I’m in the process of making out my will. Since a large part of my life was spent with off track thoroughbreds, I want to make a donation to a charity that specializes in TB retirement and retraining. Does anyone have suggestions on which ones to donate to?
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Old Friends supported a retired TB that lived on my farm for years. We were accredited by the TB Aftercare Alliance. If I were leaving money, I’d look into those options.
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New Vocations is the largest of the retraining organizations; they seem to do a more than credible job of restarting OTTBs.
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Following this thread because I am planning a similar donation.
ETA : CANTER Mid-Atlantic is a nonprofit organization I’ve also been considering. It’s the closest group to me and one of my girls came through them.
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MidAtlantic Horse Rescue is another good one
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The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance is a non-profit that inspects and approves aftercare organizations and awards grants to those organizations. They do great work! Www.thoroughbredaftercare.org
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Maybe this would get more traffic over on Off Course, perhaps the Mods can move it? Racing forum has been pretty slow lately but everybody peeks into Off Course.
For OP, might want to keep in mind that some of the accredited TBAA (is that the right initials?) are retirement facilities that do not restart them in new careers then place them in new homes. Old Friends for example. New Vocations is the best known restarter but there are many others recognized.
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New Vocation will stand by their adopted horses. They try to help rehome or take them back. Helping insure the future & safety of their horses.
I know someone that adopted from the Secretariat Center, her story is awful. She was shunned when wanting their help to rehome or return her horse. Their prices are sometimes ridiculously high, especially for a non profit adoption facility.
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I’ll add another vote for the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. Money that goes there actually does something good for horses, rather than being spent on PR for the organization.
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I volunteer at an OTTB rescue in Maryland (The Foxie G Foundation - they’re family run and while, like all rescues, they have their limitations, I think they do generally do their best by their horses). Of course, this also means that I’ve had some limited experience with a couple of other organizations dealing with thoroughbreds and I don’t love some of them - they seem to be more about PR than actual care of OTTBs, or are too large and cannot actually do everything they promise.
Beyond the Wire is another Maryland based OTTB org that so far I really like and I think does good work.
I will say that I don’t love some of the orgs already mentioned in this thread and others I have no experience with but do have good reputations. I’m willing to share more privately, but I’ll also say that even if I have issues with a particular org it doesn’t mean they’re bad.
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I’ve had very good experiences with MidAtlantic Horse Rescue. I adopted my boy from them and I have friends who have also gotten thoroughbreds from them as well. No stress, no pressure, and they always take back horses. My boy was a kill pen pull and then also an adoption return. Plus, they offer clinics throughout the year that are open to thoroughbreds and free to MidAtlantic grads.
If you are looking to support a specific charity, visit a few local to you and learn more about them. Ask questions, learn their needs and practices. You will learn right away who your people are. Many are great but the right fit for you will be easier to spot.
Also, old friends is great. It just depends on what type of charity you are looking to support.
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Another benefit of donating to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance is that they give funds to pretty much every single organization mentioned above. You’re helping them all in one fell swoop.
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I adopted two from here. I would have to agree with you, though. And I just noticed they are looking for another new director and bookkeeper. High turnover lately.
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thanks for the suggestions so far. From how it reads, TBAA if funded by some areas of the racing industry with very deep pockets. While my donation would a be a 6 figure one, it seems like it would be a drop in the bucket to an organization that size. I’m almost thinking something on a smaller scale. Some group who spends their days thinking “how the hell are we going to afford hay this winter”, and a donation would be a really big deal for them. It doesn’t have to be a retraining organization I guess. I read more and more post of TBs who just aren’t rideable after their track careers and just get bounced around in a futile effort into turning them into a riding horse. Maybe my money would do better in helping those types of horses. I’m in New England, so I’d like to keep it local if I could. I’m thinking somewhere upstate NY might be where I need to look.
TAA ( no B there, my bad) certifies and allots funds to acceptable rescues. They are not overfunded. Dispersing your legacy through them would insure it would legitimately go where needed and recipients use it appropriately.
Long history of threads on here dealing with questionable “rescues”. You cant check up on them…
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Thank you for the comment about them not being overfunded. I’ve been looking at their page for awhile now, and it looks like a good place to donate.
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Looks like Repole Stable is matching donations to TAA throughout January, if anyone is interested.
Repole Stable to Match TAA Donations up to $100,000
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I get notifications from the Caribbean Thoroughbred Alliance (CTA) in Puerto Rico. They try to get horses off the track and then fly them back to the mainland, mainly to rescues and sometimes to their previous owners. The horses that wind up in Puerto Rico aren’t really in a good situation, and a lot of them are euthanized when they are no longer wanted. Flying them back to the states costs a bundle and it seems like CTA often has to make up the difference. I’m sure that they would appreciate any sort of donation you could send your way.
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