Racehorse owners 'walking away'

Increases in feed and bedding costs are hitting owners

A racehorse trainer in Norfolk said the racing industry had been hit by the economic downturn with some owners abandoning horses at her stables.

Lin Lawler of the Brookfield Stud at Hainford, near Norwich, has nine animals that have been discarded.

She said: "One was abandoned when she had a foal. The syndicate which owned her couldn't afford to keep the mare and the foal."

Another Norfolk trainer Christine Dunnett said feed costs had risen 25%.

She said of the economic downturn: "I feel quite fortunate. I was very conscious of it back in the summer and advised some of my owners to sell their horses because it wouldn't be worth continuing their training."

'Meat trade'

She said feed prices had risen by 25% in the past year and costs for bedding had rocketed.

It costs between £30 to £40 a day to keep a racehorse in training and Ms Dunnett said some trainers were dropping their prices dramatically to keep horses in their yards.

She said for some owners, walking away would be the easy way out.

Ms Lawler from the Brookfield stud said some horses were being sold for meat.

This was rejected by the Retraining of Racehorses - the official body for the racehorse industry.

Director of Operations, Diana Arbuthnot said: "We would like to think there is no live meat trade any more in this country."

However she warned that the problem of what to do with abandoned racehorses would get worse before it got better.