Finger Lakes Finest - A Relist

[up-at-5]

Oh no.

Today was a brutal day for me, and now I come home to read this?.......poor soul.

[Justa Bob]

Dewanna Brushon Me is set to run Thurs - March 3....Sigh.

http://www.equibase.com/premium/eqbH...812&registry=T

[EqTrainer]

There was, gosh, more than seven yars ago, some lady who was shipping horses BACK out of PR. Does anyone know who she is?

Dont know why i am so upset about this, i feel like this was an epic fail.

[up-at-5]

Dont know why i am so upset about this, i feel like this was an epic fail.

Me too! I feel exactly the same way.

[Louise]

It's always a kick in the teeth when we find out that one of the horses that we have listed ends up in a bad place. It happens, but, thankfully, a lot less than it used to before FLTAP existed.

That's why this organization was founded, to give the trainers at Finger Lakes alternatives, and we do. Remember, we placed 115 horses this year off of the Trainer Listings alone. When you add the horses that the Adoption Center placed, that number becomes even more impressive.

Most of the trainers on the backside care about where their horses end up. Unfortunately, for financial reasons, sometimes these horses have to go. We often don't know which horses urgently need homes. They're just gone, one day when we go to the track.

Dewanna was on the listings for quite a while, and there was just no interest, in spite of the fact that he was mentioned quite often on these threads. It's hard to find people who want an older horse, with a lot of races under his belt.

We don't want to become the kind of organization that is always shouting DANGER! DANGER! It wears on people and pretty soon that kind of thing is just tuned out. Sometimes, it even makes people angry.

I think it would be a good thing if people would just remember that these horses are on the Listings because they need to find new homes. And, sometimes, that need is great.

[Justa Bob]

We just relisted Solidify, so, anyone who was interested in him now has another chance to bring him home.

http://fltrainerlist.proboards.com/i...ay&thread=1664

Bump for this guy! I love his color and there is something special about him. Glad he is getting another chance for a new career.

Louise - wonderful post. All the horses in our barn have a job to do, too. Just like the track horses. And the racetrack has some of the best care around -- horses handled by numerous highly qualified professionals. Many of us will keep Dewanna in our thoughts and redouble efforts to find great homes for retiring racers. Thanks.

[danceronice]

Me too! I feel exactly the same way.

I feel guilty, as when he was on the listings, I liked him a lot and we didn't have a stall. Now we have a stall and a BO who is always sympathetic to the hard-luck types, but I don't even BEGIN to have the money to ship a horse out of Puerto Rico. (Even if I could make any contacts there and find him, given it's PR, I can't speak Spanish so I'd be in trouble anyway.)

[EqTrainer]

We just have to do better.

[Merle]

How would we arrange shipping out of Puerto Rico? Anyone have contacts? I was really hoping he'd be at the track when I went up to look.

I definitely see how these FL horses are special and I am thrilled with how many were able to be placed this past year. After owning a pony who cribbed, I swore I would never own another. We passed by so many lovely TBs because they cribbed. Well, my own Da Portici Code (now known as Squeegee) is a cribber even though we bought him thinking he wasn't. Turns out that I don't even care that he cribs. He's very, very smart and I think that it is just his "thing". He is pretty amusing. I don't think I've owned a smarter horse (and sorry for the tangent).

[foundationmare]

Louise, thank you for a wonderful post. We all do what we can. I am very sad that Dewanna didn't move to the home of a COTHer. I think about him a lot.

But there's no shame. Dewanna got a lot of comments and I crossed my fingers that he would find a home with someone who would give him another purpose in life. It wasn't to be for him.

Merle, how is Squeegee doing????? He was one of my faves this year: cute, cute boy! He was such a sweet surprise at the end of the meet. You owe us pictures!

I'm also able to overlook a cribber, and I've known some inveterate cribbers who are terrific horses! Would be a shame to dismiss them.

[kinnip]

Louise, right on! You can only do so much. It's sad about Dewanna, but I don't want to loose sight of the positive here. You presented a lot of nice horses well, and I feel like everyone who was willing and able to take one did. I was prepared to take two, and ended up shipping down four. Now if that isn't the mark of a good saleswoman, I don't know what is! Congrats on a great year. I can't wait for next year!

[FalseImpression]

What was wrong with Dewanna? Was he a cribber or was he with the "greedy" trainer who kept upping the price? I feel very sorry for him and in my dream world, maybe he will be lucky? I wish we could still help him... I know ... just dreaming!

[up-at-5]

I've been thinking about this a lot. It's very hard not letting this type of thing affect you, but like has already been said, we do what we can. Many of us feel a certain amount of guilt(I know I do) having to pass on a horse for whatever reason. We all choose our horse based on criteria specific to our needs/wants at the time.
There were a few campaigners that found homes this past season, and for that I am thankful.
I guess it just wasn't Dewanna's time to be chosen.

What we can all do, as we have been doing, is keep posting about our experiences with our OTTB's, keep promoting the horses, and the folks who work so hard to get these horses placed in new homes!
It's a team effort, from the trainers/owners, to the volunteers at the track who spend hours upon hours taking pictures and escorting potential buyers around, and finally, to those of us who have purchased an ex-racer. We all have the same goal, to provide new careers, or even just retirement homes, to these wonderful, wonderful animals.
One thing I have always loved about the OTTB placement threads is that they are generally very positive.
It's a pleasure to log in and read about which horse has been placed, or read about someone looking for a critique on a Cutie, or the excitement of someone choosing and purchasing their new horse!
As much as I am dreading the new season, and getting attached to special horses, I am equally looking forward to enabling folks, and promoting my favourites!!!

[Lazy-Pony]

Up-at-5,
What a wonderful post. It is always important to see the silver lining in even the hardest times. Promoting our new friends is the best way to ensure that as many FLF horses as possible find new and loving homes.

That said, anyone want to vacation in PR and bring back a friend with some of that sand and sun?

[maunder]

Thank you Up-at-5.

False Impression: Dewanna was a very nice horse who just happened to be older and had a lot of races under his belt. He was priced reasonably at $500. Since a PPE wasn't done by anyone we don't know if he had any issues but he was simply not chosen by any of the folks looking for a Finest last year.

[A Pinch of Luck]

Louise and Up at 5 thank you for such inspiring posts. My thoughs mirror yours on Dewana, and I, too must remind myself that "we can't save them all." I'm asked all the time how I choose who comes down, and who I pass by, and it comes down to individual preferences in a horse--for me it's the qualities that are intrinsic and also the physical that will ultimately make them attractive to new families, to others something entirely different. It's unclear why so many of us gravitated towards this guy, yet none of us took him home. It's just one of those things. Having a really busy trainer who was hard to catch standing still didn't help Dewana's cause much either--Louise and I tried to visit with him on one of my trips to the backside, and it was anything but a success.

The adorable stallion You Sure haunted me all season last year, and for whatever reasons, he never made it home to me. I think in his case, it was fear of cost for his "repairs" and the worry that I'd be finding a home for another member of the "less than perfect" deparment. By the time I decided to commit to bringing him to my farm, he was gone.

Each and every one of us, be it as a single owner with a single horse, or as a part of a much grander operation, play a huge part in the horse racing industry. As awareness increases, as regulations continue to morph and expand, and as the different racing bodies call owners and trainers to the carpet for how they handle their retirees, the number of horses needing second chances are becoming more visible and more prevalent. The old ways are going away, and in their place are huge voids for placing these horses. We who do our part should see this as a challenge, not a failure--we can and do make a difference.

We will never "save them all" but to each horse that we send on his way to a new career, we have made all the difference in the world.