ARTICLE WRITTEN BY ROBYN LOUR OF SPORTING POST WHO INTERVIEWED NEWTON ABOUT THE WCET REHOMING PRGRAMME AND WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT: ARTICLE Rebooting REHORP A few years ago I wrote about the establishment of a local organisation called REHORP (Rehoming of Race Horses Project), established in 2010. Funded by the Western Cape Equine Trust, run in conjunction with the Cape Horse Care Unit and based at the Grassy Park SPCA, the aim was to try and address the gap between a horse leaving the track and making the transition into a second career. Individuals donated to the unit would have any outstanding inoculations administered, any entires were gelded and horses were given a chance to let down and receive some basic training to help them transition into their new homes. Horses were adopted out under SPCA rules, checks were done on potential new homes and any horses adopted out under their policy received annual checks to ensure that everything was still in order. Since they opened their doors, REHORP have helped rehome over 90 Thoroughbreds. In fact, the concept has proved so popular that the volume of work has rather outgrown the Grassy Park facilities and REHORP are branching out on their own. It has taken a few months to organise, but they are rebranding (and going forward will be known as the WCET Rehoming Programme), relocating (to Cheval Vapeur in Philippi) and have successfully registered as a non-profit organisation (which earns favourable terms from SARS for anyone wanting to donate to the cause). I caught up with Vice Chairman Newton Phillips for a quick chat about the new project. “Essentially it is the same team behind the REHORP, based on very similar stringent criteria, but with a few important differences. Under the SPCA/Horse Care Unit banner, horses would be processed and adopted out according to SPCA policy. There was an adoption fee for each horse and the proceeds were put back into the Horse Care Unit. Also, under the previous policy, horses were only ever adopted and not owned outright by their new caretakers. Our Rehoming Programme will still apply strict rules in terms of home checks and do annual follow-ups on each horse, but with two important distinctions – there will be conditions attached, but horses will be sold to the new owners (although we will obviously continue to track them if / when they change homes) and secondly any and all proceeds will be put directly back into our project to fund the rehabilitation of another ex-racehorse.” The programme will be run on a small scale, aiming to accommodate anywhere from 4-7 horses at any one time. Newton is in day to day charge of the horses and personally helps with and oversees their training and progress. The new premises at Cheval Vapeur (conveniently situated within walking distance of the Philippi training facility) mean that the horses will be integrated into a livery setting. This keeps the initial logistics to a minimum as they have all the necessary facilities and manpower as well as a set daily routine, so important for horses used to the structure of the racing environment. There is one regular rider to help with exercising and training and a number of additional volunteers. Although people with riding skills are always in demand, I should add that volunteers of any skill level are always very welcome. Horses are donated to the programme with their passports, full medical and racing history and any other relevant details. On arrival at the Rehoming Programme, they will have a new feeding programme drawn up and training starts almost immediately. Horses are stabled over night and have the luxury of turnout during the day. Newton starts with establishing good ground work principles, progressing to working horses on a lunge line in a round pen and establishing voice commands, then working off lead and finally progressing to ridden work. “Unlike in their previous career, we need to put quite a lot of emphasis on stopping! We also gradually introduce rudimentary schooling and start teaching horses to use their bodies in new ways – like bending! Most of the initial work is done at trot and we only introduce a little canter work right at the end.” Of course projects like these can’t run without very generous help from a number of different sources, but our industry has a lot of silent heroes. There is a team of farriers, vets, physios and volunteers, all giving generously of their time and resources to ensure the horses have everything they need to succeed. All the horses are photographed and their details posted on the Western Cape Equine Trust Facebook page as well as a number of other resources such as Horsetrader, Gumtree and networked via their extensive list of contacts right across the country. It usually takes around 4-5 weeks from the day a horse joins the programme until the day they are ready to go to a new home, but obviously that differs slightly depending on the individual. For any trainers who are currently looking to rehome horses, the Rehoming Programme will officially be open for business next week and Newton tells me that greys and good looking dark bay geldings are always in particularly high demand, but as they say “a good horse is never a bad colour!”. Anyone who may be interested either in donating or shopping, can contact Newton directly on 082 454 5544, Tessa on 082 702 4197 or get in touch via their Facebook page. There will be a purchase price attached, but you will have the satisfaction of knowing that your money will be put towards helping rehabilitate another Thoroughbred and also peace of mind knowing that you are effectively helping 2 horses – the one you are buying and the one that will take its place. For those who are already sufficiently blessed in the horse department, donations are always very welcome (particularly now that they can offer SARS certificates). For those who prefer to contribute in other ways, time, resources and expertise are always greatly appreciated.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Jul 2013 12:12:42 +0000
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