Group fights to improve lives of unwanted horses Nonprofit currently has animals up for adoption at local farm BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer Harmony Hill Farm manager Sergio Arias shows off how Losing Traction has recuperated at the farm and is almost ready for adoption. UPPER FREEHOLD - One local organization gives the injured, the orphaned and some horses that would have gone to slaughter a second chance. Founded in 1989 by Judith Bokman, of Millstone Township, and Paula Campbell, wife of harness-racing great John Campbell, the Standardbred Retirement Foundation (SRF) has placed nearly 2,000 horses into new homes since its inception. So far this year, the nonprofit organization has found new homes for 65 horses, according to Barbara Luna, the business director of the SRF. Luna said SRF currently has several horses in rehabilitation at Harmony Hill Farm in Upper Freehold, one of many farms fostering SRF horses around the country. Harmony Hill Farm is owned by John and Barbara Cammeyer and managed by Sergio Arias. Luna said Arias takes great care of all the horses, and praised the Cammeyers for letting the SRF place horses on their farm. The Standardbred Retirement Foundation hopes to find June's Dream Boy a new home. The horse is a sound, 16.1 hands trotter that never raced. The SRF horses at Harmony Hill include Master of His Domain, a standardbred gelding that won more than $1 million throughout his racing career. The 10-year-old suffered a fracture earlier this year that ended his days as a racehorse. Although Master of His Domain may never be more than a companion horse now, the SRF will eventually place him in a loving home where he will have the opportunity to flourish again. The farm also has June's Dream Boy in its care. He is a sound, 16.1 hands trotter that never raced. Luna will start training the horse for riding this week. An almost black gelding called Dr. LaMarche is also at the farm. He's recuperating from a lump on his knee, but should be sound in the future, according to Luna. A small horse known as Uncle Bunk is also recovering from a fractured knee, Luna said, but in time he too will be sound. Master of His Domain, a standardbred gelding that earned more than $1 million racing, now needs a new home because of an injury. An 11-month-old named Losing Traction suffered the loss of his mother at birth, according to Luna. The SRF rescued the colt from an Ohio farm, where he was not being well cared for, and sent him to Harmony Hill for rehabilitation, she said. Although Losing Traction's original prognosis was grim, as he had lungworm, was very anemic, had a runny noise and "coughed like a dog barking," Luna said he has pulled through and gained weight. Luna said he was given the nickname "Little Charlie" because when he first arrived at Harmony Hill, her horse Charlie would stand guard over him. The SRF will ultimately place Little Charlie and all its other horses staying at Harmony Hill up for adoption. SRF is an adoption agency, not a rescue organization, Luna said. However, there are times when SRF will accept rescues into the program from people who can prove their horse is a standardbred. One such horse, whose name is Yankee Delta, was recently rescued from the kill pen at the New Holland auction in New Holland, Pa. Luna said the mare once belonged to television producer Alan Kirschenbaum. When Luna contacted Kirschenbaum regarding the horse, he said he would send the SRF a donation. Luna researched Yankee Delta's background with the United States Trotting Association (USTA) and discovered that the mare had been bred to top stallions over the years but had not produced any winning offspring. After serving as an Amish carriage horse, Yankee Delta was sent to auction. Luna said there is nothing wrong with the 13-year-old bay, who is available for adoption. Luna said many horses sold at "killer auctions" go to one of three slaughterhouses in the United States, which are located in Texas and Illinois. Once the horses are killed, their meat goes to Europe and Asia, where horse meat is considered a delicacy, according to Luna. Many of the horses at such auctions do not have anything wrong with them, she said, while others are old or lame. Luna said "killer buyers" who purchase very thin horses at auctions refer to the animals as skinners. Skinners go to Mexico for slaughter for their hides rather than their meat, she said. Luna said it is not the slaughter process that concerns her, but rather the transport of the animals. She said 40 or more horses are crammed together in trailers to make a slaughter load, which is trucked for hundreds of miles without giving the horses food or water. As a result, the horses often become injured during the trip. Luna said she would rather see horse owners euthanize their unwanted horses instead of watching the animals go to the slaughterhouse. According to Luna, people who sell inexpensive horses should be careful whom they sell them to. She said some people purchase such horses on the pretext of providing a good home for them, but actually send them to be slaughtered instead for a quick profit. "If you sell a cheap horse, always suspect the worst," she said. While Luna has had a long career in the racing industry, until last year she did not deal with standardbreds. She calls herself "a dyed-in-the-wool thoroughbred fan" who previously worked as a thoroughbred horse trainer and in the publicity and television department at Monmouth Park in Oceanport. She also had her own television show at Philadelphia Park in Bensalem, Pa. She hadn't been working long at SRF before she adopted her first standardbred, an older but sound campaigner named Whittingham, whom she now calls Charlie. Luna enjoys pleasure driving with Charlie. She said standardbreds are good all-around horses that can excel at various disciplines after their racing days are over. She called them "classy, solid citizens." As much as she loves thoroughbreds, she said, standardbreds are easier to handle for the average rider. Standardbreds come in all shapes and sizes, and some may be mistaken for thoroughbreds, warmbloods, Morgans and other breeds, according to Luna. The breed has become more refined over the past 20 years, she said, and the infamous "jughead" look is mostly a thing of the past. Overall, Luna said she enjoys her job with SRF because she likes talking to people and helping horses. The SRF adopts out rideable horses for a $250 fee in addition to a $25 application fee. The organization screens all its applicants and demands that those who adopt have their horses checked by a veterinarian at least twice a year. Adopted horses cannot be sold, raced or bred, Luna said, and if an adopter's situation changes, the SRF will take the horse back, no questions asked. For more information on adopting or fostering a standardbred, contact SRF at (732) 462-8773 or visit www.adoptahorse.org.