Glenda Smith—founder and president of Equestrian Inc. Horse Rescue—discusses becoming besotted with horses as a little girl, starting to ride at age five. She recalls how, as an adult, she underwrote her horse habit—which soon became her horse rescue habit—by working as tennis professional. (She had attended USF on a tennis scholarship.)
Smith explains how an early experience buying Arabian horses led to discovering that there was a glut of Arabians around, to the extent there were being abandoned in all sorts of locations; this is where she turned her attention to rescuing horses, some 35 years ago. These efforts, she notes, eventually spawned the 
birth of Equestrian Inc. Horse Rescue, a 15-acre property in Tampa, with 32 stalls. At this very moment, Smith says, Horse Inc. houses 25 horses, though that population fluctuates, both because she routinely takes in as many as she can accommodate (retired race horse and others who might otherwise be on a path to the slaughterhouse), and that she periodically adopts out some of the residents through a careful, meticulous process—the adoption agreement runs 22 pages. Smith also addresses her reputation as 
the go-to resource in the area for horse owners who find themselves in a predicament where they become unable to feed their animals, sending them food and hay, and in some cases send them money. Of course, as a 501 (c) (3) organization, Equestrian Inc. itself needs money—its feed bill alone is $5000 per month, not counting veterinary expenses, farrier fees and more—which can be donated via its website: www.equestrianinc.org/
ALSO: We had a brief conversation with Sharon Joller, of The Franciscan Center, about the facility and about the Blessing Of The Animals event they’re hosting on Oct. 2. (www.franciscancentertampa.org)
COMEDY CORNER: Louis C.K.’s “Sharks” (www.louisck.net)
MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” Rickie Lee Jones’ version of “Bye Bye Blackbird,” Wicked Saints’ “Don’t Kill The Blackbird,” instrumentals
NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Bruce Springsteen’s “Jungleland”
AUDIO ARCHIVE:
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