Canterbury Park Veterinarian Saves Former Race Horses from Slaughter and Gives them a New Life
Dr. Richard Bowman's day job is as a veterinarian at Canterbury Park. And on the side? He saves former racehorses from slaughter and brings them to his 4,000-acre ranch in North Dakota. This man is living what I would consider an amazing life. I would love to have enough space (and money) to save horses! But that's beside the point.
Dr. Bowman first started saving former racehorses in '98 or '99, according to Star Tribune. Whenever a racehorse gets an injury and can no longer race Dr. Bownman is now the guy Canterbury Park goes to. He'll get a list of horses' names asking if he can find a home for them. Of course, he always says yes.
Usually, these horses end up at his ranch 624 miles (about 9 hours) away from Canterbury Park. Some of the horses he takes are not able to be adopted out to a new family for one reason or another. But many come up for adoption through Bowman Second Chance Thoroughbred Adoption.
Dr. Bowman spoke with Star Tribune about his ranch and seeing some of these horses adopted out to new families:
“I just like coming out here and hanging out with them. And the ones that get adopted, it’s pretty emotional to see the bonds they make with their new owners. It just makes you feel good.”
Mac Robertson is "Canterbury's all-time leading trainer" and he also spoke with Star Tribune about Dr. Bowman. Mac said, "'He is the last hope for a lot of these horses ... He loves the ones no one else wants.'”
If you want to learn more about Bowman Second Chance Thoroughbred Adoption, you can take a look at their website.