Eventing an Ex-Racehorse?

[DonkeyDerby]

Hello!
I'm new to HHO and looking for some advice from anyone that events an ex-racehorse.
Having previously evented to one-star level, I took a break for a few years to have babies, and am now looking to get back into riding. Unfortunately my horse-buying budget is pretty small (I can't really justify spending much now I have kids!) so I'm toying with the idea of getting an ex-racer - might be a silly idea, so just looking for some opinions!
So for anyone that has taken one on with eventing in mind, has it worked out, and what level have you got to? I'm not over-ambitious, but if I could get back to one-star and maybe do a few intermediates I'd be very happy (ok, so maybe that is over-ambitious, but you've got to have goals!)
Also wondering if anyone has any suggestions where to find nice ex-racers? I'm in Ireland (so we don't have HEROS or anything similar), and I know general opinion seems to be that we are over-run with cheap horses over here, but I can't find anything decent for my (admittedly very small) budget of around €3,000.
Any advice/suggestions greatly appreciated!

 

[Chloe_GHE]

I am re-schooling an ex-racer and my hope is to event him (as far as he will go, but hopefully to at least Novice)

My advice when looking for one would be...

Try to get a flat racer, try to get one that has run as little as poss, and career was ended just by them being too immature/slow/not interested (eg not due to injury)

I would say get them out of racing as quick as poss, with as little racing life experience as you can, round here (UK, Wiltshire) the race yards are pretty keen on injecting joints etc and you really don't want to buy something that has already been through that!

Don't know what the prices are like in IRE, but I bought my chap for £675 in 2 instalments!!!! This is him yesterday doing his 2nd combined training event http://www.gifthorseeventing.co.uk/ and there is loads more about him and his re-schooling process on my blog.

His teeth were a major issue for me initially and I had to spend a lot on that (wolf teeth and bone spurs from harsh use of a chiffney in racing) so teeth are a good place to start when beginning the re-schooling process

Good luck! I love them myself

 

[Jane_Lou]

I don't think you need to restrict yourself just to the ex-racer market with your budget. I bought a ISH mare last year in Ireland for a lot less than that who had SJ up to 1.20m but not that successfully. She had no ride and was quite self opinionated but has now totally turned around and is proving to be a half decent event horse. She is ready to move up to novice now and I think the jockey is more likely to be the limit on her achievements than her scope

 

[Scarlett]

I have 4 of them so I may be a little biased.

I'd say the opposite to Chloe_GHE - get a jump horse that was too slow, they tend to be the bigger tougher types and are often backed later and are older thus more mature when starting racing. Flat horses often start racing at 2 which, IMO, doesnt help their longevity!

Shop about, the market is flooded with them at the mo. You can pick up nice, athletic, well started horses for very little money, if anything.

There have been several top-class racers turned eventer, Over To You being the most obvious. Am sure I heard that WFP Parklane Hawk raced too, infact if you go through Badminton entries over the last few years you'd be surprised how many started on the racecourse.

Good luck!!

 

[RachelBristol]

I wrote a lovely long reply to your post OP, then hit the back button grrr!
You can find some nice P2P, NH, and hurdle horses which have proven they can jump at the Ascot bloodstock sales, and I have seen (and kicked myself over!) a very nice 11YO 16.2hhish bay gelding sold sound in wind and limb, had flat raced, then hurdles, then NH, then P2P... the best bit... It had been privately owned and hunted each winter with its lady owner! Now that was a lot of horse for a whopping £800 or what ever pitiful amount it reached. that must have been years ago or so now

Have a look at some of the results. ascot bloodstock sales results

 

[GlamourPuss86]

My aunt had 2 ex racers who she used to event and my god did they move! Never a fall or a stop, both v brave and flashy. I have to say after riding mostly ex racers the last few years I'd happily have one to event!

 

[humblepie]

I show rather than event but for what it is worth, one of my two did event after he finished racing. He ran 20 odd times as a 2 3 and 4 year old with a bit of success, then his previous owner bought him at the sales and reschooled him for eventing. He won BE first time out and progressed to novice that season but was too careful across country so he changed careers again and became super star show horse. He is a fairly light framed TB.

From the ones I see round the showing world, it does seem to be the ex NH horses who retrain quicker, possibly because (and I have no idea) they do more schooling at home. If you watched the lead up programmes to the Grand National all those horses seemed to be schooling quite seriously over fences including some doing show jumps.

There are a number of trainers who do some reschooling of horses they think can go on to another job - have a look at source an ex racehorse, Jim Boyle's ex racers, and generally look at trainers' websites as some of them will have horses advertised.

 

[humblepie]

Sorry just realised you are in Ireland so the suggestions I put are no good. In one of the Grand National programmes they showed Jessica Harrington's yard and the horse in the background looked like an eventer already the way he was jumping over show jumps.

Possibly try ringing some trainers to see what they have?

 

[ElleandAdair]

I would say go for it! I got my first ex-racer last July - very well bred flat horse who was very immature in build. Benefits of them having raced more than a few times is that they have seen life - my boy was 5 when I got him and had raced 19 times, he has had very little issues with traffic/wagons/loading. Go for something that you find attractive to ride (I tried 2 before I went for mine, the previous 2 having a slightly less positive attitude) Attitude is most definitely the key with them as they are so intelligent. I would suggest doing some research on local trainers (have you got any racing contacts? Ask around about trustworthy small time trainers).
I think there will be a horse out there for you, I got mine for a 70th of what he'd cost 2 years ago and he is a gem. Scope wise not sure he'd get past Novice level but there will definitely be some nice point to pointers out there who'd have the scope. My last piece of advice is that if you do go for one, don't set a time limit for when you want to start competing, and again because of intelligence, try to set them up for success rather than overfacing them initially and letting them fail. People like William FP and Pippa Funnell have had lots of success with ex racers at 4* level so it is achievable if you look in the right places! Good luck! Very exciting!
Here's a vid of my boy 9 months on from when I got him doing his first ever schooling round 90cm+
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPm-Qjxsi8Y&list=UUrB0SS4Zde0zHbTl_OOZ_eg&index=1

 

[Firewell]

I think buying an ex racer is down to sorting the wheat from the chaff. You only have to see how many ex-racers have won or been placed at 4* to see that they have a more then valid place amongst world class horses of other breeds.
I think all you can do is judge the horse in front of you and pick one that has a history of soundness, the conformation, athleticism and brains and see where you go!
I have an ex racer, flat, just raced once who eclipses me entirely in his scope and bravery and I picked him because he simply looked and felt like the bees knees .

 

[paddi22]

I'd second the poster who said go for a jump racer over a flat. I've a flat racer and it honestly took him months to make him aware of what his legs and feet were doing! He just never seemed to have had to worry about them as he never jumped. I had planned to event him before his spinal problems, but in reality I don't think he would have been good as he just didn't have a fifth leg over obstacles at all and couldn't think on his feet if he paniced.

3000 isn't that small a budget really in ireland. I have a cracking ISH i got a few months ago for 1500. I remember there were tons of possible eventers available for around the 3,000 bracket.

 

[Lolo]

I'd also go jump racer, unless it's a baby who hasn't really touched the track. Jump racers seem to have the 'sensible' thing going on, as they have seen more and been taught to jump. They haven't just had 'fast and straight'!

Al's first horse (still her main horse!) was an ex-racer. he was a p2p/ hurdler, and raced til he was 7 or 8. He's a big chap, very large-framed and eminently sensible. He could be hacked by a blind granny he's so good. His SJ hasn't been great, but that is mostly a combination of a very green horse and a very green rider learning together- mistakes were made and now they're being rectified. But at BE100 level he's producing low 30s scores consistently now, and is always clear inside the time XC. He's like a cat, he's so clever at sorting himself out over fences. They're almost ready for Novices now but Al wants to really crack the SJ (and try and win some more rosettes!) before they make the move up.

Her new boy was in training, and then left to be a polo pony as he was too small and slow for proper racing. He's also a star, hopefully he's going to be rather special!

If you look back through my old posts if you can be bothered, all the trials and tribulations of Reggie and Al are well documented. Al loves her TBs though, and does prefer them over the heavier breeds. I don't think nice ones are cheap though, unless it really is a diamond in the rough (a la Reg and Smokey). A good racehorse will probably make a smart eventer...

 

[Stormy123456]

May be completely misinformed/going batty - but I think there is a event rider whose string of horses is solely made up of ex-racers.. Cant for the life of me think of her name..

 

[hati]

OP - I am based in Ireland and with that budget you should be able to find a ISH type and/or ex-racer. If you are prepared to take on a youngster you will find a very smart sort for that money here in Ireland and if you are happy to "entertain" certain vet issues you will often find some gems that have been there and done it.

For example - I own 2 legs of a mare (heading to Tatts this weekend for the 2 star), who had evented and jumped to 1.30m but failed the vet and x-rays and we managed to buy her for only €200 over your initial budget! We have owned her for 2.5 yrs now and touch wood has not had a days lameness. It was a gamble, but really we bought her with the ultimate intention of having her as a broodmare.

Apologies for the ramble!

 

[Firewell]

To fly the flag for flat racers both my ex-racers have been flat bred. The grey was only in training as too slow and the Chestnut raced once. Both had never jumped a pole when I got them. I'm a wimp so won't even pretend to have competed any where near the level you want to but I trained them myself and there was/is no reason why either of them couldn't have done what you wanted:-

Neat feet???

sorry for pic overload! Both cost me under your budget, both were easy to train, both were absolutly super with their feet, like cats.

 

[hnmisty]

I've just bought an ex P2P, he's turning 9 in June. The girl I bought him off has done a lot of XC/SJ with him (not at mega high levels, up to 3' SJ I think). My ultimate dream is to compete at BE80 level with him. It will be a while off yet (on my behalf), but I'd be more than happy with that

Firewell- go slap yourself on the wrist! "Wimp" was the last thing on my mind when I was admiring your pics!

 

[Chloe_GHE]

I have 4 of them so I may be a little biased.

I'd say the opposite to Chloe_GHE - get a jump horse that was too slow, they tend to be the bigger tougher types and are often backed later and are older thus more mature when starting racing. Flat horses often start racing at 2 which, IMO, doesnt help their longevity!

Shop about, the market is flooded with them at the mo. You can pick up nice, athletic, well started horses for very little money, if anything.

There have been several top-class racers turned eventer, Over To You being the most obvious. Am sure I heard that WFP Parklane Hawk raced too, infact if you go through Badminton entries over the last few years you'd be surprised how many started on the racecourse.

Good luck!!

Yeah the jumpers are a bigger type, I only wouldn't choose to pick one that had jumped again as I've had both type to re-school and trying to re-school a flat and poor hurdling technique out of my old boy was very hard....that may have been just him and me though not managing it very well!

 

[DonkeyDerby]

Wow, thank-you for all your responses and for the pics/links of your lovely horses! If I could find something as nice as any of them I'd be delighted! Great to know I'm not completely barking up the wrong tree
Now I just need to start shopping - do you think contacting a few trainers would be my best bet?
Hati - I'm ideally looking for a four or five year old, but I thought I'd need around the €5k mark for anything decent, which is why i thought maybe a nice ex-racer might be the way to go (plus I love TBs ), but maybe I'll also keep a look out for ISHs. I don't think i'd chance anything with vet issues though, knowing my luck it would go wrong! Good luck at Tatts, I'll be there too (in a purely spectator capacity!)

 

[LadyRascasse]

My lad is racing bred (never hit the track) and I hope to event him towards the end of next season. He is brave, never stops or questions anything I put him at, he is so honest he will get you to the other side of the fence safely even if its not the most stylish. I'd agree with the people who say go from jumps horse, they have been started later and know how to jump and gallop which helps XC You can't be a good ex racer

 

[RachelFerd]

I'm with Firewell on this one. I'd choose an ex flat racer over an ex jump racer. You want to be the one doing the jump schooling. It is very difficult to change the way an established jumper jumps.

It is a case of sorting the wheat from the chaff, and there is a lot of rubbish out there in the ex racer market. Go with your gut feeling, if it moves well and has a positive outlook you can't go too far wrong.

Edited to say also - I actually would go for a horse that has won on the track, if their legs are OK and they still move well. That attitude of wanting to go and win is something that you really want in a horse - willingness. Also it proves that they are a naturally athletic sort of horse who can use themselves and will push themselves quite far. Horses that are too slow were often not too slow at all, rather just a little stubborn. Not a rule by any means, but just my experience from working with flat racehorses in their original job.

These are my ex flat-racers. The grey is a 10yo by Kings Best who won nearly £40,000 on the track and has evented at BE90 successfully (with scope for plenty more)

This bay lad is an 8yo by Orpen an ex-sprinter who won over £25,000 on the track and is finding his introduction to eventing very easy...

 

[snooples]

The main problem I think a lot of people will have incured with ex racehorses is teaching them to showjump, they are very used to dragging their back legs through jumps as oppose to getting them out of the way quickly.
Racehorses are so clever they will soon figure out to get them out of the way for solid fences but would still drag them through showjumps.
I think thats why many people prefer flat horses to jumpers as its usually easier to teach from scratch than retrain.
However I think jump racehorses just tend to be a bit more sturdy and less mental due to not being raced from such an early age like the flat racers.

The price of horses in Ireland is so low at the moment for even decent horses never mind an ex racehorse youd probably even get one for free if you knew a couple of trainers!!

 

[DabDab]

Ex racers make fantastic eventers if you get the right one, you really have to look for a good genuine personality with nice straight movement. I find the best eventers are often those with duel breeding - flat breeding on one side and jump breeding on the other, but that might just be my preference. If you see one jumping when you view it look for a good front leg action but don't worry too much about the hind end because a lot of ex racers trail their hind end to start off with, and they quickly pick up a better technique once you start schooling them. I really like Elusive City/Elusive Quality and King's Theatre bloodlines.

 

[Jasmine86]

Victoria bax -vb eventing only events ex racers. She is currently at 2 star and working her way up.

 

[hati]

Wow, thank-you for all your responses and for the pics/links of your lovely horses! If I could find something as nice as any of them I'd be delighted! Great to know I'm not completely barking up the wrong tree
Now I just need to start shopping - do you think contacting a few trainers would be my best bet?
Hati - I'm ideally looking for a four or five year old, but I thought I'd need around the €5k mark for anything decent, which is why i thought maybe a nice ex-racer might be the way to go (plus I love TBs ), but maybe I'll also keep a look out for ISHs. I don't think i'd chance anything with vet issues though, knowing my luck it would go wrong! Good luck at Tatts, I'll be there too (in a purely spectator capacity!)

Totally understand about the vet issues -we took a gamble (as she was a mare, had jumped to 1.30 and by Master Imp), so if vet issues arose we would have a rather nice broodmare.
You will definitely find a nice ex-racer and a good option would be to contact local racing yards / studs to see what they have and ask them to bear you in mind if something comes available.

Good luck and it should be a cracking weekend for Tatts!