Susan Unbridled

12/01/2025

Even when it’s hard.
Even when it demands everything.
Even when you stand alone.

10/17/2025

A victory for the horses who have suffered far too long without a voice, or representation .....

IT HAS BEGUN!!! ROLLKUR FINALLY CONVICTED AS ANIMAL CRUELTY!

This will start to snowball in the Europeans courts now!

“Conviction for animal cruelty

In spring 2025, the Trier Regional Court convicted the operator of two counts of animal cruelty. According to the verdict, he had used brute force to force a horse into a painful hyperflexion position. In another case, he repeatedly struck a horse on the head and body with a whip or leather reins.

The court found that the animals suffered considerable pain and that the man was aware of his actions. Due to these violations, the district revoked the operator's animal welfare license, arguing that he was no longer reliable under the Animal Welfare Act.”

Read the full translation here:

Court Halts Riding Business After Animal Cruelty Conviction

Article by Redaktion | October 15, 2025 – 11:25

A riding stable operator from the Vulkaneifel region is temporarily prohibited from continuing his business.
This was decided by the Administrative Court of Trier.
The man had tried to appeal against the withdrawal of his license to operate a commercial riding establishment – without success.

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Use of Rollkur Judged as Animal Cruelty

The Rollkur is considered a method contrary to animal welfare.
According to the Administrative Court of Trier, the stable owner had demonstrably “forced it with violence out of brutality” and “without sufficient reason.”

As stated by the court in a press release on September 30, 2025, tips to the veterinary authority of the district had triggered the case.
Witnesses reported beatings of horses and the use of Rollkur.

The veterinary office received photo and video evidence documenting the man’s handling of his horses.
An official veterinary examination concluded that the actions shown were incompatible with the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act.

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Conviction for Animal Cruelty

In the spring of 2025, the operator was convicted by the Regional Court of Trier of animal cruelty in two cases.
According to the court’s findings, he had forcibly imposed painful hyperflexion on one horse.
In another case, he struck a horse multiple times on the head and body with a whip or leather rein.

The court determined that the animals suffered considerable pain and that the man was aware of his actions.
As a result of these offenses, the district revoked his animal welfare license, arguing that he was no longer trustworthy under the Animal Welfare Act.

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Court: No Trust in Future Compliance

The stable owner then filed an urgent appeal with the Administrative Court of Trier, claiming the decision was excessive and citing his economic dependence on the business.

However, the 8th Chamber of the Administrative Court disagreed.
After reviewing the case, the judges ruled that the revocation was lawful.
The repeated and partly deliberate violations of animal welfare law meant that there was no reason to believe he would comply with regulations in the future.

The court also held that economic hardship could not outweigh animal protection.
It emphasized that animal welfare takes precedence over private interests, and that the man’s existential threat was not proven.

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A Clear Signal

With this decision, the Administrative Court of Trier underscores the strict stance of German animal welfare law:
Anyone who keeps or trains horses commercially must demonstrate reliability and expertise and is subject to strict official oversight.

Repeated violations or convictions for animal cruelty can result in the loss of operating licenses.

For riding schools, trainers, and instructors, this case sends a clear message that training methods contrary to animal welfare have not only moral but also serious legal consequences.

Link to original article;

https://www.pferderevue.at/aktuelles/recht/2025/gericht-bestaetigt--reitbetrieb-verliert-erlaubnis-wegen-tierquae.html?fbclid=IwdGRleANcuRdjbGNrA1yZW2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAAEe6vMMM85knhHQDKlcWdyKH9yA9uZJdRKGy0Yrptn6j1GbREzpKSl2FsF5eDs_aem_8KCCCuRs5rKwp2AzIPUv4w

09/24/2025

This is exactly what’s wrong with horse racing: it creates the cruelty, then dresses it up as “inspiration.” A newborn foal is left in subzero conditions, loses her ears to frostbite, and instead of outrage, the industry spins it as a feel-good story. Neglect gets normalized, suffering gets romanticized, and the machine keeps rolling. That’s not resilience—it’s abuse rebranded.

09/07/2025

Sunday Morning Science about our Equine friends ... "The introduction of domestic horses into North America was among the most consequential events in the history of the Americas, with horses both transforming the lifeways of many Indigenous people as well as forming a core part of colonial infrastructure for European colonists."

LEARN MORE:

Animal bones from Jamestown show that donkeys joined the colony's first Atlantic voyage and that starving colonists survived by eating their horses.

08/31/2025

OPEN LETTER: To Tabitha's Past Connections and the Industry's Failure

HER PAPER TRAIL IS AS CLEAR AS IT IS DAMNING

Bred in Kentucky in 2012 by Sheltowee Farm, Tabitha was sold as a yearling at Keeneland September by Denali Stud for $85,000 to CRESRAN LLC. As a four-year-old she was consigned by Paramount Sales and purchased by Repole, who culled her back through Keeneland in 2018, in foal to his Uncle Mo. Mill Ridge handled the consignment, from there she went to Saratoga Glen Farm in New York. She produced an Uncle Mo foal before being listed online and reportedly "given away." Records show she was covered by Rich Strike in 2026 at Irish Hill Century Farm.

On August 23rd, she was dumped at the Unadilla livestock auction with other "walk-ins"—the term used for horses without identities or paperwork, in other words meant to disappear. She was purchased by broker Brian Moore and now stands tethered in a lot with a deadline to ship – and she will ship to slaughter if not now, soon.

THIS IS NOT ISOLATED IT IS SYTEMIC

This is not an isolated tragedy. The same week David O'Dwyer's purchase of 11 yearlings at the Texas Thoroughbred Association Sale made headlines, Tabitha disappeared into the pipeline. The same weekend Saratoga celebrated the Travers, no New York aftercare organization funded by the NY Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund was present at Unadilla. Despite more than $1.3 million in state agency money being issued by NYSTBDF in the name of "aftercare," not a single representative from those organizations was present at Unadilla. Tabitha, and mares like her vanish in plain sight.

The industry loves to shine a spotlight on auctions, brokers, and kill pens as villains. But the deeper truth is this: Thoroughbreds bred by the most powerful farms, agents, and owners in the game—Repole, Darley, John Phillips, Darby Dan, Lane's End, Airdrie, Juddmonte, Live Oak, Kevin Plank, McMahon Farm, Padua, the Ramseys, Three Lyons, Runnymede, Taylor Made—to name only a few, have been repeatedly pulled from auctions and the slaughter pipeline. They have the means, the money, and the resources to properly retire and care for these horses. Why don't they? Why is tracking their cast-offs left to rescues and sanctuaries? Or anyone else to fund but them?

THE SUPPLY CHAIN OF RESPONSIBILITY

As a former breeder and owner, I would be ashamed not to help a horse I knew if found in this situation. These names are not powerless—they are the wealthiest and most celebrated participants in racing today. And not one of them has contributed a dime toward the support of their horses at Unbridled Sanctuary, accredited at the highest level by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries.

Why not the TAA? Because we refuse to stay quiet. We speak out about abuse, breakdowns, cruelty, drugging, neglect, and slaughter. And that is the price of honesty in this industry. Yet the proof of integrity is simple: our 65 sanctuary horses—55 of them Thoroughbreds—stand as living testimony to both the scale of this crisis and the refusal of the industry to care for its own.

THE PATTERN IS CLEAR

Tabitha's life is not an exception. These mares are tracked when they win, paraded when they produce, and abandoned when they don't. Papers may change hands, but responsibility does not. If she was valuable enough to stand in a breeding shed, she is valuable enough to deserve a lifeline today.
Unbridled was formed in 2004. We have rescued and secured safety for many hundreds of Thoroughbreds. We have stepped in where the industry has failed, again and again.

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH

And here is the irrefutable truth: Tabitha's fate is the measure of the integrity of her past connections. If those who bred, raced, sold, and profited from her will not step up now, when she needs a lifeline, it reveals she never meant anything beyond what she could earn or produce.

On August 29th, while Mike Repole celebrated winning the million-dollar Grade 1 Pacific Classic in Del Mar with Fierceness, his former mare Tabitha stood on a slaughter-bound lot in Pennsylvania, facing a death sentence. This is the same Tabitha who once carried a foal by his prized stallion Uncle Mo.

THE SOCIAL LICENSE QUESTION

And if the industry will not hold its own participants accountable—if breeders, owners, trainers, and sales agents can abandon horses like Tabitha without consequence—then horse racing has already lost its social license. Those who will not protect the very lives they create should lose the privilege to breed, to race, and to profit from them.
So I ask again: what will you do now?

Susan Kayne
Unbridled Sanctuary

💔 SHARE TO SAVE TABITHA 💔
Tag the connections • SHELTOWEE FARM | CRES RAN LLC | DENALI STUD | PARAMOUNT SALES | MIKE REPOLE | MILL RIDGE SALES | SARATOGA GLEN FARM | BARRACLOUGH FAMILY
Time is running out. Her life depends on it. BloodHorse Paulick Report The New Yorker New York Post The New York Times TDN

08/20/2025

UNDENIABLE ... a mirror of my own experience ...

Today on the show… On the podcast .. she has been involved in the horse racing industry most of her life She has kept quiet for years now about the abuse, th...

08/20/2025

CAMP HORSE AUCTION | AUG 23 Most have no names. No papers. No protection. We’re going to save as many as we can. Can you help us bid for their lives?

🐴 Annual Camp Horse Save 🐴 Because They Deserve More Than a Barcode. They had names once. Nicknames whispered by campers. They were brushed with little hands, braided with colored bands, and fed carrots through the rails. They gave children their first taste of confidence — walking quietly t...

08/20/2025

The bones, the body, the tissues tell the true tale of abuse and suffering of far too many racehorses ... Thank You Becks Nairn

08/19/2025

This is Honorett. A HOMEBRED of John Phillips—former president of the 🐴She was rescued by from the slaughter pipeline in 2023 at age 21. After giving her all on the track and in the breeding shed, she was discovered in Oklahoma barcoded, emaciated, and neglected. Today, she lives in Sanctuary beside her best friend KATOUNI. As a former breeder of Thoroughbreds, I will never understand how one can name a soul, teach it to trust, watch it breathe its first — and still abandon it like a broken thing, it is a cruelty I will never reconcile.

07/29/2025

07/11/2025

✨ A Deliciousness Like No Other ✨

Just had another incredible experience at .commons and .hilltowncommons nestled in Rensselaerville, NY.
The food? Out of this world.
The vibe? Immaculate.
The staff and chef? Absolutely crushed it.
The wine? Divine.
Seriously impressed by everything this place brings to the table—pun very much intended. 🍽️
If you haven’t made the trip yet, you’re missing one of the best-kept culinary secrets in the Capital Region.

💫