Disclosure: This is a collaborative post about National Racehorse Week
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What Is National Racehorse Week?
National Racehorse Week is an annual UK celebration of racehorses that shows the love, care and attention these beautiful animals get. Although they do spend several days a month racing, they also have plenty of time being pampered and trained by experts.
It’s not only racehorse stables that are open, but also studs and aftercare centres. You can check out what is open near you and book tickets here (most are free!) to visit between the 9th and 17th of September 2023.
Many people seem to think that racehorses aren’t well looked after, which is completely untrue! And a good reason why you should visit a local racehorse stables during National Racehorse Week.
Why Visit Racehorse Stables?
You should visit racehorse stables to see how well looked after horses are, even though they work hard! During this week you can see that horses get time outside riding, rest time in the stables and plenty of food. They also have time outside in the fields for a holiday after their racing season has finished.
The care and love put in by the staff working at the stables is pretty obvious when you visit. It’s lovely to see how affectionate they are to these hard working animals.
Iain Jardine’s Yard in Dumfriesshire
We visited Iain Jardine’s Yard in Dumfriesshire before their open day on the 14th September. So we got a bit of a VIP tour of the stables and found out exactly how they look after their horses.
Like most stables they have horses that compete both in jumps and on the flat. So whilst we were visiting it was coming to the end of the flat racing season and the jump season just beginning. So it is quite busy at this cross-over point.
Iain Jardine’s horses have won over 37 races across the flat season in 2023 and already 7 winners from the 2023/2024 jump season. So they definitely know what they are doing at this yard!
Day-To-Day Life Of A Racehorse
We were able to watch the horses getting tacked up, then out on the gallops in the morning. We could then see the routine after they had been out for exercise, with a cooling wash down and into the horse walker to ease their muscles before going back to their stables. Whilst the horses are out their stables are cleaned out and fresh hay put down.
The kids were able to help clean out stables and put feed out for the horses. And even got to feed carrots to Iain Jardine’s daughter’s ponies nearby. It’s always fun to actually meet the horses and ponies for horse loving kids!
We even found out about different treatments some of the horses get, including massages for sore muscles and use of a nasal aspirator to help soothe horses breathing. All the horses seemed to be happy, healthy and had beautiful shiny coats.
Where To Find Racehorse Stables To Visit
There are racehorse yards, studs and aftercare centres up and down the UK, open between 9th-17th September 2023. The open days are an annual celebration, so if you missed this year, check back at the beginning of September next year too.
You can find a stables near you to visit at this link here. It’s definitely worth it if you enjoy horses or racing!
Are Racehorses Treated Well?
Yes! All good yards take care of their horses and the staff really care for them. If they didn’t look after the horses they wouldn’t want to be racing and certainly wouldn’t be winning so many races!
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Pin National Racehorse Week: Open Stables
