After Racing

Want to adopt or retire a Racehorse?

These California racehorse retirement homes often have horses available to adopt and might be able to take in a retired Thoroughbred runner:

California breeders often retire their runners on their own farms or find situations where their horses live a great life after their racing days are over. If you have a good story about your retired horse we would love to add it to our volume of short stories.

Email your stories to: horseretirement [at] ctba [dot] com

From the Racetrack to the High Sierras

I am an advocate of proper racehorse retirement procedures and a responsible horse owner. I am also a member and a volunteer with the California Horse Council and California Thoroughbred Breeder Association. This past summer I ventured forth to pursue a new career and home for my own retired racehorse, ‘Gone Skimmin.’ ‘Skim’ was injured at the Pleasanton Fair, in the summer of 2009. I then sponsored his rehabilation and recovery at Canter Ranch in Los Gatos , a member of CARMA- a California Racehorse Industry Foundation supporting new careers for retired racehorses.

After Skim’s year of rehab I approached JR Gehres, the Stables Operations Manager, run by Delaware North-Parks and Resorts at Yosemite . I asked if he would like to adopt a nice young chestnut gelding as a guide horse for his stables, and after some conversation with Canter, JR adopted ‘Skim.’ He brought him to the barns in Yosemite Valley in September 2010 to get acquainted with his new environment and pals.

Now he is wintering in the beautiful pastures in the lowlands with our stable crew, and will return in the spring to be a member of the Yosemite Guide Team.

Thanks to JR and Delaware North for supporting the retired racehorse program and providing a new career for ‘Gone Skimmin’. Racehorses have many years of productivity after leaving the racetrack.

I know he will love the High Sierras as much as I do…

Martha Miller
Horse Owner

Cal-bred in Noble New Career
DRF.com On a three-acre patch of Texas ranchland, just south of the city of Austin, a 6-year-old son of Worldly Manner named Spot the Diplomat has found a home with the family of Grant and Greta Hays. http://www.drf.com/news/spot-diplomat-fnds-second-career-soothing-autist...

Marsh Retrains Thoroughbreds
Barbara Marsh works with retrained Thoroughbred Danny Dingle, an 8-year-old son of Doneraille Court, a $100,000 purchase by Harry Aleo who won two of four starts before being retired.(more)

Combined Effort by CTBA, Santa Anita & CANTER

ARCADIA, Calif. (Feb. 17, 2010) -- The California Thoroughbred Breeders Association thanks Santa Anita for allowing Fighting Furrari (aka Seabiscuit) to participate in an exhibit at the recent Equine Affaire to educate the public about horse racing and the versatility of the ex-racehorse. (more)

Unwanted Horse Coalition Releases Best Practices Handbook

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 6, 2010) -- The Unwanted Horse Coalition [UHC] has published a handbook entitled 'Best Practices: How Your Organization Can Help Unwanted Horses.' (more)

Unwanted Horse Campaign Begins

Equestrian News Release

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 22, 2009) -- The American Association of Equine Practitioners and Educational Partner Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health have created the Unwanted Horse Veterinary Relief Campaign (UHVRC), a nonprofit program that will provide equine vaccines to qualified equine rescue and retirement facilities across the United States. (more)

Coalition Seeks Horse-Care Facilities

Gallipolli II is my son's 3-day eventing horse -- originally known as Bud's Dor Knob -- who was bred in Texas, not California unfortunately. I am sending this on anyway so that you can get an idea what a terrific life a racehorse can go on to as an event horse. Gallipolli (aka Chex's) is now 15 years old. He qualified for the Jr. Olympics in eventing to represent the state of California this year.

Margie Molloy
Temecula, CA

Shrimp Cocktail stayed in his problem mare mother 368 days and he needed every day of it. The most spindly colt anyone had seen, he stayed on his feet 11 hours after birth until he fell over. He grew up on my farm and when three, went to SLRD and then HP, where he immediately got sick.

A long layup didn’t help, then Laura and Tim Rosier took him and conditioned him at the Downs.

He was less than 15h and a hard keeper too, maybe 850lbs, but he was quick. And they asked Tyler Baze to ride him, and whenever Tyler rode him, Shrimp got better.

By Del Mar of his 4th year Shrimp was entered again in a $25k mcl---the last race on a dead Monday

Laura , Tim and the family had trailered him over in the morning and were so tired they they crawled into the stall with him and slept on the straw while their race horse settled.

By that time the press was off him ,but the crowd liked his name and Tyler stayed late to ride him again.

He got a good break, laid about 3rd on the rail and into the turn Tyler asked him to go after the favorite who had a bug boy, carried 4 lbs less and weighed a ton.

Run, Shrimp!...( I'm running!) Run, Shrimp!! ( I'm running, Tyler!) SHRIMP RUN NOW!---------Ooh, ---he got it-and he ran. He hit the favorite at the top of the stretch and duelled head to head all the way to a photo.

They circled those horses forever and then called him.

In the receiving barn Laura walked him and hugged him and walked him and hugged him.

He ran again three times, and was retired in December, and was sent to High Desert Horse Training in Inyokern to learn to be a trail horse.

He lives now, with me, where he was born, goes on the trails and babysits the colts. A little fellow, with a great big heart, who loved to run.

Rosemary

Harris Farms-Raise an Heiress

Raise an Heiress, a now 25 year old mare by Raise a Native-Mellow Marsh, by *Seaneen, won 2 races and $23,850, but once sold for $650,000 as a broodmare in the Gene Klein dispersal. Harris Farms later purchased her at Keeneland November Sales for $15,000 in foal. For Harris Farms her foals included Raise Expectations (5 wins, $177,113, 2nd in Cal Cup Starter Sprint, and Tiz Royalty (5 wins, $207, 473). Her dam, Mellow Marsh, was a California Stakes winner and a half sister to leading sire, Exclusive Native.

Raise an Heiress retired in 2006 and has since taken on a job as "Housemother" to Harris Farms weanling and yearling fillies. She is shown here with her current class at our River Ranch.

Harris Farms started using "baby sitter" retired horses a few years ago and now every weanling and yearling pasture has one.

Through the Eyes of a Believer
Many see what they believe to be the truth
Is it the truth?
Seeing the world set out full of disappointment and failure
A blinded truth
I was once blind
But was given a gift
To see through the eyes of a horse
The pain of the past and uncertainty
A strength grows over all that is dark
Able to comprehend a person and see only what should be seen
Courageous and triumphant over the world's complications
Believing I can do anything
Now that I've seen through the eyes of a believer
My life saving gift from a little grey horse.
-- 14-year-old Natalia Feliz

This is from Joell Dunlap
Executive Director
Square Peg Foundation
Mission: to turn "I wish" into "I can."
http://www.everyonefits.org

Woodbridge Farm-I would like to add my retirement stories. I have retired several horses here at Woodbridge for different clients. One mare named Mint Bonnet was retired after having her last foal in 2001. She has now "raised" 8 groups of fillies for me over the past 8 years. She is a wonderful baby sitter for the freshly weaned fillies and they love her dearly. I also have retired a grand gelding, Con Quixote, who earned nearly 300,000.00 during his racing career. He is responsible for all the yearling colts here at Woodbridge once they are weaned. He is a great mentor for them and keeps the study actors from becoming real bullies in their pasture. I also have two other geldings, Louie's Super Lou and Greek Authority, who keep each other company and help "tease" mares in an adjoining field. I am very fortunate that I have clients who care so much for their race horses we either find homes for them after retiring or find jobs for them here.

Sue Greene

Keith Card responded with this story about Linda Card:

"Linda Card is a home bred of 1985 by Noble Monk out of Pick Up Your Cards

by Piaster.

She was really a 'laid back' youngster until she went to the track as a racehorse. She figured out why she was there and became very aggressive, always trying hard to win. This attitude served her well in her racing career. Her first stakes race was on July 4th in Pleasanton, which she won by a nose. She ran a few more time up north and then came south. We entered her in the first 1990 Cal Cup Distaff which she won handily. She won the Fleet Treat at Del Mar and ended her career with earnings around $400,000.

Linda became a brood mare after retiring from the race track. She has had six foals and unfortunately did not produce any runners as good as she was. She had a hard time delivering the last few foals so we gave her to Scoop Vessels as a baby sitter. She is in charge of a pasture full of yearling fillies and seems to love her latest occupation." Keith Card

Bob Black Jack...

His sire, Stormy Jack's grandmother, Pirate's Serenade is still alive in Rancho Santa Fe where she has been pensioned by her surviving owner. She's 26. She broke down 10/26/86 at BM. The Arnold's own and have taken great care of her.

She isn't to partial to people but we get along pretty well... She still can see but does have a few vision issues. She's at Rancho Paseana and they have a stall they bring her in to most nights and her paddock has grass and a shade overhang.

What makes it interesting is Pirate broke down very badly when she was four or five (suspensories and sesmoids) and although she was not fashionably bred, and running in claiming races, her owners saved her. She gets around surprisingly well, using a rocking horse gait to compensate for the grapefruit sized ankle and fused pastern that is not where it's supposed to be.

We've been feeding her carrots every weekend for over four years and it's amazing how excited she gets and how fast she can move when motivated.

Except for her owners who loved her dearly and saved her, there would be no Stormy Jack and no Bob Black Jack." Joe Shell