Ex racer owners - poll

how many invisible men do you normally see on a ride?

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Nudibranch

Nudibranch

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OK, need a new horse to ride. Loved my ex racer but am a bit put off due to her early retirement (combination of narcolepsy and arthritis) at the age of 13, which was devastating as she was coming on really well. Am interested to see what other people's experiences have been....
 
sus came off the track had a stiff back but nothing to write home about. (which is sorted as soon as we got him)

Was a bit sharp in fields to begin with but never took off just spun round a bit (he was 4 at the time so a big baby) this only happened once good as gold on a road and BW

He is an absolute sweetie no problems shoeing loading (he loads himself) etc..

Good for a complete novice (hence my 4 yo boy rides him) and also good for a more competent rider

I luvs sussex bear
 
nobody told me that mine had stopped racing due to an incident in the stalls, was a total freak. He needed routine and only allowed certain people anywhere near him. You couldnt put your hands too close to face from certain angles...but apart from that he was ace.
 
I love my thoroughbred!!
grin.gif
 
saying that the first time i took him out on a hack we had a small issue with a gate but it did look like a stall after 10 mins of cajoling we managed to open it go through and shut it behind us.

it only happened that one time
 
I love my thoroughbred. He is the most fantastic, genuine horse you would ever meet. I take him hunting at least once a week during the winter and he is fab! He is so easy to ride and very obedient. I love him! I bought him straight from the racing stables and even though it has been quite a project to reschool an exracer, he has turned out to be a talented, willing horse!
 
Brilliant, mine is generally very well behaved. He's got quite sharp over the winter and more spooky out and about, but he's excellent in traffic (though bicycles sometimes freak him out), can hack across open fields without any bother, he's generally a very cool dude. I think seeing so much in life when they're young, they are quite worldly-wise from an early age.

Mine does like to push the boundaries from time to time, but he'd literally just turned 4 when i got him so that's not surprising at all as far as I'm concerned. Consistent discipline - the same for any youngster - is paramount.
 
I currently have the 2 in my sig.

The grey is an absolute darling who does not put a foot wrong!

The chestnut is slightly sharper & can be a bit fizzy at times to ride but a gem to handle.

Definitely 2 of the best horses I have ever owned.
 
My old TB was a 16.3 Irish ex-steeplechaser. I bought him aged 10 - he'd raced only until he was 6. But it became clear (long after the vetting which in hindsight I think was 'fixed') that he'd had a bad fall which had damaged his sacroiliac joint. I retired him aged 15 and he was PTS aged 16 with an infected tendon sheath.

He was a lovely gentle horse to handle, a dream in traffic, but terribly easy to wind up. I wouldn't now get another ex-racer unless I was able to trace its history and trusted the people I was buying from.
 
i love solo so much, he's taught me alot.

I have had him 5 years now- he's a bit nutty, likes routine routine routine, and is only ridden by 3 people- me, my ex-jockey friend and his partner.
My uncle, who does the odd bit of dealing, got him for me.
He isn't cantered out in company, but will happily canter alone and then pull up.
Although he's not unsafe, he is a difficult ride, but we have worked through this and i hope to start a bit of local sj with him this summer.
touch wood, he hasnt had anything majorly up with him- he gets stiff, and is prone to terrible mud fever, but nothing stops him having a good play.
 
Brilliant, bought mine private from a sort of friend, she had just turned 6, flat raced 8 times and wasn't very fast....... She is a star to hack out, has hunted with the bloodhounds and hopefully this year will go out Show Jumping. Had a few problems, she windsucked really bad to start with, but this is controlled, she also had a really bad attack of tying up in the first year of me having her, this was due to trying to get weight on her, but other than that she is a little poppet and gets on really well with my other 3 and I would definately have another one.
 
My mare raced from 2-5 year old on the flat...her career ended with two blown tendons in front. I bought her as 9year old from lady who rescued her...at some point she was retrained in ridden groundwork which we think was done very well.
She was a nightmare to handle (aggressive/defensive) due to ill-treatment, was sedated first few weeks I had her as you couldnt do anything with her...took time and patience. At one point she would have to be muzzled, someone holding her and you would need to be quick to avoid the cow kicks and this was just to take her rug off and brush her over.
I had to learn how to ride her as she was very different from my previous mare...but she was great to ride and we did dressage, jumped (taught her to jump) and hacked. It was always the handling on the ground which was difficult...in the end I think I wore her down with my persistence and the fact that no matter what I would came back the next day!!!
At 16 she had treatment for arthritis, we were able to carry on for 3 years but then reduced jumping and dressage. She also seemed to go through an accident prone stage - ligament damage and straight after that damaged her knee which required surgery...Last year I retired her. I always had in my mind that i would give her a retirement but it did come earlier then I had envisaged.
I have learnt loads from her...and we've had our ups and downs.
She is incredibly sensitive and emotional. Her eyes really are the windows to her soul. She is a beautiful black mare...a jekyl and hyde...a contrary wotsit - whatever you think she will do, she does the opposite...and I love her!!!!
 
We bought our girl from the stud that originally put her in training...she is sharp but not dangerous. We aim t event her so we need a bit of pizzaz...She has had less injuries in 2 years than any of my other non-race horses!

Why not put a similar poll up on the ExRacersClub.com forum... theres hundred of exracer owners on there who Im sure can put your mind at rest.
 
My husband bought a retired p-t-p horse for me to ride when my horse was retired due to injury (very kind of him) however, once I saw him with his rug off at the owners place (bag of bones) I politely said he wasn't my sort, my husband was looking into this poor creatures eyes and he was looking back and it was love at first sight (him and the horse)lol, he was insistent he wanted him, I did not think he would survive the journey home, he did!. He was 9 yrs had raced professionally, been broken down by a Hunt Master in Newmarket, previously been pin fired and was as mad as a March hare. Over the years it has been a nightmare to keep shoes on and keeping weight on has always been a problem. He has a bad heart, several non-invasive tumours , apalling feet, but still acts like he is 2. He was retired before we even did anything with him but my husband after a long week at work, goes out into the yard and they stare at each other with love (lol) The old boy isn't that affectionate with me but I have saved his life several times and will no doubt carry on doing so as I look longingly at my prize guy and my little Arab mare, I cannot begrudge my husband his old grey git!!
 
I got my boy from his breeder. They only sold him as he was lets say, wasnt ever going to be the top racehorse his dad was. Think he trotted out of the stall at his first race, so you can see why they decided to change his career to showing/dressage, he is much happier being pampered pet/attempting to be dressage horse.
 
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