Question. Ex racer owners.

zaminda said:
The only other horse I have come across by Val royal, was the aptly named rapid reverse, who never made it to the races when I knew him. Do be careful, but the trainer is well worth a shot, you are more likely to get honesty at home than in the sales ring.
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Sire is val royal and dam is sainte gig. Rapid reverse, what a great name. Amble would suit royal gig.
 
Dab said:
Ask yourself the following questions,
You will find that a lot of the re-homing centres are full of ex-racers not straight from the track but from people who are ill prepared or inexperienced in dealing with this type of horse but have picked them up for a song and believing that they are doing a 'good deed' but then the wheels have very quickly fallen off of the wagon, and they can not cope with the needs of an ex-racer and they end up at best at the rehoming centres or much worse fates. TB's are very clever horses and pick up the wrong just as quickly as the right....so you have to be very sure that you have a clear and proper plan for re-training and management.

If you are happy with all of that then give the trainer a call pronto.
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yes Dab. She was very pretty andYes I do have a support system in place.
I'm not rushing into anything here. I know of one case very close to home where an ex racer is being treated very poorly. Unfortunately The owner never checked her out and the poor horse is paying the price.

Really grateful for your advice though. The voice of reason is always welcome. :)
 
If you don't have the experience don't go there......support network or not, you're still the one who has to get on its back!
 
TrasaM said:
yes Dab. She was very pretty andYes I do have a support system in place.
I'm not rushing into anything here. I know of one case very close to home where an ex racer is being treated very poorly. Unfortunately The owner never checked her out and the poor horse is paying the price.

Really grateful for your advice though. The voice of reason is always welcome. :)
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well having a support system in place is great so that is a step in the right direction. but nothing beats experience so i would strongly urge you that if you do go down this route and are successful in securing this horse that you at the very least visit a local ex-racer rehoming centre i.e. one of the RoR sponsored centres. go and look at the routine and re-training schemes that they have in place. talk to the yard manager and chief re-trainer about what works and what doesn't, about management and whether they do clinics and the like. do as much research and planning as possible in this regard....as novices and ex-racers do not usually made a happy match and only the horse pays the price in terms of an inexperienced owner.

sometimes it is also worthwhile going along to a racing yard if you haven't already been to see what their routine is like so that you can understand what your horse has been used to and why it might react the way that it does to certain situations.

undertand also what you are likely to be taking on...i.e. a horse with ulcers (92% of ex-racers suffer from ulcers) and understand the tell tale signs, poor feet due to poor diet over its lifetime, poor doer (usually due to ulcers) etc etc...
 
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I've taken the advice of the majority and called the trainer. Spoke to a lady who said no decision made as yet as they are interested in the longer distances for her and as yet she's not had favourable going. She said that they'd probably persist with her for another season as she needed to mature. They've got my number and will call to let me know what's happening.
 
TrasaM said:
Hi. Not looked up her pedigree but she's Royal gig..is this the horse you are referring to. Tried ringing trainer but no answer as yet.
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No I found another filly with the same sort of profile: Midlands tracks, small trainer, syndicate owned & last in all her races!
The filly you are interested in is an out bred. Interesting pedigree, she may stay further at three.

Just meant that a very inbred filly could have problems with temperament or soundness. most current racehorses are inbred to Northern Dancer, but the filly I thought the OP was interested in had five crosses.
 
Just looked her blood lines up. Quite diverse but Najinsky in there so she's a cousin of my friend's boy and a lot of other TBs by the look of it as well. Lol. Northern dancer was a very busy boy.
 
TrasaM said:
I am really cautious about buying a pre owned horse in case it's been messed around with and has ingrained problems so I am looking for a relatively clean sheet, so to speak.
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Which is the last thing you'll get with an ex racer! They are trained from the age of 2 to do the exact opposite to a normal riding horse, so before even getting to a point where you have a green youngster you have to completely re-train them! If you really must get a youngster then at least get a 'normal' horse which has been broken properly and is ready to bring on. What do your support network think about you getting an ex racer?
 
wench said:
The advise of the majority wasn't to do it.
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I made a phone call asking about what the plans are for her and yes this was what most responses said to do. But that's a long way from offering to buy her. Have some faith in my common sense. Right now it's an idea and it'll remain on the drawing board until more information is available. I've no interest in complicating my life unnecessarily and it's not a decision I'd make without the necessary support or knowledge. believe it or not some people fo employ their brains before taking on something as big as this. :) it helps that I am getting good advice on here both for and against and I'm really grateful for that.
 
Broke_But_Happy said:
Which is the last thing you'll get with an ex racer! They are trained from the age of 2 to do the exact opposite to a normal riding horse, so before even getting to a point where you have a green youngster you have to completely re-train them! If you really must get a youngster then at least get a 'normal' horse which has been broken properly and is ready to bring on. What do your support network think about you getting an ex racer?
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One already owns an ex race failure. He's a happy easy going chap aged 6. Another used to work at a racing stable so is familiar with the problems which could arise and what's required to retrain one. Rest assured I'm not rushing off to buy it :) Honest :)
 
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