Advisory to Maryland horsemen on aftercare

CANTER is a listing service run by volunteers that advertises retiring horses for owners and trainers. In light of recent issues we have encountered, Maryland horsemen are encouraged to first contact the Beyond The Wire aftercare program when they choose to retire a racehorse.

The CANTER listing service is not accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, and because of that horsemen who use the service are solely responsible for screening the buyers and ensuring that the horses go to safe and secure homes with people who can properly care for them. Also beware that unlike TAA-accredited facilities, CANTER offers no safety net for horses should the rehoming situation not work out. This fact makes it even more imperative that the trainer be extremely honest and disclose all useful information, which is always in the best interest of the horse.

Beyond The Wire’s partner farms are TAA-accredited and take their horses back should an adoption not work out. Please contact Beyond The Wire administrator Jessica Hammond at 301-776-0404 if you need to retire a horse.

“Our partner facilities have a lot of space despite the circumstances (related to COVID-19),” Hammond said. “We’re still moving horses during this time.”