At the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation's Blackburn Correctional Facility in Lexington, KY one of the most recent Second Chances Program success stories–where inmates are taught a vocation in horse care and management–involved some of the 43 horses rescued from Mercer County in the summer of 2016. Several of the horses that arrived at the Blackburn facility were severely malnourished and one suffered from a serious foot abscess. Among the horses taken in at the Blackburn facility from Mercer County include: Z Camelot, Silver Cliff, Parhelion, Meddling and Princess Megan. All have show drastic improvement due to the compassionate care received at the hands of the inmates, the TRF announced Tuesday.
“Z Camelot was the worst of the group,” said Linda Dyer, Second Chances Farm Manager at Blackburn. “The veterinarians thought he could die. Personally, I had never seen a horse so starved that he just had skin–what was left of it–and skeleton. Previous connections of the Zayat team found him a good home in Pennsylvania. The [inmates'] dedication to him was amazing.”
Added TRF Herd Manager Sara Davenport, “Silver Cliff will stay here at Blackburn. He was originally adopted from us and is happy at Blackburn. He easily made a full recovery and is perfectly healthy now. Parhelion was one of the first rescues and now he and Silver Cliff are best buds.”
“Once the yearlings were weaned, the mares bounced back pretty fast,” Davenport continued. “We still have Meddling and she is such a good girl–horrible cribber–but a sweetheart. She might even be able to do therapy one day. Princess Megan was returned to a previous contact once she recovered.”
Once Z Camelot and Princess Megan left Blackburn, mares L C Mystery and Golden Thief arrived in November and December, respectively.
“We sent L C Mystery to the TRF's Second Chances Program at Vandalia, IL two weeks ago to make more room at Blackburn and she is doing great,” said Davenport. “Synergistic is still with us and she is 18. She's had some sort of trauma to her hip, so she's a little arthritic getting up and down and needs a smaller herd setting.”
Dyer and Davenport are quick to commend the dedication and hard work that made caring and providing for the Mercer County horses possible, as well as all the donations of supplies.
“All of these horses were on Ulcerguard, and we thank all of the people who donated this and other supplies for them,” said Dyer. “We still have some horses that are on it and the veterinarian has told us they will probably have to live on it for the rest of their lives. We hope these horses have continued good lives, as they sure do deserve it after having been so badly abused.”
To donate towards the ongoing care of these horses or for more information about the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, please go to www.trfinc.org/.
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