Retiring horses from the track - how to go about it

I know I'm looking at this from a different point of view - horse rider looking to take over a new riding horse once its career as a racehorse is over - but can also wear the other show as my other half owns racehorses and this is sometimes a concern to him too.

But I'm just wondering what approach most owners take.

1. Take the horse themselves to retire on a farm.
2. Make the effort to find a 5* home.
3. Make the effort to find a 5* home and regularly get updated.
4. Euthenase the horse
5. Send it to the horse care unit or SPCA
6. Ask the trainer to home it and not worry about where it lands up
7. Trainer has a relationship with someone who schools and homes the horses.

The main reason I'm asking - I found a horse for sale that was only recently retired - last raced end of October. I thought it was a bit strange that the horse was for sale - decent pedigree, big owners that would maybe want to breed themselves...

Now it turns out it was a scam and the owners are horrified to find their horse being sold on and moved from pillar to post. They were presumably assured of a 5* by the dealer, who was looking for nothing bit a quick buck!

Sorry to rant, but this really irritates me

Good thread Suga, looking forward to reading the replies..

two of the horses I've owned off the track - I've done my utmost to contact the owners and let them know where their horses are.
My concern is that I personally can only afford one horse - when the time comes for my boyfriend to retire some of his horses, I'll feel obliged to take one and offer it a decent home - but it's not always possible.

There are plenty of horror stories about racehorses landing up in the wrong hands - Eldoriza is one that springs to mind. On the other hand, I was overjoyed to read that Senor Santa has retired at Summerhill Stud - a lovely ending. And another girl posted that she has the great Tommy Hotspur at home.

name and shame them sugahorse,unfortunately plenty people out there view horses as slabs of meat

I can send regular lists of horse names for sale - there are 2 main dealers in the JHB region (Well, one in Pretoria and one in Harrismith)
Have a look at one site and see if you recognise any horses.

chiefwakiti.weebly.com/horse-for-sale.html

We have always asked the trainer to find a good home, normally a family that is looking for a horse for the children, or riding school

My concern with that is - thoroughbreds are not the easiest to rehome. They are not hardy and need to be stabled, fed concentrates, receive regular attention... This makes them unsuitable for living on a farm or trail riding.
They are fairly unpredictable (Most, I know I'm generalising) and don't suit children riders at all.
They require an experienced rider to reschool them, so it will take months before that horse can realistically be used in a riding school.

With times becoming financially tougher, many people cannot afford as many riding horses as they used to. Also, top level equestrians are tending to use warmbloods, so the market for homes for TBs is quickly decreasing

Why would ex-racehorses 'need' to be fed concentrates. I find that impossible to believe! Horses eat grass, all of them. Processed and concentrated feed is bad news. I can understand the need for it during the racing career, but beyond that no way. Goodbye stomach lining!

There are very few TBs that can live out successfully eating only grass. All their lives they have been fed concentrates. They may well be able to get by on a much lower % concentrate, but their system is used to getting large quantities of minerals and protein.

I just feel that owners need to be aware of dealers that are just looking to make a buck without regard for the horse, and that successfully homing a TB is not a very simple process

Many TB's are re-homed and die of colic within a week of leaving the training yard due to sudden feed change - if you do not have a good home in mind rather euthanize (one of the reasons I've given up owning - the poor horse is on death row for 5 years then killed after he/she has run it's lungs out for you)

Sad that being euthanised is even an option,in an ideal world all animals would be re homed and live a happy retirement.Maybe a buyers/selling fee can be deducted for retirement care? and a monthy retirement fund collected on top of their normal keep?

I agree that the diet change must be slow and gradual for sure, but I don't believe that the digestive system is perverted to the point where it cannot return to a natural diet in time. Many trainers feed their racehorses green grass on a daily basis alongside the concentrate anyway, it's just a matter of weaning them off the concentrate completely. Grass is one of the best foods on the planet! and not just for horses