Rescued racer - would you take him on?

Nudibranch

Nudibranch

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Ok, will try and keep it short... As per previous posts, current horse has had a sudden retirement and is sadly going to rescue centre on Saturday. They have another ex racer looking for a home and asked if I'd take a look.

Description: 16.1 gelding, 13 years old, successful on the track but to quote the centre, "hasn't done much since". Previous owner had "mucked around with him a bit" (?) but sent him back as she -and I'll quote again- "needed to downgrade to a cob to be able to lead her daughters pony out". Sorry cob owners, not my words!

Horse has been variously described as "a lively ride" and "sensible"! He has good manners in hand but nobody's ridden him other than for 10 minutes when he was apparently fine. No other history other than he's been pin fired.
Would you take him on? Am a bit reluctant, having just spent a year working with a neurotic, highly strung ex racer mare who just started to settle when she had to be retired at 13 due to unsoundness. Is it worth it?
p.s. sorry for the excessive punctuation!
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tbh i'd describe my ex racer exactly the same and i'd recommend him to anyone who's got some experience. why not give him 2 months then decide if you can cope or not??
 
Yeah thats a good suggestion... have you had much bother bringing him on? It was hard work with my last one but rewarding, but am wondering if I should just go for something "easy"!
 
to be honest he was nice to teach, took a while to get rid of his bad habits but on the whole it was great. I find him really affectionate too which is nice, if you've done one already you should find a bit older one a doddle!
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Hey Ive got 2 of them, completely opposite, one (in my sig) is the stereotypical nut job, but the kindest most talented horse in the world, the other is actually bone idle, and I am just spending some time having fun and hacking him, was gonna hunt him to see if that lit his spark but seeing as thats a no go at the moment!
Ps I am also going to achieve a lifelong ambition by riding in a P2p on the first one!
 
Yes, I am looking for something for hacking out on...TBH this one because he's there! Got my last one as she had an old injury and couldn't do anything else (ironically that's her only sound leg now!), am not competition minded these days, but I do enjoy long cross country rides.
 
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I'd be worried about the pin firing. Tendon probs.

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Some trainers do that as a matter of course

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That does depend to a part on how long ago he was done and if he's had any problems since.
I love ex racers; if I was looking for a hack then I'd certainly try to find one; they've usually been there, done that types that are great in traffic. What more can a hacker need?

If he hasn't been ridden for a while you could always ask them to have him started again to see how he handles it before you actually climb aboard yourself.
 
in a word.... yes. As even at 13 he could turn his hoof to anything you ask and be extreamly rewarding.

go see you will soon know if it the one for you.
 
Get him!!! haha!! As long as you know what your doing and have had previous experience i'd go for it. It's quite rare that ex racers get taken on and I think they are wonderful. Fred (my ex racer) is very sensible, great in traffic and has the most awesome personality and temperment i've ever known.
I'm not being pushy but you have to get hime haha x
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Havent you put in enough time in the past??!!!!

Im not sure which rescue you are talking about (Im not fishing here so dont name) but certainly the one local to me would only consider letting this TB go as a field companion.

To be rehomed as a riding horse the rescue should certainly be doing the work required to rehabilitate it first, not pass it on to someone else to have a go with. There is no guarantee that you will ever really get anywhere with it, or that it will be sound. Personally Id say no to this one.
 
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