  for those types of people to be in the industry.
• 21:41
  So I think it's really, it would be difficult to say, you know,
• 21:44
  again, like all good, all bad. We've been lucky that we deal
• 21:48
  with a lot of exception giving. And, you know, they love their
• 21:52
  horses so much. They were they retire most of
• 21:55
  their horses sound and it's been phenomenal.
• 21:59
  Yeah. Yeah.
• 22:00
  And I think it's important to recognize that the racing
• 22:06
  industry does provide a place for these horses where they're
• 22:08
  valued in our in our world. And if that can be done in a
• 22:13
  good way. And I would imagine a lot of the
• 22:16
  horses enjoy it. From my experience, a lot of
• 22:18
  things were like, make horses, shouldn't I do this?
• 22:20
  Well, I mean, we don't necessarily know how they feel
• 22:23
  about it, but a lot of competition horses I think can
• 22:27
  enjoy their work. So I think it is really great to
• 22:30
  hear those stories where you have owners where it's like,
• 22:32
  yeah, we have this horse for a time and we're utilizing it for
• 22:35
  racing and then, but we still want to make sure that they have
• 22:38
  a good life after that. Yes.
• 22:41
  How does like the supply and demand compare?
• 22:45
  Like are there a lot coming off the track and not places for
• 22:47
  them to go? I feel like I want to be careful
• 22:50
  saying too much about that because I don't have facts on
• 22:54
  it. So I don't know.
• 22:57
  Yeah, I, I don't think, I feel like I couldn't answer that.
• 23:00
  My guess would be we would between US and the other
• 23:03
  organization, it would be less than 25% of what comes off the
• 23:08
  track. So that's 75% that I I can't
• 23:12
  really speak to what happens or yeah.
• 23:16
  So I feel like I can't yeah, I couldn't educated guess on that.
• 23:20
  I'd like. You know, it's totally fine.
• 23:23
  Yeah, absolutely. Is Aftercare a pretty typical
• 23:26
  Ave. for race horses to go through?
• 23:30
  Talking to you is actually the first time that I've heard about
• 23:32
  it. I think I've seen a lot of
• 23:35
  people who struggle with off the track thoroughbreds.
• 23:37
  They're definitely one up there that kind of have a reputation
• 23:39
  of being a little more difficult for the person who is just
• 23:42
  wanting a horse to ride. Maybe you can just speak a
• 23:45
  little bit to that. Is that something that is pretty
• 23:47
  typical for race horses that are retiring?
• 23:51
  Yes. So I, if I'm not sure if you're
• 23:53
  familiar with it, but one of the largest, and I believe it's the
• 23:56
  oldest aftercare organization in North America is called New New
• 24:00
  Vocations. And you can Google them and
• 24:03
  they're like an incredible facility.
• 24:06
  And so it's definitely more prevalent in the states, 100%.
• 24:10
  So there are way more aftercare organizations, but that if I was
• 24:14
  guessing though, again, there's way more race tracks.
• 24:17
  So, you know, there are tracks that are maybe behind the times.
• 24:20
  Many tracks have been shut down in the, in the US, but they also
• 24:23
  are the holder of the tracks that have been the most
• 24:25
  successful. And you know, they have tracks
• 24:28
  that are associated with a aftercare organization and
• 24:31
  they're just driving all around. So it's kind of like a mixed
• 24:34
  bag. Canada, we have much less tracks
• 24:37
  and obviously so much fewer aftercare.
• 24:39
  And I would say definitely at this current snapshot in time
• 24:44
  though things are changing. I think in 2025, Canada is a few
• 24:49
  steps behind in terms of, you know, like the, like I said, the
• 24:52
  big successful tracks you if you go there, you see aftercare out
• 24:57
  front and center. And so they're a little bit
• 24:59
  ahead in that way, but they do have way more tracks than we do.
• 25:02
  What is the difference between aftercare versus just a rescue
• 25:06
  taking in off the track there abroads?
• 25:08
  So, yeah, there's a couple of different and that's a decision
• 25:11
  in the very beginning that we had to make is whether.
• 25:15
  So if you're a rescue, typically you are speaking out against the
• 25:19
  racing industry is kind of and this is kind of a blanket
• 25:22
  statement and always be true, but you are you know, they're
• 25:26
  going to actions. They're finding emaciated
• 25:29
  thoroughbreds and saving them from, you know, going to
• 25:33
  slaughter. I say saving only because, you
• 25:35
  know, you don't always have all the information, of course, but
• 25:38
  so it's they're on the front lines.
• 25:40
  It's when they're raising funds to like all seated in a barn is
• 25:44
  a is a great organization or sweet mercies rescue.
• 25:48
  I follow both those. They do lots of good work, but
• 25:50
  it's like, you know, we need everybody that's watching this
• 25:52
  live needs to donate $10 like like 5 minutes ago because we're
• 25:56
  going and saving these. You know, it's very high stress.
• 26:00
  You're on the front lines. If you're doing aftercare,
• 26:02
  typically you are working with the industry.
• 26:06
  So you're not out there, you know, speaking I'll of the
• 26:08
  industry, you are trying to make positive change in the industry.
• 26:12
  It is, you know, it's one of those things to where, and I
• 26:15
  understand this, we have some owner friends where, you know,
• 26:18
  if something happens to one of their horses, people are really
• 26:21
  vitriolic towards them. Like you hate your horses, you
• 26:25
  you beat your horses, you don't care about them.
• 26:27
  And it's like that is couldn't be further from the truth.
• 26:30
  And so obviously when someone attacks you like that, you shut
• 26:33
  down, there's no conversation, there's nobody's coming to the
• 26:36
  table. And so, yeah, started, we really
• 26:39
  sat down and thought, you know, we don't want to go the route
• 26:42
  of, you know, they need rescue. The horses that we get don't
• 26:45
  need rescuing. We I sort of consider it like
• 26:48
  we're further up the pipeline. So we're trying to get them
• 26:52
  right from the racetrack, set that higher baseline so that
• 26:55
  they have more doors open for them and they don't end up, you
• 26:59
  know, being sold and then sold again and again and again and
• 27:01
  again. And we keep a radar on them so
• 27:03
  they don't end up in those types of situations.
• 27:05
  So yes, a rescue is usually usually kind of anti racing,
• 27:10
  speaks out about racing pretty negatively.
• 27:13
  And aftercare typically does work within the industry.
• 27:16
  And then so the other thing too is if you're aftercare, you're
• 27:19
  getting grants and which I sort of alluded to before, that was
• 27:22
  kind of not been our experience to date.
• 27:26
  But in order to qualify for a lot of those grants, obviously
• 27:31
  you can't, you know, they're grant issuer.
• 27:33
  So they'll go to the Kentucky Derby, they'll go to these big
• 27:36
  races and gather tons and tons of money and then they allocate
• 27:39
  it to aftercare, boots on the ground organizations.
• 27:43
  In order to do that, obviously they're not going to go to
• 27:45
  races, collect money from owners and all these things and then
• 27:47
  give it to an organization that's saying, OK, racing sucks
• 27:50
  is the worst, which makes sense, right, That makes sense.
• 27:53
  So you're going to have to go and fund on your own and kind of
• 27:56
  do that Mayday funding, which is just something that for me, I,
• 28:01
  it was not the route that we wanted to go.
• 28:03
  Yeah, and I think it really does serve the horses best if we can
• 28:06
  all kind of come together in the Mustang world.
• 28:10
  There's a lot of divides too, just because of, you know,
• 28:13
  people thinking one way is the best or the only way.
• 28:15
  And I think it really does do a disservice to the horses,
• 28:18
  especially when there is the opportunity to where it's like
• 28:21
  we can all work together, you know, and we can't all use these
• 28:23
  resources and they're all needed.
• 28:25
  So I love that you are really working in the process and with
• 28:29
  the people and trying to improve the industry and make it a
• 28:33
  better place for the horses. Talk a little bit about funding.
• 28:36
  So you've talked about grants. We've talked about kind of how
• 28:40
  expensive it it is for every horse If you're bringing in and,
• 28:44
  you know, vetting them, dealing with injuries on some of them.
• 28:49
  Is there enough funding that you guys have found to be able to
• 28:52
  keep up with it? Is that one of the struggles to
• 28:55
  be able to get funding? And also, is it common for
• 28:58
  breeders owners kind of step in and help with that transition as
• 29:02
  you've talked about some definitely do?
• 29:04
  Yeah. So that has been probably the
• 29:07
  biggest challenge that we've had.
• 29:08
  So at the most at one time we've had is 8 and we could do more if
• 29:13
  funding was not an issue. And then we drop down to now we
• 29:17
  have 3. So the last few that we adopted
• 29:20
  out, we did not replace because we've sort of realized now the
• 29:26
  charity has to have its own money.
• 29:28
  Like we can't be for the first year.
• 29:30
  Like if you're starting anything, we sort of undertook
• 29:33
  and understood like it's you have to put your vision out
• 29:35
  there first. No one's going to, you know,
• 29:37
  you're starting something tomorrow and you want me to
• 29:39
  donate $10,000. It's like, well, show me what
• 29:42
  you're doing, what's the vision, what's your work, what you know?
• 29:45
  So that makes sense. So we sort of knew that that
• 29:47
  would be the case. So initially in the first year
• 29:49
  or two, we donated like a fair amount covering vet bills and
• 29:54
  all that type of thing. And then as we've sort of grown,
• 29:57
  it's like the pumping of the well, right?
• 29:58
  When the water flows, then it's, it's coming more easily, right.
• 30:01
  So we, the main way that we fundraise is we do
• 30:05
  organizational donors. So it's businesses again.
• 30:08
  I, I hate asking for money. So I didn't want to be like
• 30:11
  banging on people, my family's store or friends doors like all
• 30:15
  year long. We structured it were once a
• 30:17
  year we go out to, you know, businesses and we say like, if
• 30:20
  you want us to advertise you, maybe we use their products,
• 30:24
  maybe we don't. A really great woman that we've
• 30:27
  had since day one is Cabello Hoof Boots, who have been just
• 30:29
  phenomenal. And so they will do a larger
• 30:34
  donation, several $1000 and then they're on our website all year.
• 30:38
  You know, we showcase their products, you know, show, you
• 30:41
  know, just their philanthropy. And so that's been like the the
• 30:45
  main part of our fundraising. And then we do like mini
• 30:47
  fundraisers or clinics and stuff like that and that helps.
• 30:50
  But our work in especially in the last year and definitely
• 30:55
  heavily 2025 is getting to work with the racetrack and then with
• 30:59
  the industry that we're serving. We believe that.
• 31:03
  And and it says on our website too like we want to showcase our
• 31:06
  biggest supporter is the industry we're serving because
• 31:09
  it is very difficult to go to a business who sells, I don't
• 31:13
  know, cars and has nothing to do with racing, doesn't benefit at
• 31:17
  all. And they only pay $5000.
• 31:19
  And it's like, it is a question that comes up, people will say,
• 31:22
  well, what does the industry do? And then that radio silence is,
• 31:26
  is strong, right? And so in 2025, we actually just
• 31:31
  welcomed a new powerhouse of a lady who I absolutely love.
• 31:34
  Her name is Lisa Russell, and she's our director of
• 31:36
  fundraising now. And she works at the track that
• 31:39
  we serve. And she's like just a huge
• 31:41
  advocate, like a little pit bull in the best way possible.
• 31:46
  And she inspires me. She's just awesome.
• 31:48
  So I think that the tides are changing so that because you
• 31:52
  need to have reliable funding because obviously the thing with
• 31:55
  horses is say you have 8:00, well, funding runs dry.
• 31:59
  You can't. Well, we're oh, they're not
• 32:01
  doing their training or they're not seeing the vet.
• 32:02
  Like there's reliable expenses. Totally.
• 32:05
  And I, we never wanted to be like there are some rescues in
• 32:08
  our area where, and I hope it doesn't come across the wrong
• 32:12
  way because their work is really important, but where it's sort
• 32:15
  of like, you know, we desperately need hay funds.
• 32:17
  We need it tomorrow. We need and again, for whatever
• 32:20
  reason, just for me personally, I never, that doesn't align with
• 32:24
  me. I always want to be like Caleb,
• 32:26
  we're only taking in horses. But yes, we need to fundraise
• 32:29
  ongoing. Yes, we need to do those things,
• 32:31
  but the horses are covered and they're good, right?
• 32:34
  Like you don't want to kind of be doing that type of
• 32:36
  advertising because you didn't take in.
• 32:38
  It's a different avatar, I guess, for donors.
• 32:41
  Somebody who's going to donate $10 on an absolute mayday, save
• 32:45
  this horse's life today, that person's typically not going to
• 32:48
  donate $5000 to you in a thoughtful way.
• 32:51
  Like it's like it's mayday gaming.
• 32:53
  And I, I think you have to be pretty strategic about what type
• 32:57
  of person you're kind of going after to help support the, the
• 33:01
  vision. Yeah, absolutely.
• 33:02
  And I think for any organization, any individual
• 33:05
  even who is working with horses, they really are best served when
• 33:08
  we are realistic. You know, if we take in 20
• 33:12
  horses and we can't take care of them, then they're no better
• 33:15
  off. So, I mean, a lot of that is
• 33:17
  just reality is that if we want to be responsible in whatever
• 33:20
  work we're doing or even in our private horsemanship, that
• 33:26
  money, finances, like we've got to be thinking about that.
• 33:28
  We need to ensure that that, yeah, we can take care of what
• 33:32
  we're taking on. I love that you're working with
• 33:34
  the industry and really trying to make that that connection and
• 33:38
  that transition for the horses because I agree.
• 33:41
  You know, if people can go and see like, hey, the race, the
• 33:44
  horses are racing and then they're moving into this
• 33:47
  aftercare that the industry's supporting, it really does show
• 33:51
  that that people do care about the horses, which I think you
• 33:55
  pointed out there definitely some owners that work with and
• 33:58
  that really do care about the animals. 100%, yeah, 100%.
• 34:01
  Talk about some of the horses that you've been able to take in
• 34:05
  and have successful transition from the racetrack to a private
• 34:12
  home and kind of what that experience was like for you
• 34:15
  participating in that. So to come to top of mind, the
• 34:20
  first one we ever did was like I was a bawling idiot because I
• 34:25
  just well, the first one, right, like you just so bonded and
• 34:28
  actually funny enough is this particular horse was the full
• 34:32
  brother to my mare. So that's pretty rare, right?
• 34:34
  Same dad, same mom. And I just, and they looked
• 34:39
  spitting image. He looks just like my mare.
• 34:41
  And yeah, so that was, that was really hard.
• 34:45
  Like, you know, that it's, it's the right thing.
• 34:47
  It's a vet at home. And actually he's still local in
• 34:50
  our small town, which is wonderful.
• 34:53
  Actually the lady that did adopt him, they had some life
• 34:56
  circumstances come up and, and he had to be rehomed.
• 34:59
  But of course we have the contact info.
• 35:01
  So we still get updates from where he is AT and it's in our
• 35:03
  town. So that was his name was
• 35:06
  Moussaka Chef and he was very special to me.
• 35:09
  And he had a long, long racing career.
• 35:11
  Like I, he wasn't a War Horse, but he, he, he had a long, long
• 35:17
  racing career. Like he might have raced 7 years
• 35:19
  which is a very long time so he was ready.
• 35:22
  Oh wow, yeah, that's very long. Dode on him and yes, and then
• 35:28
  another one. It's funny because you become
• 35:30
  really good friends with the people too.
• 35:32
  Obviously, because you're doing follow-ups right like you're
• 35:35
  you're seeing the one I told you about who had some issues down
• 35:38
  the line and the original trainer or owner.
• 35:41
  Sorry, wanted to donate towards the care.
• 35:43
  She is super good, like hunter, jumper, rider and so and she's
• 35:47
  very active on Facebook, so she's always posting photos of
• 35:50
  them jumping and her teaching the horse how to jump and like,
• 35:54
  it's just it's super fulfilling. Like you want to keep them all
• 35:57
  yourself. That's that's the thing I've had
• 35:59
  to learn. And I knew, I mean, I'm not
• 36:01
  going to I have to myself, but that that's hard.
• 36:06
  You love them so. Much.
• 36:08
  Right. And you really do bond with them
• 36:10
  and they really come out of their shell and you just it,
• 36:13
  it's difficult. It's it's it's heartbreaking,
• 36:16
  but but a good in a good way, I guess.
• 36:20
  Yeah. And a lot.
• 36:21
  Yeah, I mean something we probably don't talk about
• 36:24
  enough. Yeah.
• 36:25
  And so most of them stay within BC I, we actually have somebody
• 36:30
  coming to look at Mr. Bowman, who is our longest running
• 36:32
  resident ever. So he does have a, a visible
• 36:36
  injury on the outside. He's healed and cleared for flat
• 36:39
  work, but he has a very ugly knee and so he gets passed over
• 36:44
  time. And time here.
• 36:46
  But a wonderful lady who's been up and visited the ranch before
• 36:49
  has, you know, this 40 acre property in Washington and
• 36:52
  another horse that he'll get to run and jump and play.
• 36:55
  And she's into liberty work and, you know, very light riding.
• 36:58
  So she's coming to meet him again in March.
• 37:01
  So hopefully that would be another really heartfelt one
• 37:05
  because he's very, very special, unique boy.
• 37:09
  Like he's if he doesn't like you, you'll never catch him.
• 37:13
  If he likes you, you'll ride. You can ride a bare man in
• 37:16
  Walter and he is fabulous. So it's so funny.
• 37:20
  Yeah, like. It's no surprises how he feels.
• 37:23
  No. And so he's had a couple meet
• 37:25
  and greets and you know, we had this one person come and they
• 37:28
  might have well, in retrospect, they were nervous.
• 37:31
  They had an approved home and it was good.
• 37:32
  But they pick up a brush, walk towards them, holding the brush
• 37:36
  out like this. He takes one look, turns around,
• 37:38
  you know, runs away, and I have to go get him.
• 37:42
  And it's like this is a horse that again, it's like you'll hop
• 37:45
  on him with no tack whatsoever and he just goes off your
• 37:48
  energy. Yeah, Raise your energy up.
• 37:50
  You're trotting, you breathe out.
• 37:51
  He comes to it like he's just an Angel, but only for certain
• 37:54
  people. So you'll be one.
• 37:57
  That would be. In a yeah.
• 37:58
  Is really special, yeah. Yeah, he's really making sure he
• 38:02
  gets the right home. Yes.
• 38:04
  Or trying to stick around here forever, like he's kind of a
• 38:06
  mascot. Yeah.
• 38:09
  Yeah, yeah. Yeah, one of the two that's
• 38:12
  probably a good one to talk about.
• 38:13
  What are some of the things that you feel like would have been a
• 38:16
  huge benefit for you to know going into this that you've kind
• 38:20
  of had to learn along the way? OK, Let me just think about it
• 38:22
  for a SEC. One of the things that I did do
• 38:25
  that if somebody wanted, I also get a lot of emails on people
• 38:28
  wanting to just start a charity like that's I get a lot of
• 38:31
  emails about that. And one of the first things that
• 38:34
  I did was reached out to all of the other aftercare
• 38:38
  organizations and tried to get the founders to hop on a call
• 38:43
  with me or answer just in an e-mail, brain dump all my
• 38:47
  questions. And so many were super gracious
• 38:50
  with their time. And so I said, if you had to
• 38:52
  start your, you know, 50 year old organization today with
• 38:56
  nothing, what would you do that you that you differently?
• 38:59
  What, what did you do that was you do again or you wouldn't do
• 39:02
  like, what were your challenges? And so I pick, I got this list
• 39:06
  and and I read through it actually pretty frequently.
• 39:09
  And that was like a game changer and cut a lot of corners for me
• 39:12
  in terms of like learning by the people from the people that have
• 39:15
  gone before me. And so I would always recommend
• 39:18
  he does that. And the other thing I was
• 39:20
  talking to one of my good friends about this is any advice
• 39:22
  that's going to be worth anything to anybody, you will
• 39:26
  seek out yourself. Like if you let that sink in,
• 39:29
  that changed my life. So somebody who's been riding
• 39:32
  for 40 years at your barn is going to come and say, well,
• 39:35
  geez, you know, your podcast, you really, really should do
• 39:37
  this. Or you actually, but that person
• 39:40
  doesn't have a podcast. That person like the best advice
• 39:43
  is going to be by someone with their blinders on doing the
• 39:47
  thing that you want to do. And you're going to have to ask
• 39:49
  them and they're going to have to be kind enough to give of
• 39:51
  their time. Any advice that comes to you
• 39:53
  that is free, that is from somebody who hasn't done
• 39:56
  anything that you want to do just because they've been riding
• 39:59
  for 30 years. Their advice is garbage.
• 40:03
  So that's that's something that I think.
• 40:05
  Yeah. Is super important is don't
• 40:08
  listen and there's a lot of unsolicited advice you know, I'd
• 40:12
  have done it this way or why don't you do this or why don't
• 40:15
  you and it's like. I always.
• 40:17
  Say it's like people are dealing in mock scenarios with play
• 40:20
  money with, you know, like assuming that all their ideas
• 40:24
  are just have no hurdles and it's like they've not walked the
• 40:27
  path. So finding people like your
• 40:30
  tribe, people you know, and choosing that wisely of what
• 40:35
  information you're filtering in no matter what it is, whether
• 40:38
  it's like a romantic relationship, you're starting a
• 40:40
  charity, you're starting a business, you're starting a
• 40:42
  podcast. Like if you want to take a horse
• 40:44
  to the retired racehorse project, I'm find somebody who's
• 40:47
  been to the retired, not somebody who even if again,
• 40:50
  they've ridden for 40 years but they haven't done that.
• 40:53
  So they have no advice that's going to be valuable to what you
• 40:56
  want to do. Yeah, that that's a huge one for
• 40:58
  me anyway. And then I what?
• 41:00
  Was, yeah. I mean, that's good life advice,
• 41:02
  too. Yeah.
• 41:03
  Just just look for the people who are doing what you want to
• 41:06
  be doing and are where you could see yourself being.
• 41:09
  I think that's really important advice.
• 41:11
  Any other things that you wish you would have known?
• 41:14
  Feel like, and maybe that's a bad answer, but I honestly, I'm
• 41:17
  happy that I didn't know, you know, like I, I think it would
• 41:21
  have changed things and it wouldn't have if I had known
• 41:25
  certain things. Like, like I said, I, I was a
• 41:28
  bit bright eyed and bushy tailed and I'm happy that I went in
• 41:31
  that way because I think there's, there are a lot of
• 41:33
  storms that happen. And so in, in order to weather
• 41:38
  that there has to be a, a piece of being a bit naive.
• 41:42
  You must have that, otherwise you will quit and and I think
• 41:46
  that and then also I'm going to share with you my favorite book.
• 41:50
  Okay, yeah, well, the it's called The Game of Life and How
• 41:55
  to Play It by Florence Scoville Shin.
• 42:00
  And it was written in like the late 1800s.
• 42:04
  And so it you got to kind of filter that when you're
• 42:07
  listening to it on Audible because the language kind of
• 42:10
  some of it feels a bit old. And she talks a lot about God,
• 42:13
  but you don't have to be religious to listen to it.
• 42:15
  Like, you know, I just believe there is something greater than
• 42:17
  myself, like there's a higher power or whatever.
• 42:20
  If you believe anything that there's something greater than
• 42:22
  yourself, then you can adjust how, you know, when you're
• 42:24
  listening to the book. And one of the things that she
• 42:27
  talks about that I have learned a lot in the past 3 1/2 years is
• 42:32
  there's a chapter on non resistance.
• 42:34
  And because we fight tooth and nail and you, you know what I
• 42:37
  mean? And it's like push and grind and
• 42:39
  all these things. And there is a part of that if
• 42:41
  you're trying to make something happen.
• 42:43
  But then there's also this component of like, you know, can
• 42:46
  I leave it? Can I change it?
• 42:48
  Do I have to accept it? All else is madness.
• 42:50
  Like there's only so much that, you know, I feel super
• 42:54
  passionate about this vision and I'm so hopeful that there is an
• 42:58
  adjustment and the industry involves and you know, I'm super
• 43:02
  excited and I'm along for the ride.
• 43:03
  I think it's going to be amazing.
• 43:05
  And at the same time, some of the decisions in there are not
• 43:10
  mine and I have to be non resistant to whatever will be,
• 43:14
  you know, can you look yourself in the mirror And been like, I
• 43:16
  acted with integrity. I, I was always horse first.
• 43:19
  I did the right thing. I'm proud of myself.
• 43:21
  Like all those things which we all have to like come up against
• 43:24
  ourself in the mirror, right. But the non resistance piece,
• 43:28
  I'm kind of going off on like a random tangent, but that book I
• 43:30
  have listened to 50 probably times in the last three years.
• 43:34
  There's just so many pieces in there that's like, yeah, must
• 43:37
  read. I'm.
• 43:38
  Going to have to check it out for sure.
• 43:39
  I haven't even heard of it. I do think that's so true.
• 43:42
  Like to kind of set those foundational values, this is
• 43:45
  what we're going to do. And then kind of like hop on for
• 43:47
  the ride, I think. Because yeah, until you're
• 43:50
  there, you just really don't know what's coming.
• 43:52
  Yeah, just release it like in a perfect case scenario, like I
• 43:56
  said in 2025, we get that reliable funding, you know, from
• 44:01
  the industry. We can grow, which is required
• 44:03
  for us to grow is the truth. And you know, ultimately we can
• 44:07
  also create a sanctuary arm. You know, racing starts to get
• 44:12
  more new faces involved. Like there's these pictures.
• 44:15
  I mean, it's before I was born, but if you Google it like of
• 44:18
  Hastings racetrack in the 1950s or 60s or whatever, and it's
• 44:22
  like it's hustling and bustling and there's families and it's
• 44:25
  like, if you, you've never been, it's like, it is thrilling and
• 44:29
  inspiring and like it's a wonderful way to spend a day as
• 44:32
  a family instead of like kids on screen, right?
• 44:35
  Like it, it, it can be in its glory again.
• 44:39
  And there are changes that must take place.
• 44:42
  And and that's and there have been changes.
• 44:44
  In the history. In the past, you know, even 10
• 44:47
  years Hyssa in the US, you know, regulatory things happening,
• 44:54
  improvements to track footing, like there's been a lot of
• 44:56
  improvements. But that thing of you can care
• 45:00
  about your horses, you can do a great job and there still are
• 45:02
  areas that you can even double down and do better in, right?
• 45:05
  And after is one of them. What are some areas that would
• 45:09
  really benefit the industry to maybe focus on for improvements
• 45:13
  and for even improving their image to people who do think
• 45:17
  racing's, you know, inhumane or terrible?
• 45:21
  I think that I mean, again, I will cloak this with of course
• 45:24
  I'm biased, but I started this because I feel so passionate.
• 45:28
  Yeah, from your experience too, from your.
• 45:30
  Experience, I would say it is almost entirely aftercare.
• 45:33
  I think that society has evolved and with, you know, social media
• 45:38
  and things like this, welfare matters.
• 45:40
  People care about that. People want to know that if I'm
• 45:43
  going to go and watch these horses work and maybe gamble,
• 45:47
  whatever, I want to feel good about myself, that I can go.
• 45:51
  And I'm the type of person who cares about animals.
• 45:53
  And another thing is, you know, you look at greyhound racing and
• 45:56
  I kind of say this to, you know, friends in the industry where
• 46:00
  it's like horse racing is so lucky because greyhound racing
• 46:03
  is out, you know, race talk a couple lengths ahead and the
• 46:06
  writing is on the wall, right? Failure leaves clues, and so
• 46:09
  does success. So what happened to greyhound
• 46:12
  racing? What was the problem?
• 46:13
  It's because you have a pet dog. I have a pet dog.
• 46:16
  And people started saying, hey, like these dogs are getting hurt
• 46:19
  or, you know, this is happening and it it imploded, right?
• 46:22
  And so it was no longer acceptable at all.
• 46:25
  So it's like horse racing is fortunate in that there is time
• 46:29
  and the writing, you know, it can be changed, right?
• 46:32
  Improvements can be made. Instead of scurrying with bad
• 46:35
  press, getting out in front of that, talking about aftercare,
• 46:38
  like we care about our horses, we put in front and we invest in
• 46:42
  aftercare heavily, super important to us.
• 46:44
  Like that's the message that first we want to see be the
• 46:47
  truth and then we want to promote that because that is
• 46:51
  what we think is going to be kind of the be all end all of
• 46:55
  what happens next, I guess. Yeah.
• 46:57
  And there really is a incredibly beautiful opportunity for owners
• 47:01
  and breeders to take that on and to make the industry something
• 47:05
  that is respected and a place where animals are cared for
• 47:08
  because, yeah, everybody has access to everything now.
• 47:10
  You know, so we can we can show all that process if it's being
• 47:14
  done. And that's one thing I really
• 47:15
  love about, like, your social media pages.
• 47:18
  It's just always so beautiful. And it has, you know, just these
• 47:21
  great thoughts. And it is such a beautiful thing
• 47:23
  to be taking these horses and from where they had this career
• 47:28
  and being able to transition them into homes where they're
• 47:30
  either going into a second career or having a little girl
• 47:33
  that's taking care of them. It is a really beautiful process
• 47:37
  when it's done the right way. And so I love that, yeah, we are
• 47:40
  able to highlight that for those people that are doing it that
• 47:42
  way. Thank you so much.
• 47:44
  We post a lot of funny memes in the winter only because we kind
• 47:47
  of shut down. Like we don't do meet and greets
• 47:50
  in the winter. So I'm like, how do I just,
• 47:52
  like, lift people up a little bit?
• 47:53
  So we do a lot of like random little funny means to keep
• 47:56
  people smiling. But because our horses work with
• 47:59
  the trainers. During Yeah, I love them, yeah.
• 48:01
  So there's really nothing to there's only so many snow
• 48:05
  running pics you can take right so.
• 48:07
  Yeah, yeah, no, I love, I love it.
• 48:09
  Anybody who doesn't follow you guys should just for it's good,
• 48:13
  good entertainment and good pops and ideas to have in your day.
• 48:17
  What kind of what homes do you look for after horses
• 48:22
  successfully gone for aftercare? What makes a good adopter for
• 48:26
  off the track thoroughbreds for the ones that go through your
• 48:27
  program? That's a great question.
• 48:29
  So we do have if, if anyone's interested and wants to go to
• 48:33
  our website under our FAQ page, we have tons and tons of info
• 48:37
  there. Like what are the type?
• 48:39
  We do decline a lot of homes. So one of the biggest things is
• 48:44
  so when they're at the track, obviously they are stalled, but
• 48:48
  they are in meticulous training, right?
• 48:50
  They're out breezing and whatever and they're, you know,
• 48:54
  just well cared for. When we adopt out, we do not
• 48:58
  adopt to homes that stall more than the horses in turnout.
• 49:03
  There are minimum turn out sizes.
• 49:04
  So we don't adopt to homes where, you know, especially in
• 49:08
  larger cities Now, unfortunately, it's like you
• 49:11
  have an in and out and say it's like a 20 foot run, but it's,
• 49:15
  you know, 12 feet wide. They they can't.
• 49:17
  So we say your horse has to be able to pick up a walkthrough
• 49:20
  canner and they have to have a nose to touch.
• 49:22
  So they may not live alone, have to have a nose and they have to
• 49:26
  be able to solidly pick up a nice canter and, you know, go
• 49:29
  for a run. So stalled homes are are a no.
• 49:34
  That's a huge one. And you have to have all the
• 49:36
  references. So we have to talk to your vet,
• 49:37
  we have to talk to your farrier. And then usually depending on
• 49:42
  location, we will go and look at the facility ourselves.
• 49:45
  So there's no barbed wire as well.
• 49:47
  Obviously there could be exceptions.
• 49:48
  If somebody again, has 40 acres, there might be a stretch on the
• 49:51
  back that's barbed wire. Like we take it on a case by
• 49:54
  case, right? But if it's a smaller enclosure
• 49:57
  and it's barbed wire, that would be a no.
• 49:58
  So just anything that sort of benefits the horse where of
• 50:01
  horses going to be least or less likely to have behavioral
• 50:05
  issues. Again, the whole friends freedom
• 50:07
  forage. So if those have to be ticked
• 50:09
  100% and then experience level as well.
• 50:13
  So if it's a younger rider, you know, are they working closely
• 50:18
  with a professional, with a coach, they have somebody to
• 50:20
  help support them in those first couple of, you know, months at
• 50:24
  least, or are they a professional themselves?
• 50:26
  So things like that and then there is some discretion.
• 50:31
  So obviously I kind of always say we're looking for the types
• 50:35
  of people who ask me if I have their racing plates.
• 50:37
  I want the type of person where, you know, you want to make
• 50:41
  something out of their last set of racing shoes like you, that
• 50:44
  is like, you love that horse. It's not just the flavor of the
• 50:46
  week. You're going to love that horse
• 50:47
  through the hard stuff, through the easy stuff, through all the
• 50:50
  stuff. So by night kind of homes where
• 50:54
  it's like, well, you know, I want to compete this summer.
• 50:56
  I need to get a horse or what? Like it's a it's a vibe vibe.
• 50:59
  I, I mean to not sound woo woo, but you kind of just know right
• 51:03
  away the people who, the types of questions they ask at the
• 51:06
  meet and greet. Yeah, like I, I would say, I
• 51:11
  don't know if that answers it, but.
• 51:12
  Yeah. I mean, you're really looking
• 51:14
  for healthy forever homes for these animals where they can
• 51:18
  just thrive for the rest of their lives.
• 51:20
  Are those requirements that ones you had set in place at the
• 51:23
  beginning? They evolve some as you kind of
• 51:26
  realize this is what the horses need.
• 51:27
  Yeah, most of the friends freedom forage was 100% because
• 51:31
  just it just when we get them even it is night and day.
• 51:34
  Like if you want to stall a horse that is not now coming out
• 51:37
  and breezing at a track it they are almost impossible to handle
• 51:41
  like without with no turn out with like we've had them on
• 51:45
  stall rest before. It's very difficult, right?
• 51:48
  And so when you kind of tick off those boxes, a lot of the
• 51:52
  behavioral issues go fall by the wayside, right.
• 51:55
  So really making sure that people are set up.
• 51:57
  I've seen folks all the time too, where you know, my
• 51:59
  thoroughbreds crazy. You know, he's got to live in a
• 52:01
  stall right now because the weather's bad.
• 52:04
  So he's in there 23 hours and it's like, OK, and and they're
• 52:08
  feeding them full of green. It's like, but you're not
• 52:10
  really. He is going crazy.
• 52:12
  He just wants to get out. He is going crazy exactly.
• 52:15
  So, you know, addressing those types of things.
• 52:18
  And then we also have an online kind of support community too
• 52:21
  that adopters can join and we talk about like really common
• 52:23
  problems had professional trainers go on there and
• 52:26
  troubleshoot some very super common, like, you know, trailer
• 52:29
  loading. There's so many misconceptions
• 52:32
  and it's different in different parts of the world, but you
• 52:34
  know, oh, they, they all load. They they load all the time.
• 52:37
  And it's like, well, that's actually not the case.
• 52:39
  They haul in at the beginning of the season, They live there all
• 52:42
  season and then they haul out at the end of the season.
• 52:44
  So some of them might have been in a trailer 4 times.
• 52:47
  So most of the ones that we get, and we say this on our website
• 52:51
  too, that people are not prepared for and we do our best
• 52:54
  to prepare them is they leave, you know, being able to be
• 52:57
  walked on on a loose lead onto a trailer before they leave and
• 53:01
  close the door and back them out.
• 53:02
  And all this because your average person isn't equipped
• 53:05
  with ace and a chain and ready to twist a tail to get a horse
• 53:08
  in a trailer. Like people are like, whoa, OK,
• 53:10
  that's not what I was expecting. So kind of, you know, educating
• 53:14
  on that. So anyways, our online platform
• 53:17
  for that I think is really helpful for new adopters or even
• 53:20
  just people with super young green horses that are maybe
• 53:22
  having those types of challenges.
• 53:24
  Again, the loading, not standing at the mounting block, you know,
• 53:27
  craziness, all these types of things.
• 53:29
  The other thing I want to mention before I forget is the
• 53:34
  euthanasia as well. So that's something in the last
• 53:37
  year that we have adapted that is really, really important.
• 53:41
  Sorry, I'm just silencing that. And that is so if a horse
• 53:46
  becomes pasture sound in an adopter's home for whatever
• 53:49
  reason, part of our contract, which again always benefits the
• 53:52
  horse. And I might get judgment for
• 53:55
  this, but hear me out. In a perfect world, we can save
• 54:00
  all the horses, right? But in the world that we live
• 54:03
  in, I think 60,000 are slaughtered from Canada anyways,
• 54:08
  either shipped to Japan or slaughtered in Canada every
• 54:12
  year. So that tells me rate like 60
• 54:15
  thousands a lot. So humane euthanasia if you have
• 54:19
  a three-year old, I don't care how young the horse is and you
• 54:21
  are trying to free to a companion home, you can rest
• 54:25
  easy at night and that horse may be OK for two years.
• 54:28
  But when that person's riding horse becomes the pasture pet,
• 54:31
  they no longer need the pasture pet and so begins the downward
• 54:34
  spiral. So we heavily advocate if at any
• 54:38
  point a person adopts and they cannot provide that retirement
• 54:41
  themselves, the horse needs to be euthanized and that needs to
• 54:45
  be sent to us. That the proof of euthanasia.
• 54:47
  And I've changed my tune on that too.
• 54:48
  Like if my horse became pastor sound, I always thought, well, I
• 54:51
  probably find a companion home. If I couldn't provide the
• 54:54
  retirement, no matter how old she was, I would euthanize her
• 54:58
  because the now that I see what happens and what I've learned,
• 55:02
  the risk is far too high. And like, what are some of the
• 55:05
  things that led you to that conclusion?
• 55:08
  Because certainly, yeah, there is a lot of suffering at times
• 55:13
  when animals aren't cared for after we've kind of made them
• 55:16
  dependent on us. We get just a lot of this
• 55:19
  information honestly is just emails that we get.
• 55:21
  So it'll be I've, you know, there's this thoroughbred, it's
• 55:25
  in a field by the side of the road.
• 55:27
  I think maybe the lady passed away.
• 55:29
  There's been just story after story and it's like there's an
• 55:33
  emaciated horse doesn't have access to water, doesn't have.
• 55:37
  And and then again, just the sheer numbers going through that
• 55:39
  you do see at auction and whatnot.
• 55:42
  And you know, there's, as long as horses are going that way,
• 55:47
  then there are too many horses. And I don't want that.
• 55:49
  Like again, in a kind of Pollyanna perfect world, I would
• 55:53
  love there to be, I wish we had a sanctuary and we could feel
• 55:56
  those and take those in. But as of this moment, that
• 56:00
  doesn't exist, at least in our area, that's a, you know, a
• 56:03
  consistent pipeline to put pasture pets right where, you
• 56:07
  know, they're getting the vet care, they always have the hay
• 56:09
  and the feed. Like that doesn't exist.
• 56:11
  So when sanctuary doesn't exist, we owe it to them to euthanize.
• 56:16
  And it's nobody wants to make that decision.
• 56:19
  Well, that, you know, oh, this horse would love liberty, a home
• 56:22
  to do liberty. And again, it's like I would
• 56:24
  like to do liberty with my horse.
• 56:26
  I am too busy to do it with my own horse and everybody's in the
• 56:29
  same boat. And that that's just what I've
• 56:31
  learned. Again, kind of anecdotal, but I
• 56:36
  very rarely is someone coming along as an experienced home
• 56:40
  being like, you know, I need to get one more horse just to do
• 56:42
  liberty with it doesn't exist. Yeah.
• 56:45
  And I think that just goes back with some of the realities that
• 56:48
  maybe we don't want to face, we don't like to see.
• 56:51
  But our reality is when you're actually working in this world
• 56:54
  that there is just not the level of resources, not the level of
• 56:57
  homes that are sometimes needed for these animals.
• 57:00
  And it is a big commitment to take on a horse of any kind, you
• 57:04
  know, So I think it's important to talk about the realities and
• 57:10
  to talk about really what is best for the animals and for the
• 57:13
  horses and kind of keep that at the forefront even if you draw
• 57:17
  different conclusions. I think people wanting what's
• 57:20
  best for the horse, like that's, that's important.
• 57:23
  What are some misunderstandings about thoroughbreds that are out
• 57:26
  there? I feel like I shouldn't say
• 57:28
  they're actually aren't misunderstandings.
• 57:31
  They are a bit nutty sometimes I'm teasing, but I think when
• 57:37
  transition properly and somebody you know, takes it upon
• 57:41
  themselves to educate themselves on how to manage their
• 57:44
  day-to-day, how to work with them in training and whatnot, I
• 57:49
  think that they can. They're fantastic.
• 57:52
  I think like any of you know, hot buds, Arabians, barbs,
• 57:57
  whatever, they are more sensitive.
• 58:00
  So there's a there that's a double side.
• 58:02
  You know, there's two sides to that coin.
• 58:04
  They are incredibly sensitive, which is such a wonderful thing.
• 58:07
  Like you'll never have a relationship like you will like
• 58:10
  with your thoroughbred. Like it is insane, like just
• 58:14
  best thing ever. And you know, you're taking your
• 58:17
  thoroughbred to a new location for the very first time.
• 58:20
  You have to plan a little bit differently.
• 58:22
  Like it's not the same as taking, you know, my daughter's
• 58:24
  pony who will toddle on the trailer, get off, fall asleep at
• 58:27
  a new location. Like that's not what a
• 58:30
  thoroughbred is. So I think sometimes is people
• 58:33
  wanting them to be different than they are instead of
• 58:35
  embracing. There's so many wonderful
• 58:37
  qualities. And yes, there is a, there is a
• 58:39
  mirror side to that, which is easy to work with, but being
• 58:44
  aware of that and working with their strengths instead of
• 58:47
  trying to, and you know, you can manhandle a thoroughbred into
• 58:53
  submission, but it doesn't work super well.
• 58:55
  Like, compared to say, yeah, like a cold blooded Little Pony,
• 59:00
  right? Like they're very sensitive.
• 59:02
  So they almost demand, like there's that saying that always
• 59:05
  goes around. Like a thoroughbred is a
• 59:06
  horseman's horse because you can't hide you, you know, my
• 59:11
  gelding, for example, is like, if you're too harsh, even like a
• 59:15
  little bit right, he's going to let you know and he's going to
• 59:17
  put you in the dirt. Like you, you, you just, it
• 59:22
  demands that you, your skills and your sensitivities and your
• 59:25
  awareness. Like we have a volunteer and she
• 59:27
  was asking me like, what do you think the difference is?
• 59:29
  And I said it's all the same, but the caveat is that your
• 59:34
  awareness, I can work with my daughter's pony and kind of be
• 59:37
  thinking about other things and you know, and she's never going
• 59:40
  to kick. She's never going to like he's
• 59:42
  with a thoroughbred. Your awareness and presentness
• 59:46
  has to be on like you. I'm always I know that that
• 59:50
  horse turned towards me out of the corner of my eye and and
• 59:53
  that hyper awareness. So that's something I think that
• 59:55
  people get wrong about them, but that.
• 1:00:00
  Maybe they shouldn't because it should be expected as a
• 1:00:03
  sensitive hot blood and coming from racing background that that
• 1:00:07
  is unique to them. Yeah, a lot of those
• 1:00:09
  characteristics sound like Mustangs and I think it is the
• 1:00:12
  thing that puts them in danger, but it is also the thing that
• 1:00:15
  makes it such a gift to have a partnership with them because it
• 1:00:18
  is, you know, like you were describing, it's just like
• 1:00:21
  nothing else. When you have that partnership
• 1:00:23
  and it's like you guys are working together, you're having
• 1:00:25
  conversations rather than a boss and a subservient.
• 1:00:30
  It's a really cool interaction and really cool experience, but
• 1:00:34
  but comes with a lot more work and time and effort and.
• 1:00:38
  Yeah. It's not quite so easy, it's not
• 1:00:40
  quite such an easy Rd. Just jump on and this is what
• 1:00:43
  we're going to do today, or this is the competition we're going
• 1:00:45
  to. It's a little trickier than
• 1:00:46
  that. Totally.
• 1:00:47
  And you know what, I think there's a place for both.
• 1:00:49
  If you look at it in climbing a mountain, right?
• 1:00:51
  It's like, and I am biased like again, I get that, but it's like
• 1:00:54
  the view from say, a Mustang or Thoroughbred at the top of the
• 1:00:58
  mountains behind our house versus it's as if I just rode my
• 1:01:01
  daughter's pony. You can't really put it into
• 1:01:03
  words. It's if you've worked to get a
• 1:01:06
  horse that is quite difficult to be able to do those things, the
• 1:01:09
  reward matches the climb. So it's like it'll always, you
• 1:01:14
  know, those horses that sort of are born broke, right?
• 1:01:17
  I that was never for me like I wanted to not necessarily work
• 1:01:22
  for. It you wanted the challenge.
• 1:01:24
  Clearly. Yeah, like you, you.
• 1:01:26
  It means so much more than if it's like, yeah, training to
• 1:01:30
  desensitize a thoroughbred even to tarps compared to, you know,
• 1:01:35
  their cold blooded counterparts. It's just a different
• 1:01:38
  experience, right? What are some mistakes that are
• 1:01:41
  made by people who bring thoroughbreds into their lives
• 1:01:46
  and what can they do to avoid them?
• 1:01:48
  I think just kind of preemptively, one thing I love
• 1:01:51
  that you guys do is that you have that little community.
• 1:01:54
  I think the reality is a lot of horses you get are going to have
• 1:01:57
  stuff that you're going to have to learn to work through.
• 1:02:00
  And I think it's really good to just accept that.
• 1:02:02
  Like it's not always going to be perfect.
• 1:02:04
  Everything's not always going to go just how you want it and it's
• 1:02:07
  something you can work through and learn from and that's pretty
• 1:02:09
  cool experience. What are some other things that
• 1:02:14
  you see happening with people who bring them in and how can
• 1:02:17
  they make it a more positive experience?
• 1:02:19
  Avoid those mistakes. I think we did a post about this
• 1:02:23
  a long time ago and I think the best thing you can do is
• 1:02:25
  absolutely nothing at first. So like when they first get
• 1:02:29
  here, for example, people are always and it's good because
• 1:02:32
  they're excited and and whatever you know, you got to get your
• 1:02:35
  halter on, you got to do that all the things.
• 1:02:37
  But the best thing you can do is go in and ask absolutely nothing
• 1:02:42
  be interested in in them. It's a new life for them whereby
• 1:02:48
  you're coming into my paddock and no, you're not coming out to
• 1:02:51
  work. No, you're not coming out
• 1:02:53
  because I'm taking something from you.
• 1:02:55
  No, I'm not coming out it. You have to teach a new way of
• 1:02:58
  going. And so I think the most
• 1:03:00
  important thing that people can do is remove all of your
• 1:03:03
  expectations, even spend the first, you know, two months is
• 1:03:06
  sort of the average a let down at minimum if they don't have an
• 1:03:09
  injury. So let them be out with their
• 1:03:13
  friends. Go sit on a rock in their
• 1:03:14
  paddock and just be around them, right?
• 1:03:17
  Scratch them, try to find where you know, they like to be
• 1:03:20
  scratched. Listen to music, pick poo and
• 1:03:24
  just develop that desire. You know, that mutual interest
• 1:03:28
  and curiosity where it's like, OK, this human is not just only
• 1:03:32
  coming on, you know, when they want to take something, I'm
• 1:03:34
  going to work, make it enjoyable.
• 1:03:37
  And I think that that's a big, that'll save a lot of time and
• 1:03:40
  heartache because, yeah, like I said, it's like with Mr. Bowman,
• 1:03:44
  he he just won't let you catch him if he thinks that every time
• 1:03:48
  he sees this person coming, it sucks, right?
• 1:03:52
  So you, but you have a relationship.
• 1:03:54
  He's like, he's like a dog that's like, you walk into his
• 1:03:57
  paddock and you you call him and he will come trotting over and
• 1:04:00
  he's so excited to come. And that's available in all of
• 1:04:04
  them. You spend that little bit of
• 1:04:06
  time at first asking nothing. Yeah, I love that.
• 1:04:10
  I think that is really important.
• 1:04:11
  We get really frantic to meet our goals or hit our timelines.
• 1:04:14
  And a lot of times given that time is going to make it a lot
• 1:04:18
  easier for whatever we ultimately want to do, starting
• 1:04:21
  with a solid foundation, I would say where it's like, OK, you're
• 1:04:25
  watching out for me. Yeah, totally.
• 1:04:28
  Just kind of fun. If you were to just get a huge,
• 1:04:30
  amazing donation, what do you think are some of the things
• 1:04:33
  that are most needed in your work or within the industry
• 1:04:37
  where funds could really benefit?
• 1:04:39
  The most important thing, I guess it's twofold.
• 1:04:43
  First is, you know, having a buffer in the charity so that it
• 1:04:47
  can go off into the future. That's really important.
• 1:04:50
  And one of the things for example, so my role as a
• 1:04:53
  facilitator post aftercare organizations, that is a paid
• 1:04:57
  role. It's not like a heavily paid
• 1:04:59
  role, but you know, maybe it's $25,000 a year or it's
• 1:05:02
  something. And so to date, I don't earn any
• 1:05:05
  money. You never have.
• 1:05:06
  So moving at least that or even 2 roles to a paid role where
• 1:05:11
  that if anything ever happened to me, it is a role that
• 1:05:14
  somebody would actually step into and not be like, yeah, who
• 1:05:17
  would do 20 plus hours a week for free?
• 1:05:21
  Unfortunately, there's very few of us that are willing or able
• 1:05:25
  to do that, right. So moving to, you know,
• 1:05:29
  mimicking some of the larger longer standing organizations
• 1:05:32
  where you do in those key roles, you have people that again, you
• 1:05:36
  can rely on because it is an is a job and it's not volunteer.
• 1:05:41
  So I think that would be a huge shift of what I see and other,
• 1:05:45
  you know, successful organizations that have been
• 1:05:47
  around longer. And then also the big one is the
• 1:05:50
  sanctuary. Like it is heartbreaking to have
• 1:05:54
  to turn horses away. Like last year we turned 20
• 1:05:57
  away. And it's it's heartbreaking
• 1:06:00
  because you take it personally, you take it on.
• 1:06:03
  It's like, you know, I mean, I'm not taking out a second mortgage
• 1:06:07
  on my house or anything like that, but you, you think to
• 1:06:10
  yourself, like, could I do more? Could I donate more?
• 1:06:13
  Could I you know, and it's like, so having, you know, where the
• 1:06:18
  charity could ultimately own its own land and and have a
• 1:06:21
  sanctuary arm to take, you know, field some of those ones that,
• 1:06:25
  you know, they are in kind of a bad way as a pastor pet at three
• 1:06:30
  years old. Then it's a place that they can
• 1:06:33
  go. And ultimately, you know, people
• 1:06:37
  do E point assisted therapy too. Like that seems like very far in
• 1:06:41
  the future. But, you know, giving them a job
• 1:06:44
  that is fulfilling and and things I think that would be
• 1:06:47
  really cool as well. Yeah.
• 1:06:48
  That would be really cool. That's that's the future.
• 1:06:50
  I think it's gonna come. Yeah.
• 1:06:52
  You guys are doing really cool stuff.
• 1:06:54
  We'll have to reconvene in a year.
• 1:06:56
  Absolutely, yeah. I'd love that to see see where
• 1:06:59
  it's gone. I have no doubt that you guys
• 1:07:00
  will be making strides. I really think you will.
• 1:07:02
  What are ways that people who want to become involved support
• 1:07:05
  your organization? Learn more about thoroughbreds,
• 1:07:07
  any of that stuff. What are some of the best things
• 1:07:09
  that they can do to support the work you're doing to support
• 1:07:12
  horses coming off the racetrack and making the industry better?
• 1:07:17
  The best way so advocacy for sure the pillars that I said of
• 1:07:22
  course advocating for aftercare for all that retire one race
• 1:07:26
  relief for people in the industry and breed promotion.
• 1:07:31
  I'm considering adoption is is huge, but best place to go is
• 1:07:36
  our website and or Instagram. You can everything links through
• 1:07:42
  on our Instagram as well and just visit our website and we
• 1:07:46
  have a a tab under how to help. And so again, volunteering,
• 1:07:50
  considering adoption, making a one time donation, becoming like
• 1:07:53
  a monthly donor. If you have a, a fresh off the
• 1:07:56
  track thoroughbred that you've purchased somewhere else or
• 1:07:59
  through whatever, becoming one of our patrons.
• 1:08:03
  So that's our online community where there's lots of training
• 1:08:06
  videos and support, moral support, things like that.
• 1:08:10
  That's a a way and, and I believe the lowest tier on that
• 1:08:13
  is $7.00 Canadian a month. So it's pretty nominal to
• 1:08:17
  access, you know, a bunch of super helpful.
• 1:08:20
  Yeah, very affordable. So that would be, and then
• 1:08:23
  again, if you are an owner or a trainer like the ones that we
• 1:08:27
  currently work with, is really considering how aftercare is
• 1:08:32
  going to play a role in the future for your barn, for your
• 1:08:36
  horses, for the future of the sport and the love of the horse,
• 1:08:39
  as we say. So I think that's really
• 1:08:42
  important. And trainers and owners can
• 1:08:43
  learn more about that as well on our website under the Submit a
• 1:08:46
  Horse tab. Awesome.
• 1:08:47
  Well, thank you so much for coming on.
• 1:08:49
  I just really want to tell you how incredible I think your work
• 1:08:52
  is. I find it so admirable when
• 1:08:54
  people can go in and take something that exists and work
• 1:08:57
  to make it better. I think that really does help
• 1:09:02
  our world. And so for you to be able to
• 1:09:04
  take these horses that are coming off the racetrack and to
• 1:09:07
  give them that second, second life where they can be cherished
• 1:09:11
  and valued. My mom got off the track
• 1:09:14
  thoroughbred when she was like 16.
• 1:09:16
  And then so by the time I was born, it was that horse's baby.
• 1:09:20
  But yeah, just such cool horses. And they they are really, really
• 1:09:25
  good horses if you're willing to work with them.
• 1:09:27
  And so I love that you are sharing that vision of them
• 1:09:30
  because I think, you know, a lot like the Mustangs, they kind of
• 1:09:34
  have a bad rap. Sometimes they're a little
• 1:09:36
  crazy, especially if they're stalled all day or whatnot.
• 1:09:40
  But when you start to work with them, it can really be a
• 1:09:43
  beautiful partnership. And I, I can definitely see that
• 1:09:45
  just watching the work that you do on Instagram and the things
• 1:09:50
  that you share, just the way that you're able to kind of turn
• 1:09:52
  these lives around. So I would definitely love to
• 1:09:55
  come back and see where it goes from here.
• 1:09:57
  But I just want to tell you you're doing really, really
• 1:09:59
  important work and really making a difference.
• 1:10:01
  Thank you so much and thank you for having me and yeah, letting
• 1:10:06
  me chat about it and. Thank you for joining us and
• 1:10:09
  learning about horses that Heal and the humans who help them.
• 1:10:12
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• 1:10:15
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• 1:10:26
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• 1:10:28
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• 1:10:32
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