Ex-Racers - Your first outings?

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Forget_Me_Not

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Hello : )

Eeek, took Spider out for first time, he's only moved yard/gone to races. It has been pissing down with rain all day so hired a indoor school,.Spiders never seen a indoor school, Spiders also never seem mirrors. It was like a two year old colts first time on a surface - V.nice extended, silly trot. The mirrors really got him, I don't know if he thought there were three other ponies or what but pretty funny to watch. Just lunged/ loose schooled him as I didn't fancy riding him; he wasn't the calmest bean
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Anyway, brave me has entered us for dressage on Tuesday, I think it could be carnage!!!




LOVE HEARING ABOUT YOUR RACERS? What were yours like at there first 'parties'?? How long did it take for them to settle? How long from getting them till you started taking them out?
 
Got a 4 yr old colt this spring and had him competing in TARRA classes within 4 weeks. Very chilled out little lad. Missed qualifying for hickstead by 1 place & now jumping small fences with a teenager...
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I took mine out about nine months after I got him mainly because I had a months worth of him being sound !! so thought I'd better take advantage. He was a bit lit up as he came off the lorry and promptly came face to face with two shetlands which was a bit of a shock for him!!!and also we were right underneath a loud speaker and next to the entrance. He was actually much better when we got someone on him and really setlled down. The poor condition and turnout judge had to judge and very rapidly moving target tho!!Personally I think getting them out as soon as poss is the best thing even if it's just being around when you have another horse out competing - mine comes with me when I take my other horse out showing, for lessons etc just so that he gets the whole everytime I go on a lorry I am going to a racetrack mentality out of his head. Good luck for your dressage I am sure you and spider will be brilliant
 
I did the same with mine as I would do with a 'normal' baby - hired a few different local schooling venues and took him to school with a friend.

Once he was OK with that, we went clear round show jumping a few times and did a couple of hunter trials and some unaff dressage.

Then we went eventing.

He is a very good boy though - gets himself a bit worked up sometimes but no problem really.
 
I took mine out just a few weeks after we got him from Ascot and we went to Sparsholt jumping. He was a total pro in the indoor, he just struggled in the warm up as he was in race horse mode coming off the box and totally confused by the whole horses going in different directions in the warm up. He didn't put a foot wrong though and people couldn't believe that he'd had his last race just 4 weeks before that day.
 
I think our first outing with Bob was to a show at Homestead. We put him in the ex racer in hand class and the ex racer ridden class. He was as good as gold. He got a bit tense in the show jumping warm up area, there was only one other horse in there so I thought I'd pop a tiny coss pole, but he started getting very agitated and he wouldn't walk on. I knew he looked like he was going to explode as a small crowd began to drift our way. I just sat there asking him quietly and eventually we popped our jump and I carried on warming him up for his class in the lorry park!
 
The first time I took mine to a show he was an angel, we had a loose horse gallop past and I thought I'd probably had my chips to be honest, but he just stood up and didin't pay any attention to it!!

He desn't really get bothered by anything much when he's out and about, but seeing as he's run in the National and gold cup, I doubt he's that overcome by any occasions we go to!
 
Our gals first trip was to a UK chasers course. She jogged and fizzed but was eager to learn. She is now jumping over 3ft and loving it.

All Ex Racers are different...just the same as any other horse..but the fact that they have been trained to run first and ask questions later makes the retraining all the more rewarding!

Good Luck in all you do together!
 
With one we had his first real outing was to a very quiet local show (extremely quiet, its got 15 ridden showing classes that start at 10 am and are normaly finnihed by 3pm with a lunch break), we hacked him there hoping that as he relaxes on a hack he wouldnt get too fizzy and we took him with my pony who is an old hand at shows and isnt bothered. He was absolutely fine no fizzyness untill the tannoy went off, then he spent about 5 mins standing on his back legs and spinning in circles untill he spotted that the pony wasnt bothered and decided it was nothing to be scared of. After that he was a saint.
 
my ex racer has been to watch a show (sj and handy pony)and stood there looking like "i can do that!"
so went to practice at home, unfortunately he can't.....:D
 
Hi, my ex racer i hacked to my friends local show and spent the vast majority of the afternoon attempting to canter sideways leaping up and down and doing a lot of snorting/prancing etc it was his first ever experience of a show and I gave him lots to think about, lots of transitions, going to different areas of the show and by the end he was fine, his first ode he though he acted like he was going racing till I was on his back and he behaved perfectly and has done ever since just show them its not as exciting as they originally thought lots of things to keep their mines occupied!
 
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