A second chance at life.
Whether it be a second career or a place to finish out their remaining days, these former racing horses needed somewhere to go.
"I would say pretty much every horse here has raced unless sometimes, in training leading up to racing as a young horse, they might get an injury or something that prevents them from racing. But they're all registered thoroughbreds that were either bred are meant for racing, and a majority of them did race. And then they're, you know, retired," said Pamela Berry, co-founder of Step Ahead Thoroughbred.
Step Ahead Thoroughbred is a place for retired or injured thoroughbreds to find their new lives.
"There was always a need, you could always see once a horse retired from racing, and then you wonder what happens to him, you know, and there's a big, there's a big need for rehoming thoroughbred racehorses, and, you know, it's tough for the economy, for people a lot easier for them to go get a dog and put it in the car, they get home from some of that, well, the horse, it's a whole lot of different, big responsibility and a big expense," Berry said.
The horses are often adopted out to homes that fit their needs. Some of their horses even had lucrative careers.
"His racing name was Rub Down. He was raised here at Tampa, but he also raised a lot in the northeast and New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania. And then when he was retired, he had a couple of bad injuries, and one was a kind of a near-death deal, and we're really glad to get him. Happy to get him back in everything," explains Berry.
If not for nonprofits like Step Ahead, the animals may otherwise be put down.
"So the more we have attention to what happens to these horses after they've been retired, the better off everybody is, and a lot of its business, the owners are, you know, it's not making me more money, I don't care where they go, a lot of the breeders will actually take them back and invest back into them and help them get rehome to better places," says volunteer Eileen Sellers.
"It's a challenge, but it's very rewarding when they get into a good home, and we had one horse that wanted to be a police horse. And that was, that was really fun," says Berry.
If you'd like to volunteer or find out more, click here for more information.
