NEW INTELLIGENCE SHOWS VERSATILITY OF FORMER RACEHORSES

Britain's first-ever Thoroughbred Census took place over six months in 2023, confirming the remarkable adaptability of the Thoroughbred breed – with 8,256 horses registered from across the equestrian landscape, from dressage to polo, eventing to equine-based therapy.  The Census was led by British racing's Horse Welfare Board in partnership with research experts at Hartpury University.

The research found nearly 40% of all horses registered over the Census period were still with their original owner out of racing, with 87% having had three or less owners across their lives, dispelling the myth that many former racehorses are passed around. Over a third (31.2%) were over 15 years+ and the majority were geldings (74%), likely due to many mares and fillies going on to second careers at stud so remaining within the racing industry. The most common reason for taking on a former racehorse by owners was as a project to train and compete, but companionship, their versatility and a prior relationship with them from their racing careers also ranked highly.  

The Thoroughbred’s diffusion across the equestrian landscape is not by chance. Over the last 20 years Retraining of Racehorses (RoR), racing’s official aftercare partner, has created a thriving competitive scene for former racehorses across a multitude of disciplines. RoR also provides invaluable education, training, and support to its 13,000 members (covering over 40% of the former racehorse population) and provides an important welfare safety net should a horse be found to be at risk.

The Census showed Thoroughbreds were competing across multiple disciplines from dressage (11%) to show jumping (8%), eventing (8%), showing (7%), endurance (3%), polo (3%) with the largest proportion (36%) enjoying a new lower-key life leisure riding and hacking. Researchers acknowledged the proportion being used in polo is likely to be considerably higher than the census showed. As a result, work is now ongoing to build stronger relationships with polo associations and bodies to better track horses as they move into this sport.  

Through its work on the Census, Hartpury University has been able to size the former racehorse population in Britain at around 33,600. And, when the Census data is combined with information from the 13,000 members of RoR, plus data from equestrian associations, the intelligence bank on former racehorses residing in Great Britain now covers an estimated 80% of the population.  

Improving 'traceability’ and tailoring support for the former racehorse population in Britain is overseen by racing’s independently-chaired Horse Welfare Board. The sport has set out a clear ambition to achieve 100% traceability at a horse’s first step out of racing, and to close other traceability gaps in their lives. 

“The Thoroughbred Census represents an important milestone in British racing’s commitment to improve the traceability of all former racehorses after they leave the sport,” said Helena Flynn, Programme Director for the Horse Welfare Board.  

“It also enriches our intelligence about what these horses go on to do and will enable us to improve and adapt the sport’s welfare initiatives and identify way to better support the owner community.” 

A key piece of the traceability puzzle for all horses in Britain is the equine passport. It’s a legal requirement for any new owner of a horse to inform the passport authority (Weatherbys in the case of Thoroughbreds) of new ownership details within 30 days of purchase.  Like humans, a horse’s passport is a vital identification tool and is a crucial tool in the case of a serious equine disease outbreak in this country. A good proportion - 64% - of respondents to the Thoroughbred Census had changed their horse’s passport into their name. This is much higher than the 20% average across all equestrian disciplines, but should be much closer to 100%. British racing is looking at ways to better communicate the importance of updated passports to owners of former racehorses to help achieve this.     

The Census is just one of several projects underway within British racing to improve visibility and traceability of all horses bred for the sport. The Weatherby’s 30-day foal notification, the introduction of the Thoroughbred e-passport and vaccination app all help provide racing with quality data. The establishment of a Welfare Data Unit in 2023 has also allowed for better sourcing and integration of data, improving the welfare of racehorses, current and future.  

For the full results of the Thoroughbred Census, click here.