About LOPE Texas
Mission
To provide Texas ex-racehorses (of all breeds) with opportunities for new jobs after their racing days end. LOPE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that partners with the Texas racing industry to help find racehorses new homes.
Philosophy
We believe ex-racehorses are winners even after their racing careers end. They have so much heart, athleticism and intelligence — all they need is a chance to find that second career and new life after the finish line.
The LOPE program has been warmly received by the Texas racing industry and the many Texas sport-horse disciplines. LOPE believes that every ex-racehorse is waiting to be someone's special champion – whether as a trail horse, show competitor or just plain pet. For us, it’s an honor to work with such tremendous ex-athletes, so full of intelligence and fine bloodlines. Every horse is special to us – and we believe that every horse needs a job, a special vocation, in order to be happy and true to its nature.
At LOPE, we respect, admire and value the ex-racehorses – and we want everyone who owns one to feel that way too.
This Austin-American Statesman video provides a nice overview of LOPE's approach.
Programs
LOPE partners with the Texas racetracks to help find racehorses new homes through its online services and adoption ranch facility.
Online Services
LOPE’s online services include free listings for race trainers/breeders/owners who wish to list their racehorses for sale to non-racing homes. LOPE’s website attracts many equestrians (from both English and Western disciplines) in search of prospects and riding horses. LOPE’s listing service is free to both those listing and buying.
LOPE also provides urgent email service (to our large email list) for racehorses in need of immediate, free placement to private homes. This service is offered to all race trainers, race breeders and race owners whose circumstances require them to immediately place a horse. This service has proved highly-effective at placing at-risk racehorses into new homes within 24 hours.
Adoption Ranch Facility
Race trainers and owners may donate their retiring racehorses to LOPE’s adoption ranch facility, where we find approved non-race homes for the horses. Since 2004, the LOPE Ranch has taken in over 140 horses from the racing industry, including slow 2-year-olds, 7-year-old stakes winners ready to retire, aging track pony horses and everything in-between!
Homestretch Heroes Rehab Program
At the LOPE Ranch, we often receive horses in need of more serious rehabilitation. Thanks to the Malone family, LOPE launched the Homestretch Heroes program in 2008 with their generous donation of a five-stall Barnmaster barn. LOPE can now take in a limited number of horses each year that require stall rest and/or surgeries before they begin new careers.
Public Education
LOPE provides public education on horsemanship and horse care. We are regularly consulted on how to best retrain and rehab ex-racehorses, and have held clinics, demonstrations and seminars on this topic.
Results & Accomplishments
Racehorse Placement
Since 2003, LOPE has helped transition over 800 Texas ex-racehorses of all breeds into new careers through its adoption ranch facility, website listing service and urgent-placement emails. Recent adoption-success stories of note can be found on the LOPE blog.
Public Education
LOPE has hosted clinics by natural horsemanship leaders (such as Ray Hunt) and and has been featured at local horse events where we've held popular demonstrations starring ex-racehorses in different stages of retraining. We also bring LOPE horses to local clinics to promote their potential as riding horses and show mounts.
LOPE Book
LOPE’s Executive Director, Lynn Reardon, has written a book about the LOPE horses and the many lessons they’ve taught her. The book not only promotes the value, versatility and heart of ex-racehorses, but proceeds from the book will help fund LOPE.
LOPE Horsemanship DVD
LOPE has partnered with horsemanship Master, Tom Curtin, to create a professionally-produced DVD. In this DVD, Tom Curtin works with ex-racehorses and demonstrates key horsemanship principles to help the horses adapt to new careers.
Website Outreach to Horse Enthusiasts
The LOPE website and blog attract over 30,000 unique visitors annually, and average 5,000 monthly visits (generating 30,000 monthly pageviews) from over 460 Texas cities, all 50 US states and over 70 foreign countries. The popularity of our site and blog is due to our strong supporter network of equine professionals and enthusiasts of all horse disciplines.
Media
Since its founding, LOPE has attracted significant media attention (from national, state and local media outlets) with it’s colorful success stories of ex-racehorses.
Vision & Goals
LOPE still has many goals ahead – so we can continue to increase the number of Texas racehorses we help each year.
Expand Rehab and Adoption Program
LOPE would like to eventually have two ranches: one that houses young, sound off-track horses and acts as the primary adoption farm; and a second that focuses on the more seriously injured horses while also acting as a public education center.
Our most important, primary goal is to keep expanding our Homestretch Heroes Rehabilitation Program for injured horses. We would like to fund more surgeries (such as chip removal, sesamoid repair, etc) and help more at-risk ex-racehorses that might not have any future for pleasure riding otherwise.
Increase Promotion of Ex-Racehorses
We want to focus on developing more of a market for ex-racehorses in general – by promoting the many sports and activities at which these horses can excel (as well as dispelling racehorse myths that discourage potential new homes). If the general public values ex-racehorses as competition animals and pets, more of these horses could find homes directly from the race trainers (rather than only via LOPE or other placement groups), thus reducing the risk to the horses overall.
If we are successful in our goals, we hope that LOPE will one day become an obsolete service – that Texas ex-racehorses will be so valued and admired, there will always be a long line of people ready to give them homes straight from the racetracks.
The LOPE book is a step in that direction. We also would like to develop a program for promoting high-point awards for ex-racers at competitions such as Stock Horse of Texas, family rodeos, Pony Club as well as more English-riding events like dressage, eventing and jumper shows.
We also would like to increase our educational outreach and offer more horsemanship and racehorse-retraining clinics to continue promoting the trainability of these wonderful horses.
If we are successful in our goals, we hope that LOPE will one day become an obsolete service – that Texas ex-racehorses will be so valued and admired, there will always be a long line of people ready to give them homes straight from the racetracks.
