Follows is a guest post by longtime contributor Mary Johnson.
“Big Sky Girl: Foaled, Raced, Bred, and Dumped – With Intent”
by Mary Johnson
This is the story about the exploitation of a Thoroughbred mare who labored within the racing industry and then was dumped into the slaughter pipeline when her productive days were over. Exploited on the track, exploited in the breeding shed, and then discarded when she was no longer able to get in foal or carry a foal.
Big Sky Girl was first brought to my attention this past March, when she entered the auction circuit. Her bail was low ($625) yet there was no interest. Why? She was 25 years old, her teeth were some of the worst I have ever seen, she wasn’t a “star” on the track, and only two of her six foals raced. Sky was bred by WinStar, but they did not step up to offer assistance in her time of need, nor did any of her past racing “connections.” If she was “rescued” out of the slaughter pipeline, it would be by non-racing folks with her future consisting of being a pasture ornament.
Alison Price Becker, equine advocate: “She was foaled with intent. She was raced with intent. She was bred with intent. She was dumped with intent.”
Sky was raced 15 times, “earning” a total of $38,000. She labored at the low-level tracks, racing exclusively at Beulah Park and Mountaineer, and left racing in 2006 at the age of five. She then was exploited as a broodmare. She was bred 11 times and produced 6 foals. She was last bred in 2023 (no foal). Where had she been? What had she been doing? And why would anyone relegate a 25-year-old broodmare to the auction circuit? After doing everything that was asked of her, what was her reward? Being dumped into the slaughter pipeline. And people still have the audacity to ask me why I despise horseracing!
After Sky was brought to my attention, I began networking to try to find her a place to go, and within a day or so, Karen Thurman of Rainhill Equine Rescue agreed to take her into her facility. Bail money was raised and transport organized. Sky arrived at Rainhill in mid-April. The first order of business was to address the issue of her teeth, and I agreed to pay for her dental at Rood and Riddle in Lexington, Kentucky.
On Tuesday, June 16th, I traveled to Rood and Riddle to visit Sky before her surgery. As with many older horses, she suffered from “Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis,” a painful and progressive dental disease characterized by the destruction of tooth roots. All of her upper and lower incisors were extracted. A couple other issues were addressed, and Karen and I decided that Sky needed to enter rehab for several weeks since she needed extra care multiple times a day.
From the “Patient Release Form” at Rood and Riddle (Dr. Ashton Broman): “All of Sky’s remaining incisors were extracted. Infected tissue and bone was removed, surgical sites were left open. Her cheek teeth were extremely sharp causing buccal lacerations. Her teeth were floated and the hooks reduced. She had bilateral ocular discharge with caseated material in the nasolacrimal ducts. Ducts were flushed.”
The poor girl’s mouth…
Sky [with Mary below] is now recovering in rehab and doing well, but suffice it to say she suffered horribly for many, many years. Also, it took a group of non-racing folks to step up for Sky and provide her with a soft landing since the industry that profited off her was nowhere to be found. And I don’t ever want to hear that the racing industry loves these horses like “family” because that is a BIG LIE.
It never gets old hearing about a Thoroughbred mare, or any horse, being rescued from a bad situation and given the kind of care and attention and respect that horses deserve.
Recently, a Thoroughbred mare was being made available at O’Dwyer Horses in Bowie, Texas.
He would have already shipped a bunch of horses instead of making them available for purchase if the borders had not been closed due to the New World screwworm infestation having spread to Texas and New Mexico. He has made the comments in his videos of different horses that “this is the kind I would normally ‘direct ship’ IF the borders weren’t closed”. He says that nobody wants to mess with these kinds of horses. Some of the horses he has shown have not even been haltered or taught to lead. One was a 7-year-old stallion. Some are thin. Some are blind in one eye. A lot of them have been neglected in various ways.
It never ceases to be sickening that people bring horses into the world and don’t take care proper care of them and then dump them.