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By: Erin Shea, @BH_EShea Racing NSW, the regulating body for Thoroughbred racing in New South Wales Australia, announced July 22 that it has purchased a 2,600-acre property in Capertee for the purpose of rehabilitation, retraining, and rehoming off-track Thoroughbreds. However, the organization aims for the property to be more than just an ...

By: Erin Shea, @BH_EShea The words used when Thoroughbred aftercare is discussed may not paint an accurate picture of what actually happens when a horse leaves the track. While arguing semantics about off-track Thoroughbreds may seem unimportant, one group views changing the conversation as a major piece of the larger equine welfare ...

By: Erin Shea, @BH_EShea Two major questions arise when horses first retire from racing: where will they go, and who will fund the next chapter of their lives? For individuals not cut out for the breeding shed, welcomed home to a private farm, or placed into a program to be purchased for a second career, the future can be dicey, especially ...

By: Erin Shea, @BH_EShea''Thoroughbreds are too high-strung.'' ''Thoroughbreds have horrible habits from being in so many places.'' ''Thoroughbreds are too big and can't make tight turns.'' Those quotes are just a sample that riders of off-track Thoroughbreds have heard while revealing their mounts' former lives. But those who know ...

By: Erin Shea, @BH_EShea  If you're on Facebook and you're a horse lover, there's a strong possibility you're either a member of this group or you've seen their posts shared into your timeline.  With more than 54,000 members, OTTB Connect is one of the largest horse-related groups on Facebook. From something that started as a place to ...

By: Erin Shea, @BH_EShea The Pennsylvania chapter of the Communication Alliance to Network Thoroughbred Ex-Racehorses (CANTER) recently awarded $500 scholarships to three off-track Thoroughbred owners in the Mid-Atlantic region to further promote their riding and training education. The awarded funds for the Becky Julian Scholarship are to be ...

By: Erin Shea, @BH_EShea If you're an owner or trainer in Maryland with a racehorse that needs to retire and you have no connections in aftercare or other equine disciplines, where do you turn?  A new organization is aiming to be the answer. The Maryland Horsemen's Association, the Maryland Jockey Club, Maryland Thoroughbred ...

By: Erin Shea, @BH_EShea An initiative launched by the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation gives donors an opportunity to help provide for the care of a former racehorse while getting the feel of horse ownership without the added responsibilities.  If a donor chooses to become a sponsor, which starts at $250, the TRF will send regular ...

By: Erin Shea, @BH_EShea The Little Red Feather partnership has been at the forefront of innovation for Thoroughbred ownership groups. From launching in 2002, the group now has more than 300 active partners, has successfully crowdsourced a winner through their LRF Thoroughbred Fund, and now is stepping into aftercare.  Through a new ...

By: Erin Shea, @BH_EShea Just as most of us horse-crazy people have done, Jeff Tow-Arnett found himself enamored with an off-track Thoroughbred named ''Noah'' after seeing an online listing.  ''I read Noah's biography and I said, 'That's the horse I want. I don't need to read (about any others), that's the one that I want,''' ...