Responsible Rehoming of retired

racehorses

!Walter Pike Feb 26, 2014

Walter Pike• Polo Player

• Bred and raced, process of reapplying for colours

• Runs a facebook group called : A Thoroughbred Second Life!

• I acknowledge the fantastic support from this group in coming up with coherent suggestions in a crowd sourcing exercise I did.

Problem statement• The horse racing industry is under pressure

internationally regarding what happens to retired racehorses. This presents a huge reputational risk.

• A step in the process is creating a process of responsible rehoming of these horses and to communicate this effectively in order to manage this reputation.

• How?

OTTB

• For the purposes of this document an Off The Track Thoroughbred (OTTB) is a horse which has retired from racing.

• It will be a Thoroughbred registered with the HRA and had at least one start.

Analysis• There is a greater supply of off the track thoroughbreds (OTTB) than demand

for them.

• OTTB need specialised skill to successfully transition from racing to other uses.

• OTTB are regarded as second tier/less desirable horses by the riding public. So often go to second tier riders.

• less money.

• less skills.

• less experience as buyers - more likely to buy bad horses - further adding to bad reputation.

• Many OTTB are broken down or not suitable.

Brand OTTB• Unreliable, flighty and hard to handle.

• Take at least 1-2 years to recover from racing. Drugs and steroids

• Soft

• Can’t keep condition

• Expensive to keep

• Can’t compete with warmbloods

• Not adaptable to different uses.

• Risk of soundnessNote that it doesn't matter whether this is true or not this are what people think.

Transition is a major problem• The retraining of a racehorse to other uses requires a

level of skill.

• Transition from a grain based to a roughage based diet. Managing ulcers.

• Different management.

• Reprogramming the horses mind from racing.

• Retraining the horse to respond to different riding styles.

The market• Because the warmblood is regarded as a better sports horse the

OTTB market is a second tier market. Except in specialised markets like Polo and Polocrosse we are dealing with second tier buyers.

• Less experienced in buying - more likely to buy duds, unsound, bad temperament.

• Mommy buyers - no experience at all

• Less experience in horse management

• Less riding skill.

• Many times more likely to mess up a good horse, turn it into a problem and then do further damage to the thoroughbred brand.

Strategy

• Improve demand by improving Brand OTTB

• Manage the supply to ensure that the market is supplied with better quality.

• Assist with the transition to the Second Life

Brand OTTB• OTTB need PR. FB groups like Beyond Racing and

A Thoroughbred Second Life can help. But a full PR program to position them as reliable, competitive and tough horses

• Identification of disciplines where OTTB can excel and offer special incentives for competition on OTTB. eg polo polocrosse, eventing, jumping etc.

• The certified OTTB programme (explained in next slide)

The certified OTTB• Selected OTTB certified via the HRA

• Rated in terms of soundness.

• Rated in terms of temperament.

• Homed in terms of a contract to an owner with satisfactory conditions and some experience.

• Registered on a register of OTTB change of ownership required - web based database

Support for OTTB• Panel of knowledgable people to assist in transition.

• Contactable via website.

• The same website which holds database.

• Membership contracted - but also incentivised by OTTB top up prizes at shows.

• Discussion group on FaceBook eg A Thoroughbred Second Life.

Certified half way house• Horses move to people with experience at

transitioning OTTB.

• Transfer to a roughage based diet.

• Do basic training and settling work to create a stable basis for subsequent stabling.

• Individuals certified as OTTB

Horses out of the system

• An information pack provided with each OTTB sold or rehomed - provided to trainers free of charge and with links to a comprehensive online resource library available free to the public.

Funding• It is proposed that a small monthly levy be imposed

on all horses in training and on horses registered with the HRA by breeders to create a fund which will fund:

• PR - Beyond racing

• Certified OTTB

• Certified halfway house.

Horse retires

PvteSale

CertOTTB

Euthanased

Cert Half way

Database

Incentives

support

OTTBPvteSale

The OTTB Program