PROSPECT, Ky. — The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation Sanctuary Farm at Chestnut Hall was established in April 2021. The goal at the farm is to educate the public on the life of Thoroughbred racehorses before and after their racing days.

The 25-acre farm in Prospect is home to 11 retired racehorses, and farm manager Alyssa Carinder plays a big role in making sure every horse's needs are met.

“I’ve been doing it since I was 6, so really it's healing to just hang out with them all day. It sounds weird not to have any coworkers or really anything with you but just hanging out with the horses, just sitting in a field with them is relaxing and my favorite part of the day,” Carinder said.

Between being a full-time student at the University of Louisville and a member of the equestrian team, Carinder also serves as the farm manager at Chestnut Hall. Carinder spends hours feeding and monitoring retired racehorses.

“It’s super important to monitor these horses, they like to break themselves like any horse does. So it's really important to check that any legs are super super healthy and I just want to make sure everyone is comfortable and living happily,” Carinder said.

Farm manager at Chesnut Hall, Alyssa Carinder hosting a tour for guests.

The bulk of horses race until they're 6 but live until they’re 30. Although not every Thoroughbred at Chestnut Hall has been a champion, for Carinder, her job is to treat each horse like they’re in the winner’s circle.

“There's a lot of time in between there where they just get to be a horse because we pay our respects back to them because they were athletes for us,” Carinder said.

While Carinder serves as the farm manager, she also hosts tours at the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation Sanctuary Farm. Carinder shows guests around the farm, introducing them to each of the retired racehorses as well as her daily duties around Chestnut Hall. In the meantime, she also hosts weekly educational Zoom chats for the seventeen neighbors who share the fence line with the farm.

“We have one that wants to be a horse vet one day and it's really cool. She comes to our Chestnut Chats which are every Wednesday night. We do a Zoom call with the neighbors and so I just do a quick lesson plan about horses and it's really great I get to inform her on that and be the first horse person she gets to talk to on a regular basis,” Carinder said.

For more information on Chestnut Hall and the retired racehorses who now have a place to call home visit their website.