Kauto Star to dressage star?

I think it's nice he is getting a good chance at a second career.....maybe it will show people in a more high profile way racers aren't just for racing.
 
I think he's gone to great people to handle the transition training ,it will be interesting to see how it goes but in the right place with the right rider it a a job that will keep his body moving his brain busy I see no reason it won't work , if he's missing the drama of racing it might be better to be away from a training yard I always wonder what horses used to the winners encloser " think" of parading at the races.
It does not matter if he does it a low level as long as he's happy and well cared for.
 
FfionWinnie said:
Why not, it will be great publicity for retrained racehorses. The trainers attitude is a bit odd isn't it!? Is he a stallion?
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Most jump horses are geldings, just like Red Rum was. It's a shame really, but then they would have a much better life as a gelding I think.
 
Think he has gone to an ideal person who will give him a variety of work in his training and keeping his mind and body active will be good for him. will probably also mean he gets to have more turnout than is usually available in a racing yard so will be more relaxed in himself. good luck to him and all inbvolved he deserves a happy life
 
Not so sure he's really destined to be a dressage horse, but I love the idea of having a second job. He's far too young to retire to the field.
 
amymay said:
Not so sure he's really destined to be a dressage horse, but I love the idea of having a second job. He's far too young to retire to the field.
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I think perhaps there are reasons they already think jumpings is not going to be a good idea or it's simply they are using the term dressage when we non racing types might say training therefore to avoid confusion with being in training, and he's clearly going to need assessing and retraining which will mean flat work for any new life could be that they will start on the flat see where they get and YB and LC well he's not exactly making do trainer or rider wise is he.
He looks a busy clever horse so having his mind challenged in a different way may be just the thing for him.
Non of us know , it's sad it's been a bit of a public fallout however a disgruntled racing stable staff , although grossly unprofessional taking to twitter is not exactly the owner and PN completly falling out .
 
Wagtail said:
Most jump horses are geldings, just like Red Rum was. It's a shame really, but then they would have a much better life as a gelding I think.
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Yes that's why I was asking, I can't see why the trainer is pd off, if he's a gelding what was he going to do for the rest of his life. Great he has a new career.
 
Everyone in a racing yard puts a bit of themsleves in to every horse, so not surprising that they are totally gutted, Kauto Star was never destined to be stuck in a field and neglected [the fate of Hello Dandy].
However.......... the guys who looked after him at Ditcheat for such a long time would know what is best for him, most likely he would help brinigng along the "new boys on the block"
With so many miles on the clock it is likely that he needs to be managed carefully. Some owners are unaware of these matters.
Only one thing is certain, he won't be at the next Olympics. A gold medal winning horse has to be trained for the job, and it takes 5 to 10 years of training. Personally I can't stand the way some top riders jiggle and mess about with a horse's mouth, and "submission" is a big part of dressage, poor things don't live a natural life, [they never see a field]. And what is all that about leg bandages, can't they they walk and trot without ligament support...... something wrong there.
 
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Very few NH [jump racing] horses are kept as stallions, they have to jump over stiff birch twig fences....... and this would be............... painfull!
Also, they would be difficult to manage, some get coltish [mind on sex], generally, their potenital is not realised till they are five or six, which usually late to geld.
There are loads of Flat horses with good pedigrees to use as stallions, it is not likely that the "Red Rum"s of this world would have made good stallions anyway, they are "freaks", lucky accidents.
 
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FfionWinnie said:
Yes that's why I was asking, I can't see why the trainer is pd off, if he's a gelding what was he going to do for the rest of his life. Great he has a new career.
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Having read the article, I don't think anyone can fail to see why Paul Nicholls would be a tad 'miffed' to say the least, at how the owner has gone about organising this.

I think it's called common courtesy.
 
FfionWinnie said:
Yes that's why I was asking, I can't see why the trainer is pd off, if he's a gelding what was he going to do for the rest of his life. Great he has a new career.
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Eat top Q food, be groomed every day, kissed and cuddled by everyone, paraded, photographed, sign autographs, show youngsters how to jump, lead youngsters out, oversee matters at the yard, enter "I'm a Celebrity, please let me stay here".
Places to go, people to see.
I know from my experience that one can "communicate" with horses....... I had a mare who was thrown out of jockey club racing for "bad behaviour", and also being SLOW.
I rode her in a race ten days after she arrived here, we passed six horses [OK we took a shortcut], and then made a big fuss of her, we never ever hit her [and she was a madam!].
She won six races for us, and would do anything for me.
Just a bit of pampering was all she needed, plus proper food, proper grooming, and a major injection of confidence.
When she got excited she would stand on her hind legs, I just ignored this, it was "attention seeking"..... she was not "rearing"
 
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I think it will be fantastic for him physically and mentally. He will be far healthier being worked correctly and will stimulated by having a new set of things to think about.

It would have been a great shame for him to have been pensioned off at the racing yard, not going on the box & racing when the other horses are.

I would love to see him out and about and great for the general public, especially after dressage became more mainstrea, at the Olympics. It will really demonstyrate the versatility of TB's. I wouldn't want to see him eventing & jumping fixed timber though, that would be terrifying....
 
Miss L Toe said:
Everyone in a racing yard puts a bit of themsleves in to every horse, so not surprising that they are totally gutted, Kauto Star was never destined to be stuck in a field and neglected [the fate of Hello Dandy].
However.......... the guys who looked after him at Ditcheat for such a long time would know what is best for him, most likely he would help brinigng along the "new boys on the block"
With so many miles on the clock it is likely that he needs to be managed carefully. Some owners are unaware of these matters.
Only one thing is certain, he won't be at the next Olympics. A gold medal winning horse has to be trained for the job, and it takes 5 to 10 years of training. Personally I can't stand the way some top riders jiggle and mess about with a horse's mouth, and "submission" is a big part of dressage, poor things don't live a natural life, [they never see a field]. And what is all that about leg bandages, can't they they walk and trot without ligament support...... something wrong there.
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Just to point out, every time a horse allows you to get on its back, it is submitting to you. Submission in dressage is about the harmony of horse and rider, with the rider asking and the horse doing because it wants to... Not the horse being forced to.

I stand by, if you're forcing it, you're doing it wrong :D
 
Only one thing is certain, he won't be at the next Olympics. A gold medal winning horse has to be trained for the job, and it takes 5 to 10 years of training. Personally I can't stand the way some top riders jiggle and mess about with a horse's mouth, and "submission" is a big part of dressage, poor things don't live a natural life, [they never see a field]. And what is all that about leg bandages, can't they they walk and trot without ligament support...... something wrong there.
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I'm sorry, but none of that is really very accurate.
 
I think it's great for him. New life, new adventure. Races the profile for other ex racers. He's being treated just as well in his new home. Maybe he should have been left just a hack at the farm with Mr. Smith funding his hack life. It seems to me that this was discussed between owner and trainer and when it became clear the life the team wanted for him didn't match that of owner, it went pear shaped.

Personally I love what he's doing. I wish more owners would give these horses more active jobs than just turned out or hack.

Terri
 
There is a horse who was placed in the Grand National in our RC. He is such a smart sport horse now and loves to work, I think many of these solid chaser types have so much more to give and can be seriously decent, so fair play to the owner for wanting more for the horse.
 
Agree with Amway above too. Miss Toe it seems like you ride out. So then you will know its highly annoying when people say gallop people are horrible riders. The same is true of other disciplines. There isn't much I haven't done and I have a huge respect for good riders no matter what they do. In all you do on a horse, it's a telnet. Oh yeah including getting previous no hopers to win races.

Terri
 
I know it must be sad to see a 'family member' leave the yard, but why is Paul Nichols sad for the horse to be going to pastures new. It didn't say what he had planned for Kauto Star. What were his plans and were they equally or more beneficial to the horse? Anyone?

Upon reading, it seems a great idea by the owner to get him started on his new 'career'.

I look forward to hearing about him and hope he excels.
 
Maybe I'm missing something but he's with Laura Collett as of today or yesterday so I'm not sure it is dressage that his future lies in now? Or is Laura a stop gap?
 
We will not know for a while how he gets on and whether he will take to it. I think its great, although I find dressage incredibly boring, probably because I'm not a good enough rider.
 
Miss L Toe said:
I can provide video evidence if you want, taken from videos of top dressage people demonstrating their schooling of young horses. Not u-tube clips when no one islooking.
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you can pick ANY area of equestrianism and find videos are abuse for it. You have a bizarre view of dressage and what dressage riders do. I have an exracer who did dressage and he still gets to gallop on beaches, jump hedges and ditches and is currently out 24/7. He also enjoyed learning new skills and was pleased as punch doing moves to show off what he knew.

And I 100% wouldn't say dressage is about submission - if anything it's about harmony and finding a natural flow with the horses rhythm.
 
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