BY MICHELLE ROSENBERG
Staff Writer
Butch (l) and Buddy, two draft horses that have worked at Longstreet Farm for the past nine years, have recently retired. The Monmouth County Park System is working with a local horsewoman to find them, and Suzie and Sally, two work mules that also retired, new homes on farms. HOLMDEL — The horses are halfway home.
The Monmouth County Park System (MCPS) is hopeful that Buddy and Butch, a team of work horses that have been the talk of the town lately, will be placed on a good farm home by the end of the week. The MCPS is equally hopeful that Suzie and Sally, a team of work mules, will also be placed at a good home by the end of the week.
“We’re finalizing the details,” said Dave Compton, a spokesman for the MCPS.
The MCPS has been working with local horsewoman Arlene Newman to find new homes for the horses and the mules.
The announcement that they were working together came after weeks of gossip and rumors that the horses were being sold for slaughter.
The MCPS assured that is not the case, and that they are confident that Newman will be able to help them find good homes for Buddy and Butch, 21 and 16, respectively, and Suzie and Sally, 16 and 18 respectively.
Compton said that according to Newman, they are close to finalizing locations for both teams and are in the midst of working out the details. The two horses will be placed together, as will the two mules.
The MCPS recently spent $14,300 on new horses and mules. They purchased Bob and Sue, the horses, and Ruth and Gerdie, the mules. Both teams had to undergo a two-week tryout period to ensure that they fit the mold for the job.
Compton said the horses are being rejected because it was discovered that the lead horse has a respiratory condition. As of press time, the two-week trial period wasn’t over, but it is anticipated that the mules are staying, he said.
The new animals are currently living in a temporary barn, and will be moved to the permanent stables when the older animals are officially at their new homes, Compton said.
The MCPS decided over six months ago to retire Butch, Buddy, Suzie and Sally due to medical conditions that forced them out of work. Butch, the lead horse, suffers from an arthritic right hoof and Suzie, the lead mule, suffers from a chronic breathing problem.
The MCPS originally planned to work with the New Egypt man they bought the new horses from to place the retired animals at new homes, but the deal fell through and the man backed out. This may have been the cause of rumors that the animals were being sold to an Amish man for slaughter.
The MCPS then teamed up with Newman, who has worked with the MCPS before, to find new homes for the animals.