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A suggestion to be tabled at the conference on the responsible homing of OTTB
Citation preview
Responsible Rehoming of retired
racehorses
!Walter Pike Feb 26, 2014
Walter Pike• Polo Player
• Bred and raced, process of reapplying for colours
• Runs a facebook group called : A Thoroughbred Second Life!
• I acknowledge the fantastic support from this group in coming up with coherent suggestions in a crowd sourcing exercise I did.
Problem statement• The horse racing industry is under pressure
internationally regarding what happens to retired racehorses. This presents a huge reputational risk.
• A step in the process is creating a process of responsible rehoming of these horses and to communicate this effectively in order to manage this reputation.
• How?
OTTB
• For the purposes of this document an Off The Track Thoroughbred (OTTB) is a horse which has retired from racing.
• It will be a Thoroughbred registered with the HRA and had at least one start.
Analysis• There is a greater supply of off the track thoroughbreds (OTTB) than demand
for them.
• OTTB need specialised skill to successfully transition from racing to other uses.
• OTTB are regarded as second tier/less desirable horses by the riding public. So often go to second tier riders.
• less money.
• less skills.
• less experience as buyers - more likely to buy bad horses - further adding to bad reputation.
• Many OTTB are broken down or not suitable.
Brand OTTB• Unreliable, flighty and hard to handle.
• Take at least 1-2 years to recover from racing. Drugs and steroids
• Soft
• Can’t keep condition
• Expensive to keep
• Can’t compete with warmbloods
• Not adaptable to different uses.
• Risk of soundnessNote that it doesn't matter whether this is true or not this are what people think.
Transition is a major problem• The retraining of a racehorse to other uses requires a
level of skill.
• Transition from a grain based to a roughage based diet. Managing ulcers.
• Different management.
• Reprogramming the horses mind from racing.
• Retraining the horse to respond to different riding styles.
The market• Because the warmblood is regarded as a better sports horse the
OTTB market is a second tier market. Except in specialised markets like Polo and Polocrosse we are dealing with second tier buyers.
• Less experienced in buying - more likely to buy duds, unsound, bad temperament.
• Mommy buyers - no experience at all
• Less experience in horse management
• Less riding skill.
• Many times more likely to mess up a good horse, turn it into a problem and then do further damage to the thoroughbred brand.
Strategy
• Improve demand by improving Brand OTTB
• Manage the supply to ensure that the market is supplied with better quality.
• Assist with the transition to the Second Life
Brand OTTB• OTTB need PR. FB groups like Beyond Racing and
A Thoroughbred Second Life can help. But a full PR program to position them as reliable, competitive and tough horses
• Identification of disciplines where OTTB can excel and offer special incentives for competition on OTTB. eg polo polocrosse, eventing, jumping etc.
• The certified OTTB programme (explained in next slide)
The certified OTTB• Selected OTTB certified via the HRA
• Rated in terms of soundness.
• Rated in terms of temperament.
• Homed in terms of a contract to an owner with satisfactory conditions and some experience.
• Registered on a register of OTTB change of ownership required - web based database
Support for OTTB• Panel of knowledgable people to assist in transition.
• Contactable via website.
• The same website which holds database.
• Membership contracted - but also incentivised by OTTB top up prizes at shows.
• Discussion group on FaceBook eg A Thoroughbred Second Life.
Certified half way house• Horses move to people with experience at
transitioning OTTB.
• Transfer to a roughage based diet.
• Do basic training and settling work to create a stable basis for subsequent stabling.
• Individuals certified as OTTB
Horses out of the system
• An information pack provided with each OTTB sold or rehomed - provided to trainers free of charge and with links to a comprehensive online resource library available free to the public.
Funding• It is proposed that a small monthly levy be imposed
on all horses in training and on horses registered with the HRA by breeders to create a fund which will fund:
• PR - Beyond racing
• Certified OTTB
• Certified halfway house.
Horse retires
PvteSale
CertOTTB
Euthanased
Cert Half way
Database
Incentives
support
OTTBPvteSale
The OTTB Program