Lori Brown speaks for horses
The Saddle Creek Farm owner is an advocate for retired standardbreds.
by Victoria Howard
Born in Newburgh, NY, advocate Lori Brown has dedicated her life to saving horses. At one time, she worked at a standardbred breeding farm located in Wallkill, NY, before moving to Palmyra, VA where today she is the owner of Saddle Creek Farm and cares for 73 retired standardbred horses, plus nine horses of her own.
“Yes, working at Blue Chip Farm introduced me to the standardbred breed and taught me how versatile and amazing a standardbred is,” Brown said. “It takes a lot of hard work, countless endless hours, and at times shedding a tear or two.
“I care for horses owned by the Standardbred Retirement Foundation, besides nine that are family owned: three standardbreds, my children’s show horses, and the family riding horses.
“The horses are not adoptable, so they will live out the rest of their life with me.
Brown is an advocate for saving horses.
“I am their voice,” she said. “I have never owned a racehorse, but I do own show horses, and a horse is a horse and no matter what breed they all deserve love and a good life.
“One day I was in contact with the Standardbred Retirement Foundation on another matter and the director mentioned sending me some horses. She sent 17 horses on that first load, and that’s how it all began.”
How many employees do you have on the farm?
“I have a young girl who works here on the farm a couple of days a week, but even then, I’m not comfortable with walking away for even a short time.
“When you work with horses every day you have a personal connection with each one. Although they all have a different personality, I know everyone. I know if something is amiss or if one needs special care.
“Of course, with animals, every day is a challenge — yet rewarding.”
What is a typical day on your farm like?
“Each day begins with feeding the horses. They are not all on the same program, as some horses are grained twice a day, while others are not.
“The ‘ideal’ situation is that the horses are turned out in large groups in large fields with grass/hay, but they must maintain their body condition. Just like people, each horse is different in their needs.
“The “seniors” [older ones] and those that have lameness issues cannot maintain as well as the younger and healthier ones, so those horses are grouped out of the large fields and into the smaller paddocks.
“The horses are put in pairs [horses are herd animals and enjoy companionship of another horse] and are grained twice a day. Currently, I am graining 24 horses.”
And when that is done?
“The next thing I do is ‘field checks.’ Each day I look at every horse on the farm. This is a must, for this is when I might find a horse that needs help or is in a situation that needs immediate attention.
“Once again, every evening I repeat the process of graining and looking at the field horses.
“During the middle of the day, sometimes I assist the farrier, vet, or normal farm work [cleaning stalls or mowing, etc.].
“As I said before, I do not rehome the horses. Most of them have already had second and third jobs after their racing career was over, and many were sold to the Amish. When the lucky ones come to me this is where they will stay and retire.
“It is heart breaking to see how many horses are discarded at auctions to be slaughtered. I am a strong believer that aftercare arrangements need to be made for their care until their life is over… Every horse deserves to have a second chance in life and here at Saddle Creek Farm, they get it!”
Where do most of your horses come from?
“Way too many are dumped off because they are no longer wanted or needed. The majority arrive broken down from the grueling lives they have lived. I love that I’m able to give these horses a good life that they so desperately deserve.”
I assume that working with the animal on a daily basis you have to get attached. How do you handle knowing that some will leave?
“The hardest part of what I do is saying goodbye to the horse… and it never gets easier. I work with a vet clinic and together we make the best decision for the horse on their quality of life.”
What do you find most gratifying in the work you do?
“In general, most people — especially those that own a standardbred — are wonderful and will help whenever they can. Lots of networking is done on a retired racehorse, finding many at a sale auction.
“One time, after some extensive work was done, a horse was found at a sale company in Bastrop, LA, getting ready to ship to Mexico. We intercepted and were able to bring the horse, along with three other standardbreds home to safety. Gratifying indeed.
“There is another heartfelt story I would like to share. One time I was contacted by a standardbred breeder in Canada who had raised a gelding who went on to race. Over the years, the original owner lost track of the horse but one day wanted to find and bring him home. She followed one lead after another and with lots of help networking, the horse was found in Virginia. He was living at an Amish farm and when the woman contacted the farm, they agreed to sell him back to her.
“When the horse came to me, he was in poor shape and stayed with me until he was strong enough to make the trip to Canada to be reunited with his original owner. This was one of the ‘happily ever after stories’ that I wish we heard more of.
“Saving one horse won’t change the world, but it will change the world for that one horse.”
