What happens to horses that leave the racing industry?
Horses can leave the racing industry at any stage of their lives, as colts, during training, during a racing career, or when they retire. When a horse leaves a race early, it is often described as a 'waste'. The main reason for the horse's withdrawal from the race is poor performance, along with other reasons, including illness, injury or behavioural problems.
Most racehorses will have only two to three years of racing experience, but their average life expectancy is 25-30 years. Whatever the reason or age that happens, all racehorses will eventually stop racing. Public expectations are high that these horses will be properly cared for in post-match life, especially since they have been bred and used for sports and profit in multi-billion-dollar industries.
According to an RSPCA-sponsored survey of Surf bread and Standard bread trainers for the 2002–03 race year, the main reasons why Surf bread and Standard bread trainers left the race were poor performance (36% and 35%), followed by illness or injury (31% and 27%), breeding (9% and 6% and 6%). For purebred horses that completely exit the race, 19 percent were sent to other equestrian exercises, 18 percent to breed, and 6 percent to slaughter. In the case of Standardbred, 9% were reared, 16% were sent for breeding, and 17% for slaughter.
According to a 2013 survey of trainers sponsored by the Australian Racing Commission, 45 percent of abandoned servreds were used for breeding, 31 percent were home for other purposes, 14 percent returned to their owners, 7 percent died, and less than one percent went to slaughterhouses. Unfortunately, the full details of this study have never been published.
A 2014 study funded by Racing Victoria, which tracked the fate of a foal born in Victoria in 2005, was able to contact and survey owners for 54 percent of 4,115 foals born that year [4]. Nine years later, 40 percent of these foals are home, 20 percent breeding, 19 percent dead, 5 percent still racing, and 16 percent of their fate is unknown. None of these horses were directly sold for slaughter.
The RSPCA believes that the racing industry needs to do more to adopt responsible breeding practices, such as reducing the number of racehorses raised 경마사이트프로, minimizing the risk of injury, and ensuring that all horses play an appropriate alternative role after retirement.
We also support the mandatory collection and publication of comprehensive life cycle and injury statistics and the development of national identification and tracking systems for racehorses. In this way, you will be able to get accurate information about the experiences of all racehorses.
