Horse Welfare Recreational Ranch for Retired and Abused Horses Opens in Hwaseong on the 29th

Gyeonggi Province has opened a horse welfare recreational ranch in Hwaseong.

On April 29, Gyeonggi Province announced the establishment and full-scale operation of a 18,607-square-meter “Horse Welfare Recreational Ranch” at the Livestock Promotion Center in Mado-myeon, Hwaseong City. This facility will serve as a shelter for retired racehorses discarded after the spotlight fades, as well as for abused horses.

After their retirement from active duty, racehorses and riding horses have often faced neglect or abuse due to the lack of an appropriate management system, highlighting a serious blind spot in animal welfare.

To address this fundamental problem, Gyeonggi Province set up a large-scale recreational ranch within the riding horse complex at the Livestock Promotion Center in Mado-myeon, Hwaseong City, equipped with spacious pastures, rehabilitation areas, and cultural experience facilities.

This facility provides a stable environment focused on rehabilitation and rest for retired racehorses, horses designated for conversion to riding horses, and rescued horses, all of whom are selected through a thorough screening process by city and county governments, the Korea Racing Authority, and relevant organizations in the province, so that they can coexist with people.

Recently, a riding horse named “Libby,” which was rescued after being left unattended for a long period at a riding club in North Gyeongsang Province, was adopted into this facility, drawing attention as a representative success story of public horse welfare. Libby was rescued through the “Horse Protection Monitoring Center” of the Korea Racing Authority, received treatment, regained health, and was transferred to the Gyeonggi Province Livestock Promotion Center through the horse welfare adoption platform.

Gyeonggi Province opened a horse welfare recreational ranch in Mado-myeon, Hwaseong City on the 29th and began full-scale operation. Provided by Gyeonggi Province

Gyeonggi Province plans to further strengthen a solid virtuous cycle system of rescue, rehabilitation, and adoption, as demonstrated by Libby’s case, and to expand the public-led foundation for protection.

To this end, the province will seek facility certification in connection with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ “Measures to Enhance Horse Welfare (2025–2029),” which includes the installation and operation of horse protection facilities.

In addition, the number of horses under management will be gradually increased, and horse welfare education and awareness programs for provincial residents will be promoted in parallel. Furthermore, Gyeonggi Province, the Korea Racing Authority, local governments, and experts will establish a close-knit cooperation system to focus on preventing abuse, identifying welfare blind spots, and supporting the conversion of horses to riding horses.

Kim Dae-soon, Second Vice Governor for Administrative Affairs of Gyeonggi Province, stated, “The horse welfare recreational ranch is an integrated welfare model that goes beyond simple protection to include rehabilitation and utilization. We will continue to cooperate with relevant organizations to create an environment where horses are respected and to expand a sustainable horse industry foundation with the participation of provincial residents.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.