Retire a Horse

No other Thoroughbred rescue operation offers the TRF's many retirement options. For countless horses that have run their last race, the TRF's retirement programs answer their desperate need -- a place to live out their days in safe and serene surroundings.

Unlike many other horse rescue organizations, the TRF will provide lifetime care even for horses who cannot be ridden due to age or infirmity.

At the Foundation's principal farms, and at satellites where smaller farm owners help us by providing care and board for a modest stipend, horses retired to the TRF are well-fed, and have access to pasture 24 hours and seven days a week whenever possible.

Many go on to varied and productive post-racetrack careers. Former TRF horses have become everything from mounted police horses to polo horses to exceptional competitors in the show ring. At Byrd Hill Farm in Virginia, Montpelier in Virginia, Maker's Mark Secretariat Center in Kentucky, White Post Farm in Virginia, and Rocking T Ranch in Oklahoma, racehorses are being evaluated, rehabilitated, and retrained for private adoption all the time.

Registered Thoroughbreds, free from contagious or communicable diseases, and for which private retirement is unavailable or unsuitable, may apply to the TRF. The owner of an accepted horse must submit a properly endorsed Jockey Club certificate of foal registration transferring title to the horse to the Foundation and transport the horse to the facility.  A small donation to the TRF may be required in order to complete the retirement process.

Protocol for retirement of a thoroughbred racehorse with TRF

(This protocol is meant to serve as a guideline for the Acceptance Committee)

1. Horses at the racetrack or at risk of going to the slaughterhouse are given first priority.
2. All applicants will be expected to give an annual donation to the TRF in the amount deemed appropriate by the committee.
3. Except in unusual circumstances, former racehorses, now sport horses or show horses, are only accepted if they can go directly to an adoptive home without spending time at a TRF farm.
4. Broodmares are only accepted if they have a racing record and the owner shows financial reasons why the broodmare cannot live out her life on the breeding farm, unless they qualify under category 1.
5. Horses must be pasture sound or potentially pasture sound.
6. Stallions must be gelded.
   

Click here to download application to retire a horse.