• The lifetime of a racehorse
• The folly of youth
• The good
• The infamous horse sex clubs
• You’re never too old to start a second career
• The bad and the ugly
• But you might be too old and broken down to be of much use to anyone (except hungry Chinese)
• Good people to the rescue
• Horse rescues
• What can you do?

The lifetime of a racehorse

The folly of youth

Let’s face it. Horses start racing much too young than they should. It’s unhealthy and harmful to their physical development. As a result, a horse’s racing career however, is more often than not, cut short - and they do not live out the remainder of their lives grazing blissfully in a green grass field in Kentucky.

A horse should generally be able to work well into its teens. A racehorse career typically ends around the age of 6 or 7. For thoroughbreds and standardbreds, there are pretty much only three options for retired horses.

The good

The infamous horse sex clubs

If a racehorse ends his career with a winning record, or if the horse is the progeny of a sought-after line, they may end up being used for breeding more winning horses. 
David Switzer, the executive director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, explained:

"There is so much more money to be made in the stud if you're successful than you could ever dream of making compared to racing. The same is true for fillies, he said. "If you have a nice female that has won major stakes races and earned some money, it could be beneficial to retire the mare and breed her toward the stallions."

Unfortunately, this is only an option for a small minority of racehorses.

You’re never too old to start a second career

If a retired racehorse is in good physical condition, they may transition to other careers. Some may become riding horses for private owners. Others could end up in stables that provide rental horse rides to the public. Some may be retrained to cut cows and spend the remainder of their lives partnered with a cowboy on a ranch. Some may learn to barrel race or become show horses.

The bad and the ugly

But you might be too old and broken down to be of much use to anyone (except hungry Chinese)

The outcome for horses that are not suitable for breeding and not physically able to carry riders comfortably is not so good. Horses that are unable to provide utility to their owners become burdensome. They may seem to provide no value alive. But dead, oh, that’s another matter.

Domestic horse slaughterhouses closed in 2007, but owners may sell their horses to overseas slaughterhouses. Retired racehorses are often sold to these foreign slaughterhouses, which kill the horse and prepare the meat for consumption by either animals (dogs, in particular) or people.

In countries like China and Kazakhstan, horses are consumed with reckless abandon. In other countries, ahem, France, horse meat may be considered a luxury food.

Tens of thousands of horses meet their death in foreign facilities each year. Selling horses to slaughterhouses is a bad image for the horse racing community. Thus, the Jockey Club punishes owners who willingly sell their retired horses to exporters who intend to consume the horse meat. However, it is easy enough to “ask no questions” about the buyer’s intent.
Nancy Perry, the senior vice president of ASPCA governmental relations, said:

"It is well-documented that many racehorses end up at slaughter auctions within a week of their last race, despite the fact that many tracks across the country have policies opposing this practice.”

Good people to the rescue

Horse rescues

The horse racing community has recently come together to form rescue organizations for retired racehorses. These good folks allow the horse, who served us so well, to live the remainder of their lives in relative comfort. Organizations such as the United Horse Coalition (formerly known as the Unwanted Horse Coalition or UHC).

The United Horse Coalition was established in 2006 with the purpose of forming a neutral platform where all organizations in the equine industry could address the issue of the so-called "unwanted" horse population. The task of the coalition was to unite everyone in creating programs and initiatives to assist these horses, particularly those at risk of export and potential slaughter. The UHC's mission still stands today. The recent renaming to "United Horse Coalition" from "Unwanted Horse Coalition" better represents the need to alter how we talk about the horses that require our help the most.

What can you do?

It’s important for the public to demand that retired racehorses be allowed to live after retirement. They can do this by donating to horse rescue organizations (https://unitedhorsecoalition.weblinkconnect.com/atlas/forms/donation/5). You can also support laws that require a portion of a horse's winnings to be put aside as a “retirement plan”.

The Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act (H.R. 3475 and S. 2037) is a bipartisan bill that permanently bans horse slaughter in the United States and prohibits the exportation of horses for slaughter. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) introduced it to the 118th Congress (2023 - 2024).

According to the authors of the SAFE Act:

“Thousands of American horses are exported to Mexico and Canada for slaughter every year. The majority are working, performance, racing, and companion horses—and are young, healthy, and adoptable.

They face documented, consistent abuses and suffering during all phases of the slaughter pipeline, with little institutional oversight and welfare enforcement. From their time at livestock auctions and assembly points (kill pens), and to ports and slaughter facilities, horses sustain significant injuries, disease, and death. And due to their physiology, it is impossible to slaughter horses humanely without sedatives; they are often still conscious when hoisted, cut, and slaughtered.  

Whether traveling to slaughter facilities in Mexico and Canada or awaiting shipping at an assembly point in the U.S., horses suffer greatly. Freedom of Information Act documents report horses and foals experiencing dismemberment; compound fractured limbs and backs, crushed skulls, and being trampled to death while in transit. Other reports and investigations confirm significantly injured, sick, non-ambulatory, and dead horses at auctions and assembly points.

These horse welfare concerns are not unique to horses exported for slaughter; they also plagued American horses when the USDA regulated horse slaughter in the United States."