Welfare

Retraining of Racehorses

Reference entry · Updated 19 May 2026

Retraining of Racehorses, almost always known by its initials RoR, is the official charity of British horseracing for thoroughbred aftercare. It was set up in 2000 by the British Horseracing Authority's predecessor body to give a structured second career to horses that have finished their time on the racecourse, and it remains the only nationally recognised programme for retired British racehorses.

What RoR does

The charity operates on three connected fronts. It funds and accredits the rehoming centres that take horses on directly from racing yards. It runs a competition series for retrained thoroughbreds — RoR-branded classes at dressage, eventing, show jumping and showing fixtures across the year — that gives a horse and rider a structured ladder to compete on. And it lobbies inside the sport for traceability: every thoroughbred born under the General Stud Book is now expected to have a recorded post-racing career, and RoR is the body that holds that register together.

The traceability work is the part that has changed the sport most in the last decade. A horse leaving a racing yard now goes either to an RoR-accredited centre, to a private home registered with the charity, or to a recognised competition home — and the move is logged. The model is far closer to the equestrian welfare standards in countries like Germany and Australia than to the loose disposal arrangements that characterised the sport in the 1990s.

From racing yard to RoR

A retiring racehorse follows one of a small number of paths. The most common is direct rehoming from the trainer's yard, sometimes to the breeder, sometimes to a syndicate member, and sometimes to one of the accredited centres. Centres listed on the RoR network include a number of private yards across the country and several long-established equine charities. Each accredited centre is independently inspected, holds public liability cover for the rehoming work and follows the RoR Code of Practice on weight, workload and turnout.

The retraining itself takes between three and twelve months on average. A racehorse straight off the gallops is fit but narrowly trained — it knows how to canter in a group, how to take a line, how to gallop on a left-handed track — and it needs time to learn to hack quietly, to school over poles, to respond to seat aids and to stand at a mounting block without anticipating a leg-up. Most centres start with groundwork, lunging in a school, and gentle hacks in company before introducing solo work and then a chosen discipline.

Second careers

Thoroughbreds are versatile. The RoR competition series alone covers six disciplines:

Dressage — the most common second career; the breed's natural front-end carriage and willingness to work on a contact suits it.
Show jumping — well-bred thoroughbreds with scope make capable show jumpers up to the 1.10m–1.30m levels.
Eventing — historically the sport built on the thoroughbred; eventers prize the stamina, the speed across country and the ride-ability over fences.
Showing — RoR-branded ridden classes at county and regional shows.
Endurance — long-distance competitive trail rides where a fit thoroughbred can carry rider and saddle over 40, 80 or even 100 miles in a day.
Polo and polocrosse — a small but established route for retired flat horses, especially geldings.

Beyond the competition pathway, a great many ex-racehorses go to private hacking homes, to riding-club use, to therapy and assisted-riding programmes, and to a quieter retirement in fields. There is no single "right" outcome for a former racehorse — the right outcome is one that matches the horse's soundness, temperament and the new owner's experience.

For a prospective new owner

Taking on a former racehorse is not the cheapest route into ownership but it is one of the most rewarding for an experienced rider. A few practical points stand out from the published guidance of the charity and the experience of the accredited centres.

The new owner should be at least an intermediate rider with experience riding forward, balanced young horses. A former racehorse is not a beginner's mount in its early second-career years.
The horse should be assessed by an independent vet at the point of transfer; ex-racehorses come with a documented history of veterinary attention that should be made available.
Feed and turnout matter more than tack. A thoroughbred coming off a racing diet needs a gradual reduction in concentrates and an increase in forage; an abrupt change risks colic.
The first six months should be patient. Specialists at RoR-accredited centres consistently report that the horses settle and the discipline emerges between months three and six rather than in the first weeks.

How the programme is funded

RoR is funded by the racing industry rather than by general charitable appeal. A levy is collected from owners, breeders and racecourses on each horse in training and on each registered runner. Additional revenue comes from competition entry fees in the RoR series, from corporate sponsorship and from private donations. The model means the charity is structurally tied to the financial health of the sport: when prize money is buoyant the rehoming budget grows; when it dips, accreditation and competition prize funds tighten with it.

Famous former racehorses in second careers

The visible end of the programme is the well-known former racehorse turned ridden competitor. Several Cheltenham Festival winners have gone on to successful eventing or showing careers; one or two have been the subject of long-running documentary features. The visibility is useful for the charity because it reframes the question every new owner asks: not "can a racehorse be retrained" but "what is this one good at next".