Woman saves horses from chopping block

RESCUE RANGERS—From left, Nicole Rawnsley, trainer Cynthia Wilson and facility owner Cori Burke are all working together to rehabilitate, re-train, and find a home for Idle No More, a race horse they rescued from the Santa Anita racetrack with the help of Neigh Savers, a nonprofit group that rescues race horses. WENDY PIERRO Acorn Newspapers An Agoura woman wants to rescue racehorses from a common fate following retirement— the slaughterhouse.

Nicole Rawnsley was horrified to learn that thoroughbreds are often sold at auction and then shipped to Canada and Mexico, where they are killed and turned into food.

"It's a delicacy in places like Japan. It's a huge industry," Rawnsley said. "People think the glory, the beauty, the sport of kings, but they don't know what happens to these horses afterwards."

Despite spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase and care for a thoroughbred, owners are anxious to get rid of the animal once it can no longer race.

"They break these horses down and then dump them. People just want to cut their losses and walk away," Rawnsley said.

Most of the horses can be rehabilitated for other careers, she said.

"Thoroughbreds can do anything. They can be show jumpers, hunters, dressage horses, three-day-eventers, a backyard horse you'd want to go on a trail ride with. They can be ridden in shows by equestrian clubs," Rawnsley said. "The breadth of their ability is truly endless."

Through an Internet search, Rawnsley learned of a Northern California nonprofit horse rescue group called Neigh Savers, run by Karin Wagner. She adopted her first horse, Stone Cold Angel, through the nonprofit in October.

Although Stone Cold Angel had stamina and endurance, he was too slow to race. His race trainer, Dominic Fama, recognizing the 5-year-old horse was of sound mind and body, contacted Neigh Savers. The organization posted the horse's photo on its website, where Rawnsley saw it and thought there was something special about him. After visiting the horse at Los Alamitos Race Course, she decided to adopt him.

Rawnsley arranged for the horse's transfer and contacted an Agoura-based horse trainer through an advertisement she saw in a saddle shop. The trainer, Cynthia Wilson, connected Rawnsley with Cori Burke, who had stable room on her Old Agoura property. Stone Cold Angel, renamed Noah by Rawnsley, was transferred from the track to Burke's facility.

Together, the three women cared for Noah.

"He was very thin, underweight, so sore in his body I thought he was lame," Wilson said. "I thought, 'What are we going to do with this poor broken horse?' Just feeding him, exercising him slowly, I have seen him blossom into this amazing horse that is going to be really talented."

Rawnsley plans to keep Noah. His rescue and rehabilitation was such a positive experience for the three women they agreed to continue rescuing other horses and finding new homes for them. In January through Neigh Savers they rescued Idle from the Santa Anita racetrack. The 5-year-old thoroughbred had been bred in Kentucky and purchased for $40,000. He ran three races in England and several in California before bowing his tendon during a race in December.

"The moment he was hurt the owners wanted to wash their hands of him. A bowed tendon takes time to heal, and the way our economy is people don't want to put the money in," Rawnsley said. "Racing is really abusive on the body of any animal."

When Idle arrived in Agoura he was very hyper due to the high-protein food race horses are fed.

"Idle was out of his mind the first few days. We had to sedate him. Now he's sweet as pie," Rawnsley said.

The women work with Idle daily, caring for his leg, hand walking him and socializing with him. Rawnsley often brings her 10yearold stepson Matthew, who has found caring for the horses to be therapeutic. Rawnsley hopes to find Idle a good home once he's ready.

"It's just time, love and patience and working with the horses on the ground so they learn to respect you. He's come around so quickly," Rawnsley said.

For the first three months after adoption, Neigh Savers donates $250 per month to feed and bed a horse. Rawnsley hopes to continue to rescue, rehabilitate and retrain horses. She hopes to network with people in the equestrian community, to gain financial support as well as sources of new homes for the rescued horses.

"We want to do right by these animals, if it takes a year, whatever the horses need," Rawnsley said. "You'll have a lot of skeptical people who want to flip the horses and make a buck. We want them to lead a really productive second career."

A lifelong animal lover, Rawnsley is a biology major at California State University Channel Islands. The 24-year-old wants to become a veterinarian.

"I love horses' dignity and their grace, how peaceful, nurturing and truly therapeutic they are," Rawnsley said. "They are such majestic, beautiful animals, yet there's something delicate and vulnerable about them. They've truly had a very profound impact on my life."

For more information, visit www.neighsavers.com To contact Rawnsley e-mail her directly at nicole@neighsavers.com.