It has been announced that the United States Trotting Association’s Support Our Standardbreds Program has helped its 100th horse.
Twenty-three-year-old trotting mare Youngs Filly, who was seized by the St. Albans (West Virginia) Animal Control department on August 2 and is being cared for by the Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue in Shoals, W.Va., is the 100th horse helped by SOS.
The mare, who raced three times as a two-year-old, has allegedly been in the custody of the individuals from whom she was removed for approximately 19 years. Along with an Arabian gelding, the mare was in a field with, “No grass, a lot of mud,” according to Tinia Creamer of Heart of Phoenix. “She’s covered with open wounds, including a large one on her cheek.”
Creamer estimates her Body Condition Score at three (five is ideal) and also reported that the mare’s feet and teeth are in poor condition, but not to the point of impeding her ability to eat.
“She has a good appetite and seems tired and weary of life, really.”
According to Creamer, the owners of the mare will be prosecuted and the next hearing is set for September.
The USTA’s donation will help cover initial costs to bring the mare to full health, including farrier, dental and veterinary care. When recovered, Youngs Filly will be offered for adoption. She is reportedly broken to ride.
The program, started in 2010, was developed to provide financial assistance to registered charitable programs and government agencies caring for registered standardbreds whose care has fallen to a criminal level. Horses that have been legally seized, abandoned or surrendered in lieu of prosecution are eligible for assistance.
Horses from 19 different states, from California to Maine and south to Florida, have been helped by SOS.
For more information about SOS, click here or contact Ellen Harvey at 732-780-3700 or [email protected].
(USTA)