Should I and where to sell an ex-racehorse? Also in CR.

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EMC

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I've been thinking long and hard and am now looking at having my ex-racehorse sent away for professional schooling, I've done the 'chilling' work but now it is time for him to learn properly and sadly I don't have the expertise to do this as thoroughly as I'd like.

He is going away for 4 weeks + on schooling livery, obviously this isn't long enough to work wonders but it should give me an indication of whether he will be want I want in the long run and if changes can be made to his behaviour. I love this horse and in the grand scheme of things he is doing well, but I'd have been much better of buying a 'been there, done it all' schoolmaster instead of falling in love with my ride at the racing yard.

Whilst finances are an issue he certainly doesn't go without (to the tune of about £500 pcm at the minute...livery,best feed I can afford, tack etc), but the main reason is I am just not enjoying horse ownership anymore and the strain is beginning to show. We seem to be taking huge leaps only to have huge setbacks, and I wonder if I am just asking too much of him and myself. My physio has asked me to stop riding lest I injure my neck further and after a spooky hack at the weekend I spent monday in bed not being able to move, is it really worth it?

My partner supports me but he has watched me go from chomping at the bit to dreading going to the yard for both the politics and whatever else will happen. He has given me the 'you have to put yourself first, you are stressed out 24/7' ultimatum.....and the added 'you could always go back to bike racing, so much easier!'

So....once our four weeks is up (hopefully longer if I can afford it) I will have a hard decision to make.....do I sell or do I continue to spend a fortune and keep going? I like some advice as to where the best place to advertise would be? I don't want him falling into the hands of a novice or a home that will not care for him properly but obviously he has not done a great deal and so I couldn't ask much for him. I've spoken to re-homing charities and they are all full.

What would you advise?
 
Sounds like you have gotten yourself into"Must do now",seems you haven't given each other 1) time to chill and get to know each other. 2) TIME. It takes a good 12 months for a horse/owner to get use to each other as both on a long learning curve, if you cann't give this horse the time he needs to settle after a racing yard and get to be normal,yes perhaps best to sell.
 
You should do what feels right for you.Ive had darcy 7 months and things are just beginning to click ,today was a lightbulb day tomorrow the lights might be out again ! But hey no rush, (you cannot rush a TB )and i really do enjoy having her.We have got ourselves a good instructor and lots of time.Relax take it slow you may be surprised .x.
 
Thanks guys, for a bit of background I've been doing the following:

- April: Initially spent a while free schooling, doing groundwork, playing with poles, scary things etc.
- May: Riding in a school, no pressure just getting back into the swing of things after his month at grass.
- May: Lunging, working on voice commands, going over poles
- June onwards: Hacking with other horses, again no pressure
- More recently (since July) we hacked with my OH on a bike. Initially great, very calm, went for miles and explored the countryside. No spinning yet.
- Cantered in the open alone, both bitless and with a bit, well behaved.
- Hacked with other horses, mostly good but at other times awful....spinning, spooking, the usual not stopping (which I expect)
- Recently he has started spinning and his behavior has deteriorated, YO offers to school him and still no improvement with her riding him although he did start to respond to rein aids and working off the leg more.
- This week: Walked in hand for an hour each time, de-spooking work and exploring different things such as postboxes, signs, stationary tractors/diggers. He goes up to normal spooky objects, reacts perfectly well. Still spooks when ridden. I figured going right back to basics was required.

He has had his back checked and a physio out, vet looked over, teeth done, tack checked, animal communicator, advice from HERO's (who offered to school him at a price.)

I feel like I know him quite well, I rode him everyday in racing before buying him and hacking out was part of his routine, we used to hack through the villages for about three miles to reach our usual hill gallop and he was well behaved once we'd got to know eachother (hence why I bought him!)

He is fit and well now, and going back to basics is leaving him with so much spare energy he has started hooning around the field (new, young fieldmates aren't helping!) and dragging me and other handlers around. Nearly floored the vet today, much to my embarrassment. This is not his usual behavior and I'm trying my hardest to figure out what is going on and how to solve it.

I understand it takes a long time, but is such a deterioration in behavior normal?? Should I just keep hacking and hope we don't have an accident, let the professionals take over, or admit defeat? I'm willing to spend time, money and effort but only to a certain degree, horse ownership should be enjoyable for both of us shouldn't it?

All I expect of him right now is to move away from my leg (handy with cars around here,) to stop and stand when I ask if only for a short period and not to spin at every opportunity. Is that too much from a horse who I know used to do all of this except stand when mounting perfectly well?
 
Oh dear sorry to hear you are feeling like this!
I have had my tb mare for 3 months in that time we have dealt with a back problem and finding out from the dentist that she is actually 3 not 4. We have also had severe napping on one rein in the school (I mean doing full laps backwards) and zero and I mean zero balance on the other rein and NONE of this is her fault she is a baby and very very green with schooling (superstar on a hack though) I have sat on her back and cried some days when she just flat out refuses to go forward. This was after the Physio on her back so I know it's a confidence thing but I start super positive and after 45mins of literally going backwards and just wanting to do one lap of the school so we can finish on a goodnote was really upsetting me. In the past 2 weeks I have changed my attitude. I hav taken the pressure off myself (we have years yet) and stopped caring what other peoples horses are doing. We school twice a week, hack twice and do one groundwork session and every session purely focus's on her enjoying her work, no more frustrated tears when she goes backwards I laugh, keep my leg on and gently encourage her and she is responding so much better to this way. The most important thing is remembering it's really early days! And as with any relationship there are ups and downs, especially while you are getting to know eachother and the honeymoon period is over ;) let him go away for his education but make sure you go and see what heis doing and how he is progressing but also you yourself enjoy the break for a little while and you might surprise yourself with how much you miss him!

Sorry if this is a bit mumbo jumbo I am still at work after 17 hours
 
I was going to write out a long detailed post but being as how you worked in a racing yard, I think it was OTT. So do you think you gave him enough chill time to lose that very easy to keep fitness of a TB? Do you think it may have taken him more time to get out of the regimented routine?

As I'm sure you know, not all ex racers need that extra time to chill, but some find the transition harder. Add to that still being much fitter than most horses and the ability to keep that fitness, you've got extra spooky. He seemed fine until he went with a "string" of horses. He was probably anticipating the gallops that he never got to.

And while schooling may help, if these people aren't used to everything a TB brings to the table, 1 hour schooling sessions may not help at all.

I struggle with keeping a happy balance of fitness with my jumping mare. She's out of a NH TB mare. In all the time she's been trained and jumped I've yet to see her take a deep breath. My husband and I have done racing all our lives and we call her "the exceptionally long winded madam"! She's not like a normal horse in which you could ride it out of her. So it's a balance.

Check your feed too. Low startch and high fibre usually would be a way to go. But at the end of the day this is supposed to be fun. So take it easy on yourself.

Terri
 
What about turning him away for the winter? Give both of you a break and take the pressure off and save your money for professional schooling in March/April. If you decide then he's not for you he'll be easier to sell...

I know it's late in the year to turn out 24/7 but it's possible with good rugs, hay and a bucket feed a day. Sometimes horses just need time as do we!
 
Good idea to take a deep breath and give yourself a break. Racehorses out of training present their own unique challenges and the ones I have seen that have actually raced take a while to come back to earth. They are used to a certain routine and with all the ex racehorses I have seen, I would say it really does a year for them to make the transition in terms of mindset that they are no longer racing. The question about food is very relevant so I would look at that very carefully. A friend of mine has just (as in last week) bought the racehorse her syndicate was selling and he will be living out. He is currently transitioning at the moment and is doing well. How fit have you got him as well? if you rode him when he was racing fit, are you keeping him near that level?! I know with eventers that when they are properly fit, they need a party to really bottom them up. My mare would really start to play up if she went for more than 3 weeks with out a party and then I would take her upto gallops.

Anyway, don't despair. I always picked up that maybe you are not enjoying your yard either? could that be part of the problem as well?
 
Horse ownership is meant to be fun.
Even when people don't ride, just spending time with them us something they want to do not dread.

Send him for schooling, have a total break. Then can you keep him on there for a while for lessons and help from the professionalls.

Then go it alone for a while but with lessons.

If you still don't enjoy it then its time to give in.
Find a hobby you enjoy.
 
Hey there,

Sorry to hear you're not getting on so well with your ex-racer. I've had a few over the years (some for myself, some to sell and some schooling for other people), and they are all tricky in their own way, but not usually in a nasty/mean way. I had ridden a couple of them out at their racing yards in their string before taking them home, and they are like different beings! Think of it like taking a pony out of a riding school, yes they were little darlings in their regular workload, routine, environment etc... but when taken to a private home, they invariably become fire breathing dragons for a period of time!!

In my experience, 1 month is no where near long enough to 'let down' from proper racing fitness, I've always found 3 months to be a better time scale, and the spinning / spooking development sounds as though he's either bored, feeling a bit too confident/cheeky, or learning that you don't feel 100% yourself and taking the p**s.

Also as someone else has said, I don't think you sound terribly happy at you yard either, this can have a massive impact on how you see the whole situation. Don't underestimate the effect of other people around you, if they're negative, you feel negative, if they're positive and supportive, you won't feel so bad about the teething problems you are having.

Ultimately though, horse ownership is a damned expensive hobby, and there's no point in being miserable! You have to do what makes you feel better.
 
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