Posted On December 18, 2020 Current Events and News
At Console & Associates, we believe the holiday season is a time for giving. This year, our law firm made a donation to Forgotten Angels Equine Rescue in Medford, NJ, to save the life of a retired racehorse.
Without help, this beautiful creature would have ended up at the slaughterhouse. Instead, he will be joining an Equine Therapy Program that will help veterans with PTSD cope with the debilitating effects of the trauma they suffered.
A Winning Racehorse Set to Lose His Life
In the mid-2000s, a young racehorse named Woodmere Sonicboom captured international attention for his wins on the racetrack. Over the course of his racing career, Woodmere Sonicboom competed in 248 races and won $181,000.
And now that his career is over, he – like far too many retired racehorses – was sent to a kill pen to be slaughtered.
We couldn’t stand by and let this senseless injustice happen. On November 18, 2020, our firm made a donation to the Forgotten Angels Equine Rescue that would help the organization spare Woodmere Sonicboom’s life. He was released from the kill pen with Christmas only days away.
A Second Chance and a New Purpose
Knowing how close Woodmere Sonicboom came to being slaughtered – a fate that awaits 125,000 horses each year, most of them in perfect health – is sickening. These wonderful creatures deserve to live, period. But realizing how many lives these retired racehorses could touch if they were spared highlights just how senseless these deaths really are.
Woodmere Sonicboom has a new purpose in life: to work with veterans who have suffered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from the terrifying ordeals they suffered in the service of their country. He has this opportunity because the Forgotten Angels Equine Rescue has partnered with the SpectraCare Foundation to develop an Equine Therapy Program for Veterans.
“Equine therapy is a powerful and kind way of healing,” said Laurie Huggins, a volunteer and certified therapist who heads the Forgotten Angels Equine Therapy Program for Veterans. (See her full statement in the video here.) Helping Huggins is Trina Dedes, who is currently studying to be a veterinarian and who volunteers her time with Forgotten Angels Equine Rescue when she is home from college.
“Not only was Woodmere Sonicboom’s life on the line, but so was all of the potential this horse has to make a difference in the lives of the veterans to whom we all owe our freedom and so much more.” said Console & Associates founder Richard P. Console, Jr. “Instead of being slaughtered needlessly, this horse will bring peace and healing to countless veterans.”
That’s critical because trauma derails the lives of so many veterans. Different research studies have put the prevalence of PTSD among veterans between 13 percent and 30 percent, and 500,000 veterans were diagnosed with PTSD over a period of just 13 years, according to a research study published in the journal Pharmacy and Therapeutics.
PTSD can have a huge impact on veterans’ lives, affecting them physically, cognitively, emotionally, and socially. Treatments and therapies, including equine therapy, can help a person who suffers from PTSD to cope with the symptoms and begin to feel like they are getting their lives back.
As Woodmere Sonicboom transitions to his new life as part of the Forgotten Angels Equine Therapy Program for Veterans, Console said, “It’s a good reminder of the power of giving, especially during the holiday season, and of how even the smallest acts of charity can make an impact so much bigger than we can predict.”
For more information on Forgotten Angels, or to make a donation, please visit Forgotten Angels Equine Rescue.
Console and Associates P.C.
1 Holtec Dr #100
Marlton, NJ 08053
(856) 778-5500
