RACEHORSES RETIRED

Reading this post reminds me that most racing people are hopeless romantics and very, very sentimental.

Here's how it works - The orchestra fires up before every sale promising the prospective owner some sort of utopian experience when owning or 'getting involved' in a racehorse. The fraud is perpetuated in the catalogue and marketing mill where mostly the 'blanks' fired by the relevant mare are simply excluded and overall industry statistics are certainly avoided during the sales frenzy whilst we are exhorted to adopt some bizarre 'lifestyle' hookum.

The reality is simply this - most owners will see their collective backsides BIG TIME when owning horses. Nothing particularly immoral about that but quite interesting to see so few cautionaries unless you do your own research and draw your own conclusions.

Given the above quite a lot of owners are are probably too embarrassed to openly admit that the following applies : My second happiest day was acquiring my first racehorse. My happiest day was getting rid of it.

Having tried any number of supposedly compassionate ways of re-housing 'retired' racehorses I must confess that I now firmly support programmed euthenasia. Not because I relish the slaughter of relatively young animals but because many of the alternatives make euthenasia seem like a blessed relief.

I do, however, feel that there should be a little more control from 'licensing' authorities in the period directly after retirement until the horse's eventual demise. I believe a lot more owners should be required to front up and state : I have tried without success to find a home. I elect to have this animal put down.

The secondary market simply cannot absorb the full flow of retired animals.

Yet I must revert to my primary mantra : THE WHOLE INDUSTRY IS EXPLOITATIVE. It's not an attack but simply a statement of fact. And you too, dear owner/punter, will learn that over time.

are our horses microchipped?

All racehorses are now microchipped. This is how we have identified the present horses that CHCU have rescued.

Mokaro

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Craig Eudey Wrote:

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> Mokaro

The Shams

United Frontier with her Lecture foal on Hemel 'n Aarde Stud

Shams (tu)

This is our filly Tobethebest who is now show jumping

I joined just to contribute to this discussion, I love thoroughbreds I own two that have retired. I love riding them, the odd competition and generally just being in their company.

I strongly disagree with destroying a horse because its running career is over, if you spend time with these animals and see the different personalities you will agree that they deserve the chance to live out their lives.

There are always people like me at the track waiting to for a horse that caught our eye to come in the back of the pack so we can ask the trainer if we can have them and if that isn't your cup of tea donate them to the horse care unit www.horsecare.org.za/ they have a brilliant adoption policy that makes sure the horse is cared for.

I understand that the warmbloood industry and old wives tails about thoroughbreds being difficult have made a knock in the thoroughbreds sport horse career but people will soon realise that they are as good a breed as any again.

C C, you are spot on. The event that Jagermeister won and Mokaro was placed in, was sponsored by the MD of Trinity Asset Management (I think it is called) and in his speech at the prize giving he mentioned that he was going back to thoroughbreds and offered to give away his warmblood! He had tried both and found the thoroughbreds far more versatile and willing. I have seen then doing everything from being ridden out by old grannies to flying around a big xcountry track. If more people realised how versatile they are, we could place a lot more in good homes.

Tic Tak Toe (blue fly sheet) enjoying his retirement. Our yearling fillies in the background

I make sure that every single horse I retire goes to a good home..I don't charge for the horse but I sometimes do phone and see how they doing. I have received many photos from people who take the horses after they have trained them to jump etc. It is really astounding to watch how happy these retired horses make their new owners as riding or jumping horses..in fact I am sure that they have a much better relationship with their new owners than they ever had with me...lol

anyone shed any light on the following and the goings on there - slaughterhouse operation just outside Durbanville just past Equifeeds?