'It's not just the social licence, it's morally the right thing to do' - how racing is raising its game for horses in retirement

Kicking off a five-part series to mark National Racehorse Week, Lewis Porteous explains why a horse's life after racing is so important – and what the sport is doing about it.

For all that welfare in training and safety on the racetrack are pivotal if racing is to retain the approval of the wider public, the main barrier to more people becoming interested in the sport centres on concerns about what happens to horses after their racing careers end.

This was highlighted in a survey conducted during National Racehorse Week 12 months ago, which revealed that attendees were most concerned about how racehorses are looked after in retirement.

Now, more than ever before, British racing has recognised the need to adapt to modern sensitivities and, led by the Horse Welfare Board (HWB), it has taken a far more proactive stance in recent years. The HWB's equine welfare strategy, named A Life Well Lived, launched in 2020 and identified 26 key projects which the industry has been progressing ever since.

As the working title suggests, a major emphasis is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of horses involved in British racing through their entire lives, with aftercare a crucial part of that.

"People are looking at us and judging us and we need to be in front of the curve, rather than just doing enough," says Kate Sigsworth, deputy chair of the Thoroughbred Breeders Association and a member of the HWB.

"National polling carried out by Savanta this year found that of those who stated they had a concern about the welfare of horses, and that this puts them off watching racing, 20 per cent said it was specifically due to concerns about the treatment of racehorses after they retire from racing. I think that says it all."

British racing's first Thoroughbred Census, completed in December having been driven by the HWB in conjunction with Hartpury University in Gloucestershire, represented an important milestone in the sport's commitment to improve the traceability of all racehorses after they leave racing.

It has helped bolster the sport's intelligence about where ex-racehorses go after their days on the track and shone an important light on the thoroughbred's versatility and ability to thrive in a range of new careers.

"It's not just about the social licence, it's also morally the right thing to do to ensure we're looking after these horses after racing," says Epsom trainer Jim Boyle.

"A thoroughbred in training has been desensitised to a lot of things from a young age. They're very well handled and looked after, and are extremely good under a saddle, so it doesn't take a lot to turn that into a horse who has a very good second life afterwards."

A total of 8,256 horses were registered during the census, of whom 5,566 were previously unrecorded. Combined with data obtained from equestrian association bodies, there is now a level of knowledge on an estimated 80 per cent of the former racehorse population.

The results showed that thoroughbreds engage in wide and varied activities after racing, such as dressage (11 per cent), showjumping (eight per cent) and eventing (eight per cent), while the majority are enjoyed for leisure riding, hacking or unaffiliated competing (36 per cent).

As Boyle says, the results reflect how well a racing career prepares thoroughbreds for other disciplines, with almost as many moving into equine-assisted activities, such as therapy, as those moving into endurance riding.

"The Thoroughbred Census was massive and also gave us an idea of where the gaps are and where we can improve and educate people so they know their responsibilities when it comes to things like changing ownership," says Sigsworth.

"It's not just finding out where the horses have been, it's given us a lot of knowledge of where we need to be working as well."

The census also highlighted that more than a third of the horses submitted (39 per cent) still reside with their original post-racing owner, which reflects positively on their initial owners and trainers who are carefully and successfully selecting the right first step out of racing for their racehorses.

"It's important to try to find the right role for each horse," says Boyle. "Some are much better suited to certain pursuits than others and, if they're going to have longevity, finding that right role after racing is very important.

"A lot of ours often go straight from training to a new home, but we spend a lot of time matching the horse to what we believe is the right home."

Furthermore, 87 per cent of former racehorses have been owned by three or fewer owners.

"I think a lot of people thought that once racehorses leave racing a lot of them yo-yo between homes, but lots stay in one home for the rest of their entire life," says Sigsworth.

"I think another nice thing was that a lot of them retire to people who have worked with them, which shows the industry in a really good light. People are doing it because they love them; it's not just a job.

"Thoroughbreds are so intelligent, so empathetic and read people so well. The thing I've been very impressed with is the thoroughbreds who are now used as therapy horses. They've been really good for children who have struggled to get back into school after Covid. They do a lot on that front and that's the side I find the most interesting, and probably the most surprising."

With the facts and figures on aftercare now accessible to all, racing is better placed than ever to confront those who are misinformed in their criticism of the sport.

"We've got to start with a baseline of data and without the Thoroughbred Census we wouldn't have had that baseline," says Boyle.

"It's crucially important if we're going to take traceability seriously. If we're going to shout about our aftercare, it's important we have the data and statistics to back it up, because I think we can be rightly proud of a lot of what we do.

"We hear from the detractors who shout loudest, and it can be extremely frustrating from within the industry when you know the steps we all take to look after these horses and find them the right second home."

The HWB hopes the census is just the start. The ultimate target is to reach a stage where every horse who has left training is accounted for and no gaps remain. That will not be easy, but racing has an obligation to strive for 100 per cent traceability.

"It's very difficult and realistically is not going to be in the near future, but technology is what's going to help us," says Sigsworth. "We're hoping, for every horse's first step out of racing, to get 100 per cent traceability by the end of next year.

"We're setting up a new system where the BHA and Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) can share data, so that looks realistic.

"While horses are in a regulated part of the industry, they're 100 per cent traceable. It's once they go outside the industry that they're not. It's very badly advertised what the legal requirements are of ownership and we need some help from the government on this.

"Digital passports, so we have real-time updates on every horse in the country and not just thoroughbreds, will help us trace all our thoroughbreds through every track of life."

Giant strides have been made in racing's commitment to aftercare this year alone. RoR, which is the industry's welfare charity as far as retraining and rehoming is concerned, put forward a robust three-year strategy that was endorsed by the BHA and its board in July and there are plans to keep pushing.

"One of the projects going forward for RoR is that they're going to accredit certain rehoming centres," says Sigsworth.

"They will be checked regularly to keep their accreditation, so for anyone who wants to buy a retired racehorse, they know where to go and, equally, for an owner, they can make the decisions with their trainer to have it retrained there because they know they're going to do a nice job with the horse."

To date, the HWB has been financially supported by The Racing Foundation (TRF) and Levy Board. Since the HWB's inception, TRF has awarded it more than £3.5 million and the Levy Board has provided £2.2m in funding. However, it is essential racing comes up with a sustainable and sizeable funding mechanism of its own to adequately support RoR and the many ongoing and future welfare projects.

"It all takes money," says Boyle, a TRF board member. "You can't keep going to bodies like The Racing Foundation to fund going into the future, so it's important we devise ways of providing funding to see this work carried forward and improved well into the future."

Sigsworth adds: "We've got to realise that we should not be expecting people that haven't had the benefit of using these horses to be funding them, and that actually this is our responsibility. The core funding really is the direct industry's responsibility.

"There has been a lot of good work done, but you can't rest on your laurels otherwise we'll get left behind. I'd like British racing to put itself in a position where we lead other countries on how horses are treated after they race. We're a leader and in a position to do it."

Catch up with Gold Cup hero Native River in part two of Life After Racing on Monday from 6pm

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