New VocationsRacehorse Adoption Program

by Dot Morgan

Often the gravest risk a retired racehorse faces as it makes the transition to a pleasure mount is lack of calories. Most horses right off the track are well muscled, but lean with very little body fat. They’ve been pampered and sheltered 24 hours a day, then suddenly lose their job and must adapt to a dramatic new lifestyle. It’s essential that each horse receives the calories necessary to build and maintain fat supplies.
Stock breeds, Arabians, Morgans, crossbreds, and gaited horses are generally much easier to maintain than the racing breeds. Thoroughbreds, especially, have a higher metabolism and rapidly burn up calories. Many recipients of retired racehorses have difficulty grasping and accepting how much feed it takes to maintain the new addition to their equine family. As we move into winter, it’s imperative that this fact is fully understood.
The starting place for an average recently retired 16h Thoroughbred receiving daily turnout is 10 pounds of 12% concentrate a day (a Standardbred will probably do well on eight) plus 15 – 20 pounds of good quality mixed hay. Put another way, this amounts to a bag of feed every five days plus 1/3 to 1/2 bale of hay a day. For all too many horse owners, that’s mind-boggling.
It’s important to know what your feed actually weighs. The largest coffee can or a three-pound scoop holds about three pounds of sweet feed. Corn and some pelleted concentrates weigh more. Alfalfa hay is high in food value and far superior to timothy or grass hay for putting on weight. Retired racehorses often lose weight on straight grass hay unless the concentrate is increased above 8 – 10 pounds to make up the difference.
People that have only fed stock-type horses in the past are often concerned that they will founder their former racehorse by giving it so much grain. However, Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds are accustomed to receiving 10 – 16 pounds of grain a day at the track. Actually, most trainers feed them about all they’ll eat and try to figure out how to get them to consume more. This realization should ease fears of overfeeding.
Optimal body condition can vary according to what the horse is doing, but seeing ribs or easily feeling them under a winter coat is a common indicator that the horse is not receiving enough food. A ribby appearance with a potbelly or excessive winter hair growth is another sign of insufficient or poor quality feed. In these cases more grain and/or additional alfalfa hay is in order. It may take months to fatten up a retired racehorse, but once a fleshy condition is attained, the weight will be easier to maintain.

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