International Aftercare Forum Set for 2017
This is excerpted from a post at Bloodhorse.com by Tom LaMarra.
Groundwork continues to be laid for an international conference on racehorse aftercare that has been scheduled for October 2017, according to Godolphin, which in late July held three days of meetings as part of the planning process.
The international forum is designed to “bring together the official and national operations based around the world that facilitate and promote the retraining of racehorses,” Godolphin said Aug. 1. The leading breeding and racing organization unveiled the effort at its recent “Lifetime Care for Thoroughbreds” meetings in England.
The International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses is expected to include representatives from Australia, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Japan, and the United States. Godolphin said IFAR will work with the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities and act as an assembly for discussion to facilitate growth of aftercare programs despite “geographical and industry differences.”
Multiple programs, including the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance in the United States, have sprung up in recent years around the world. The IFAR “will enable these experiences to be shared, for best practices to be adopted, and for advice to be given to all racing jurisdictions regarding caring for and the retraining of former racehorses,” Godolphin said.