That's what has happened to Phil Long, an inmate at the Marion County Correctional Institute in Ocala, Fla., sentenced there after a 1999 DUI-manslaughter charge.

Many retired race horses arrive at the prison farm in tough shape. Marion, after all, is a place for racing's castoffs, those who are slow or injured and can't cut it on the track anymore. But nothing Long had seen or done during his time with the program at Marion had prepared him for the feelings he'd experience when Florida Kat hobbled off a van from Tampa Bay Downs.

He had never seen a horse hurting so badly. He knew this was one he had to save. There was something special about this one; he was a friend who needed his help. The bones above Florida Kat's foot were so badly broken that, in effect, he was standing on his ankle, rather than his hoof.

"He was standing on his fetlock," said Long. "His sesamoid (a bone near the ankle) was totally fractured. He could barely walk. Every time he walked, he walked onto his fetlock. The first thing I thought was that we were going to have to put this horse down because he was totally broke."

But Long was determined that would never happen. "There was something about his attitude," he said. "He was just like a little kid and he was so severely hurt. I wanted to do something for him. I saw a lot of myself in that horse. He was playful at times, but he could be real mean, too."

So Long and farm manager Betty Jo Bock went to work, prescribing rest and whirlpool treatments and designing a special split to hold the foot in place. It became a 24/7 obsession for Long, who simply wasn't going to let Florida Kat perish.

"When Kat first stepped off the trailer, I didn't think we were going to be able to help him," Bock said. "Inmate Long stepped up and took him on, even with all his other duties assisting me. Long worked with the horse twice a day doing therapy and sometimes Kat wasn't up to it. Long was caring and meticulous in his charge."

After seven months of work, Florida Kat, the same horse that veterinarians predicted would never walk again without a pronounced limp, walks, trots and gallops around his paddock without any visible signs of trouble.

The TRF was founded in 1982 by Monique Koehler, who was concerned about the fate of the thousands of horses retired off the racetrack each year. The sport's best horses spend their retirement years in comfort as stallions and broodmares at breeding farms. But those not blessed with a great deal of talent have little or no economic value once they can no longer race. Many are disposed of in a grisly manner, sent to slaughterhouses where they are killed and the meat exported. Since 1989, over 2 million horses have been slaughtered at USDA-approved horse slaughter plants.

Today, the TRF cares for more than 1,000 horses. Koehler's belief was that working with horses would help rehabilitate prisoners and provide them with career skills useful upon their release. She believes the hundreds of success stories involving inmates over the years have proven her right.

When Florida Kat's time comes to leave Marion for a new home, perhaps at a handicapped riding facility, Long will be emotional. He will be sad to see him go, but will never forget what Florida Kat has done for him.

"I see the change the horses have made in me," Long said. "It's brought out a softer side in me. It's taught me a lot, like responsibility. I wasn't a responsible person and that was one of my faults. Out there, there's so much I have to do for the horses and you're the only one doing it. You've got to make sure you take care of all the feed and the supplements. You learn responsibility."

Long's future is with horses. At Marion, he is working toward an equine science degree and plans to work at a horse farm upon his release.

"Everyone in this program relates to these horses," he said. "They feel the pain they are going through and that helps an inmate. It changes them. They get connected to the horses. You and the horse become one and that makes you a better person."

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