ex-racers and showjumping

minesadouble

minesadouble

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Anyone have or know of someone who has an ex-racer/TB that has made a decent showjumper? Am considering buying a horse that was in training as a 2 year old for my daughter to jump and wondered if anyone had done similar?
We are not looking for top class probably to go to approx 1m20 -any thoughts?
 
ha! don't ask me about ex racer tbs and show jumping!!!!
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My mum, grandad and uncle (and even me!).
TB's are really very versatile, and a 1.20m track is within the limits of most horses with a half decent jockey.
My horse (who I mostly hunt and point to point) can jump properly round 1.20-1.30m tracks at home, but he does get stressed at shows so I wouldn't really go above Discovery with him.
My uncle (who SJ'ed at International level) maintains that the best horses from the continent are the ones with a lot of TB blood.
Try the horse and see if she doesn't make it all the way I am sure she will make a decent RC horse for someone.
 
im glad someone has posted this. I am also going to look at 2 x Tb racers 4Yo's they need re scholing and I wanted to make Sj'ers out of them so this has settled my doubts. My last horse was a Tb but not ex race and he was fantastic. They are great rounders.
 
I know a lot of ex racers who make that height easily, my TB can jump with the best of them although she hasnt done courses that big its not to say she couldnt and ive been told by the guy that trained peppermill that she has more than enough scope to go as far as i could ever dream too.
Like someone else said, a lot of showjumping warmbloods are mostly TB blood and a lot of top eventers are ex racers and they cope with an advanced SJ track easily. Furiso a top showjumper and a founding stallion for many warmbloods was a TB with racing bloodlines.
I think it just depends on the horse, the fact that its an ex racer shouldnt make it any more or less likely to have a good jump than any tb not borne into racing. Theres some warmbloods that struggle with a 1m20 course in the same way that not every tb will make it either, it just depends on the horse.

If it shows a good jump and technique loose schooling and under saddle why not give it a whirl? I know some people say that horses trained to race have a flat jump but in my experience that isnt the case at all, if a horse can jump and has a good attitude to it, that wont change.

If it doesnt work out, like someone else said it may make a nice RC horse to sell on and make a bit of a profit on!
 
Think its a bit of a gamble myself - you might get lucky you might not!! Ex-racehorses can be difficult over coloured poles - I have one that is and know of a few others that are!! Having said that you could get lucky and get a super star. In my experience if its raced for any length of time it will take a lot of time and patience.
 
I have extreme experience of both sides of the coin!

Firstly I had an ex hurdler who could jump the most enormous hedges out hunting but put him into a timber fence at your peril, you'd likely fall! He'd been taught to jump flat and fast and didn't know any different. He was about 12 or 13 when I got him and he'd raced all his life so it was impossible to train it out of him.

I then had a young tb who'd been in training to race but never did and he was the most fantastic show jumper. He had limitless scope and he was as clean as a whistle, only problem was he bucked like a bronco if he knocked a pole. His shape over a fence was a perfect bascule and his knees were up around his ears.

Depends how much racing they've done - there are good ones and bad.
 
i have always found that flat racers take to sj alot quicker ( like teaching a baby!) where as horses that have hurdled take longer to learn that you go over and not thru! Altho all in time turn out to be lovely horses & sjers!!
 
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I then had a young tb who'd been in training to race but never did and he was the most fantastic show jumper. He had limitless scope and he was as clean as a whistle, only problem was he bucked like a bronco if he knocked a pole. His shape over a fence was a perfect bascule and his knees were up around his ears.

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Apart from the bucking this is like mine and TBH mine was in training but never actually raced... the other tb's i know were good were ex chasers. I think if they had been hurdling for years it may be different!
 
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i have always found that flat racers take to sj alot quicker

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Mine was in training to be a flat racer too. Sorry, im finding this quite interesting
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If your potential horse raced as a 2yr old them im gussing it was a flat racer!?
 
I had an ex chaser that raced for 11 years. He did always take off, way too far back! However he was as honest as they come, and in all the time I had him never ran out or refused. Very much point and (don't!) kick. I jumped over 5ft (coloured poles) on him with no problems, also went x country schooling
 
My last horse is an ex racer and was a superdooper carfeul showjumper. He only flat raced as a 2/3yr old and I got him when he was 4. He always had the scope but it took quite a while with lots of patience to get him to not rush into his fences. As my instructor said, the jumps were never the problem it was the inbetween bit!
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Once we got that sorted he was fantastic. If you look at his SJ BE record it is very good, when he had faults was either because of me or he wasnt happy with the ground usually. I can explain every result on there. Also I was told I should SJ him rather than event him because he was so careful and clever.
So yes they can be great showjumpers, it just may take a alot of time, patience and perserverance to get there
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Imo they can become top class at most things provided they have the right schooling etc. from the beginning.

I have one who was trained for jump racing but didn't make it to the track he is very difficult but I bought him as a 9yo and previous to this he had bad schooling and had never jumped a clear at any height in his life, given the right start he probably could of show jumped quite successfully. Although he is getting a lot better but it's taken 2 and a half years of a lot of work. Having said that he is very honest and has never stopped at a jump since we got him.

So my advice is to buy one pretty much straight of the track, then you know where you stand and avoid the trouble of buying other peoples problems.
 
I have a 9yr old ex flat racer, won a few as well. Cracking little jumper both xc and show jumping - I just point and he sorts the rest out. He is cracking to handle on the ground, as laid back as they come. Bombproof in traffic on his own and in company. His only problem is he is in love with my old horse and you would think I was killing him for the first 5 mins every night when I seperate them until he gets his tea and then he forgets all about her. I must admit owning a ex-racehorse has really opened my eyes and changed my attitude toward them.
 
should have said that - mine was as bombproof as they come, loaded himself (really!), amazing to shoe, clip etc, came to the gate when you called him (via popping over the field fencing) and followed me round like a dog
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The only issue was with other horses out hacking. If another horse cantered past, we'd end up joining them. I galloped him full out once and that was enough for me, felt like went from 0-60 in seconds
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Depends entirely on the individual horse. Yes, I'd always pick a flat-racer rather than an out-and-out hurdler that had been trained to jump flat but you can't predict whether the horse will be bold or spooky or take to it like a duck to water. Just try it and see if you like its attitude and its technique over a fence. If they're good enough, then it's a good enough horse! Lots of purpose bred flash showjumping warmbloods out there that don't have the scope or bottle to jump Foxhunter. I like TBs, I like their approach to life but as with all these things, it's the individual not the breed that matters. Don't rule it out!
 
I had the pleasure of being given a grade A schoolmaster when I was a teenager-he was a flat racer over in South Africa from the age of 3, then turned his hand to showjumping and won over £200,000 including the dunhill derby (s africa's version of Hickstead derby!)
I didn't get him til he was 18, but he was still going strong and jumping 1.10m tracks and PN eventing until he was 21!
Absolute legend of a horse, never ever touched a pole. Would stop if you didn't ride him, but he was a true schoolmaster and the most careful horse I've ever sat on.
And he was safe as anything. Bless him RIP.
 
What determines a horse's aptitude at the most basic level is conformation. (Yes, temperament, soundness and training are huge factors in success but they're useless unless the horse can do the job in the first place.) I don't mean correctness, necessarily, I mean the proper conformation to let him do what he needs to do. It has nothing to do with breeds ALTHOUGH purpose bred horses are far more likely to have all the attributes to be successful in their chosen sport because they have been refined over generations. (Yes, there are many TBs in sport breeding BUT they were/are specifically chosen for the desired attributes, they aren't just any old random TB.)

So . . . if the horse you are looking at is built to do the job then it can do the job. Temperament and training will determine IF it does the job but if you start with the right raw material you're increasing your odds. It really doesn't matter what the breed is if all the bits are in the right places.

Now, hurdlers are a bit of another story though, as they have been taught different skills than the ones they need to sj. They may have to unlearn them and this may or may not go well. Also, the conformation balance for a good hurdler is not necessarily the same as for a sj'er.

Of course it all depends on what level we're talking about. Any reasonably decent, athletic horse should be able to do the 1m-ish classes but if your goal is 1.20+ you will have to have a more specialised horse to succeed.
 
Thanks for all of your replies - am definitely going to pursue it further then. The horse in question was in training as a 2yr old (flat) but didn't make it onto the race track, it's 3 now.
These days it just seems like everyone who wants to jump goes out and buys a foreign horse!
The reason I was drawn to it despite it not really being quite what we were looking for is it that it is so nicely put together.
Fingers crossed it works out!
 
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Thanks for all of your replies - am definitely going to pursue it further then. The horse in question was in training as a 2yr old (flat) but didn't make it onto the race track, it's 3 now.
These days it just seems like everyone who wants to jump goes out and buys a foreign horse!
The reason I was drawn to it despite it not really being quite what we were looking for is it that it is so nicely put together.
Fingers crossed it works out!

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I have one that was raced on the flat and hurdled, he was a rubbish racehorse because he is far to clever and bascules over everything, he is amazing to jump and very well put together.
Good luck and keep us posted!
 
My boy in the pics below is an exracer he was 4 and straight out of flat training when i bought him he is smart very quick to learn bold and very scopey - I think this horse will easily do a 120 130 Track i have done a lot of the work myself and i am a 40 something novice rider with a very young child - ~It certainly helps having a positive and understanding trainer or rider as these TB's can be jolly sensitive but totally rewarding within the right combination .
But I definately think they should have had the minimum of runs as a 2/3 year olds and certainly not a huge amount of jump training i wouldnt buy anything over 7 maybe 8 at a push and certainly not for a lot of money

Sharonxx
 
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