The fires that have destroyed so much in Australia remind me that no one is immune to fire. If you have horses you usually have barns and hay and bedding ... all of which are great tender for flames.

Take a moment to think about your own fire preparedness. Do you have a fire extinguisher at your barn? Preferably one at each end of the barn? Do you have lead ropes and halters at the ends of barn aisles or at least on stall doors? Have you ever thought about, much less practices, a fire drill in your barn? This is especially important if you operate a boarding facility. Have you personally contacted the local fire department so they are familiar with your operation, or even invited them out to give you tips on how to make your property more fire-safe?

A presentation was given at the recent American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention on barn fires entitled "AAEP 2008: Strategies to Prevent and Respond to Barn Fires." There are other articles about Emergencies/Emergency Care and Disaster Management on TheHorse.com.

I LOVE it when TheHorse.com can make a difference. That's why most of us are doing what we do every day.

When we started the Thoroughbred Adoption Services it was at the behest of Antony Beck, owner of Gainesway Farm, a large Thoroughbred farm in Kentucky. He was worried that there would be Thoroughbreds that were unwanted in that industry, but would be great for some other use. So we started the Thoroughbred Adoption Services.

Here are a few comments from folks who either listed horses on the service or got horses from the list.

"Thank you so much for your Thoroughbred adoption listings!! We were able to find a wonderful home (actually, they found us!) for our Savannah during a really difficult time. We had so many wonderful people contacting us from all over offering to help - thank you to all of them!!"--Sandra

"Please remove my horse, Mercury Rising, located in California, from your available TB listing. You can now place him in your success stories!!!!"

"Thank you soooo very much for this incredible service. My horse now has a forever home located very close to where I live. His new owner is wonderful and says that I can visit him at any time. Again, thank you very much."--Leslie

"Loakie has found a wonderful home. Thanks for your help."--Stephanie

"Hi, I listed a TB gelding named Holy Mission on your free listing. I just wanted to let you know that he found a home through that listing within a week. You are providing a great service that is obviously working. If you can move his listing to the success stories section, I would appreciate it.Thanks."--Katrina

"I placed or sold 150 horses in 2007 through LeightonFarm.com. Most of them Thoroughbreds retiring from racing. Being a Thoroughbred trainer/owner/exercise rider, I see the need for this work. There are many people who would love to have an ottb (off the track Thoroughbred), but don't know how to get one. With the help of sites like yours I am able to help trainers, owners, and the people who want these horses. I have many (success) stories, not just one. Thank you."

"PS If you get a horse through my site, please make a donation by going to http://www.leightonfarm.com/donate.asp. I can't keep up this work without your support. For more information on my horses, go to www.LeightonFarm.com or call me at 301-579-6898."--Kim Clark

"Your email was forwarded to us from Cheryl (who listed the horse) behalf of Run for the Triple (aka Hollywood; Holly as we know her now).

"I guess a brief history is in order, my wife and I had decided to add another horse to our family of two horses (Charlie (Ransom Returned) a 16-2 hand beautiful Thoroughbred injured on the track at 2 we bought from a friend of a friend of my wife and Fancy (She’sCoolnFancy) a registered Sorrel Quarter Horse 16 hands high and smart, she regularly unlocks her stall door to gain access even when the door has a clip on it to lock it closed. We hadn’t decided exactly what we were looking for when my wife stumbled across the add on TheHorse.com. So we browsed the adds made a few inquiries and Cheryl responded with a link to YouTube where we watched Holly being ridden. We were immediately stuck by how elegantly she moved. That was it; we were hooked on Holly. The next day we made arrangements with Cheryl to come take a look at her (she was in VA. we are in PA.). The next morning we hooked up the trailer and took off for VA.

"When we first met Holly she was in a paddock with one other horse (and was quite shy). We fell in love with her immediately.

"We’ve had her about two weeks now, and she is really coming around. The other two are a bit jealous because we give Holly so much attention. It’s just awesome to watch the changes in a horse when they realize you really love them and care about them. It’s our philosophy here that you build relationships with your horses, win there trust through consistent loving and nurturing behavior.

"We can’t wait to see what Holly will blossom into. Thanks for your interest in Holly."--Gary and Angela

"Many, many, many thanks to you and The Horse for 'doing the right thing.' Your Thoroughbred Adoption Service is a GREAT resource and your terrific, encouraging

"Lady Finds a Home" article confirms that. There are indeed homes out there for these wonderful horses--even in this economy. The Man in My Life was another TB in need of a home when I heard about him. So I know what wonderful horses these are. If I was able to adopt another one, I'd turn first to The Horse.com TB listings. Thank you again."--Lisa

Okay, so we have to make money to pay the bills and feed the horses, but this is the kind of thing that feeds the soul.

We have plans to expand this service in the near future to include photos, videos, and all breeds and disciplines of horses. Stay tuned!

Do you have a "rescue" success story you'd like to share?

With the problems arising due to contagious equine metritis (CEM) and equine viral arteritis (EVA) in recent years, it behooves mare owners to be more proactive in questioning the health and vaccination status of the stallions to which they want to breed. This is true whether it is an AI or live cover mating.

We asked Nancy Loving, DVM, to address this problem, and she gave us a great bullet point article that you can print out and have by your phone before you order that next batch of semen or book to that live cover stallion!