'Life past the post'

New Beginnings is a Community Interest Company which works in a similar way to a charitable organisation. 

The primary aim of ‘New Beginnings’ is to provide a safe and supportive environment for ex-racehorses to be rehabilitated and re-homed after they have retired from racing.

Through fund raising and donations, the team at New Beginnings work hard to secure income to provide a loving home for these lovely creatures that may otherwise have an insecure future.

Our intention is not to operate as a sanctuary but to rehabilitate, re-train and re-home as many suitable ex racehorses as possible. Some horses will remain within the New Beginnings stables, and some will move on to new loan homes.

All horses that come into New Beginnings are first given time to acclimatise to their new surroundings.

Then work starts from the ground and progresses to be ridden at home and hacking out. This builds confidence and allows the horses to develop physically and mentally, often highlighting their personal strengths, i.e. a flair for dressage or jumping or a confident hack.

The ultimate aim is to produce horses that can easily move into new disciplines and be suitably and successfully re-homed. New Beginnings commit to look after every horse for the rest of their natural life.

Horses are ‘loaned’ to long term loving homes but will always return to New Beginnings if circumstances change, offering a secure future for these beautiful creatures as they will never be sold.

This long term commitment to every horse costs a lot of time and money so subsequently New Beginnings welcomes any financial support or sponsorship that is available.

They gave their all on the track and they deserve a safe and secure future...

There are thousands of racehorses coming out of training every year, some of them are successfully re-homed but a lot are not that fortunate. The majority that are re-homed, are re-schooled for a new life outside racing.

According to Weatherbys data in 2006 (published in Horse & Hound 6th May 2010)

7,590 horses left the racing industry (Just in one year) Of these;

• 209 were racing in Ireland
• 2,404 could not be traced
• 852 were dead
• 743 were point-to-pointing
• 582 went into 'sport or recreation' including polo
• 1,446 retired to stud
• 186 were sold at auction with no further records
• 1168 were exported to race (subsequent whereabouts out of the study's scope).

Too many of the horses that are re-schooled/re-homed fall on difficult times later in life and many of the above horses end up at the local horse sales and end up in the meat trade!

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There is now continued growing evidence that contact with horses and other animals can help children to grow and develop, and look forward to a positive and happy future.