Flyin’ Free – Forgotten Horses on Trail to New Lives
September 3, 2009 by admin
Filed under Community Outreach
If you live in South Florida, it is hard to miss the many news reports about abused and abandoned horses. Even more disturbing are the reports of horse slaughters and the illegal sale of horse meat.
One local group stands above all others in its care of neglected horses, and one special (and very lucky) horse, a direct descendent of a fabled Triple Crown winner, serves as an international symbol of the efforts to protect these animals.
Rescued from an illegal slaughter farm, this horse is safe in the care of his new owner, and he just may be a star in a new Disney movie! More on that later.
Freedom's Flight - ex-racer thoroughbred saved from illegal horse slaughterhouse
The South Florida Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SFSPCA) operates a sanctuary where neglected horses are nursed back to health. The staff and volunteers give countless hours of attention to the animals. If all goes well, the healthy horses are put up for adoption and a second chance at life with a loving family.
No horse better illustrates the plight of abused horses and the SFSPCA’s efforts to save them than FREEDOM’S FLIGHT.
Freedom’s, as his caregivers nicknamed him, is a big, flashy chestnut-colored thoroughbred. He is a fourth generation descendant of the great Triple Crown winner, SECRETARIAT.
Born in 2005, he was raised for a life on the racetrack, like his famous great, great, great grandfather. As fate would have it, he broke a leg in a race at Gulfstream Park in early 2008 and was given away. He was found, sick and emaciated, in June 2008 at a Miami-Dade farm where horses are illegally slaughtered and their meat sold on the black market. According to Richard (“Kudo”) Couto, a director at the SFSPCA, Freedom’s was slated to be slaughtered the day he was rescued.
Word spread of Freedom’s famous blood lines, and horse lovers around the world came forward with donations for his care. His plight also drew scrutiny of the horse racing industry, which stands accused of treating some horses as mere inventory, to be discarded when their usefulness has expired.
A bond developed between Cuoto and Freedom’s, and Cuoto decided to adopt the horse as his own. Now strong and healthy, Freedom’s is the spittin’ image of his famous predecessor.
So similar in appearance is Freedom’s, there is now an effort by Cuoto and Freedom’s fans to cast him to portray Secretariat in an upcoming film about the Triple Crown winner. Click on the following link to go to a page on the SFSPCA website where you can contact the producers at Disney – sort of a petition to cast Freedom’s in the film: http://www.spca-sofla.org:80/freedom%20movie/freedom%20movie.htm
Freedom's Flight - Secretariat lineage - Thoroughbred saved by the South Florida SPCA
Make a difference, Palmetto Bay!
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