A Moruya woman has spent the past eight years and every cent she owns saving racehorses who are no longer wanted.
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Kayla McEwen, 42, founded her horse rehabilitation business in 2013, after being a jockey for many years.
She wanted to give back to the horses.
"The racing industry gave me 20 years of income," she said.
"I have to give those horses something back."
Ms McEwen started the business after one of her horses injured itself badly in a race.
A veterinarian at the scene informed her she would have to put the horse down.
Ms McEwen did not agree.
"I worked with the horse and ended up being able to save it," she said.
"I thought, if I could bring back a horse that I was told to put down, I could save more horses that no-one was giving a chance."
She now purchases ex-racehorses to save them from being sent to the abattoirs; sometimes out-bidding them at auctions.
Ms McEwen then retrains them for resale.
"The horses need to adapt to a new lifestyle," she said.
"They need to get off their rocket-fuel diet.
"Racehorses are fed high protein and high grains. Pleasure horses are fed calming pellets."
Ms McEwen describes the training process as lengthy, depending on the horse.
"It usually takes two months in the paddock, one month of basic training and then up to six months of extensive training," she said.
The coronavirus pandemic has changed the horse rehabilitation market drastically, with many people purchasing racehorses to re-train as a project while stuck at home.
"It's taking away potential customers," Ms McEwen said.
"I'm worried about what happens when the pandemic is over and they go back to work.
"They won't have the time to look after these horses and give them the care they need."
Despite this, Ms McEwen remains passionate about her business and horses.
She has saved 3024 horses and plans to save many more.