Let’s Discuss: what happens to racehorses after retirement

Our weekly Tuesday discussion topic continues today with one of the most important issues facing the horse world. Full disclosure, this topic is not a happy one but it is a life and death matter for all too many horses.

Nobody in the equestrian media wants to write about it, but Lauren Mullane of the Washington Post recently published an article titled Beasts of Burden – What happen to thoroughbred racehorses after retirement. Lauren describes that a lot of horses are born for racing each year, but most of them don’t have successful racing careers so some owners try to get rid of unsuccessful horses any way possible. As the article describes, the issue of what to do with unwanted horses extends well beyond thoroughbred racing.

Some statistics from the article:

–35,000 thoroughbreds are foaled in North America each year, 68% for racing

-Only 0.2% of those will win a Grade I race

-Most racehorses are retired before age 6

–2/3 of thoroughbreds coming off the track are either euthanized, abandoned, or slaughtered

-The USDA estimates that 90,000 horses were exported to Canada or Mexico last year for slaughter

There’s nothing better than a good OTTB eventer, but of course our sport isn’t large enough to rescue every unwanted horse. One of the best points made in the article is that “it’s impossible to talk about horses without talking about money.” So, I present the question to Eventing Nation:

What is the best way to improve the unwanted horse crisis?

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Success Equestrian

FutureTrack

Kentucky Performance Products

Strides for Equality Equestrians

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USEF

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