Testing God - It's All About The Benjamins, Baby!

During my time as executive director of ReRun, we were asked by a Cincinnati television station to do an interview that featured both ReRun and Bethlehem Farm, a Christian program that runs the Center for Women in Racing. That program provides a place for women in our industry that need a place where they can recover from abuse—be it physical, mental or substance.

It was a perfect partner for ReRun, as Bethlehem Farm housed some of our horses awaiting adoptive homes. While they were there, the women in their program worked to assess and heal the horses, and as horses tend to do, they provided healing for the women as well.

During the course of the interview, my views about the state of the racing industry—or rather, the horrible state of some of the horses that were running, were made known.

Over the course of 10 years, Jerry and I had watched in horror as it seemed that it was “all about the Benjamins, baby,” and “anything goes” as far as the condition of horses that were racing. And although ReRun had grown to a national program at that point, operating coast to coast in 8 states from New York to Washington, we consistently saw the worst of the worst in Kentucky.

On our farm alone, we had numerous horses accepted into the program who were not adoption candidates at all. Several had had their joints injected with cortisone so many times that there was no cartilage left. When they walked, it sounded like the crunch of snow underfoot on a really cold day. Once all the drugs that they had received at the track had worn off, the pain was so severe that there was nothing to be done but euthanize.

Another horse had been fed such a steady diet of Bute just to be able to train every day that a few months after arriving at ReRun his stomach perforated and he dropped dead. The horse had already been adopted out, and his new owner was at first devastated and then horrified when she learned the truth of what had happened. You can imagine what she thought of the racing industry at that point.

Yet another horse arrived at our farm directly from a race, unable to put any weight on one front leg. His ankle looked like a softball stuffed in a sock. Our vet came out and did radiographs, and it was her opinion that he had probably gone into the starting gate the night before on an already fractured ankle. He just didn’t know it, as the pain was well masked.

A good looking gelding came to us seemingly in decent shape, but within a week had lost nearly all his coat—his body was completely hairless. His attending vet seemed to think he could be having withdrawals from repeated injections of anabolic steroids, which were shutting down his liver. I could go on, but you get the gist.

I was getting really tired of being on the end of the shank as horse after horse was put to sleep in our driveway. There is something radically wrong when your kids start to become used to walking around a body on the way to the car.

Daily Notes: Eugene H. Peterson, in his introduction to the book of Ecclesiastes in The Message, says this: "Ecclesiastes is an expose and rejection of every arrogant and ignorant expectation that we can live our lives by ourselves and on our own terms."

This book of the Bible is thought to have been written by King Solomon, a very wise individual. He wanted the young men of his time to be well aware that life revolved around God, not them. I really enjoy reading Solomon’s books of the Bible, because he’s about half goofy and slightly sarcastic, just like me.

For me, the chronic worrier, the following verse gives me much to reflect on. It’s Ecclesiastes 5: 18-20:

After looking at the way things are on this earth, here’s what I’ve decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that’s about it. That’s the human lot. Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. It’s useless to brood over how long we might live.

The Message

I don’t know about you, but for some reason, I always feel slightly guilty when I receive a blessing. Like I don’t deserve it, which of course I don’t. But maybe that’s the point—God blesses those all the more who openly acknowledge that:
A. They have been blessed by God and
B. They don’t deserve it but
C. They’re going to give thanks and proceed to enjoy the doo-dah out of it because
D. That makes God really happy and keeps the blessings coming. Especially if
E. You let the blessings flow through to others

You know, I think I can learn to do that!

Today's picture has nothing to do with horses, but I'm hoping it will help me kick the winter doldrums. And it sure was a blessing to be able to take this photo! Thanks, God!