Ex Racehorses

I have an ex racer - beuatiful gelding looks like a warmblood dressage horse. He came out of racing last jan (2006) with a damaged tendon The bandaging caused the leg to deglove so he had 12 months off recuperating - primarily box resting. I bought him in April this year - he had been hacking out gently in walk for 6 weeks when I took him on. We are really concentrating on keeping him chilled. He is fantastic to hack out on roads in walk and trot. i can canter him on grass on his own but he does like to race if others about.

I started him dressage last month and it was interesting. We had no canter he was changing every stride, going up and down not forwards, going disunited and finally managed a canter on the long side. At home he is cantering but the stress of travelling somewhere new takes him back racing so I just keep taking him boring places in the trailer and sometimes hacking him home, other times leave him in the car park at waitrose just standing in the trailer. He's slowly getting the hang of it.

I have to be careful in new places when I get on as while he will stand totally still at home, he wants me up and away immediately - back to racing again when we are somewhere new.
 
I have one, and its taken 2 years to get him sain and trained into a new life style !

Lots of time and money but what you get out of it money could never buy !
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I paid £500 for my boy after a lady bought him from ascot sales and couldn't cope with him.

He was 4 when I got him and race fit and was not easy. i used to have to bring him home tacked up as couldn't do anything with him at shows.

we persisted and now we compete PN eventing and ele dressage. He still has his moments and can become quite tense in dressage tests but is the sweetest horse to do.

You do need some experience to take on an exracehorse as they need firm but fair handling. Most have seen a bit of life especially if they have raced on the flat but they are not for complete novices or for someone looking for a cheap horse.

I had ridden out racehorses for several seasons before getting my boy and had had 2 previous older exracehorses.

Good luck to anyone thinking of taking one on.
 
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Lots of time and money but what you get out of it money could never buy !
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thats a great quote...!

I have 2, they are 4 and 5 and - in my eyes at least - absolutely brilliant! Reschooling them has been no different from backing and schooling any young horse but with the added advantage that the groundwork has been done, they have seen traffic, been in a box, are good with vet/farrier/dentist. Yes they have racehorse moments, especially when cantering in a group, but this has been pretty easily fixed and they are proving to be calm, sensible and very very easy to train.

There are a few things though..

Both have ulcers from being in racing and thus cannot get sugar in any form, no mollassed feeds. They get A&P Ride and Relax and the problem is solved.
We believe my gelding is Barley intollerant too.
They can be far too clever for their own good and need constant stimulation, we do something different each day if possible and they never get left more than 2 days without being ridden.
Both headshake slightly. One wears a nosenet during summer, the others problem seems to have been resolved by taking off her noseband.
My gelding is accident prone, vet bills on his front legs have cost more than he did.
They are difficult to fit a saddle too - we love the Saddle Company, only ones I have found that will fit.
They love to gallop, we dont go for a gallop because its waht they were tarined to do, its because its what they love to do - if your not confident going flat out I would walk away!

I'd recommend an ex-racer to anyone, however you have to make sure you are ready for the hours and days and weeks and months of work you will have to put in to get them how you want them.

Its all sooooooo worth it though.
 
I bought my current gelding from the point to point field, he is fantastic, wins hands down dressage, absolutely bombproof, hacks out alone, was placed 7th in his last pre novice, to be honest you couldnt put a price on him now, truly one in a million, and he didnt cost much!!
 
I bought my ex racer from someone whoed bought him from the sales to point to point on. Hed been turned away for 5 months, and he stuck me straight on - he never even flinched, the person i bought him off guaranteed that he was the safest horse ever. Had him over a year and hes the sweetest most easy to do (totally bombproof) horse ever (considering i couldnt really ride and have learned totally on him!). He has never bucked or reared, but was a little nappy as he was brought into work.

Unfortunately not long after i bought him i went to a riding school for a lesson and an ex racer threw me off twice, i flipped over the back of him and the second time my foot was shattered by the stirrup. It has been nearly a year since the accident and ive only had a handful of canters since, although slowly but surely its coming together.

However not long after i bought him i found out he had a sacrioliac subluxation (jumpers bump), although totally sound hes not to be jumped over 2ft 6, its such a shame as he is a fab jumper (leave that 2 my friends thou!). Hes under the care of a fab physio and we are trying to level out his pelvis to make him more stable.

Even with his probs i love him to bits (the only problem is in a field or hack if you canter he goes totally nuts and doesnt have brakes - but thats for the future haha!)
 
my friend rescued one from meat man earlier this year she was painfully thin she is now in tip top condition looks super and she is hacking out she would love to keep her but as they are doing a barn up to live in she hasnt time and she is selling her another friend is doing very well with her ex racer in the showing circuit and is about to do hack classes next season both are stunners
 
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