Retire & Rehome
Whichever way we ride or however we are associated with horses, we can all agree that horse welfare and rescue is extremely important. Learn about these caring places in our Rehome section, where money and time can be donated to help horses find, or remain, in their forever home.
Many charity events help fund the good work of equine rescue organizations. Parties and auctions to benefit rescue are included in the Calendar of Events for Retire & Rehome.
Have an old friend to retire? Find a place where your horse can live the life of leisure in our Retirement section.
Do we need to add an event or rescue? Please use the useful feedback link and let us know!
by Dani Scheider
Before she could walk, Lori Johnston was on the back of a horse. “My mom would throw me up on the saddle with her while she rode,” she told us.
Before hunter/jumpers, Johnston began her riding career in the Western world, “I have shown cutting horses and did ranch work,” she shared. Johnston primarily had Quarter Horses until she switched to the jumpers thirteen years ago.
“I started learning how to jump on Wyatt, a retired reined cow horse,” Johnston said. Wyatt, now 21-years-old, taught Johnston to jump before becoming a lesson horse with Alanna Snowden at Gracelynd Hill in Santa Barbara. Wyatt helped teach several students for six years at Gracelynd Hill.
While the in-person horse shopping and adoption experience at the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium may no longer be possible this year with the postponement of the event to 2021, the Retired Racehorse Project (RRP), thanks to a generous grant from the ASPCA, will continue to produce the Makeover Marketplace and promote transitioned Thoroughbreds as premier sport horse prospects online.
Expected to feature dozens of restarted Thoroughbreds, the ASPCA Makeover Marketplace catalog will once again be offered in print as well as digitally. Sign-ups are now open to receive the catalog, which will be printed in the Fall 2020 issue of Off-Track Thoroughbred Magazine, the RRP’s award-winning quarterly publication. The catalog will be printed in color and feature each horse’s Jockey Club name and basic details, price or adoption fee, home location, description and photo, as well as trainer contact information. Each advertisement will also include a QR code that will direct smartphone users to the horse’s full online listing, which may include additional information and video.
“The ASPCA Makeover Marketplace has become one of the country’s premier horse shopping and adoption opportunities for equestrians looking for well-started sport horse prospects,” said Jen Roytz, Executive Director of the RRP. “Traditionally, horse shopping includes extensive travel, often going to multiple farms in different states in order to consider horses, but changing mandates and travel restrictions during the pandemic are limiting those opportunities. The Marketplace lets you browse from the comfort of your couch and peruse dozens of photos, videos and descriptions of equine athletes for adoption or sale who have had the proper care, nutrition and training to make a successful transition to a competitive or recreational career after racing.”
Read more: Retired Racehorse Project’s ASPCA Makeover Marketplace Transitions to Virtual Event
by Melissa Bauer-Herzog
Are you thinking about buying an Off-track Thoroughbred (OTTB) but concerned after learning about various racetrack injuries? While hearing about many of the injuries can be scary, most won’t restrict your mount from helping you achieve your goals.
In order to shed some light on how even a severe injury can be rehabilitated to allow a former racehorse to succeed in a new career, we’ve teamed up with New Vocations to follow a horse from rehabilitation intake to adoption.
Over the coming months, we’ll see what a normal rehabilitation process looks like for a horse recovering from a surgery to remove a bone chip and screw.
But first … a little background on New Vocations.
Read more: The Rehabilitation Process at New Vocations: Meet London House
by Melissa Bauer-Herzog
When applying for Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) accreditation, it isn’t as easy as just filling out an application and receiving money. Each operation applying for accreditation must go through an inspection of every property it uses with many accredited organizations admitting the process isn’t a walk in the park but that it is needed.
“I think it’s crucial. It’s very, very hard,” said Susanna Thomas of the TAA-accredited Maker’s Mark Secretariat Center. “They are very thorough, and their process is well thought out, well executed; that makes it very hard. I welcome that and I applaud that because people donate their precious dollars and they need to know that if an organization is TAA accredited that their dollars are being well spent. Let me tell you, the TAA makes sure that you spend your dollars well, they are very good at that and they are really tough. It means something to be TAA accredited and I am so grateful for that.”
Read more: Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Accreditation an Involved Process
by Melissa Bauer-Herzog
With the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance’s (TAA) funding for aftercare organizations rising from $1 million in 2012 to $3.42 million in 2019, it is safe to say the organization has grown in the near-decade since its inception. Its growth and contribution saw it win a special Eclipse Award in 2014 and Special Award of Merit at this year’s Preakness Alibi Breakfast but TAA President Mike Meuser says there is still work to be done.
Originally accrediting 21 organizations, the class of 2019 includes 74 aftercare organization with its accredited organizations helping over 10,300 Thoroughbreds since 2012. TAA is entrenched in the Thoroughbred sales and breeding sectors now through both mandatory and voluntary donations and Meuser says 2020 is about trying to bring in parts of the industry they haven’t focused on before.
Read more: Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Continues to Expand Reach
by Melissa Bauer-Herzog
After seeing all the videos of people getting new horses this holiday season, you’ve decided it’s the perfect time to get an off-track Thoroughbred (OTTB). You’ve visited the track often and tune in to the races on television so getting a retiring racehorse seems like the natural first step.
However, before you jump in with both feet, there are some things to consider when bringing a former racehorse to the family. We’ve talked to some big names in aftercare to get their opinion on 12 things you need to consider before taking a new horse home.
1. “When getting a horse off the track you have to remember these horses are going to transition and go through phases. They are serious athletes that are used to one job and one specific schedule every single day. It takes time to acclimate away from that and transition into the life of more of a pet/hobby on a more relaxed schedule. Life off track is without a doubt less stressful but when it's the only thing you’ve known your whole life it is actually the exact opposite, so to make their transition less stressful keeping a set routine will really help them adjust.” - Amy Paulus, Changing Saddles LLC
Read more: Twelve Things to Remember When Bringing Home an OTTB
by Natalie Voss
Depending on the day, working in Thoroughbred aftercare can feel especially impactful or incredibly futile. On one hand, horse racing has accomplished so much in a short amount of time in its quest to take care of Thoroughbreds leaving the track. On the other, there's still a long way to go.
In the face of funding shortages, the complex legal, logistical, and ethical issues of the horse slaughter pipeline, and a mass influx of horses in need, what can the industry do better?
The intangible efforts
John Phillips, president of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA), said the first step is to define the problem. For one thing, we need better data to understand how many Thoroughbreds find themselves in need, including the number in the slaughter pipeline.
“I think historically this is one of the areas that has provided reluctance,” he said. “In a sense you almost wanted to bury your head in the sand and say 'Gee, maybe we really don't want to ask that question.' However, the Australians, who really faced this as an issue of great public sensitivity before we did, approached it very intelligently. It became known as the 'first exit from racing.'”
Read more: Aftercare Should Not Be An Afterthought: Solutions For The Future
- Emptying The Ocean With A Teaspoon: The Challenges Of Aftercare
- A Decade In, How Are We Doing With Thoroughbred Aftercare?
- On Aftercare: Jordan Uses Hall of Fame Cutting Horse Technique to Better Transition Thoroughbreds
- PETA is a Bully
- Ten Lessons Learned From 2019 Thoroughbred Makeover
- Rosie Napravnik’s Trio of Ex-Racehorses Excel at Thoroughbred Makeover
- Australian Firefighters Horse Calendar Photoshoot (2:56)
- Cowboy Swagger is 2019 TCA Thoroughbred Makeover Champion With Fallon Taylor
- Commentary: The Problem With ‘Naming And Shaming’ In Horse Rescue
- Willie Nelson Rescued 70 Horses From a Slaughterhouse and Let Them Roam Free on His Ranch