Ex racer experts what are your thoughts.

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Cat&Mouse

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I know every horse is different but I am looking ofr your experiences.

Do they tend to benefit from time turned away?

My ex racer has only been out of racing 18Months & has done quite a lot in this time because he seemed happy to do it he has not been pushed. But he had some time a couple of months off throught injury this year & since coming back into work has been a nightmare sometimes verging on downright dangerous.He has been checked from head to tail for pain there seems no trigger to this.

He is a horse that benefits from routine & unfortunately when the clocks go back I can not give him as much of a routine. So wondering whether he would benefit from being turned out over winter & allowed to chill out & mature & start again in the spring.
 
How old is he? what do you mean by dangerous. I have found that routine and diet are the key. I know you said that it is difficult in the winter but it is worth trying as best you can to get some sort of routine in place for him. Low starch and fibre diet makes a big difference, I feed no cereals and as low starch as i can. Maybe just having a good break will do him good. Interested to know what you mean by dangerous though.

ets i'm no expert, just my experience of having one for 10 years.
 
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He has just turned 7yr old, he is already on a cereal free high fibre diet & tend to try & avoid as much hard feed as possible. He keeps weight well with plenty of haylage.

The maximum he would be ridden is once a week in the winter & I would struggle to do much else during the week, no electricity. I have been able to keep my other horses fit during the winter by lunging or riding by headtorch or headlights but it would not be safe to do this.

Plus he is currently in at night, but I think I may well need to be able to shut my 35year old pony in dependant on weather, so he would have to have the shelter instead.

Dangerous for me because I don't have any support on the ground.

I do not have a problem with sharp spooky horses but he take it to the extreme. He has on occasion as I swing my leg over to get on, bucked at the same time & then gone to tank off. His behaviour ranges from Rearing, bronking, running backwards, leaping & spinning on all fours seemingly all at the same time. His favourite when he is not allowed to go at the speed he wants to go at planting himself & literally stomping his two front feet on the floor.

We can be having a very leisurely ride & then all of a sudden he will throw a few of these in.
 
I would turn him away for a bit. My friend had a similar problem with her horse, and the break did him no end of good. I would also consider changing him to hay, or a mix of the two, as haylagecan be rather full of go go juice IME!! I would also consider scoping for ulcers, one of mine showed rather similar behaviour when she had them. I would also try 24/7 turnout when you bring him back in, especially if he has access to a shelter!
 
He would lose so much weight if just on hay, so haylage is the only option really. I have played around with hay/haylage & feed & ab lib haylage with little hard feed seems to suit him the best. His behaviour has actually calmed down on the ground but got worse ridden. Had thought about ulcers but he doesn't show any other signs will look into that one.

He was turned out 24/7 when I first had him as I thought it would help him chill, but it didn't. If he is being worked, he likes to be stabled as well it seems to suit him.
 
By no means am I an expert but i've had my ex-flat racer for 2yrs now and it's been thoroughly enjoyable. Got him at 2yrs and turned him away for a year (bring in at night through winter, out during the day, then out 24/7 in spring and summer).

At first, he had no interest in me whatsoever. Forget pats and fuss so cuddles were a no-go. Give me food and ****** off, was the basis of his approach to me. Then after about 6mths of me thinking i'd bought the biggest mistake, he's now like a fly - no amount of swatting will get him to leave you alone!!! :D

He got as much haylage as he could eat, big breakfasts and teas (until he started to leave it cos he couldn't eat it) of Chaff/Apple Chaff with a dollop of biotin (his feet were shocking) and a splodge of sugarbeet doused in hot water cos he's a princess and won't eat it wet AND cold :eek: Godforbid.

We had a few walk outs in hand tagging along behind my friend on her super-duper laidback cob, just to get him used to traffic & he's been just peachy. To be honest, he's probably quite unique as i've seen more life in a seaside donkey. I do think the time off to slow down and chill out did him the worl of good - it's probably the best thing I did for him :)
 
An inability to keep weight on is also an ulcer sign. My mare was crackers, and no matter how much I fed her she always looked just right, as opposed to fat. I would also say it takes quite a while for them to get used to being out, unless they are in a big herd, especially if they have come off the flat, as they are generally not used to being out, but as you have had hime a while, I would try again.
 
amymay said:
Why not?
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I work full time & have no electricity so working him before or after work is not an option.

The start shooting in two weeks so that wipes me out riding on Saturdays so that leaves one day a week for him to be exercised.

Plus as I stated above he is stabled at the moment but I may well need that stable for my oldie if the weather comes bad so he would have to have the shelter instead.
 
Sounds like he's in pain to me. Has he had any xrays done? You can't rule out things like hock arthritis, kissing spines, suspensory desmitis, navicular etc without xrays or ultrasound.
 
I would be tempted to just turn him away over winter. Given correct feeding, and management sometimes I believe ulcers can heal themselves.
 
Not many horses will behave only being ridden once a week so I would give him the winter off and give yourself a break. Even my semi retired 24 year old would play up if she only went out once a week!
 
Wagtail said:
Sounds like he's in pain to me. Has he had any xrays done? You can't rule out things like hock arthritis, kissing spines, suspensory desmitis, navicular etc without xrays or ultrasound.
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I would agree with you if I hadn't seen him when he is in pain, it is written all over his face, plus if his back is tight he literally runs to the back of the stable when the saddle comes out, no mistaking that one. I have had exrays, he had to have a course of IRAP treatment in both coffin joints earlier this year. Also he would be playing up all the time & he doesn't.
 
Luci07 said:
Not many horses will behave only being ridden once a week so I would give him the winter off and give yourself a break. Even my semi retired 24 year old would play up if she only went out once a week!
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He is being worked more than once at the moment but this is what I was worried about that his behaviour will get worse only being worked one day. But was trying to weigh up if trying to keep him ticking over was better or giving him some time off would be more beneficial. I won't really know until I try I suppose.

I know it would be for me he certainly takes some sticking on when he has his moments :p
 
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