REMBERT, S.C. — Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation started a unique program at the Wateree River Correctional Institution in 2004. The Second Chances program is only one of eight state initiatives across the country that allows inmates to work hands on with horses who have retired from the racetrack.
The once-competitive race horses are now given a chance for a new life and fresh start.
Bryan Stirling is the director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections. He says these inmates might not have had the opportunity to learn these skills in other activities.
“You have some horses here that have been maybe put out to pasture and neglected, so the inmate population that works here learns a lot," Stirling said. "They learn compassion, they learn sympathy, they learn hard work.”
During their stay at the Wateree River Correctional Institute, the horses not only find companionship but are nurtured back to health, preparing them for adoption.
Inmates like Artie gain invaluable experience that they can carry with them after their release.
“It taught me how to harvest the attitudes, the aggression," said Artie. "When I tell you it will teach you how to walk away from things because that’s what they do. If you watch them and they and another horse get into it because they have a pecking order, so when that other horse comes in more aggressive, they’ll walk away. But then, if you do the same thing in life when the situation comes, instead of just keep going and agitating the situation, just walk away from it.”
Artie is one of the sixty inmates in the program this year.
“There are men that are going to come through here that need it. A lot of them don’t understand that they need it," said Artie. "Because they don’t give it time, but those that do give it time like myself we need it.”
The program is not only about rehabilitation but also redemption for inmates. Some go on to become a veterinarian assistant or care takers.
Maggie Sweet is the executive director of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. She says the relationships prisoners create with the horses are unique.
“To come from that place of extreme stress and then to come here with a horse that if you bring that stress the horse is going to react to it," said Sweet. "And so then, therefore, in order to get along with the horse, you have to learn how to deescalate, and I think that’s a very unique position. It's not just somebody walking in off the street to go trail riding or something.”
Wateree River Correctional Institution is currently home to 33 horses and can have up to 40 horses at any one time.