ex racehorse .... advice

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TommisMum

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Does anyone have experience of ex racehorses that can assist me.

I am lucky (?) to have been offered the opportunity to help a friend of mine with her new horse - a 4yr old ex racehorse.

whilst I have had horses over the years I ahve never taken on either a youngster nor an ex racehorse.

My friend is a total newbie - have had to explain how to pick out feet ... no comments needed on how easy it is to buy a horse with little knowlege...

However I am after some advice on what to expect from the horse tips etc ... oh and advice on how to train the owner!!:confused:
 
I'm afraid the best advice you can give her is to sell this one and buy something more suitable.

Have you ever worked with an ex-racer before? Theyre often not actually difficult but they are very easy to do wrong and then you'll have a problem horse worth nothing
 
sorry to put a downer on this but if your friend cant pick out feet she really will be in trouble with a youngster of any breed.if she is set on keeping it please find a good instructor who understands the exracer.where abouts are you?
 
Go to the Ex racers club forum http://s3.invisionfree.com/Horsedirectory_Forum/ They are a really friendly and helpful bunch of people who can give some fantastic advice.

Good luck - I reschooled a lovely exracer and would do it again any day. Not without its rollercoaster moments (ever galloped flat out in a 20 x 40 school?) but so rewarding in the end
 
Oh dear god! If it's a 4yo chances are it'll be as straightforward (or not) as most youngsters as it may not have raced very much. Things to look out for- horse probably has never been mounted from the ground or a block so you may need a leg up (possibly on the move) until it has been trained. Also, probably never been hacked out alone so this will need to be done carefully. On the plus side, the horse should be good in traffic, good to catch, load and handle so at least your friend won't have that problem. It's mainly the ridden work that may be difficult, the horse may not know about circles and bending, will certainly not know leg aids. May also never have been lunged! My first point would be to teach your friend how to lunge and then she can build up a rapport with it before getting into trouble. She can see how it behaves, what makes it scared, how it is with tack etc. Try to make her ride in company at all times when she first starts out. You never know- the horse might surprise everyone and be a superstar! Fingers crossed ;)
 
Oh don't I know about the "dont buy it" - believe me this has not been straightforward!!

A friend of mine is her instuctor and she won't listen to him either!!

A sensible school master as a frist horse was not an option. She had certainly set her mind on having a horse at all costs!

And this is the 4th attempt ... so far ahd one mad oneon trail that ws obviously doped when she tried it as it jumped through an antiweave grill! Reared out at anyone leading it and proceeded to smash up my partners trailer (didn't go down well), then we've had 2 5 yrolds fail the vet on lameness. ....

I have had experience of 7 yr olds, arabs, ex eventers and warmbloods.

I know this is going to be tough but I don't want to "dump" her so to speak....

We're near York.

I have got her agreement to bring in my own trainer when needed - but obviously need to find one!! ;>
 
I may be completely wrong here, but this is how I see the situation.TBH if your friend won't listen to her instructor, there is very little I would be able to suggest to help, as she probably won't listen to anybody. You are in a difficult situation as you are aware how wrong this could go, and are aware you lack the neccessary experience, but feel you have a loyalty to help you friend. TBH I would tell your friend that you feel you lack the knowledge and experience to take on the project, and suggest a trainer who has experiance with ex racers to help. If your friend ignores your concerns I would not have anything to do with the horse, and take a step back. Depending upon the trainer/temperament/what age it started racing etc, will depend on how the horse will need handling and training. In the wrong hands ex racer can go VERY wrong (I have ended up with several "problem" ex racers. I generally end up spending 3 months getting rid of the problems the owners have inflicted, before I can see whet the horse is actually like underneath!) It is difficult to let your friend down, but at the same time, if your friend ignores you about getting professional help I would walk away on this one. Horses can be dangerous at the best of times, but this would be an unneccessary risk to take IMO.
 
She'll end up on her head, stop riding it from lost nerve, turn it away and then end up selling it on to someone cheaply, hopefully a person with the experience probably who just wants a cheap horse.

I'd stay well away, she's obviously an 'herself and only herself ' person seeing as she's ignored every advice given so far. So let her do it her way, fail and then hopefully learn something tbh and give the horse a clean break!

I'm all for helping people who want to learn and very gladly help them. We have a few kids and riders that don't have their own horses but desperate to learnmore and listen, so I gladly give them the chance to see and help with our horses and breaking in,etc....as there'smore stuff outside of riding lessons that you only learn from experience.

That said, if they're not willing to listen and learn with an open mind to accept there's aways more to learn in horses, then sod it quite frankly. Let them learn the hard way as there's not a lot you can say usually that will change their minds, plus you end up with endless horses that you work for ages [for free, both money and timewise!] that are still no better with the person in question soon as you've sorted them, without the constant knowledge and schooling, they resort back to old ways 90% of the time.

Cruel to be kind and all that. Others peoples decisions, as bad as it is on the horse, are theirs. They never learn if they get moddycoddled and bailed out each time. You just end up with a long stream of ruined horses. Both spirirt crushing and depressing to all those round them.

Why wasn't a first horse suitable to get? They're really not that hard to find and her looking at 5 y/o's for her first horse and as a total newbie is utterly ridiculous tbh. She may as well have got one on loan or got an oldie schoolmaster that would put up with her for a year or so, and then look at buying one that''s up a gear.
 
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I like people like the OP's friend... I have at least half a dozen lovely tbs and exracehorses that had been screwed up by people who took them on becuase they are a) cheap and b) fashionable. I like a project!!

(Sorry, totally flippant reply!) But lots of useful advice here, and at least she has a good friend in you who is seeking advice and opinion - too many people bury their heads in the sand. Sounds like you do have a lot of experience - ex racehorses are by and large easy - until the point you get something wrong, with them it goes VERY wrong if they lose trust and faith in you.
 
Binky01 said:
She'll end up on her head, stop riding it from lost nerve, turn it away and then end up selling it on to someone cheaply, hopefully a person with the experience probably who just wants a cheap horse.

I'd stay well away, she's obviously an 'herself and only herself ' person seeing as she's ignored every advice given so far. So let her do it her way, fail and then hopefully learn something tbh and give the horse a clean break!

I'm all for helping people who want to learn and very gladly help them. We have a few kids and riders that don't have their own horses but desperate to learnmore and listen, so I gladly give them the chance to see and help with our horses and breaking in,etc....as there'smore stuff outside of riding lessons that you only learn from experience.

That said, if they're not willing to listen and learn with an open mind to accept there's aways more to learn in horses, then sod it quite frankly. Let them learn the hard way as there's not a lot you can say usually that will change their minds, plus you end up with endless horses that you work for ages [for free, both money and timewise!] that are still no better with the person in question soon as you've sorted them, without the constant knowledge and schooling, they resort back to old ways 90% of the time.

Cruel to be kind and all that. Others peoples decisions, as bad as it is on the horse, are theirs. They never learn if they get moddycoddled and bailed out each time. You just end up with a long stream of ruined horses. Both spirirt crushing and depressing to all those round them.

Why wasn't a first horse suitable to get? They're really not that hard to find and her looking at 5 y/o's for her first horse and as a total newbie is utterly ridiculous tbh. She may as well have got one on loan or got an oldie schoolmaster that would put up with her for a year or so, and then look at buying one that''s up a gear.
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Completly agree with this!!!!!!!!
 
I would definitely contact the ex racers club forum for advice. There are a few things that have been mentioned such as the mounting from the ground - it scommon sense - you see jockeys being legged up on the move. I would not make a huge issues of standing still to be mounted right at the start. I would agree that your friend should learn to lunge if she doesn;t already know and spend time getting to know her horse from the ground.

What is the horse like? Not all ex racers are loons. Plus point - he has been sat on and ridden (after a fashion) already. Thats not to say he won;t chuck himself about when asked to do things at a 'normal' pace.

Again, don't hack out alone, he will be used to being ina group and its good to have someone to follow if need be.

It does sound like a disaster waiting to happen. Good luck to you and the horse.
 
I'm sure there will be someone in the ERC more than happy to help out in your area, their a great friendly bunch.

All you can do is suggest/advise, if she doesn’t, she'll have to learn the hard way, the only one that will come off worse from it all is the horse at the end of the day.

I think they key is, try not to make it sound like your telling her what to do, maybe she knows she's gone a step to far, maybe she knows she's going to struggle but if she's stubborn woman, or its some kind of personal challenge she wants to see through, then your going to have to about it differently.

Perhaps if she gets more involved with a group of people with ex racers where she can get advice when SHE wants it, take part in lessons/clinics that she's made aware off but not pushed into, that way she might use her own incentive to seek help/advice/tuition etc.

Other than telling her straight that she's made a huge mistake and there could be some tuff times ahead...which you have no doubt already done.
 
Scotnorth ex racehorse club is good too, we cover scotland and the north of England.
http://www.scotnorthexracers.co.uk/p_Online_Forum.ikml
http://www.scotnorthexracers.co.uk/p_Home.ikml

Obviously this wee horse is a flat racer who would have been broken and raced as a 2 year old, very different from the NH horses who have a better education and broken and raced a bit older.
I really hope your friend is big enough to take advice and help with this. They are very different to ride from riding school horses or even normal horses and have different aids. ie picking up the reins means go fast, dropping them means slow down. I will most certainly have to be gently schooled and given an education. She really will need some help with this. These are athletes and can turn on a sixpence. Mine is still like that and she is 20 now lol. Their sharpness takes a fair bit of getting used to. Mine was a jumper and had enough problems there, I wouldn't relish taking on something like your friends. I would suggest that when she gets her she gives her a chance to relax and be a horse, and not just jump on and expect miracles. I would also stress that a good routine is paramount, these horses live in an environment where everything is done to a schedule. Mine loves her routine and it takes her time to be settled when we change from winter to summer routine.

Has she had injuries, why has she been sold already? Is she coming straight off the track?
 
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Agree, she needs to talk to someone who retrains racehorses regularly. Hopefully they will tell her in black and white what to expect. If she won't listen to you, then perhps she will listen to someone with experience. It can take years before ex-racers completely forget their race training.. and even then they will always hold on to a few cheeky habits.
MIne for example was great in almost every way.. but if she was in a very noisy place, would remember that noise ment racecourse and start bunching up ready to go! and that was 5 years after being out of racing.

Had a friend who decided to buy a horse after having a few lessons. had £5k to spend on a school master, came home with a £1500 17.3 hh ex-showjumper... LOL. Even with a great trainer to hand, she ended up being thrown 5 times in one lesson, couldn't even lead him safely as he was so bolshy. He very quickly learnt to walk all over her, all of the time and after a few months of her not really doing anything with him he was sold, leaving her confidence shattered.
 
I have them. Although there are some wonderful characters out there, they are rarely suitable for novice owners, and especially one so young. My advice, like most others on here, is for your friend to buy a nice school master, who is not only easier to handle and ride, but is also easy to keep, and after a couple of years experience she might decide to upgrade to a TB or something with a bit more pazazz.

A TB has a sharp mind, is very intelligent and they are also quite delicate animals, who have been bred by humans and are not well equipped to look after themselves in the same way many other types of horse can, so they rely on an experienced and caring handler/owner who will provide the correct care and confident handling, otherwise things will quickly start to go wrong, and the horse will suffer. I have seen this too many times and it's heartbreaking.
 
Well thanks for all the advice ...
I know I should walk away and leave her to her own issues .... so am going to take a back seat will certainly look at the ex racehorses club and see if she'll listen.

Sadly (!!) the horse passed the vet this morning.

So now friend is off buying a whole new wardrobe for it... god forbid if its bling and pink!!

Seems my offer of second hand leathers, irons etc are not good enough ....

i think the reason a school master wouldn't do is that she doesn't want anything too old and wants to learn with the horse - though how that is going to happen I don't know.




Anyway will keep you all updated.
 
Ingledew said:
Well thanks for all the advice ...
I know I should walk away and leave her to her own issues .... so am going to take a back seat will certainly look at the ex racehorses club and see if she'll listen.

Sadly (!!) the horse passed the vet this morning.

So now friend is off buying a whole new wardrobe for it... god forbid if its bling and pink!!

Seems my offer of second hand leathers, irons etc are not good enough ....

i think the reason a school master wouldn't do is that she doesn't want anything too old and wants to learn with the horse - though how that is going to happen I don't know.




Anyway will keep you all updated.
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you never know, they could be a match made in heaven...both crakers :D

On a serious note, hope things both work out for them, nice to hear the horse passed the vetting too.
 
I have a tb (or tb x something). he has had a really numpty owner before I got him. Four years later still havent managed to get rid of all of the problems!
 
I'm near York and have had a couple of ex racers, both from my instructor who is really brilliant at bringing them on. If you need her number or anything just pm me.

I hope it al turns out ok, but i have a feeling she is going to need a lot of help.. not because ex racers are all difficult but just because she sounds very inexperienced!
 
Well if she won't listen to you or the instructor now, at least you will have the pleasure of telling her "I told you so" when you visit her in hospital. I just hope the poor horse doesn't suffer for her ignorance.
 
fatpiggy said:
Well if she won't listen to you or the instructor now, at least you will have the pleasure of telling her "I told you so" when you visit her in hospital. I just hope the poor horse doesn't suffer for her ignorance.
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I agree with this, it is so often that the horse is the one to suffer. Like has already been said, these horses are super intelligent and learn so fast, including how to take the mickey!
Also very true about the care issues. My horse is the highest maintenance horse on our yard.
I will be honest and say that I didn't have the experience for mine when I got her. I took all the help that i could get though and listened to those who knew better. Thankfully not to the ones who said to shoot her! 7 years on, I have the most brilliant horse and we are a proper team. There are success stories and i hope your friend will be one of them but she has to get the help necessary.
 
Ive been riding for 40 years and owned horses for 30, on and off and 2 years ago bought my first TB. He wouldnt have been my first choice but he was local and apart from his breed, matched my wish list. He is a fantastic little chap, an ex racer, with a lovely character and easy to love. But.. he is high maintenance, need very careful management, cannot tolerate sugar at all, becomes completely unmanageable, gets easily upset by the smallest change in his routine, when we change from winter to summer routine and back again he takes a while to settle down and needs very calm, consistent handling, if you put him under pressure and hassle him he simply shuts up shop. Now although Im not a particularly brave rider, on the ground Im fine and have built up a strong relationship with him, he trusts me and I trust him. We dont do a lot but what we do, we both enjoy and I wouldnt part with him now. I will however, ask for help and advice if Im struggling with something and have lots of contacts whose brains I can pick. I hope your friend has the sense to do the same, both for her own sake and the horses. I wish you luck in helping her.
 
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