Old Friends Farm

(YouTube link)

Every year, around 38,000 Thoroughbred horses are born. Three years later, one of them wins the Kentucky Derby. The rest, well, some race and some win races, which makes them valuable breeding stock. But eventually, they all get old and are no longer useful to those who race horses. Old Friends Farm is a retirement home where horses can be cared for for the rest of their lives. -via Buzzfeed

The first thing I did before whipping out my checkbook was look at their list of sponsors - a long and prominent list. It is in the best interests of the horse racing industry to take better care of these discarded horses. The public is taking an increasingly dim view of animal abuse in any guise, profitable or otherwise. This video serves as a nice PR piece. As someone in the film says, there needs to be a lot more retirement farms like Old Friends.

There was a greyhound race track between this town and the next, and there are a number of aging former racing dogs in our neighborhood being walked by their adoptive owners. The track has been torn down and new construction is beginning, but not for a new and improved track. I would like to say that public pressure killed that business, but it was probably the economy. Public sympathy for those animals also played a part though. It pleases me to think there are still a few things we can do to heal the dark side of capitalism.

Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)

Commenting is closed.

Click here to access all of this post's 1 comments

We hope you like this article!
Please help us grow by sharing:

Get Updates In Your Inbox

Free weekly emails, plus get access
to subscriber-only prizes.

We won't share your email. You can cancel at any time.