About MidAtlantic Horse Rescue

Thousands of beautiful, healthy thoroughbreds
are sent to slaughter every year when their racing careers are over.

We are working to get these horses out of the 'pens' and into good homes--
and you can help!

Horseracing is a truly thrilling sport, the "Sport of Kings." There are hundreds of racetracks across the country, with many located right here in the heart of the Mid-Atlantic region. Fans come for the excitement, the glamour, the beauty, ....and the horses.

The horses are the centerpiece of the sport, with their glossy coats, pricked ears, flaring nostrils, and keen, intelligent eyes. Every day, thousands of thoroughbreds answer the bugler's call. They go and run with all they have and more. But there is usually only one winner in any given race.

What about the others? Many go on to run other races on other days. Some end up winning. Some end up on breeding farms. Others just aren't fast enough to be competitive and eventually move on to lesser tracks to try again.

From here, the story gets a little gray. There are thousands of horses that just can't make it on any track- they are too slow, or laid back, or sore to pay their way. We would like to think that these horses all end up in good homes, as pleasure or sport horses, or just "best friends." Unfortunately, all too many end up at regional livestock auctions, where they are bought by dealers and sent to slaughterhouses in the U.S. and Canada who export the meat to Europe.

This is the sad reality of the industry. A lot of healthy, young, sound thoroughbreds never get a second chance. This is where we come in...

Mid-Atlantic Horse Rescue is a divison of Paws for Life, Inc., a Federal 501(c)3, that buys slaughter bound ex-racehorses and adopts them into good homes where they can start a new life.

For fifteen years we have been buying thoroughbreds at livestock auctions, evaluating them, and starting them in new careers. Ginny Suarez, Board President, and Beverly Strauss, Executive Director, are lifelong horsewomen. Graduate B and A Pony Clubbers, both have had extensive experience in eventing, dressage, showing, and foxhunting, and are licensed racehorse trainers.