Thoroughbred Retirement

The wonder of the Thoroughbred racehorse, and the quality that draws us to them, is their genetic need to run as far and as fast as they can. Added to the traditional training they receive, the effort they put out in any race surpasses the heights achieved by human athletes during Championship encounters in basketball, football or even marathon racing. Like all great athletes, they are prone to injury - in fact, especially prone: when they are competing, over 1,000 pounds of muscle and bone land jarringly on spindly front legs 120 times every quarter of a mile. They tell us about their injuries by the manner in which they eat, walk, canter and respond to human handling.

So the vigilant owner must be a consistent monitor of the horse's condition. Once the physical signs of deterioration begin to show up, decisive action must be taken. The question the owner must now face when, sadly, the horse's career is threatened by serious injury is, what do we do? It is particularly difficult when the horse is unfit for breeding. Experienced owners often have people willing to give the horse a home, where it may be used as a riding or "pleasure" horse after six or so months of recuperation and retraining.

For those who own farms as well as Thoroughbreds, the question of maintaining an injured horse is the decision to provide food and pasture. A large majority of owners do not have the luxury available. A minimum fee for care at a boarding farm is between $3 and $8 a day. Given a life expectancy of 15 to 20 more years (after its brief racing career), a retired horse becomes a major non-returnable investment.

It's hard to pull your heart away from a horse you own. They do become something more than an investment, no matter how tough-minded you are. But there is an investment you can make that insures a workable future for horses who can no longer race and cannot or should not be consigned for breeding. There are several equine adoption agencies throughout the United States. Several are listed below. Additional listings can be found on the Unwanted Horse Coalition's website. Please contact an adoption organization to ensure your ex-racehorse has a good home.