Race horse rescue

If you have ever been horse hunting, you've probably found ads for ex-race horses, or for groups or individuals who do race horse rescues--meaning that they find out about and acquire horses that have been retired from the track, either due to injury,illness,age, or another reason, for example, the horse might simply be too slow. The rescuers take the horses and try to find good homes for them. This may involve retraining them first, or months or even years of physical rehabilitation or special care. Some of the horses can never be ridden again. The rescuers' concern is that if they do not take these horses, the poor animals will end up on a meat wagon, and actually, that might be exactly what happens. It is not necessarily because the racing stables are cruel or have no concern for the horses--on the contrary, many of them go to great lengths to find comfortable and caring homes for the retired horses. The problem is simply that there are some horses that are hard to place. And if a stable tries to keep every single horse that cannot be placed, soon all would suffer. For as you know, there is a limit to how many animals one can manage efficiently.

Like most of us, you probably gave some thought to taking on an ex-race horse, perhaps being attracted by the low price (some are even offered for free, or for a small adoption fee). But then, prudence tells you that the initial cost of almost any horse is actually nothing in comparison to what you will spend over time to maintain the horse. Also, you know that a thoroughbred that has been a racer can be quite large, powerful, and might be easily excited and anxious to bolt and run. After all, isn't that what they've been trained to do?

So, you settle for a small, elderly pony.