Ex-Racers. What is the so special about them?

I find the type of person who makes 'omg, my horse is mad/bad/dangerous because its an ex racer' type comments are usually pretty clueless about racing. If I had £1 for everytime I've been told a horse is bad in traffic/ with noise/ to hack etc because 'its an ex racer' I'd be very rich. And then they always look disillusioned when you point out that a race horse would be very accustomed to all that from an early age.
 
:o One of my pet peeves, on the boards over this side of the Atlantic you are always seeing OTTB, and I have no idea why it grates on me so much, a TB is a TB, and off the track, can mean so many things, to slow to have ever raced, to hot to settle, can't keep it racing sound, it's to much trouble with not enough talent, the list is long. There are also good honest citizens who have done their time and now are ready to move on to a new career.

Yes they come from one job to another, but so do many horses. When I was growing up in Essex most stables had TB's in their string, most of them off of the track, but they were just other horses that you learned to ride. It's a long time ago but my main memories are hard keepers, great to hack out on roads, most of them pretty bomb proof, good fun to let them down and gallop on the bridle paths, but nothing special.

The first horse who bolted with me was an ex racer called Ginger, we got all the way back to yard with me still sitting passenger.
 
I think as long as you do your research and have the time and effort to dedicate to an ex racer then at the end of the day its a beautiful horse with talent to excel. Maybe one day i will scoop me up one of these horses looking for a new job in life :D
 
Nicnac said:
Enfys - do you have an ex-racehorse or ever had one?

They are very versatile and put up with many things

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I've met a few, yes :)
 
Firewell said:
Awww I love my ex-racer.
When I see these fancy warmbloods at the dressage, purpose bred for the sport and I think how many of them would be able to race in the thick mud and rain and wind over 4ft fences, then be completly retrained to do an elegant poised dressage test and at the same time be a safe on the buckle hack, showjump well and event.
Thats why they are special because they are trained so differently to normal riding horses and have such a structured life yet can then be taken into an alien environment and be verstaile enough to give any purpose bred horse a run for their money in a range of different sports.
They are brave, intelligent, athletic, kind and generous.
More people need to reliase how special they are and there would not be so many on the scarp heap.
I could NEVER have afforded my horse if he had not been an exracer, he's one in a million a real turn his hoof to anything, heart of gold, allrounder :).
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Completely agree, yes they are just horses but at the end of the day, many have been reschooled/retrained/rehabilitated for other jobs that are a far cry from what they originally started out doing. It generally takes a lot of time and patience to have an ex-racer but is so rewarding. If they seem singled out or treated as extra 'special' I can understand why :D
 
I hadn't really interpreted it as saying they were special just an easy way to explain past history. Is it different to saying ex broodmare or ex polo pony?

It's also probably nice to be in a bit of a club of folk who have them on here.

I'd like to be in a "ex aggressive paint horse mare now reformed happy mare" club but not sure if anyone else would qualify :o:D
 
I like the challenge of ex-racers - I like the feeling of schooling a sensitive horse which has rarely, if ever done any schooling. I like the feeling of when they relax in a schooling session and you think "Wow - I've done that!" I love it that when out hacking in walk, they stride out and rarely can any other horse keep up with their walk. I love the adrenaline rush that no other horse has even given me - and by that I don't mean speed, I just mean their presence and the feel. And when they move well - they move really well.

Put it like this. I have a 10 year old TB ex-racer and a 14hh NFx who is 3 and a half. I am currently breaking the NFx in (small rider riding her, but I've done all the ground work and I lunge the rider on her). NFx is a darling - hasn't bucked, or done ANYTHING remotely wrong the few times she has had a rider on and by all accounts is going to make a cracking pony. You could say that in most peoples' eyes she is pretty much perfect.
But which one makes me grow inside and brings all my emotions out? - the TB - every time. She only has to have one reasonable schooling session, or hack out without major incident and I'm over the moon. I love them both equally, but the TB has the emotional tie.
 
The thing I don't like is the way people seem to believe they 'rescue' their horse from its racing career. It looked skinny because it was in racing condition- Reg was in perfect condition for his job back then, and is now double the size and is in perfect condition for his job now...

I also really dislike pony racers being described as ex-racers!
 
Our ex-racer was a hyper horse when we had her and was quite stroppy. She is now a dressage diva and wins prizes; she loves her work. She is also now, after a lot of work, great to hack out.
Enfys said:
I am reading, time after time, 'ex-racer' as if they are some sort of super species, what, exactly is the big deal about them, they are still just horses right?
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Lolo said:
The thing I don't like is the way people seem to believe they 'rescue' their horse from its racing career. It looked skinny because it was in racing condition- Reg was in perfect condition for his job back then, and is now double the size and is in perfect condition for his job now...

I also really dislike pony racers being described as ex-racers!
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Completely agree on both accounts!
 
They are special because they are bred for speed. Their lung capacity is phenomenal, compared to other horses! They are seen by some as "mad" because they come from the track with litle schooling, including standing at the mounting block (ever seen a jockey mount?). They are even led as foals in front of their mothers so they get used to being in front and so become comfortable with that. They are a man made breed with speed in mind and so are prone to many special conformational problems, including, ime, a very straight back leg that can lead to early hock problems. They are not "hardy" and have weaker feet than natives, though there are always some exceptions. They are generally more anxious than other breeds and ime, self injure and spook more.
 
Racehorses are trained to be fast, to stay if they are supposed to be stayers and to sprint if they are supposed to be sprinters. If you go to the racing and look at the sights and sounds and there are horses walking around as if its no big deal.

I work in racing and some of the horses i look after be it a 6 or a 2 year old are some of the sweetest horses ive ever spent time with, most LOVE attention and the people who work with them give it, TB's have a special feel about them you just need to trot one to feel it let along go up the gallops like i do.

William fox pitts parklane hawk was an ex racehorse, enough said. When i see racehorses go on to fab new homes and lives it makes me feel so happy, just spend one morning in a racing yard and you will see how much the grooms riders and trainers love these creatures and how sweet they are, all this bull about them being mental craps is a load of ***** i hack the racehorses on the roads past vans motorcycles etc some dont bat an eyelid some of the younger ones are fine with reassurance (be it any horse one who hasn't seen a big white van before a cob or racehorse would be unsure)

thats it
 
They are a breed that tends toward close one person interaction yet are kept on big yards with communal care. Watching my boy come to life with one to one care when I worked with him and even more so now he's mine has been a privelige. I vowed to love and cuddle him into submission and its working. He can do a passable version of anything asked of him.
 
I think mine is so wonderful because she's had a whole other career before I got her. The fact that she could race (albeit very poorly!) and now be quiet, sensible dressage horse (well...she will be!) is great. I really like seeing her character come out as she learns it's ok to be 'loved' by someone.

Saying that though, if I had a horse like her then it'd be great whether it had raced or not!
 
It's not the ex-racer thing for me.. It's just the tb.. I love them.. One of ours is an ex-racer the other one didn't make it to training although sold for NH. I know warm bloods can have lovely paces & are bred for dressage etc but nothing is more beautiful than a fine tb..
 
Oh & one extra special thing.. We've had 3 (2 ex race) in total and none have ever let us down on busy roads or heavy/fast traffic.. Totally different to the 'mad' reputation they have. I put it down to the annount they do so young. That is one reason I love our current 2 so much.
 
No idea, to be honest.

They're all just TBs and I'm not a big fan in the first place. I've seen and ridden a fair few over the years - some I've thought quite good looking, or sweet tempered, but most - no thanks.

I like something with a bit more about it mixed in, but that's just personal taste.
 
I just love TB's. Love their power, and attitude.

Don't like how some people try to make excuses for bad behaviour though
 
I like how mine is much safer, more genuine and confidence giving than other horses, he's super safe and is so rideable! He has his typical TB moments, but I've learnt a lot with him, and he's taught me loads.
He's exceptionally good natured, very kind, brilliant with children/dogs, very patient!
What I didn't like (don't get it so much now), was a group of people that were very anti-TB. They automatically assumed because Handy was an ex racer and TB he was going to be highly strung, gallop around the field all day and difficult to handle/ride.
During bad weather when we were allowed to turn out in small groups noone would turn theres out with mine because of what Handy may do. Made me feel awkward, especially as all mine wants to do is eat!

Handy proved them all wrong, being wonderful to hack out, goes first or last, fab on roads, leads horses past 'scary' things, accompanied children on hacks etc. People soon thought differently of him as an ex-racer, some were fascinated by the fact he's an ex racer (a very successful one too).
 
PapaFrita said:
But how many DON'T make it at all? How many end up on the scrap heap after their racing career or don't even start it? I love TBs, their temperaments and athleticism, but FAR more fail than make it.
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They break. A nice horse is a nice horse, especially in terms of eventing I think. The ideals aimed for when breeding a top level eventer in terms of conformation and nature are very similar to a good NH horse (and flat, I think, but less so). Trouble is, when they come off the track the good ones often have a lot of wear and tear, they have injuries or just have developed problems through the sheer amount of hard work they've done.

It's been said it's a pity Reg raced for this reason. He has so much going for him, and it's niggles from his racing past which will hold him back rather than lack of talent or 'want'. He's fantastic, but he's not such a one off in this respect.

The racehorses who do well in eventing are the ones who haven't been run regularly, or the ones who were taken out through injury. Parklane Hawk is a bit of a freak, in that he ran 17 times- a fair amount compared to most who do well.
 
Lolo said:
The racehorses who do well in eventing are the ones who haven't been run regularly, or the ones who were taken out through injury. Parklane Hawk is a bit of a freak, in that he ran 17 times- a fair amount compared to most who do well.
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17 races isn't much of a career for a bog standard racehorse. You would expect that of Saturday Flat horses but not a generic one.

One of mine ran 43 times, winning 7 of them and £63k - I would class that as a mediocre racehorse!

Another ran 20x in 3 years and won 4 and £20k - again mediocre.

Kyle ran 60+ times, won 5 and £26k - again pretty generic.

The last ran 21x, won 6 and £31k and didn't reach his full potential due to having legs like sugar glass. He would have been very good but would have been isn't good enough when the chips are down.
 
EKW said:
17 races isn't much of a career for a bog standard racehorse. You would expect that of Saturday Flat horses but not a generic one.

One of mine ran 43 times, winning 7 of them and £63k - I would class that as a mediocre racehorse!

Another ran 20x in 3 years and won 4 and £20k - again mediocre.

Kyle ran 60+ times, won 5 and £26k - again pretty generic.

The last ran 21x, won 6 and £31k and didn't reach his full potential due to having legs like sugar glass. He would have been very good but would have been isn't good enough when the chips are down.
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On the flat or over fences? Those are impressive careers! I think I probably see the other end more regularly so am a bit biased- Reg raced 20 odd times, and is usually one of the ones with a bigger career in the show ring, and usually one of the few over fences. And we know he didn't do that much!
 
Lolo said:
On the flat or over fences? Those are impressive careers! I think I probably see the other end more regularly so am a bit biased- Reg raced 20 odd times, and is usually one of the ones with a bigger career in the show ring, and usually one of the few over fences. And we know he didn't do that much!
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Jeff - the one who won 7 and £63k was a chaser through and through, ran 2 flat races, 2 hurdles and then the rest were chases.

Laurel - the won who ran 20 and won 4 was a flat racer from 2-the very last day of his 4yo year.

Kyle did all of his winning on the flat but did hurdle a fair bit and did 2 chases but hated them.

Gray won a decent amount on the flat in America, then went hurdling and won his first 3 by miles, did a leg, spent 2 years coming back and went chasing where he won again then did his leg again - hence I have him now lol! His long term aim was a season of novice chasing, get a rating of about 137-142 then go out for the National at the end of the season. Alas dreams that were never fulfilled.

I would class a good horse as one that is consistantly placed and running in graded/listed races. A very good horse is a Festival horse. And an incredibly good horse is a Festival/Group winner.
 
I had a big old fashioned type tb who (in the right condition) would have not looked out of place in the parade ring for the national at aintree, or the burghley trot up.

He wouldn't have got very far in either mind!
 
I think thoroughbreds are the most beautiful true stamp of 'proper' horse!! Just my personal opinion obv but they really r by far my fav breed!! I really love a horse with a good bit of blood tho- just to look at! I'm perfectly happy with my lovely ISH but thoroughbreds are in a different league to the rest IMO
 
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