LoneStar Outreach to Place Ex-Racers

Lone Star Outreach’s mission is to help older racing warhorses find second careers, while inspiring youth through horsemanship education. Credit: Tom Reardon

Services: Rehabilitation, Adoption

Location: Driftwood, TX

Founded: 2003

Website: lopetx.org

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Average Number of Thoroughbreds: 12

“Every racehorse is waiting to be someone’s special champion.”

With that credo, LoneStar Outreach to Place Ex-Racers (LOPE) has done business in Texas since 2003. Founded by Lynn Reardon, author of the best-selling, award-winning book “Beyond the Homestretch,” LOPE is today one of the country’s leading organizations working with off-the-track racehorses.

Established on the premise that horses need jobs, not pity, and that many ex-racers still have much to offer – whether as trail horses, show competitors, pets, or pasture companions – LOPE sees to it that they receive the attention required to become “champions” in a post-racing world.

Believing that a better-educated horse is less likely to be at-risk, and that a well-educated rider makes the best adopter, LOPE provides individualized retraining of horses, along with lessons and clinics for people interested in adopting. LOPE also offers vocational training for at-risk youth and is in an educational partnership with the American Association of Equine Veterinary Technicians.

Older stock, yearlings/weanlings, and broodmares are not accepted into LOPE, which accepts only off-the-track horses (of any racing breed) voluntarily donated by their owners or trainers. Each is assessed as to its particular needs, then placed either into rehab or the academy (retraining) program. Horses cannot be adopted until their training regimen is complete.

“For us, it’s an honor to work with such tremendous athletes,” said Reardon, who had little equine background when she first visited a racetrack backside and fell in love with the heart, intelligence, and athleticism of the horses she encountered. “I couldn’t believe that such magnificent athletes could ever be at-risk, and I am honored now to help them transition into new lives.

“Every horse is special – and we believe that every horse needs a vocation in order to be happy and true to its nature.”