Are ex-racers as high maintenance as its claimed?

[coblets]

Say you kept them in as ‘healthy’ a lifestyle as was possible, gave them quite a few months off after finishing their career, provided lots of turnout and ad lib hay, the lot, would they still be as fragile and high maintenance as what the stereotypes suggest?

I’ve known two ex-racers in my life. One was 20 years old when I knew him, a happy hacker, had never been sick or sorry, and a very good doer (presumably helped by how chilled he + his lifestyle was). The other I knew for a couple months after it came off the track. It was being ridden without a break post racing, and went lame twice in the time I knew it. So not a very good sample!

 

[MyBoyChe]

Mine was the same as your 1st example, an ex hurdler, given time off to regroup, professionally restarted and came to me as suitable for hacking and low level riding club stuff. He lived out 24/7 except in winter when he was in at night, he was a pretty good doer, lots of hay and not much else, held his weight well and completely chilled about life. He was a pleasure to look after and you would have never known he once raced (albeit badly)

 

[Griffin]

I think they can be fairly chilled out. I know one that is very calm and quite happy to go in the school or on a chilled out hack. He's quite happy to live out as long as he is appropriately rugged too.

 

[milliepops]

my case study of 2, one mine and one a friend's is that yes, they are high maintenance and fragile. though they can develop very nice quiet personalities.

Mine is an ex chaser, turned away by trainer for about a year after retiring with a tendon injury, then came to me, kept as well as i can, cuts himself on thin air (explains why he is so bashed up and scarred i suppose), hates being out in the rain, eats mountains of food, is now a write off (wobbler)

friend's is an ex flat horse. came from re-training yard, with dodgy feet, just had KS op, has SI problems and so on.

Never again!! (probably )

eta, my 3yo, race bred but didn't go into training, has a lovely nature, but is prone to iffy skin, flat feet and eats like a..um.. horse. time will tell on that one, hopefully his easy early years will mean he will be tougher.

 

[poiuytrewq]

My current one is having a few issues atm but, he’s super easy to do, is a really good doer he costs me next to nothing in feed. He would be fine living out 24/7 as he’s quite a tough warm horse, he wouldn’t need Molly coddling.
He’s really not like a TB, that’s not to say he hasn’t had his moments but they have been few and far between.
I have a cob who’s the polar opposite. He’s the typical TB!!

 

[L&M]

I had 2 on full livery for a couple of years - they were certainly not as easy as the cobby types I was used too, but found once I had 'figured them out' they were actually fine.

Their main issue was turnout in the winter - they did not like being out for more than a few hours and leaving them any longer they would start to trash the field in their anxiety to get in. Because of this they were of course a lot sharper to ride and handle in the winter, but both had lovely temperaments. But were happy out 24/7 in the warmer mnths and very chilled.....

Both were reasonably good doer's, they never had a hard work load (more as pets to the owner), so had little hard feed and average amount of haylage.

They both had the tb cliche feet though - flat footed, bruised at the sight of a stone and lost shoes easily.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Of the 3 I have brought home from work 2 have given me vets bills out of standard stuff.

Kyle - brought him home with the tendon off the side of his hock at 8yo. Box rest for 3 months, 3 months inhand walking, 3 months turnout before I started work. But he hated work. He always had. He had been a planter at work and used to have to be lead to the gallops from another horse to make sure he kept moving. In the 8 years I had him he spent 6 of them loving out 24/7/365 with adequate food and rugs. He choked once that required a vet visit but he just got sedated, he didn't get tubed or anything. Then the day I put him down was due to a catastrophic injury. He had tripped I am assuming and a back foot came down into the front pasten and severed the Extensor tendon and the wound went deep down into the coffin joint.

Jeff - came home sound as a pound and was for 2 years. Then he doofed himself in the field popping a hole in a hind tendon round the fetlock. You know, the most movable, weight bearing tendon of the lot!?!? ? so that was a vet call for a tendon scan. I didn't rescan at all. 6 months in a box then walking etc. 2.5 years later he popped another small hole in the same tendon just above the old injury so again a vet call out for a tendon scan then same as before. When he was 20yo he had a fight with a fence post and tore a hole in his chest. So a Saturday morning vet call out to stitch and staple him back up. The only reason a vet came out 12 days later to remove the remaining stitches and staples was because this was Jeff, my absolute world and I wanted to make sure everything was as it should be. Any other horse I would have just taken them out myself. The day I put him down he went down hill massively from Am to PM. He went out in the morning totally fine, came in in the evening like a complete and utter drunk. Something went seriously wrong very, very quickly, we suspect acute liver failure. And so that we that. Jeff lived out 24/7 in summer and in at night in winter. He would have preferred to live out all year round but at 17.2hh the land couldn't take it so he came in.

Gray - since his initial tendon scan when he broke racing to confirm it was a 100% tear to the SDFT which his owners paid for I have not had a vet out to him in 10 years for anything other than vaccs and teeth. He has been the soundest horse I have ever had, he has had 2 foot abcesses, both of which I popped and dealt with myself. He has melanomas now and so is retired but whilst he is fat, happy, well and still terrorising ponies he can stay as he is. The day he starts dropping weight I know the melanomas will have taken over inside as he is a very good doer. He is another who would love out 24/7 all year round if he could but again at 17hh the land can't take it.

Do I do anything special with them? No I treat them like natives almost and just expect them to get on with life. I don't molly coddle them, I don't baby them, if anything I neglect them slightly ?? I couldn't tell you the last time Gray saw a brush ??? Gray and Jeff wore front shoes when they were doing ridden showing. Gray has been shoeless entirely for 5 years, Jeff was for 10 years, Kyle 7 of the 8 years I had him. It never bothered them.

Every horse is different and maybe I have struck it lucky to get such hardy horses from work or maybe it helps that I know what life they had before they came to me and I knew them. Who knows.

They aren't everyone's cup of tea and at the moment I am saying no more tb's because of the size at home. But there are also none at work I would want to bring home. None of "my" horses would be show horses as they have blemishes. And as much as I would love to bring Big Midnight home he will be a walking vets bill for medication to stifles and sacroiliac for the rest of his life.

 

[Wishfilly]

Say you kept them in as ‘healthy’ a lifestyle as was possible, gave them quite a few months off after finishing their career, provided lots of turnout and ad lib hay, the lot, would they still be as fragile and high maintenance as what the stereotypes suggest?

I’ve known two ex-racers in my life. One was 20 years old when I knew him, a happy hacker, had never been sick or sorry, and a very good doer (presumably helped by how chilled he + his lifestyle was). The other I knew for a couple months after it came off the track. It was being ridden without a break post racing, and went lame twice in the time I knew it. So not a very good sample!

I was chatting to my farrier about TB feet the other day (he used to work in Newmarket, so shoed lots of TBs). He thinks their feet can be managed well, but that they do need shoeing more often than the average horse- he said some he used to shoe on a 4 or 5 week cycle and this really helps their feet. Obviously that's a bit more spendy than having one you can stretch to 7 weeks, or one that only needs fronts.

Also, you have to bear in mind a lot of ex-racers are available because they have picked up an injury in racing, or aren't performing (which may, in some cases point to an underlying issue). There's a difference between a 13yo that has retired sound and a 5yo that's for sale because it's a constant sick note.

I do think your average ex-racer will probably end up being a bit more expensive than your average horse, but not excessively so, and not anymore so than any other performance type horse. And of course you can get cobs and natives that are expensive to keep.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Mine is ex NH/pointer. He is a fairly good doer, great feet. Lovely horse in summer but wont turn out in winter. Does all sorts of activities. I have had him 4 years. Once lame with a corn, once lame with an abcess. Hopefully that will be it!! Like any other breed, you get easy keepers and more delicate ones!!

 

[windand rain]

not in my experience they are much like any other horse out 24/7 with rugs as needed but mostly unrugged or only rugged in foul wet weather. Fed appropriately and regular farriery never had one sick or sorry had loads bought cheap at auction that arrived a bit skinny and needed extra grub but mostly had no issue once they were fed and turned out. Evented them off the field with some success. Those bought close to winter were in at night and out during the day until they acclimatised to the regime

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I was chatting to my farrier about TB feet the other day (he used to work in Newmarket, so shoed lots of TBs). He thinks their feet can be managed well, but that they do need shoeing more often than the average horse- he said some he used to shoe on a 4 or 5 week cycle and this really helps their feet. Obviously that's a bit more spendy than having one you can stretch to 7 weeks, or one that only needs fronts.

Also, you have to bear in mind a lot of ex-racers are available because they have picked up an injury in racing, or aren't performing (which may, in some cases point to an underlying issue). There's a difference between a 13yo that has retired sound and a 5yo that's for sale because it's a constant sick note.

I do think your average ex-racer will probably end up being a bit more expensive than your average horse, but not excessively so, and not anymore so than any other performance type horse. And of course you can get cobs and natives that are expensive to keep.

My farrier trained in Newmarket. He said the problem was that horses had racing plates on for racing then Normal shoes for training. Their feet just never had the chance to recover between all the shoeings.

 

[catembi]

Mine is 17, ex flat racer, ran 18 times, won two, 2nd 5 times. I've had him since the age of 5, & not long off the track. It's been a really, really mixed bag. In no particular order: won't load, particularly not alone, travels badly, very very stressed at comps to the point of being dangerous to me, him & everyone in the vicinity, won't hack alone, hacks v v laid back in company, v athletic, v v bright, treated for ulcers then ks, soundest horse I've ever owned from a 'not lame' pov, serial self harmer, could eat for England, is out 24/7 with constant access to stables/hay & quite often stands in all day eating hay, but if I shut the door he will go bananas, has been barefoot since ks surgery in 2015 & his feet are now fantastic, thin skinned & gets rubs v easily but also I have to rug him one down from what I think as he is a warm horse, prefers bitless. He has always had 'something' wrong with him which ks surgery didn't fix & prefers not to go faster than walk. Tested -ve for PSSM type 1; might test for type 2.

Stupidly I am on the lookout for another one as my latest ISH 'horse of a lifetime' that I've owned for all of 3 months has gone v symptomatic for PSSM & apparently has the breeding history for it. Awaiting test results.

 

[honetpot]

Our old TB we got at seventeen, he had made the racecourse but couldn't have been very good, because after the first couple of stamps he never went back. Two owners back from us, he had been a show horse, rescued out of a field, wasn't really any good at that, and was sold on to event, judging from the panic attack he had when hearing the clatter of poles, that's why he was sold on again. He was never sick or sorry with us, lived out all year rugged, but where food was concerned he was a bottomless pit, and never looked any fatter, you had to load him up in summer, and just hope he wouldn't drop to much over winter. He would play fight in the field, and was incredibly lazy, until you took him anywhere that looked or sounded like a racecourse, then you would get the racing stare and became expert at going sideways. Terrible feet, but I had a good farrier, once you get the shoes to stay on they have a chance to improve. Had an abscess a one point, had to keep him on bute for long after it was gone, as despite having no pain when tested by the vet, he would lift his paw, and then shoot off and trot off sound across the field.
I think separation anxiety, and not wanting to load are standard, luckily an old pony would baby sit, once that was up the ramp, he would load himself. The first time I realised he had it badly, he was thrashing around a stable, sweating and everyone thought he had colic
There are always exceptions to the rule, I have two welsh A's one is your typical Thelwell, you could drop a bomb and he would scramble out of the rubble fit and fat, the other, well it's mid summer, and he could do with extra food, and still has a partial winter coat, and his rug will go on soon. I think some of it is mental, the second never settles, he was kept isolated from a foal to three, and is always the outsider. I think with every one you have to look at every part of their management, and never assume anything, feed what you see in front of you and not what type it's supposed to be.

 

[Melody Grey]

I’ve owned/ known plenty-chilled out has been achievable with most, veterinary intervention and ruin have been very variable!

 

[Ceifer]

I had my first ex race horse when I was 12 ?. Probably not the wisest decision but I loved her. She Had the worst conformation, awful feet, built downhill and had done tendons in both front legs. She didn’t do ‘flatwork’ and was in permanent camel mode but She’d jump absolutely anything and at 12 that’s all I wanted to do. People would probably be horrified at my & my parents lack of knowledge at the time but she was a happy mare. She retired at 25 and lived a happy companion life until she was 32.

 

[Izzwall]

I got my chap straight from the trainer as a 3 year old, wasn't really looking and only went with the OH for a yard tour as he was thinking of having a share in a horse there. Ex flat, great breeding but a terrible race horse. Far too much effort even if he had the speed. One race track he tried to go the wrong way round during a race!
I've had natives the last 11 years so he got treated like one too!
When I first got him he couldn't cope with 2 hours turnout, everything rubbed him from over reach boots to his bridle! He was so clumsy and came in with new wounds most days. He was so laid back with a fantastic temperament, only time I experienced him being a plonker was when the 30 year old yard cob over took him in trot!
He had terrible feet and they were tiny for his size, he then ripped off a 3rd of his back hoof so the shoes came off and then was laid off for 6 months.
Chucked him out 24/7 with my old docile moorland pony in his 4th year (October just gone) and he absolutely loves it! I was very apprehensive at first as field is on the moors with very unforgiving weather but has good shelter and a stone barn to go in if needed. He was not rugged most of the time too. He was a native pony now and not a pansy thoroughbred ? came out of winter fat with mostly ablib hay and a feed once a day. Now as a 5 year old he has great feet and still barefoot, never really injures himself (famous last words) and nothing rubs him anymore, not even his hoof boots!
His pasterns scare me though!! I thought he'd grow into them but they are hideously long so will be extremely careful on what I do with him. He's such a lovely boy I'd hate for him to break!
I actually find him easier to keep than my 2 natives. Both have EMS and one has been lame for the first few months of the year

 

[skint1]

I have a 17yo ex racer mare, in the first 5 years yeah she was really high maintenence, injuries, suspected ulcers, feed feet, vet, chiro, osteo,phyiso, saddle fitting. She had ongoing issues with abscesses and with her pelvis. Eventually we retired her to a field to be a companion for another ex racer mare. At the moment she is by far my cheapest horse to keep and requires very little intervention , but any day now she could injure herself or something and cost a fortune.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Stupidly I am on the lookout for another one as my latest ISH 'horse of a lifetime' that I've owned for all of 3 months has gone v symptomatic for PSSM & apparently has the breeding history for it. Awaiting test results.

Oh no! I'm so sorry.

 

[Ouch05]

Love my ex fiat. Great feet loves living out more then in so only in peak winter. When weight is in easy kept but drops like a stone if not kept an eye on.

whispers only every had minor cuts, two splints and a couple of abscesses nothing major. Treated fir ulcers and careful with feed.

amazing horse owned for ten years now. Not high maintenance just careful maintenance

 

[coblets]

I was chatting to my farrier about TB feet the other day (he used to work in Newmarket, so shoed lots of TBs). He thinks their feet can be managed well, but that they do need shoeing more often than the average horse- he said some he used to shoe on a 4 or 5 week cycle and this really helps their feet. Obviously that's a bit more spendy than having one you can stretch to 7 weeks, or one that only needs fronts.

Also, you have to bear in mind a lot of ex-racers are available because they have picked up an injury in racing, or aren't performing (which may, in some cases point to an underlying issue). There's a difference between a 13yo that has retired sound and a 5yo that's for sale because it's a constant sick note.

I do think your average ex-racer will probably end up being a bit more expensive than your average horse, but not excessively so, and not anymore so than any other performance type horse. And of course you can get cobs and natives that are expensive to keep.

My farrier trained in Newmarket. He said the problem was that horses had racing plates on for racing then Normal shoes for training. Their feet just never had the chance to recover between all the shoeings.

Makes me think that barefoot would be the way to go? But that of course would take a lot of conditioning and careful feeding.

 

[coblets]

Stupidly I am on the lookout for another one as my latest ISH 'horse of a lifetime' that I've owned for all of 3 months has gone v symptomatic for PSSM & apparently has the breeding history for it. Awaiting test results.

Fingers crossed its good news x

 

[I'm Dun]

Yes they are high maintenance. Mine is barefoot and lives on a track which should help, but he definitely needs more care. He eats around 16kgs of hay a day and has access to long standing hay. He is a bottomless pit! His feet are awful. Previous owner pulled the shoes to try and help and now I'm doing a full blown barefoot rehab with him. Hes currently in boots and pads 24/7. He has to be rugged more and sooner than the others, he has such a fine coat and shivers if he gets wet.

But for all that hes a delight. A sweet and easy person, nothing is an issue for him and it never crosses my mind that he wont do as asked, becuase he always does. Hes athletic and moves well and jumps for fun. So for me the benefits outweigh the extra money and hassle. However, I did buy him knowing I have a young horse ready to ride next year. I would love the TB to prove to be sound and tough, but if he was to break then I have another. I'm not sure I'd have taken the risk on an ex racer otherwise.

 

[I'm Dun]

Makes me think that barefoot would be the way to go? But that of course would take a lot of conditioning and careful feeding.

As far as I'm concerned it is. Even if shoes prove to be the better option eventually, I need to get the feet right first. Its not easy, but he will get there.

 

[fankino04]

Can only comment on the one I had, got her when I was 14 and she was 6, she was a failed hurdler ( with a misaligned pelvis from a fall). Mentally she was very scarred and took alot of fixing but when we got there she was amazing and could turn her hoof to anything. Confirmation wise she had the worst feet imaginable but never actually had a days lameness. She had 1 colic once in 13 years, was a pain to keep weight on in the winter but not terribly so. Grass sent her absolutely bonkers so had to be stabled each night and ridden before turnout, she was dangerous if ridden from the field but it was an easy routine to manage. Lost her at 19 while she was having a few months turnout in the summer due to house move and job changes etc, freak accident running around with her friends and broke her femur ?

 

[TPO]

It depends how hard you look at the horse. I personally know numerous people who would day that they never had a days bother with their ex racers and that they were fine but those same owners dont use good farriers and refused to use physios or saddle fitters. Their horses were lame and uncomfortable but they genuinely believed them sound. They would take them to RC and competitions and return home with decent test sheets so that was proof enough for them.

If you look hard enough with any horse you'll find *something* and that is generally easier to find with an exracer. Depending on the type of TB and what sort of age they were started, what training they got, what farrier the yard used, how they were fed there will most definitely be damage sustained by a racing/training regime and more so the younger that they are when that started.

Thoroughbreds are a man made breed and whilst there are exceptions to every rule they generally arent as well suited to UK winter climates as natives etc.

Again depends on the yard that they came from and how they were kept but some get limited turnout and opportunities to socialise so whilst they might do things like load and travel ok they dont know how to "horse". This can lead to field injuries and the likes so care has to be taken. Again there will be plenty of people who just bunged a horse out in a herd and everything was fine but that's generally not the best way to go about being a responsible owner.

Its almost like rehabilitating someone who's been in the military or prison and giving them the skills (& time) to adjust to life on the outside. In fact there are programmes worldwide for soldiers to work with exracers as therapy for both parties.

Again you'll have people who will tell you that 5 mins after getting the horse they were at shows/clinics/completions and everything was grand. I highly recommend everyone follow Keystone Equine on FB, she writes so well and with such insight after decades of experience, anyway she wrote a good article about this "rush" recently. Now I've looked i cant find it but this is the page https://www.facebook.com/livingwellridingbetter

Another excellent page that often has exracer/ottb specific posts is Tamarack Hill Farm run/written by Denny Emerson. Really excellent articles about horses, training and riding

But in short yes, I believe that most animals subjected to what racehorse training entails are going to be "high maintenance" compared to the average horse who is started at the average age

 

[ycbm]

It depends how hard you look at the horse. I personally know numerous people who would day that they never had a days bother with their ex racers and that they were fine but those same owners dont use good farriers and refused to use physios or saddle fitters. Their horses were lame and uncomfortable but they genuinely believed them sound. They would take them to RC and competitions and return home with decent test sheets so that was proof enough for them.

If you look hard enough with any horse you'll find *something* and that is generally easier to find with an exracer. Depending on the type of TB and what sort of age they were started, what training they got, what farrier the yard used, how they were fed there will most definitely be damage sustained by a racing/training regime and more so the younger that they are when that started.

Thoroughbreds are a man made breed and whilst there are exceptions to every rule they generally arent as well suited to UK winter climates as natives etc.

Again depends on the yard that they came from and how they were kept but some get limited turnout and opportunities to socialise so whilst they might do things like load and travel ok they dont know how to "horse". This can lead to field injuries and the likes so care has to be taken. Again there will be plenty of people who just bunged a horse out in a herd and everything was fine but that's generally not the best way to go about being a responsible owner.

Its almost like rehabilitating someone who's been in the military or prison and giving them the skills (& time) to adjust to life on the outside. In fact there are programmes worldwide for soldiers to work with exracers as therapy for both parties.

Again you'll have people who will tell you that 5 mins after getting the horse they were at shows/clinics/completions and everything was grand. I highly recommend everyone follow Keystone Equine on FB, she writes so well and with such insight after decades of experience, anyway she wrote a good article about this "rush" recently. Now I've looked i cant find it but this is the page https://www.facebook.com/livingwellridingbetter

Another excellent page that often has exracer/ottb specific posts is Tamarack Hill Farm run/written by Denny Emerson. Really excellent articles about horses, training and riding

But in short yes, I believe that most animals subjected to what racehorse training entails are going to be "high maintenance" compared to the average horse who is started at the average age

Saved me from writing it. I've owned at least ten ("lost passports" make the exact number impossible to know) and although there are certainly plenty of exceptions on the whole they are higher maintenance than other types/breeds of horses.
.

 

[DabDab]

Saved me from writing it. I've owned at least ten ("lost passports" make the exact number impossible to know) and although there are certainly plenty of exceptions on the whole they are higher maintenance than other types/breeds of horses.
.

Yep, likewise - most that I have had a reasonable amount to do with have been high maintenance. Tbh, whether or not they are ex racers I would say that most TBs are relatively high maintenance. They need more rugging, more feeding, more careful attention paid to hooves, more consideration in bad weather.....

But as ever it is dependent on what you want to do with them (retire to big field, bit of showing, full competition home, RC, happy hacker etc), and what your comparing to. I'm not sure that many of the modern performance-bred warmbloods are any less high maintenance. They are high maintenance in a different way to thoroughbreds, but nonetheless.

I think it largely depends on what the owner is happy/able to accommodate and provide for. It's a bit like asking if border collies are high maintenance - some people think yes, and others think they are super easy, whereas a terrier would have them pulling their hair out

 

[Nudibranch]

I love them but ime they are higher maintenance in terms of vets bills and to some extent keeping weight on. I lost all my 3 before they hit old age - narcolepsy, arthritis and one with repeated chronic abscesses which eventually affected the pedal bone so we called it a day. Not before he randomly ran through post and rail while turned out, resulting in a severed tendon and artery. He survived that ironically.

A friend's TB slipped while hooning about with a friend in the field and landed on the only branch in the entire 6 acres, peeling her flank open like a sardine can. She also survived it but was permanently badly scarred. Put it this way, since going back to natives I've hardly seen my vet. Previously he might as well have moved in.

 

[Jim bob]

Erm.. in terms of vet issues in my horse YES. Lameness: navi mainly. Colic and other issues. But i was younger and didnt know him that well. Yes he is a worrier. But he is fab to hack alone or with others. He can spend weeks in a field no issues. I can take him to shows, no problem. If i want a plod he will plod if i ask him to pick up the pace he will. He will try anything. He is very genuine. Loads no problems. Yes he needs certain feed etc and now extra thibgs but i wouldnt change him. So both really

 

[Ceifer]

I’ve also found WBs equally as disaster prone. They can still have the same issues as tbs - bad feet, weak conformation and a lot of overbreeding with certain lines can make them prone to genetic weaknesses but people carry on unabated.