Eventing prospects

We get lots of calls for eventing prospects from people wanting a big, "slow" horse with no previous injuries. But they are calling a farm that takes horses off the racetrack, so the answer is often good luck with that.

Meanwhile the World Equestrian Games in Lexington is stoking the fire for future event riders in the US, showcasing world-class athletes that go from racing cross-country to composed elegance in the dressage ring. What hope does a rider of average means have to find a horse with this much athleticism and talent?



The answer is obvious. You find a young horse with good conformation and a good mind, and you train it yourself. From day one. Training is faster, easier, and often more rewarding than "retraining", especially for a horse that is destined to perform at the highest levels. This seems to be a well-kept secret.



With this in mind, Tranquility's adoption page will soon feature many beautiful young Thoroughbreds that were raised here, and with very few exceptions they are all the offspring of rescued broodmares. The foal crop in California has dropped 50% in the last five years, so for serious riders preparing for the future, the time to look for a young horse is now!

Urgent. Act to End Horse Slaughter

Please act to help bring HR 503 to the House Floor for a vote!

Representative James Moran needs your help to get H.R. 503 to a vote in the House!
U.S. Representative James Moran is circulating the letter set out below to all members of the House of Representatives for their signature. Once signatures have been gathered, Rep. Moran and members of the House of Representatives will present the letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. The letter calls on Speaker Pelosi to bring the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, H.R. 503, to a vote by the full House of Representatives immediately.

Tranquility Farm, Equine Welfare Alliance, and Animal Law Coalition urge you to call on your U.S. representative to sign this letter now!

Click Here to find the name and contact information for your U.S. representative in Washington: You can also call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for your U.S. representative. The letter must be signed by Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010. It is best to call or fax your representative. Tell your representative that you urge him or her to sign on as a co-sponsor and contact Rep. Moran and sign the letter calling on Speaker Pelosi to schedule a vote on the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, H.R. 503. Be sure to tell your representative that you live in his or her district and ask for a copy of the letter with your representative's signature! Go here to find out if your rep is already a co-sponsor and, if so, urge him or her to sign the letter!

H.R. 503 will put an end to the slaughter of American horses. Only a federal law can stop this tragedy.
Read the bill here

PLEASE FORWARD THIS APPEAL, AND THANK YOU FOR HELPING THE HORSES!

REPRESENTATIVE MORAN'S LETTER TO CONGRESS:

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Office of the Speaker of the House
H-232, The U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Madame Speaker:

We write to you in strong support of the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act (H.R. 503), legislation to ban the slaughter of American horses for human consumption and prevent the export of live horses for the same purpose. With 183 bipartisan cosponsors in the House, 28 in the Senate, and tremendous public support, we urge you to allow this bill a vote in the House.

Equine slaughter is inhumane by nature. Horses have a fractious reaction to the stress induced by chutes, kill boxes, puntilla knives and captive bolt stun systems, causing these animals to suffer immensely and die an inhumane death. These animals are subjected to brutal transport conditions on their way to slaughter facilities. In addition, the consumption of horsemeat poses a serious public health threat as this meat contains substances banned for human consumption by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Since 2005, Congress has repeatedly voted to shut down the cruel practice of horse slaughter and included appropriations language to defund the USDA inspection of horses and horsemeat as a stopgap measure until a permanent federal ban is passed. The last three horse slaughter plants on U.S. soil were closed by enforcement of state law in Texas and a recently enacted ban on horse slaughter in Illinois. As you know, California overwhelmingly banned horse slaughter over a decade ago, and the state legislature just passed a resolution in favor of passing the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act.

Still, American horses continue to be sent over the border for human consumption. Since January of this year, approximately 53,850 horses have been transported across our nation's borders into the cruelty of slaughter in Mexico and Canada. This number amounts to about 100,000 horses annually, 1,500 per week, or one every five minutes.

As cosponsors of H.R. 503, we, along with millions of Americans and animal protection organizations such as the Animal Welfare Institute and the Humane Society of the United States, urge you to bring this bill to the House floor for a vote.

Thank you in advance for your consideration of this critical legislation.

Best regards,

Lava Lil finds a home!

Spunky Lava Lil has packed a whole lot into her eleven years. She raced forty times with a record of 3-2-11, and earned $48,466. A daughter of Stage Colony, it is not suprising that she retired sound and full of zest for life. In a Jockey Club survey of American sires rated for the soundness and longevity of their runners,former California sire Stage Colony got very high marks.

For an encore to her racing career, Lava Lil produced a beautiful filly,and she was an excellent mother. But when her foal was weaned it was clear that Lil needed something to occupy her active mind.



So it was off to take a short course in hunter work with trainer Darcy Edwards in Lakeside, CA. Lil took to her retraining with her characteristic enthusiasm, but due to her diminutive stature she was overlooked many times by potential adopters at Tranquility Farm.


At last re-schooling is paying off for Lava Lil and she will soon leave us for the dream job of being adored by the kids she will give riding lessons to, and having a whole lot of attention and fun. Lil has finally found an adopter who realizes very good things can come in small packages, especially a perky pony that has been so successful at everything she has ever put her hoof to!

Areyoutalkintome!

Today is the last day of the Del Mar meet,with the traditional running of the Pirates Bounty Handicap. What better day to honor our retiree Areyoutalkintome, who competed in this race three times, winning it in 2006 and running second in 2005. Here is a horse who knows what it is like to have skin in the game. He was a fiercely competitive racehorse who ran a total of 52 times with record of 10-15-7 and amassed earnings of $985,417.

Photo by Anthony Andrews

Even today, after two leisurely years in retirement at Tranquility Farm, Areyoutalkintome prefers to be in a private paddock without the bother of other horses in his space. So be it, he has earned all the happiness we can give him. And he also earned the right to some of that incredible money he made running his heart out on the racetrack, so that he could retire with dignity. If ever there was a poster boy for mandating funds for retiring Thoroughbreds it is Areyoutalkintome.