After the Races

The first thing you notice is gorgeous legs. 

Four of them. 

They belong to a chestnut thoroughbred grazing on a quiet field at a farm north of Covington. He stops munching for a moment, looks around, and whinnies while other horses gather to enjoy the grass, too. A couple of horses nearby, a gray and a cremello, nip playfully at each other. Suddenly, they hear something and sprint off, running in a purposeful burst. The legs on some of these horses are so long it’s a wonder a jockey ever managed to mount them. But ridden they were. Now with their racing careers behind them, they and several others are spending their lives in the safe and peaceful comfort of this sanctuary for horses. It’s run by a seven-year-old nonprofit called the Thoroughbred Retirement Network of Louisiana (TRNL). 

The horses that live here are the exceptions; others across the United States aren’t so lucky. The careers of racehorses are painfully short, usually ending between the ages of 6 and 8 while horses can live as long as thirty years. The balance is almost always uncertain. The fastest horses are sent to breeding farms. Others are adopted by a subset of individuals and organizations who have the space and inclination to house them. Most end up on a tragic path that leads to the slaughterhouse. 

According to The Humane Society of the United States’ conservative estimate, more than one hundred thousand horses a year are sent to slaughter. It’s especially high in states like Louisiana where there is a robust horseracing industry but an immature retirement and adoption network. 

Domestic slaughter of horses was outlawed in 2007 in the United States, but that hasn’t slowed this highly lucrative industry in which horses are bought cheap at auction then housed in so-called kill pens until they’re shipped over the Mexican and Canadian borders. There, slaughter is still legal. The Humane Society estimates that about ninety-two percent of horses who meet this fate are in good condition and able to live out full lives. 

“It’s heartbreaking,” said Cynthia Datrio, a lifelong equestrian and TRNL founder. “That’s what we’re trying to do something about.” Datrio, a child psychologist and former professional rider and trainer, launched the organization in 2009 after buying the ten-acre horse-training barn. The barn had previously boarded show horses for regional riders, hiring Datrio to help them with a couple of project horses, or adopted racehorses that needed retraining. Datrio fell in love with the work and ended up purchasing the barn, downsizing her personal residence to raise capital. She converted it into a safe haven for retired thoroughbreds in need of adoption. 

The barn is currently at capacity with twenty-two horses and has a waiting list. Retraining horses for life after the racetrack takes time, and Datrio believes it’s important to give the animals as much attention as they require. The TRNL is currently undergoing the process of accreditation through the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, which will give it access to a national network of resources and contacts.   

A New Orleans native, Datrio developed a passion for riding and showing horses at an early age, becoming an accomplished equestrian as a teenager with a succession of blue ribbons. She was also comfortable breaking horses, and began to work with horse trainers in the region as well. In her early twenties, she earned a Riding Master degree with an emphasis on training and breeding from the respected Meredith Manor International Equestrian College in West Virginia and was valedictorian of her graduating class. Once Datrio stopped showing herself, she leased training barns in Baton Rouge where she trained horses and taught riding lessons. 

The professional equestrian life is physically hard on riders. Datrio, fearless, has endured several serious injuries, including a broken pelvis that occurred when a recalcitrant Arabian stallion fell on her as she tried to break it. It led to three months in traction in the hospital. She has also had two hip replacements. The physical strain of riding, along with frustrations about the way horses are trained, prompted Datrio to forge a second career. She earned a PhD in child psychology and became a child and adolescent counselor, first working with troubled teens in juvenile corrections in greater Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Today, she has a private practice on the Northshore specializing in children and youth. 

Her counseling skills aren’t lost on the horses, most programmed for a grueling life in racing. They suffer individual pathologies that take time and expertise to unravel. It’s not unlike working with troubled teens, she said. “They’re like puzzles. You could write a story on any one of these guys,” she said, stroking the muzzle of a 27-year-old horse named Will, who nods back affectionately. “He’s just a love.” 

A horse Datrio rescued from a kill pen named Floyd, 17, relaxes nearby. “Each of them comes with different issues, and we spend time figuring them out,” she said.   

For example, a racehorse that is accustomed to racing leftward around a track often lacks a healthy right-side orientation. Datrio is working with a horse now to work this kink out so that the horse can transition to life as a pleasure mount, show horse, trail horse, or companion. 

Another of the resident horses was previously mistreated in the stall, making it fractious when Datrio or her volunteers attempted to enter. Months of patience and careful tending have helped calm the horse down. And a longtime racer who had its tongue frequently tied down to give the rider more control has been counseled through an understandable disdain of the bridle. 

Datrio said that as horses are being retrained, they are observed carefully to ensure they strengthen muscles not previously used during racing or that injuries sustained during racing are properly treated. Under Datrio’s watchful eye, the horses learn to evolve from a life of abrupt stops and starts on the track to a life of simply being a horse. Once they are transitioned, added Datrio, they make incredible companions. “These are animals that like to please, and they will give you one hundred percent all the time,” she said. 

The nonprofit TRNL has no paid staff but relies on passionate volunteers. Sara Bongiorni, her husband Kevin, and their two daughters, Sofia, 12, and Audrey, 9, often spend Saturdays mucking stalls and helping groom horses in exchange for riding lessons for the girls. They commute from their home in Baton Rouge. The day starts with barn chores then culminates in Datrio providing instruction to Sofia and Audrey in the training ring. “Cindy is so good with both people and horses,” said Bongiorni. “It’s incredible to see her in action.” 

In addition to the weekenders, TRNL has a few core weekday volunteers. One is Samantha Shaffer, 29, a lifelong rider from Covington who got to know Datrio when she boarded her aging show horse, Rex, at the farm. “At the time, I didn’t know about the rescue work that Cindy was doing,” said Shaffer, who quickly started lending a hand with the horses. Rex has since died, but Shaffer still works three mornings a week at the barn as well as on weekends. She recently adopted a horse named Majik that Datrio has retrained for dressage. 

Like Datrio, Shaffer speaks with tremendous warmth about the TRNL horses. “They’re all so individual,” she said. “It’s just good to see them turned out during the day, grazing and talking to their friends.”