Riding Racehorses, how to get past my sudden fear?

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DancingJester

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I want to be a work rider (as in I've never wanted something so much in my life) I love the sport so much, there are still some things i hate about it like the greed and horses getting hurt, but i really believe most people are in it for the love, and that's just part of and equine sport. i dont care about money and long hours, i just want to ride so much.
I know its dangerous (in fact the person who made me make the decision to do it as a career was and is a jockey, but was at the time injured from a broken back) i did eventing and i have never been scared, even if i worry, it goes the second i get on the horse, fear was never a factor even after; dislocated knees, broken wrists, concussion, torn muscles, ligaments and more.
Yesterday i was doing nothing so watched the film Ruffian (biggest mistake of my life) i mean if anyone doesn't know what this is, look up the horse or the film clip on youtube. it freaked me out,, i cant get it out of my head. I would never think of not doing this as a career, i just need to get past this, I've heard of bad things happening but once you have seen it happen (on film or not) its different. I'm suddenly terrified I'll be riding a horse ans something like this will happen, how can i stop thinking about it. Not just racehorses as well, i event a bit and hunt and now all i can think about is that horses leg. How do i get over it, i know nothing has actually changed, but i just want to stop torturing myself.

How likely is this to happen in racing, i know horses are likely to get injured in a fall, but i didn't realize it was possible for them to jut brake down like that for no reason. have changes been made (in england at leased) to stop this happening.
 
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I'm sorry but if you are worried about riding racehorses before you even start then it's not a good idea and the chances are your fears which just get worse, not better. It is dangerous and anyone worrying about the risks just shouldn't be doing it. Any jockey will tell you that the time to retire is the first time you start thinking about the what ifs......
 
I do ride them i'm just not payed yet, and only at weekends. I'm not scared exactly, I'm fine when riding, infact i'm fine once i get to the yard. I dont care about me getting hurt, i just dont want to be riding then my horse snap its leg for no reason underneath me.
 
DancingJester said:
I do ride them i'm just not payed yet, and only at weekends. I'm not scared exactly, I'm fine when riding, infact i'm fine once i get to the yard. I dont care about me getting hurt, i just dont want to be riding then my horse snap its leg for no reason underneath me.
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No one can answer that one, it could happen, it might not...alot of things worth doing in life bring risks, you have to decide if riding racehorses is worth the risk, both to you and to the horses.
 
Horses do break..... If you want to work with them then you just have to accept it. Just as many fatal injuries can happen in the field as they can riding!
 
That really helped actually. I dont know why it bothered me so much, I've seen awful things happen to horses racing and eventing and i've always just known it was part of it and had to move on. I guess its just like a horror movie for me, hopefully i'll just jump around for a few days then get over it like when i saw paranormal activity.
 
I always worried when I took my boys racing and they were out of my control, this was only the ones I was really fond of, in fact I always tried not to get too fond of any of them for this reason.
Fortunately nothing bad ever happened and I took hundreds to the races, I don't know if I could have coped, but I expect I would have.
 
MrsD123 said:
I always worried when I took my boys racing and they were out of my control, this was only the ones I was really fond of, in fact I always tried not to get too fond of any of them for this reason.
Fortunately nothing bad ever happened and I took hundreds to the races, I don't know if I could have coped, but I expect I would have.
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Not sure it's possible to take 100's of horses racing and nothing bad ever happen !
 
Do you still work in racing? i think the film just messed me up a bit, but i know that it has got better since ruffian.
To be honest i had the same feeling when Zara Philips horse broke its neck, back when i did eventing. I dont have THAT much experience with racehorses yet so I was just trying to see that it was normal to feel this way even to someone who experienced in the industry, so thanks, that's really reassuring.
In a way it makes me happier to have seen pretty much the worse that could happen, and know I'm still not put off, just a bit in shock.
 
When I worked in racing I rode 3 lots a day 13 days in every 14 days for 3+ years and never had a horse break down with me on board. A friend did the same job as me and she was unlucky enough to be on 2 - one did tendons on the gallops and the other shattered his knee schooling over fences at home.
Likewise when we went racing I only ever lost one on the course that I'd led up and I led up hundreds. I can still tell you her name though and see her face and still see her fall. I probably couldn't tell you all of the winners I led up though.

I'm not trying to put you off and it was an amazing job but it came with heartache. In the end I needed to earn more money so a real job was required but I still own ex racers and go racing when I can.
I will always miss the buzz of riding a piece of work upsides another horse or leading in a winner to the enclosure, or the banter you have with colleagues that just isn't quite the same as you get in an office ;-)
 
bonny said:
Not sure it's possible to take 100's of horses racing and nothing bad ever happen !
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Yep it is, I was lucky, one young girl took Campeche Bay to the races, it was her first time and he never came back. We lost Little Joe at a p-t-p, but I was not there.
I did take hundreds, assuming you count all the horses in the box, it was my job to make sure things went smoothly at the races,
 
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DancingJester said:
Do you still work in racing? i think the film just messed me up a bit, but i know that it has got better since ruffian.
To be honest i had the same feeling when Zara Philips horse broke its neck, back when i did eventing. I dont have THAT much experience with racehorses yet so I was just trying to see that it was normal to feel this way even to someone who experienced in the industry, so thanks, that's really reassuring.
In a way it makes me happier to have seen pretty much the worse that could happen, and know I'm still not put off, just a bit in shock.
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I'm not involved any more, and I don't ever watch graphic images if I can avoid it, Any accidents I have "been involved in" occurred sort of out of the blue, and are part the reason people say things like "schooldays are the happiest days of your life" .... they are not really ......... it's just that you are living in a "bubble".
 
DancingJester said:
she never said she took 100s
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I said I took hundreds. And I did. I was travelling head girl so it was my job. I brought home a few that'd had hard falls or done a leg to the point of ending their career but I was only with one who had to be PTS on the course. I saw her fall on the tv screen and I ran down the side of the course so I could be with her. That was the problem I had with the job. For all of the highs I loved the horses as much as I do my own and so it's heart breaking when something happens.
 
Yeah i agree about the 'schooldays' saying. what made you stop? Yeah i'll definitely keep away from stuff like that in future. I dont recommend 'Ruffian' as the film for you then if you haven't already seen it.
 
Thanks, definitely not put off (i've had so many try to talk me out of it) I love any atmosphere like that. The horses, the adrenalin. For some reason horses braking legs over jumps, hurting their tendons, or getting injured in falls (awful as it is) doesn't scare me, i think it was just watching a graphic film of a horse galloping so hard its leg snapped for no real reason. Its enough to give anyone a few frights.
 
My sister rides out once a week and had one fracture a leg on her, took ages to pull him up. I also went to locals races in NZ (everyone brings their horse to race), one stock horse broke his leg clean off half way down cannon bone. Last year at burghley I helped with Heartbreak Hill who broke his leg galloping on the flat. I used to get terrified watching my little horse racing round his field that the same thing will happen, but now I figure, I can't control everything. Bad stuff happens, to horses and to people, and if it happens you deal with it. Wasting my life panicing about stuff that hasn't yet happened seems a real shame.
 
Thanks, everyone is really helping. Just got to move on i guess, i'd rather have a horse be put down doing something it loves than going to a slaughter house.
 
I worked in racing from age 12- 19 I loved it, the biggest accidents in saw were a mare that ran into a gate and stabbed through her main artery, horse being stabbed through the tendon with a pitch fork (by accident!) and a few that broke down.
You need to be quite strong to work in racing, it's a tough game, I couldn't take it anymore, at my last yard I spent more time watching the horse go up the gallop after dropping me at the bottom than I did riding! I knew it was time to leave then!
 
I lost my bottle big time a coupleof years ago, then my job. I took a work riding job as it was the first job I could get and I had bills to pay so I had to do it. I enjoyed it and now own a big failed racer! I'm back ina legal sphere now but glad I did it, sooo much fun!
 
I think we should all stop posting on this thread and start one "Why I gave up working in Racing"
Don't worry OP the "ups" are much greater than the "downs", and when you are young you are often mentally tougher or more resilient than when you are older.
 
I think its a case of realising that it can happen the field if it doesn't happen on the track. I have worked in racing just riding out for over 14 years, and I love it. I have had horses break on me, one did something to its shoulder on the track, but the other one that sticks in my mind is my ex's old girl who put her leg down a hole while galloping over Salisbury plains. Both mercifully recovered, but the man I rode out for last winter lost several at the races last year, and one of my good friends looked after 3 of them.
 
I can't comment on the industry but if you have been involved for so long and you still aren't sure or confident with it, maybe that's your indicator?
 
Adding my two cents but I took lots of horses racing too, and always brought my horses home. The only time I didn't was at Newbury race course, where the horse got electrocuted. (spelling?) Of course, I've seen a few break down at home and racing but unfortunately it's the bad part of the job....I was heartbroken when one of my best rides got put down at the races (I didn't go that time..) but the next day I still had to carry on. You definitely need a tough skin, be able to deal with the situation and I would be worried to have someone nervy or emotional on my team if their was an injured horse involved! x
 
I self trained my little pointer 2 years ago and could barely a watch him run. He had unfortunately become a pet and my best friend. :) thankfully his wind went and he pulled up... Have taken a few that have broken down whilst running and I'll be perfectly honest with you, you never do get used to it. I had one do a leg a few years back and it still haunts me, I ran the full length of the course to get to him in just my socks (goddam stupid leading up boots) it broke my heart that day but the ups beat the downs any day. We were on a big yard so the inevitable that we always had animals always breaking down occurred. It really isn't a pleasant feeling when one breaks down on the gallops with you, the adrenalin has a habit of taking over and regardless of the usual pulling up tactics sometimes you just can't do it quickly enough but again it's a fact of life when working with racehorses. You never completely get used to it but it does ease and as MrsD has said, try not to get too fond of them (extremely difficult), they are there to do a job but I used the thinking that the horses didn't really care who I was, they don't get attached to humans like we do them and so how could I love an animal that doesn't love me back. It's a bit of a silly way of thinking of it but it helped me a lot and the more you deal with the less you become fond of them.
 
bonny said:
Not sure it's possible to take 100's of horses racing and nothing bad ever happen !
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It is quite possible, especially if you work with flat horses. In the last 10 years, personally I have seen, one horse suffer a catastrophic break down, which I was doing a piece of work alongside, had one drop down dead after a time trial in Australia where they use steriods for training and I am sure that this had more to do with the death than anything else and only witnessed one of our own horses being put down at the races after it failed to recover from it's run (that was NH). Away from racing/exercising I have far more horrific injuries and that was just leading horses around on a day to day basis that could happen in any equestrian sphere.
 
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