The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) has announced that equine aftercare organizations can apply for accreditation from now through April 15. Once they have been accredited, such organizations are eligible to receive funding grants from the TAA to go toward the care and rehabilitation of Thoroughbreds in their care.

The TAA Code of Standards states that accreditation status is determined after a complete review of five areas: operations, education, horse health care management, facility standards and services, and adoption policies and protocols.

At minimum, organizations applying for accreditation must fulfill the following six requirements:

• Organization must have a current status as a 501c3 tax-exempt organization with Internal Revenue Service or be a registered charity in Canada.
• Organization must have been operational for a minimum of three years.
• Organization must house a minimum of 50% and/or a minimum of five Thoroughbreds.
• Organization must have an official euthanasia policy consistent with the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ guidelines. 
• Principals of the organization have never been convicted of killing, abandoning, mistreating, neglecting, abusing, or otherwise committing an act of cruelty to a horse.
• There must be no current legal proceedings pending against the organization, or a principal of the organization and related to the organization.

Upon submission of the application for accreditation, aftercare organizations could also be subject to a site inspection