A categorisation musing

[amage]

My jumping mare was orginally bred as an eventer...and did belgian young horse event champs but was more suited to pure sj. There are numerous horses out there that switch disciplines and are not referred to as ex-eventer/ex-showjumper-ex-dressager etc so why do we call ex-racers by that title? there are numerous ex racers that are now dressage horses, show horses etc so is the ex racer title only adding to the gross generalisation?

 

[Wolfie]

I assumed it was to make them eligible for the lucrative RoR classes?

**Eta, I am not having a pop at anyone with an ex-racer, used to have one myself, but it seems there is a lot of buzz surrounding RoR right now!

 

[Lolo]

I think it's partly because being trained to event when a horse is young is similar to the grounding any young horse will get, whereas it's unlikely your mare will have been taught to gallop flat out and hurdle fences! The change in discipline is larger and a greater effect will be had on that horse's life. Let's face it- no way would Reg have to be taught to canter a 20m circle as a 10yo if he'd been broken and ridden away as though he were going to be a normal horse...

Often though, at higher levels, horses are referred to as 'my ex-eventer' or 'my ex-SJer' because then the change is bigger I suppose...

FWIW, Reg is so unlike your stereotypical racehorse in so many ways that he probably doesn't deserve that title! But he was a true ex-racer (only ever raced and hunted the required number of times, then got turned out and then Al got him) and I am so proud of what he's achieving and showing in his second career. And if by saying 'he's an ex-racer' makes people more aware of what awesome horses they can be, then I'm all for it!

 

[Rosiefan]

What Lolo said. There is no way you would train a young horse for any other discipline the way young racehorses are trained - for example, if they've been taught to jump at all they're expected to go through the jumps rather than over them. They basically have to unlearn almost everything I should think and then learn to do everything at a more sensible pace. Good thing they're usually pretty intelligent

 

[LEC]

If you hear them talk about Miners Frolic its almost in awe that he is a purpose bred TB for eventing and not just to go racing.
I remember reading a thread about Laura Bs Andretti H who is TB and someone thought he was an ex racer!
So I think it works both ways as the presumption if they are TB is that they are somehow connected with racing.

 

[amage]

hmmm maybe its just the way we and others around us train them makes it weird to me so....all work proper on the flat, get the exact same start as sport youngsters, jump poles and learn to jump properly before being asked to jump at speed so the fundamentals are the exact same.

 

[TarrSteps]

There are many young TBs started in a "sport" way but there are lots and lots that aren't. And even if they are, the emphasis in their early development and training is not on success in the FEI disciplines. Yes, they have some "good" mileage relative to horses that have stood in a field but they're playing catch up with horses that have been started (by good people, of course) only in sport. Not to mention that their lifestyle, especially once they go racing, and their general care and management now, is simply not the same. (Although many young sport horses are increasingly managed like racehorses, with an emphasis on "early speed" and increasingly invasive medical care, much of which is invisible to the naked eye or even a good vet!)

It really is a funny one. I know quite a few horses that have changed jobs and people keep their earlier life very quiet because it takes away from the fantasy they "found the horse in a field and made it from scratch" or that it's actually bred for the job they're doing, not some mystery bred reject.

The ex-racing schemes have really improved the cache of the horses involved too - people think more of horses when they think there is stuff to be won. It's good marketing! And people still do like the fact that they are "saving" a horse and actually play up what they perceive as the horse's "bad start", even though I've ridden quite a few horses out of racing that, as amage points out, are actually quite well schooled "underneath" and easy to retrace the steps back to a more "riding horse" way of going.