Showjumping Ex-Racers competing BSJA

[anon345]

Thoughts on BSJA with an ex racer?
I'm quite happy to spend more time on a TB but just worried about soundness and how far they can go in this area?

 

[Bellaboo18]

Very much achievable but I wouldnt personally pick a full thoroughbred to BSJA. Nothing to do with soundness.

At what level do you plan on jumping? What appeals about an ex racer?

 

[Orangehorse]

Why not? Prince Hal springs to mind.

 

[humblepie]

Back in the 1990s I had an ex racehorse who I jumped from unaffiliated up to Foxhunter/Grade C as it was then. She never had any issues. Only limiting factor was that eventually the combinations got too difficult for her as she struggled to shorten. She was pretty amazing.

 

[Bellaboo18]

Back in the 1990s I had an ex racehorse who I jumped from unaffiliated up to Foxhunter/Grade C as it was then. She never had any issues. Only limiting factor was that eventually the combinations got too difficult for her as she struggled to shorten. She was pretty amazing.

And this is why I wouldnt pick one to go up the levels but completely depends how far OP wants to go.

 

[anon345]

Very much achievable but I wouldnt personally pick a full thoroughbred to BSJA. Nothing to do with soundness.

At what level do you plan on jumping? What appeals about an ex racer?

I doubt I would want to go any higher than newcomers to be honest. Just looking for a bit of fun, considering all options at the minute while not really having the budget for something else so thinking producing ex-racer may be an option for me? Or I wait longer to increase budget to get other options is fine for me too.

 

[ycbm]

I sold a 15.2 who went Intermediate at BE, so they can jump.
.

 

[Wheels]

I had an ex racer jumping 1.10s with the odd 1.15 and the even odder 1.20

Yes, distances were tight but by the time we got to that height he had learnt to shorten pretty well.

 

[millikins]

Why not? Prince Hal springs to mind.

Philco was a bit useful too

 

[Bellaboo18]

I doubt I would want to go any higher than newcomers to be honest. Just looking for a bit of fun, considering all options at the minute while not really having the budget for something else so thinking producing ex-racer may be an option for me? Or I wait longer to increase budget to get other options is fine for me too.

If you're after some fun, are experienced and happy to put the work in, I think they're great horses and theres no doubt they can jump.

If you want to really be competitive and work up the levels...racers are built to cover the ground, they *as a rule* struggle to collect and carry there weight behind hence they dont always come across as the most careful horses because they jump long and flat.

 

[Jeni the dragon]

Friend has an exracer. He events rather than straight sj but he competes at Advanced/4* and is only 15.2hh.

 

[Orangehorse]

The main thing would be to see any horse jumping first and see how nimble it is and if it wants to clear a fence and what happens if it makes a mistake. Maybe a loose school would help.

I remember once on the DG, someone had been to see a youngster for eventing and when loose schooled it hit the fences and made the same mistake twice, and everyone's advice was to walk away.

I don't really see where the ex-racer bit comes in. If it has decent conformation and controllable (!) and hasn't any leg or back problems, then schooling, pole work and small fences would be part of everyday schooling and if it has been chasing then it will have been jumping 4' 6" so height shouldn't matter much unless you are aiming for Grade A.

 

[Bellaboo18]

They make better eventers for sure because even at the top end of the game you can have a pole in the show jumping and win.

 

[Bellaboo18]

The main thing would be to see any horse jumping first and see how nimble it is and if it wants to clear a fence and what happens if it makes a mistake. Maybe a loose school would help.

I remember once on the DG, someone had been to see a youngster for eventing and when loose schooled it hit the fences and made the same mistake twice, and everyone's advice was to walk away.

I don't really see where the ex-racer bit comes in. If it has decent conformation and controllable (!) and hasn't any leg or back problems, then schooling, pole work and small fences would be part of everyday schooling and if it has been chasing then it will have been jumping 4' 6" so height shouldn't matter much unless you are aiming for Grade A.

Because they're not taught to be careful just to cover the ground and ideally jump through the top of the fence.

 

[ycbm]

Because they're not taught to be careful just to cover the ground and ideally jump through the top of the fence.

The solution to that is to buy a flat racer who has never jumped. All mine made neat little jumpers at 90cm.

 

[spacefaer]

My American sj trainer loved TBs. He said they were the ultimate sports horse. The best are bright, athletic, trainable and they can have excellent conformation. Trouble is, those are the ones that tend to stay in racing!
And they also tend to cost megabucks ??

They're also the breed that was added to the continental warmbloods to give them quality and athleticism.
Absolutely no reason why a TB can't show jump - like all breeds, you just need to buy the best one for the job!

 

[Bellaboo18]

The solution to that is to buy a flat racer who has never jumped. All mine made neat little jumpers at 90cm.

True but I still think there conformation doesnt lead itself to the ideal showjumper.
Depends if we're talking 90cm or +++

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

The odd one goes in to jump big tracks but if you are after a fun horse to jump to just over a meter then a tb will do the job not a bother. Some tbs have absolutely no way of going over a jump and never will because some are just plain thick. But most can pop away nicely.

Regardless of whether they have been flat horses or national hunt horses you take them out of that environment, school them properly and teach them how you do things and you will have a horse that will do anything for you.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

My 17hh American bred tb who started off life as a flat racer and then went hurdling. These pics were taken during his chasing career. He was taught to jump by a very, very good horseman. Gray is an intelligent beast but even the most intelligent have their moments - such as his first chase start where he jumped the fence beautifully, perfection personified going up and over! He just forgot to put the landing gear out and slithered to a heap on the floor the other side of the fence ?

 

[RachelFerd]

Ex racehorses can make top event horses, so theoretically there's no reason why you couldn't have a TB that can succeed up to 130 level. But they are few and far between - and an ex racehorse can still win eventing with the odd pole down, whereas that doesn't cut it in the SJ ring.

If you want a fun horse on a smaller budget to go and enjoy showjumping up to 110-ish, then an ex-racehorse might be a good choice. But if you've got a bigger budget, and you want to be consistently competitive at 110, i'd look elsewhere.

 

[Orangehorse]

The odd one goes in to jump big tracks but if you are after a fun horse to jump to just over a meter then a tb will do the job not a bother. Some tbs have absolutely no way of going over a jump and never will because some are just plain thick. But most can pop away nicely.

Regardless of whether they have been flat horses or national hunt horses you take them out of that environment, school them properly and teach them how you do things and you will have a horse that will do anything for you.

I saw a jockey friend who was nursing broken ribs and I asked what had happened. He was schooling his point-to-pointer and put him at a set of rails, the horse gave them a real hard knock, so he thought "won't do that again" unfortunately he did, fell and injured my friend!

Which is what a meant by "nimble" they must want to get over safely.

 

[Teaboy]

I’ve never had one that couldn’t jump round a course of 1.10, and that is truly all shapes and sizes. As for conformation some are built that they could actually do any job very well, it then just depends whether they have the brain and then the correct training to reach their potential.

 

[tristar]

the haras des hayettes normandie, had a tb mare who was international, she bred many good foals as well, when is saw her in her twenties she a had a foal at foot, she was not very big either