Re-homing of retired Race Horses in Western Cape

After reading the posts on the terrible fate of some retired race horses in the UK and seeing comments re similar things happening in SA I thought caring owners might like to know of the re-homing program we have.

In the Western Cape there is an organisation called The Western Cape Equine Trust that runs a re-homing program mainly for ex race horses, it cares for them, retrains them and then finds them a new home. All future owners are checked out and regular follow ups are done. They do want an up to date veterinary report because it helps them to work out whether the horse requires rest or treatment prior to retraining and ensures that they are helping horses who do have a future and are not seriously damaged. So if you want the best future for your retired or non performing horses you can contact wcetrehoming@gmail.com or call 082 454 5544 to arrange a collection.

Are you a dealer ?

Was this organization around when Bushmanland came out of retirement.

No. I do unpaid volunteer work for the Equine Trust as I believe in their cause. I have been involved in racing since a child through both family having been owners and also have worked in the industry and love the sport.

Thank you Gonzo

I also help out at another trust in Philippi if someone needs to contact me regarding homing horses.
We are not dealers. An adoption of approx R5000 is charged to cover the costs of a few weeks of training. All horses homed are only allowed to leave once a strict home check and contract are in place. At all times we know here our homed horses are.

If you'd like more information or have a horse to home, feel free to comment below or PM me

sugahorse Wrote:

---

> I also help out at another trust in Philippi if
> someone needs to contact me regarding homing
> horses.
> We are not dealers. An adoption of approx R5000 is
> charged to cover the costs of a few weeks of
> training. All horses homed are only allowed to
> leave once a strict home check and contract are in
> place. At all times we know here our homed horses
> are.
>
> If you'd like more information or have a horse to
> home, feel free to comment below or PM me


Thats great news Suga and very reasonable,i hear there are some re homing places that turn round horses in a few days after charging upto r10 000

We had 2 people from Jhb arrive at Summerveld with a float and bought a horse from a fellow trainer for a "good home" for about R3000(was not great or too sound I think) and they loaded it up and that same horse was being advertised half an hour later for R15000 as a lovely horse with huge jumping potential! :S

Some dealers sell the horses straight out the trainer's yard for R5k+. There are a few in JHB that advertise horses for R10- 25k less than a week after coming off the track.
That kind of defeats the object. You need a few weeks with a green horse off the track to allow it to let down and teach it some basics to set it up for a great start in it's second career.

Craig- she comes down to Clairwood and Summerveld regularly - and loads at least a 7 berth truck from the Shongweni Sale every year.
I feel sorry for the owners who were told that the horse is going to a good home. Plus these horses are jumping over fences (and not small ones) the next day.

Anyway - I know who this person is, and I do keep tabs on the horses that pass through her hands - I just don't want to get into mudslinging on a public forum

That's great Sugarhorse. You mentioned the gender so we have the same people. Keep up the good work.(tu)

Our organisation sounds very similar to Sugahorse's one. We too know of the dangers of dealers and the behind the scene deals so we also are very careful when we re-home.