Cross Breeds - what happens to all of the retired race horses?

what happens to all of the retired race horses?

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some of them are retired for breeding purposes or become riding horses in other disciplines. sad to say, though, many of them end up going to slaughter especially if their race record wasn't stellar
Glue factory, dog food factory. yesterdays winner is tomorrows lunch.
unlike (human) seniors, retired horses who have won races continue their life journey breeding with other champion horses.
Some go to special farms, specially made for retired race horses, or get bought by owners who just want a horse for pleasure
some are used for breeding purposes. Others are sold off to be jumpers or for other riding activities. There have also been cases were the owner will just leave the horse in the barn and leave it for good. Animal rescuers have found hundreds of horses that have been starved and deyhrated and some have died because of the owner just leaving them there.
What happens to racehorses when they retire all depends on the horse, and the horses owner. Good fillies and mares are often retired for breeding purposes and only a few very select stallions get that privilege. Sound and well tempered gelding often become riding horses, and some that were stellar race horses live out their days as pets (like on Frank Stronach's Adena Springs operation). There are also many programs in place like Long Run in Toronto, ON that find foster homes and sponsors to adopt retired horses. All in all the industry makes a valiant attempt to stay on top of the problem of unwanted horses and minimize the numbers that are sold for meat.
kept for breeding, or sold if not able to be bred
I'd like to think they live happily ever after as barrel racers, hunter/jumpers,breeding stock, pleasure mounts or just pasture potatoes. I am not at all sure this is what really happens, but I know it sometimes does. I imagine many go to slaughterhouses. Some are rescued. Good question.
We have a sale barn (livestock market) very near to where we live, which just happens to be close to a race track. Sadly, many race horses end up at the sale barn and are purchased by "comercial buyers" and are subsequently sent to a packing house. If the horse is gentle and has the potential for retraining then sometimes local people buy them and resell them with some additional training.
some are put to homes but if they canot find them a home they put them to sleep because the dont want to waiste money on a old horse that dosent do anything we own a stable that takes in all the old race horses we have 46 alltogether xxx
im not sure but i do know that my grandpa has one so maybe they sell them cheap to people. or maybe somthing else
There is no one answer for your question. There are many factors that come in to play when the outcome of a retired race horse is made. Depending upon how well the record of the horse the owner may decide to retire him to stud or if a mare, retire to broodmare. If the horse has injuries it may be sold to the kill man. Others that have not sustained injury may go to hunter/jumper, dressage, carriage or pleasure barns or personal owners. The fact of the matter is, there are so many places that retired race horses end up at, hopefully they will be tired to a life of fun.
I've worked in racing all my life and it's not true that they are all packed off to the meat man. In Europe where steeplechasing and hurdling is very popular, a lot will go on to race over fences when they have finished on the flat and most will continue running until about 10 or 12. A lot are then retired to be used as hunters (proper hunters - hunting with hounds). A lot of ex-racehorses go on to other careers as point-to-pointers, jumpers, polo ponies and eventers. Quality mares will usually be retired and become broodmares. There are those that will be sponsored by their former owner or trainer and sent to places such as the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and others find their way in college competition programs or prison programs. Of course, as with any industry there are those that slip through the cracks and do end up at the slaughter house but that is also true of any other horse sport or those that have been indiscriminately bred by backyard breeders and have no potential or value on the open market. It's totally wrong for people to assume that all racehorses end up either in rescues or the meat plant once their careers are over. Edit - horses are sent to slaughter all the time in England because they are then shipped to the continent to be served up on someone's plate. However, not all of them are racehorses as many people falsely claim and it's the same in the US - not every horse at a meat plant is some ex-racehorse and for people to claim otherwise is a fallacy promoted by PETA and other animal rights activists. I was illustrating the various options that are open to TB's once they come off the track whether in England or in the US. I'm English and have worked in racing there before moving to the US to work in the industry here.
Everyone has answered you the truth. But I know of a few farms in my area that rescue retired TBs and standardbreds, I would be MORE than happy, as I'm sure they would to give you their websites so you can go visit and see for yourself that there are some amazing people out there doing their part to help equines. www.hogheavenrescue.org - all hooved animals www.brightfuturesfarm.org - horses both off the track and neglect www.horseadoption.com - TBs and STBs
we have one and she is so sweet and gentle we use her for first time riders and kids. she is a bit tall but she is so nice we love her. and the kids can even walk right under her she dont bat an eye.
Depends on the horse. Some champions are bred, some are sold, some are trained for other things, some are made into dog food. Sad but true.
Here in South Africa, about 85% of fillies go to stud after their careers. The other 15% of fillies are sold or given away to individuals who want a show or pleasure horse. Colts are usually gelded unless they are good enough to become sires and all of these geldings are re-homed through selling or giving away. In the case that there is a horse who is unsound and not suitable for riding or stud, every effort is made to find this horse a loving retirement home. 99% of the time, these unsound horses find a great place to live out their days. Some of the owners are actually very attached to their horses and have their own farms where their horses that don't go to stud retire and live out their days. I was actually disappointed because there was this stunning gelding who I really wanted as a show jumper but the owner keeps all of his race horses on his property and feels that after they have worked so hard for him, they should be finished working after their racing careers. Only in a very very rare case would a racehorse be euthanized, never sent to the meat man. This would be like a gelding with severe, debilitating lameness which would cause the horse to live in pain for the rest of his life. Most of the race horses who end up in meat markets are sent there by the owners who take them once they finish running.
Many are taken in by rescuesand placed in new homes with new careersas riding horses. I have a few taken off the track. We retrain them and place them in new homes. I currently ride an OTTB and love him as a trail horse.
To Lisa: The reason many horses are not sent to slaughter in Europe has more to do with the fact that slaughter and knackery are still LEGAL there ( in the UK where you live, and also in most European countries) than it does with any real movement to try to save ex-racehorses. Here in the States, slaughter was only recently made ILLEGAL, and the 3 remaining houses only closed this past year, so up until that time, A LOT of horses which were either retired or which couldn't make it on the track WERE sold for meat, in fact. It's just recently, with the passage of the slaughter law, that people have begun looking for alternatives to this- and I'm sorry to say that I wish there were more of these available than there are right now. ( BTW, I am NOT trying to be hateful to you, the way you have accused me of being in one of your edits. Just thought you'd want to know.) To the asker: Where a retired or injured racehorse ends up depends on lots of different factors. If they did well on the track, they almost certainly will be retired to stud, and will live out their days in comfort and security. In the case of geldings, they are often sold as riding horses ( even some stallions sometimes end up this way- Seabiscuit spent the last years of his life as a cowpony on his owner's ranch in California) or as competition horses for other sports, such as eventing. Some geldings become celebrities, the way John Henry has done, and get retired to places like the Kentucky Horse Park. Mares will almost certainly wind up in the breeding shed, starting when they are 4 years old, and continuing into their teens and 20's. There are also ex-racehorses which get sold to places like research farms, such as the ones maintained and owned by places like New Bolton and other major university facilities nationwide. I lived in NC for a short time, and one of the state universities there has a vet school that keeps a herd of horses for research purposes. Some of those animals were ex-racers, at least when I was there. These animals get excellent care, and the knowlege gained from them benefits ALL horses, not just those in the programs. I think you can see that what happens to retired racehorses isn't ALL bad, or at least, not all of the time. There are also rescue and retirement organizations for racers as well, which do a great job of retraining and rehoming retired racers. Hope this helps.
some are retired to pasture and so sadly some are sent to slaughter