Retraining ex-racers thread

Have you looked at Sophie Spiterie which I may have spelled wrongly. She’s in Wales. I don’t know her but heard good things and she does a fair bit with them before selling. Possibly depends how SW you are and how far into Wales she is.
 
Yes have been following Sophie, she's about 4 hours away. There was 1 before Xmas I liked the look of, but it just wasn't the right time to go visit as gelding was having surgery.

Yes am on that page.... the one just added in Devon (I'm Devon!) I've messaged about and will go see I think. It's a French hurdler, last 2 runs pulled up due to wind, which I'm not sure about but equally very much doubt I'd be doing anything that strenuous for that to be an issue. But open to advice!!!
 
Sophie is brilliant!! She pretty much matches horses to riders, if you get in touch and tell her what you want she’ll be able to find it! She’s really good I know several people who have bought lovely horses from her.

Have you listened to the podcast series from Louise Burns? All aboard the racehorse. It’s on Apple Podcasts, she has some really good podcasts on the topic and there is one with Sophie which explains how she works etc x
 
Is there anyone on here who has a really good eye for movement/soundness that could possibly watch a video of a potential horse for me? Just as a second opinion really
 
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alsxx said:
I'm also considering joining the club.... just starting to look to see what's out there. This will be my second ex racer, want something that will be a smart competitive all rounder really with a lean towards dressage. I'm SW based and everything I've seen I like the look of is miles away! If anyone fancies some window shopping 🤣

There is one I may go look at not too far from me, but very nervous about proper shopping incase I miss something, even though I 100% will get a vetting. Bit paranoid about soundness as my 6 year old that I've had since a foal is now retired from chondromalacia.
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Message Alex Dunn racing. She regularly will send me horses who are looking for a new career. I bought a cracking one from her. Beautiful, uphill and jumped well. She knows what I like so I get sent what I like! They hack and are usually exactly what she says.

I have also messaged trainers if one has been spotted who is looking pretty useless on a race track but which is the type I really like. That one luckily didn’t come off but the worst they can say is no!

There is a good FB page which has a lot. I want direct from the trainer though no middleman or someone doing an average job with them.
 
LEC said:
Message Alex Dunn racing. She regularly will send me horses who are looking for a new career. I bought a cracking one from her. Beautiful, uphill and jumped well. She knows what I like so I get sent what I like! They hack and are usually exactly what she says.

I have also messaged trainers if one has been spotted who is looking pretty useless on a race track but which is the type I really like. That one luckily didn’t come off but the worst they can say is no!

There is a good FB page which has a lot. I want direct from the trainer though no middleman or someone doing an average job with them.
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There are some good retrainers but you need to know who. Mine was straight off the track but like you with Alex Dunn he was through connections. Previous one was out competing but felt more suited to a different discipline and they were very right.
 
LEC said:
Message Alex Dunn racing. She regularly will send me horses who are looking for a new career. I bought a cracking one from her. Beautiful, uphill and jumped well. She knows what I like so I get sent what I like! They hack and are usually exactly what she says.

I have also messaged trainers if one has been spotted who is looking pretty useless on a race track but which is the type I really like. That one luckily didn’t come off but the worst they can say is no!

There is a good FB page which has a lot. I want direct from the trainer though no middleman or someone doing an average job with them.
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Someone else recommended Alex Dunn, she's not far from us at all, will definitely give her a shot.
 
Slightly off topic but can anyone beat this for TB ailments in the space of 2 months?!! Now I understand why everyone says you need to be prepared for a LOT of bills with a TB!

Since November we've had:
Grade 2/3 ulcers, successfully cleared
Brief period of colic post grastroscopy
SIJ pain- has now been injected
Lice...I kid you not 😳
Wolf teeth removal x 2
Tapeworm tests positive x 2
oh and this week...he started choking!!! Thankfully cleared it within a few mins by himself 🙄

I've only had him 6 months but in the last 2 he's excelled himself! He also had a foot abscess in May 😂 He's been semi feral since all of the above with repeated time off for the ulcers, teeth removal and injections...just to add to the fun.

Remind me again why I got him?!
 
Bobthecob15 said:
Slightly off topic but can anyone beat this for TB ailments in the space of 2 months?!! Now I understand why everyone says you need to be prepared for a LOT of bills with a TB!

Since November we've had:
Grade 2/3 ulcers, successfully cleared
Brief period of colic post grastroscopy
SIJ pain- has now been injected
Lice...I kid you not 😳
Wolf teeth removal x 2
Tapeworm tests positive x 2
oh and this week...he started choking!!! Thankfully cleared it within a few mins by himself 🙄

I've only had him 6 months but in the last 2 he's excelled himself! He also had a foot abscess in May 😂 He's been semi feral since all of the above with repeated time off for the ulcers, teeth removal and injections...just to add to the fun.

Remind me again why I got him?!
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I’m battling hind feet abcesses on my mare. And I mean Battle! She will not let me poultice her easily. A lot of swearing going on. And lots of hunting for hoof boots in the mud. Oh what fun 😆
 
Have started getting out and about again with my boy. Had a fab jump lesson 3 weeks ago where we worked on me getting myself together after a fence, not just collapsing in a heap glad we made it to the other side! Lots to work on but rewarding, have already been putting it into practice at home. He really has come out jumping this year feeling much more grown up and that he knows the job.

Today we went to Hickstead to use their arena XC before it is packed away for the summer. He was just awesome. Did XC 3 times last year, most recent being a hunter trial 6 months ago. Thought he might be a bit unsure to start, nope! As soon as he saw the first fence I pointed him at he locked on and flew it! Which was the theme for the whole session, so bold and up for it! Off to Tweseldown to school in a couple of weeks, can’t wait!

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Absolutely love seeing this.

My current thoroughbred is just a dream to ride. Probably not everyone's cup of tea aa very forward. But I adore her.
 
BenvardenRach2 said:
Tha very true, they aren’t for everyone but I think that’s also down to people not wanting to put the work and time into ‘retraining’. My partner did think all ex racers were mental based on the select few he had seen at the yard over the years :D
But funnily enough, Trippy is SO kind natured that he is more confident handling him than my 15hh Connie x that I’ve owned for 10 years!

My friend said once you own an ex racer you won’t have anything else again… I may agree!

How exciting, it’s great that he is settled! Please update us tomorrow! Good luck xx
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I agree!
 
I was holding off on posting anything on Alfie until I had something interesting (as I figured people were not interested in seeing yet more groundwork) to say. Especially as Alfie's rehab was progressing really well and I was just starting to sit on him again - so I was hoping to have some ridden work updates to share.

What was really exciting was that I could feel him just starting to get the idea of moving in this new way under saddle for the two or three times I sat on him out on hacks. Everything was looking up for him and I was delighted with the improvements all the work I had put in had made to his body. At last, after years of living in discomfort, he knew what it was like to enjoy life without constant high-level pain. His feet were slowly getting better as well. The damage done by the farrier who shod him in racing had pretty much grown out, the new angles growing down were better than the last and his digital cushion at the back was increasing bit by bit. He was no longer so parrot mouthed - due to working on the tension in his body my dentist was able to mostly remove the ramp at the back of his mouth and his teeth were getting closer to lining up correctly. This photo shows the difference before and after the dentist had seen him in March.

Alfie Teeth Comparison.png

Then, devastatingly, Alfie came down with an unresolvable case of colic on the 11th May. The day before I'd taken him and Pol out for a lovely 7 mile walk in hand down to the ford for the first time. I have videos of him looking utterly fantastic and having the most wonderful time out exploring this new route. He wasn't the biggest fan of the water, but he went through it and I had plans to take him back there again soon so he could go through again and start to build his confidence up.

It is a hard thing to wrap your head around at times. They are fine and alive one moment, then not with you the next. I am just so grateful that the colic started right in front of my eyes so there are no "what ifs" about if anything more could have been done if it had been caught sooner. I dealt with it immediately, the vet was with us within 20 minutes of me realising it was not a mild gas colic (as that is what it initially presented as) and I know he had every chance possible. The vet reckoned it must have been a twist higher up in the small intestine. Just one of those bad luck things that you can't ever do anything about or prevent.

These are the last comparison photos I will be able to show of him. The first one is May 2024 and the second one is May 2025. I spent just over a year teaching him how to change his posture, and use the right muscle groups, in hand from the ground. In these photos you can see how has face has completely changed shape during this time as well. He taught me so much and, for that, I will be forever grateful. Even though he physically is no longer with me, he will always be a part of my life and learnings that I will take forward to future horses.

May 2024:
Alfie May 2024 (Small).png

May 2025:
Alfie May 2025 (Small).png

I was then left in a very difficult position with my other horse, Apollo. He had always lived with a friend and he had never experienced grief or death before that point. Although both of us needed space to grieve the loss of Alfie, I also needed to work on finding a new friend for him.

What I will say, is that the universe works in funny ways sometimes. A few months prior, I had been to see a horse that my friend was looking to have on loan. In the same herd was another ex-racer who had just returned from the trainers for rehoming. There was nothing wrong with him, but his owner had come to the conclusion that, mentally, he could not cope with the pressure of racing. I remember looking at this horse and was instantly drawn to him. I said to my friend, "if only I was looking for a third, he'd be right up my street." Anyway, at the time I was not looking for a third any more than I was looking for a hole in the head, so I thought no more of him.

After Alfie passed away, I contacted the owner of this horse to see if she knew of any needing a home. She told me that it was just this one that I'd been drawn to in the field and he was still in the process of being retrained. I was offered the opportunity to go and meet him and see if we got on. Needless to say, I absolutely adored him and he came home with me this Saturday.

He is called Gallant and only raced four times. He is very lucky to have been owned by someone who looked past his talent (I was told that they thought he was going to be something very special from he showed at home) and realised that racing was not a job he enjoyed.

Although the circumstances that led to Gallant entering my life are not what I would have foreseen, I am incredibly grateful to Alfie for teaching me skills that I need to help him, to his owners for trusting me with him and I am very excited to see what the future holds for both of us.

Gallant in the stable on his first day in the yard:
Gallant (Small).png

Gallant (left, brighter bay) and Apollo (right, darker bay) behaving like they have been close friends for years. When I took this photo I think they'd only known each other for about 40 minutes.
Gallant and Apollo (Small).png

Although I will no longer be able to update this thread with Alfie's progress, I will share what me and Gallant get up to as his retraining journey progresses. I have no idea what we will do yet, I will wait and see what he enjoys doing the most and take it from there. Either way, the first steps are going to be plenty of groundwork to help him develop a better posture for his long-term comfort and soundness. It is a good job I enjoy working with them on the ground just as much as riding with the amount of it I've done over the past 12+ months!
 
Sorry to read your news about Alfie as had been following your progress. I’m glad that you found a new friend for Apollo and all the very best.
 
So sorry to hear about Apollo, it's devastating when you lose them.

Looking forward to hearing about your adventures with Gallant, he looks a lovely lad.
 
Very sorry to hear about Alfie - he looked super in the photos and had a nice relaxed eye on him on the last photo you posted. At least you were able to give him a happy last 12m.

Good luck with Gallant and look forward to your reports.
 
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