‘Doing The Right Things For The Right Reasons’: Forbes Outlines Equine Welfare Vision

SINCE its inception in 2016, the International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses (IFAR) has taken on the necessary work of raising awareness with regards to equine welfare. It has also created a central hub designed to facilitate the sharing of resources toward the goal of providing lifetime care for retired racehorses. From the creation of its Aftercare Toolkit to various other educational resources, IFAR has been at the forefront of creating a blueprint for aftercare success that can be implemented throughout racing jurisdictions around the globe.

This August, the eighth edition of the IFAR conference will be held in conjunction with the 40^th Asian Racing Conference in Sapporo, Japan. Dr. Eliot Forbes, a founding member of IFAR, spoke with Idol Horse about the progress that has been made since the organisation’s creation and what issues remain paramount in the quest to ensure proper care through end-of-life for all Thoroughbred racehorses.

Q & A with Dr. Eliot Forbes

Q: The issue of aftercare is not a new one in racing, but it seems like it has gained traction in the last decade or so. Why do you think there has been an added push throughout the industry globally to make this a priority?

A: “I think there are two aspects to that. Good and genuine horse people have always minded about taking care of their horses. And they probably were addressing it in a more uncoordinated but natural fashion in dealing with finding homes for their horses after they finished their careers more organically. However, we’ve seen the rise in public consciousness about animal welfare more generally and that is not just around horse racing, but around all animal sectors.

“The industry has found that it needs to systemise the way that it goes about aftercare for racehorses and in a way, this sort of crystallised what was taking place already. But in others, it’s brought a particular focus to ensure that where there weren’t activities in certain jurisdictions that they’ve got programs in place. And then also, really starting to approach things with more of an innovative framework in terms of ‘what else can we do in this space?’ How can we find new pathways for these horses? So, they’re really turning their mind to open up new pathways.”

Q: This is going to be the eighth IFAR conference. What do you feel have been some of the biggest wins that have come out of it thus far?

A: “First and foremost, it is building a community of awareness. So, within the racing regulatory ranks – and we’ll be speaking at a racing regulator’s conference effectively – there were different levels of awareness with regards to the needs or activities going on in the aftercare space. What we’ve managed to do in the previous conferences is put this first and foremost on the agenda for the regulators to understand that this is an important topic, and they need to be turning their mind to this.

“There is tremendous diversity in the way that different racing jurisdictions operate around the world but it’s about not being prescriptive and saying this is what you have to be doing, but instead saying here’s a whole bunch of ideas and you can take away what is going to work in your environment. So secondly, after raising awareness, it would be sharing best practices.” 

Q: One of IFAR’s goals is to develop a network that allows best practices to be shared across various aftercare organizations. How have you seen some of that being put into practice?

A: “It’s really interesting because most of us are trying to solve the same problem. Though there might be some slightly different legislative or structural arrangements in our jurisdictions, the fundamentals are still the same. When it comes to the conference for example, we give various countries the opportunity to share what’s new and usually the people in the audience go ‘Well I never thought about it that way, what can I take away and apply in my own jurisdiction’.

“That touches on everything from the regulatory framework and the rules of racing through to the data systems and data captures through to the aftercare programs, right to being involved with different equestrian events to having an equine safety net and emergency provisions. So yeah, they’re all sort of different examples of the scope of things jurisdictions should be thinking about and working about what is applicable in their own environment.”

Q: What in your opinion is the biggest need for aftercare organisations as a whole in order for them to succeed and what is the biggest challenge you feel they face toward satisfying that need?

A: “We’re on a journey of awareness of shared responsibility. So, some countries, there may not be an active animal activists’ environment and in those countries, they are probably not minded toward pushing forward necessarily because they haven’t got people holding their feet to the fire. On the other end of the spectrum, there are countries who have a whole bunch of stuff going on. But because of the noise the activists might leave, no matter what they do, they never seem to be gaining traction.

“I suppose the challenge is making sure that we’re doing the right things for the right reasons and being able to cut through with our communication to get that understood without an activist’s lens on it, which could lead to a negative connotation about the good work that is going on in some places.”

Q: In North America, one of the biggest issues aftercare organizations face is funding, because there is no governing body in place to mandate contributions. How much is that a challenge as far as implementing change and what can IFAR achieve without having the power of a regulatory body?

A: “Funding is always important and it’s always a challenge for every organisation in this space. There is always more that can be done with more funds. But that’s not the only issue and that awareness of the need to have good aftercare strategies in place is a good starting point because organisations and jurisdictions have to understand they have to do something in this space.

“Secondly, then working out what is the right thing to be doing – and a lot of these things don’t cost a lot of money. If you look at the framework, data systems, compliance obligations, those are rectory functions that don’t cost a lot of money, but it does take focus from the rectory team and those bodies to have this as part of their scope of duties. In terms of having a safety net and provisions around that, it may not be that it has to be a particularly highly-funded area of enterprise. But if horses come into a situation where they need support, then there is a framework to activate the resources that you need: so, again, without spending a lot of money, but you’ve put the time into thinking about the organisational structures to support a response.

“And, of course, there is funding itself and I think that can sometimes overshadow the debate, but that takes nothing away from the responsibility the industry has across all the different aspects of it whether its regulation, owners, or the aftercare bodies themselves to ensure they’ve got activities in these areas.”

Q: Thinking years down the line, what additional progress in the area of aftercare would you like to see put in place?

A: “Our vision at IFAR is that every racing jurisdiction has a robust aftercare program put in place which addresses all of the elements we have in our aftercare tool kit. I wrote that originally because it’s a bit like sharing the best practices: what is everything that could be done but pick what works for you. You should probably work your way through the list and make sure you are turning your mind to some of if not all of those things. Our vision would be that every jurisdiction has aftercare strategies, that they’re basing it off of comprehensive views such as the aftercare tool kit, and we’ve got a good life for all of our horses after racing.”

Q: For the conference coming up, what are some of the primary topics that will be featured this year?

A: “We’re still in the process of announcing our program. However, we’ll be talking about and hearing from our host in Japan, the JRA. They’ve put a lot of effort into the aftercare space and it’s a chance for them to share what they’ve been doing. We’ll be looking at a few novel approaches to aftercare from around the world and we’ll also be looking at some of the community work that’s been done previously and that is about how is the industry tracking in relation to what the community expects of it in relation to aftercare, and what are the opportunities for improvement in that regard.”