What Happens To Racehorses After They Retire

It's always bothered me that horses are sent for dog meat.they dont deserve that.good horses are looked after but what about all the class 6/7 horses that have still given us pleasure in their own way.a horse should be for life.
 
Interesting article. What worries me is the large number of ex racehorses offered for sale on Facebook and an alarming amount of the wrong sort of people taking them on simply because they are cheap. Sure they are a remarkable breed in that they can be retrained to do all sorts of things but they often aren't suitable for those on a low budget who lack the skill and expertise to get them there. My heart breaks everytime I see a TB up for rehoming yet again in a dreary livery yard whilst not looking in poor condition, certainly looking less well than it should.
 
jinnyj said:
Interesting article. What worries me is the large number of ex racehorses offered for sale on Facebook and an alarming amount of the wrong sort of people taking them on simply because they are cheap. Sure they are a remarkable breed in that they can be retrained to do all sorts of things but they often aren't suitable for those on a low budget who lack the skill and expertise to get them there. My heart breaks everytime I see a TB up for rehoming yet again in a dreary livery yard whilst not looking in poor condition, certainly looking less well than it should.
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Watching one race at Wolverhampton last night it was very obvious that a few horses in the race have no future racing.Basement ratings and worth under a grand.
 
I do a little bit of volunteer work with an Irish charity that rehomes retired racehorses

It's a nice way for someone to acquire a beautiful animal for pleasure purposes
 
I don’t have a problem with horses being euthanised as long as it’s done humanely - a lot worse things can happen to a horse than death. I also think if we ate horsemeat in this country an awful lot of welfare issues would be able to be sorted fairly easily. It’s not so long ago that people were worrying about the lack of young stock because breeders took a pull for a season or two - you can’t have it both ways. I do think there should be very stringent criteria brought in for breeding stock, but lots of people don’t agree.

As for rehoming, as kirsty says - it’s heartbreaking seeing some of the adverts on social media especially as you see some horses pop up over and over. In that ideal world everyone would have acres of land and stables and be able to keep their horses forever, but that’s just not going to happen. Owners should be more responsible for what happens to their horses, but where do you draw the line there? Do you take it right back to the breeder because without them there wouldn’t be a horse in the first place? If people were honest about their ability to have a thoroughbred then many issues wouldn’t get the chance to happen. Ive told a lot of people that I think they aren’t ready for a TB as well as getting a lot to fall in love with a breed they didn’t even consider because of the reputation. There are many rehoming centres up and down the country - most of them well established before ROR appeared, but they all have the common goal of wanting to do the best they can to support racehorses in their futures, be that as competition horses, hacks, family pets or companions. There are also a lot of trainers who rehome from the yard - but that’s not always a good situation for the horses, like most things though, some trainers are better with that than others.

It’s always been a tricky one and there isn’t an easy answer for it.


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granger said:
I do a little bit of volunteer work with an Irish charity that rehomes retired racehorses

It's a nice way for someone to acquire a beautiful animal for pleasure purposes
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I used to follow a 'poor'horse called Binky blue and it disappeared but I found out it's been rehomed in Ireland.
 
Many years ago I used to follow a stable's horses, one particular horse did us a good turn one time. A few years later I was talking to a couple in my local watering hole & she mentioned that she had bought an ex racehorse to ride on a weekend from a trainer who used to sell a few of the ones who were past their racing days - it was the same "good turn" horse.
 
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