Retired racehorses get rehabbed & rehomed at West Chester farm
WEST CHESTER, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- "Just because they've been a racehorse doesn't mean that their lives are finished," said Nina Lyman. "Their lives have just begun."
Lyman and her husband, Charles, have dedicated their lives to rehabbing and rehoming racehorses at Maui Meadow Farm in West Chester. After they first met 17 years ago, they started off by breaking, or training, horses for the racetrack.
About 10 years ago, they partnered with Turning for Home, an organization that helps Parx Racing's racehorses pair up with adoption organizations as opposed to a less humane alternative.
"Every time a horse races at Parx, a percentage of that money goes into theTurning for Home aftercare program," said Program Administrator Danielle Montgomery. "And for 15 years, we've never turned a horse away."
Turning for Home has partners all across the east coast of the United States and is celebrating its 15th year this year.
In 2017, the Lymans officially dubbed their practice by the name of "TRRAC," which stands for Thoroughbred Retirement, Rehabilitation and Careers.
TRRAC evaluates each horse based on physical, mental and riding assessments. Then, they use an algorithm to find the right individual who can safely adopt the horse. Each adopter requires veterinary, personal, and trainer references. And TRRAC always follows up with their horses to make sure they are doing well.
These horses can get adopted into various different roles, such as police horses and therapy horses. They could join the fields of polo, dressage, jumping, trail riding, and more.
"They have their whole life ahead of them," said Lyman. "So, we'll continue to bring horses in and we'll continue to adopt them out into their next lives."
To learn more about TRRAC or Turning for Home, visit their websites.
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