a few questions about ex racers....

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georgiegirl2

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twiggy (who was unamed when we bought her on friday but i think that suits her well) is a 3yo tb who has been in training but never raced. we bought her in a local horse sales on friday. having spoke to the head groom ~(who we know through a friend) and the jockeys who were there she was no trouble to break and has no ifs or buts but is simply to slow to consider racing.

we have got her home (after a traumatic day trying to load and get her off the lorry as she was bred at the stables) and she seems to be slowly settining in. This is my first youngster from racing and so i was wondering if i could pick peoples brains a bit....

First of all, feed. we are slowly inroducing her to a mix of sugar beet, hi fi, pony nuts and blue chip. does this sound sensible?

and, what would your plan of action be with this young horse? we are planning to give her a few weeks in the field and inrtroducing a normal saddle in the stable before getting on her. we dont know if she has been lunged before. do normal saddles tend to cause problems with tb's who are used to racing saddles?

any tips or hints greatly appreciated!
 
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First of all, feed. we are slowly inroducing her to a mix of sugar beet, hi fi, pony nuts and blue chip. does this sound sensible?

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No - if she needs to eat more, I would give her hay! If she is not in a huge amount of work she does not need hard feed. There is an old saying - how do you retrain a race horse - stop feeding it race horse food!

Just taking it slowly - give her time in her field, go and visit her in it, bring her in and bruch her, then take her on a walk down the lane, then do it tacked up, etc. These horses are very well disciplined and very easy to build their confidence if you know what you are doing. No horse I have worked with off the track had a problem with changing saddles.
 
i should have maybe added, since having her arrive yesterday we have given her plenty of hay (more than she is eating!) although i think this is partly due to the fact she is not used to having hay 24/7. tonight she seems to have settled more into it and tucked in straight awat when we topped the hay up. she has to have 3 days stabled before we turn her out and in the mean while we are leading her out in hand round the yard and car park with no real trouble at all and letting her have a splash around in the puddles which seems to not be a problem.
 
Why are you leaving her in for 3 days? To make sure she is not a value pack with bugs? I personally would want to transition her to 24/7 turnout as quickly as possible - that way she is constantly burning off energy, and if she fancies a run around she can. I know the field might be semi unfamiliar to her at that point, but I never worried too much about that transition...........
 
Sounds like you got nice one there.... As for saddles... wouldn't worry the difference between normal and racing but make sure it fits her well as she grows... at 3 she got lots of growing to do! Some most youngsters don't stop growing until they r 7! also she's probably lean so with good food/plenty of hay and lots of love she probably fill out as well.

all the best of luck.

Besides I have an exracer too a real joy to have.
 
I would keep her on a totally fibre based diet with ad-lib hay and if she needs more condition use something like Alfa A oil with a general vit/min supplement, you could use high fibre cubes if you want to add more interest to her feed or put in a snack ball. Since she is doing very little work then I would avoid any cereal as you don't want her tying up. By supplying her with lots of fibre then you will keep her hindgut active and thus make her feel full and content and this in turn should lead to her keeping weight on and chilling out! If you feel she still needs more condition then add oil to her diet as a slow release energy source that won't blow her brain.

I would PM vicijp and I am sure she will give you the best advice. Good luck, she sounds like a sweetie
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The post by lucy-spring is very good advice on feeding. I have had several ex racehorses.

Firstly by turning her out, when she's not used to it, I would not recommend 24/7. She has not learnt to relax in a paddock or cope with the weather. She may pace and fret and some of mine have rapidly lost weight.

In the summer, yes turn her out. This horse has been wrapped up in cotton wool and kept warm at all times. Turning her out this time of year will be harsh for her, and I would carefully think it through and look at brining her in at night.

Also race yards have a strict routine which this horse will have followed all of her life. Loosing the routine all of a sudden stresses them. Remember she is not an ordinarly horse, and needs time to adjust.

By her doing daily work and having her routine, this is her security and I would think about giving her something to do and think about.

I have just turned them away in the past, and never again. I would crack straight on with work. Remember she has been worked hard every day and knows her place. I would not be leaving her to chill out, because race horses dont know how to chill out, they stress, pace and fret.

I am not saying all of them, but she will have been backed towards her second birth day (January 1st). She has'nt had time to grow up, be a foal as they start preparing them for sales as foals, yearlings and two year olds. Most of these horses will have been constantly stabled and worked on.

Very little individual fuss and attention will have been given, manners are generally taught in a rough and ready manner by stable staff, many not having the "pony club" style back ground and a very different approach to the rest of the horse world.

This sounds like it paints a bad picture on racing, but I am speaking for a lot of knowlege and know that time and money matter on yards and of course results. Any horse that is not going to make the grade for what ever reason has the basics done with it and nothing more.

By just turning her out and leaving her, she will go one way or the other, some are ok, and some very quickly are not.

If you wish to go ahead and turn her out, watch for the signs I have mentioned and bring her in, and introduce the turn out gradually.

The other thing to consider when you do turn her out, as she has not been taught field manners by other horses and done all the foal, growing up stuff. She will not know to get out of the way of a horse that kicks. We lost a horse that way and it was horrible.

So introducing her to any other horses, however nice the other horses are, she is a complete baby and will not know what to do. When racehorses are turned out together, they do it usually in pairs and they are ok, being in the same boat, so if the stable staff have told you she is ok in the field, she will have been in that careful situation.

Sorry its a long post, I am just trying to give you some of my experience with race horses and dont want to come unstuck with turning out. Good luck and if you need any help pm me.
 
Hi Georgiegirl, I hvae received your pm and will reply in more detail when I have more time.
The most important thing to do is not to put a timescale on things. Your horse will tell you when she is ready. We buy a lot of similar horses (they do come back into racing buts its no different) and we always turn them straight out. The first phase they may go through is they may be a bit mopey or spirited in the field. Its hard but ignore them. Then they will settle and join in with the others. When they go back to playing around/standing at gate it is time for them to come in and do something. With some horses each stage may take a week, some will take 2 months a stage. Ours get turned out on 10 acres or so, with a herd of mixed horses - I dont know what your situation is but the more 'natural' the more chance of having a well balanced horse when they come in.
The second thing is to remember that a lot of people talk a lot of crap about ex racehorses. They have done a few and think every one is going to be the same. This is far off the mark, behavioural problems are few and far between - just treat her like any other youngster. The only difference is that she will learn faster, as she will remember what she has already been taught and improve on it.
Lastly, I would doubt if your filly has been in a racing environment for any length of time. Her 2 brothers were both owned and trained by MB, I dont know of the breeder but it is most probably him or someone close. With a view to her being unamed it is likely she was broken as a yearling then turned away for being weak. Perhaps she has been tried again as a 3yo(and viewed not good enough) but I doubt she has ever been half fit - she would definetly have been named then. The only thing that would worry me is the fact she may have had an injury at some point. If her legs are clean I wouldnt be unduly concerned, she may have had sore shins or a small fracture - both would be of no future consequence.
It may be worth ringing MB yourself, it is unlikely that the lads that were at the sale actually know anything about the horse (trainers usually send the clueless/foreign ones + in big yards there are very few that actually know what goes on with the horses). He may not give much away but will at least tell you if she has been in or out of training since a yearling.
 
the fact we have to leave her in is down to the yard owner i'm afraid. she wants them wormed when they arrive and then they can only go out a couple of days later. if we had our way we would get her out straight away but we cant hence the walking in hand until tomorrow.
 
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