Tb's - pro's and con's

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RolyPolyPony

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As title really. For those who have or have had tb's, what pro's and con's did they have? Especially the ex racers.

Although i was meant to be getting a tb on loan (her owners decided they wanted to keep her) i still think of them in a negative way, basically as crazy horses! So just wondered what you guys thought of them. :-)
 
Well Lady is a TB x Arab
Shes quite a poor doer
Goes in a mood if i hasnt seen her for a few days
When im out hacking in company she will try to race the others

BUT she is the most tolerant, giving, honest, willing and most loving horse i have ever met and wouldnt change her for the world :)
 
My TB is generally chilled out, she loves to jump, excellent on the road, hacks out alone, chilled across open fields etc....she can have her stressy moments but so long as shes in a routine shes fine. Mine doesn't school to well, finds it boring and maybe stressful, not good for me wanting to do dressage :( shes so good though considering shes only 5 :) dont believe all the hype about them being nutters, there not all the same :)
She does have to be kept in during the winter and pampered as she feels the cold. She has the sweetest nature though :D
am looking to loan mine out to someone who wants to do lots of exciting xc things!! :)
 
Kiri 16.2hh TB mare
Pro..... the most affectionate horse I have ever met!
Cons....the most needy horse I have ever met! also when she was not in the mood she really told you , sometimes she scared me.
Now with a much braver owner
 
Jazz 15.3hh TB Mare,
Pro.....very sweet and loving and trys her heart out to please (instructor said to me once that mare would jump the moon for you!)
con.... slightly quirky to ride due to bad treatment in the past.
 
I adore my ex racer, Pongo 16'2 a hurdler. He is a total gentleman, very talented dressage horse great cross country, beautiful manners. Easy to handle, very kind, loving and trusting.
Con: too intelligent, opens doors, turns on taps, open field gates, removes fly masks, wallows in mud, dirty in his stable. And has a huge sense of humour when show jumping and pretends he has never ever seen a jump in his life.
 
I love my wee tb :D im the only one that does like him, everyone else is scared of him!!! lol ... Hes done point 2 pointeing as a 3/4yr old then i got him and hes the calmest horse ever. He was a bit awkward at the start; wouldnt let you mount, couldnt canter on right rein, couldnt jump poles, didnt no what a straight line or a circle was lol but he has changed so much over the past 3 years and i wouldnt change him for anything. You can litterally do anything with him in the arena now but can be nappy on hacks alone and xc. And the reason everyone is scared of him isssss he bites and threatens to kick everyone but me :o The only thing that would put me off another tb would be if it had bad feet as mine and alot of others do.
 
I ride a tb mare, and she is the sweetest, dopiest thing ever... About 98% of the time :rolleyes: Nothing really compares to them, they are such a different sort of horse, I absolutely adore them, but wouldn't personally want to own one... Or at least, not an ex racer. That's the thing, there's also a big difference between ottbs and thoroughbreds bred to be leisure horses!

Pros: Fantastic, genuine, trainable temperment
Very athletic and potential to do well in all disciplines
You can get a very good thoroughbred for very cheap

Cons: Often have poor hoof and limb conformation/quality
If raced, injuries from racing
Very sensitive, and quick reactions... If a tb spooks, you'll know about it! :p
Bad to hack! You can't really have a casual canter out with other horses, that racing instinct comes through...

Overall, I think they are fantastic horses, and if I wasn't worried about lameness, I would own one... (I've settled for a 3/4 bred tb! :p)
 
My Ex racer is wonderful out on hacks. Can do a slow canter in open fields or he can go up a gear. Never ever tries to race. always stops when asked. I also have cobs who have run off, spooked , pulled me all over the place but my TB is such a kind horse and very gentle. I bought him when i was 58 because I had always dismissed them because of their reputation. He is the best horse ever. Wish IOd done it years before.
 
My lad is a 16.2hh new zealand toughbred - not your average TB
Pros = great conformation, excellent feet, tough as old boots, never sick or sorry, lovely mover, good dressage, jumping, v. forward hacking, not spooky, scared of nothing
Cons = extremely sensitive (senses tension from a mile away), said tension can result in jiggy jogging but never takes feet off the ground, prefers to be moving rather than standing still, would never take him for a group canter (daren't lol)
 
Below are my two ex-racers. The top one is an 8 year old mare I bought directly from the trainer mid-April. The photo was taken a week later at her first dressage......please excuse how thin she is, as said, I had only had her six days. The bottoms photo is an ex-racer I have had for quite a few years and is 20 years old. As far as I am concerned there are no more cons to owning TBs than any other breed of horse!
Bluefirstdressage1.jpg

Picture241.jpg
 
Maisie: 15.1 dark bay mare 5 year old. She is the best thing that ever happened to me I am so proud to be her owner.

When I was looking at buying my horse I was considering other breeds like a hafflinger etc as they are beautiful, but a couple of experienced people told me that a hafflinger would of been wasted with me as I want to go out competing quite a lot and jump bigger and go out and do more etc. So I ended up buying my mare who is great. She is very green, and doesn't like loudness she's used to a calm breakfast and dinner and not lots of noise (she gets very warey of loud people). But I could not fault her.

I know that she's not everyone cup of tea because she has tried to nip when someone tried to smother her when she didn't know the person and people being loud etc and I've had the comments "oh well that's what you get with a tb ex racehorse) but to be honest there not all bad. I love maisie and the field owner loves her too, she's only been with me and in her new home for 3weeks and field owner told me that she no longer needs a head collar for feeds, she comes to call trotting over to her and stands by her patch gate waiting until someone let's her in. She is sooo intelligent but is sensitive.

I can't wait to work with her getting schooling then out competing! I love her and i'm soo happy that she's mine :)

sorry for the long post lol xx

also maisie now live out 24/7 well rugged and she is suited to it fine!
 
I've got an ex-racer & he's fab! He raced a fair bit & was actually quite good. He's the most laid back horse I've ever had. Nothing bothers him & he is totally non-spooky. Jumps any fillers & learns very quickly. Fantastic loose paces, & sometimes when he's in the field & the sun shines on him in a certain way, he looks sooooo picturesque that I just like standing & admiring him.

His feet are good too, & he's very easy to do.

The only drawback is that I'm struggling to get weight on him...still trying to find a diet to suit him. He's 16.3 & quite big framed. My two live at home so I've started a late night feed too, in the hope that a third feed will help.
 
I have had three ex racers of my own, 1 loan and have helped others with thier ex racers. The common thread is they don't seem t have best feet in the world and they do take a bit of maintenence to help with shoe retention esp if your farrier is like the scarlet pimpernel. but they are good fun horses for hacking riding club and some of ours have gone eventing.
 
Bosworth said:
beautiful manners. Easy to handle, very kind, loving and trusting.
Con: too intelligent, opens doors, turns on taps, open field gates, removes fly masks, wallows in mud, dirty in his stable. And has a huge sense of humour
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Sounds like mine - this evening I trotted back through a field in the dark on the buckle no problem but I can't leave anything within reach and I have to be careful to loop the end of the rope several times if I don't want him to untie himself.
 
My older ex racer lad.

Pro's - Everything. Yes, he can have the odd pole down showjumping....BUT, he is the best little all rounder bless him. Anyone's ride, happy to do showing.dressage/flatwork/SJ/XC/perfect hacking alone or in company/never strong silly spooky etc. Quietest laid backhorse ever really.

Cons - Nothing other than a few lumps and bumps!
 
prince 15.3 ex racer
pro- the most loving affectionate horse iv had. beautifal, very very inteligent! enjoys what we do together
con- cost more than a morgage a month to feed in the winter! but still love him all the same. cant keep a shoe on for 5 minutes ;-)
 
We have two ex-point-to-pointers but they are very diffrent horses!

Jimmy - 17.1hh, 10 yo - the slowest pointer ever (but, by his breeding, he should be a National winner!). Laid back and chilled - you can gallop him with reins like washing lines and he won't take off! Very "blokey" - thick, dopey and clumsy. TERRIBLE feet and poor doer in the winter, despite feeding MOUNTAINS of food! Bottom of the pecking order, too!

Lizzy - 16.2hh, 19 yo - BLOODY fast! Successful pointer who's forgotten how old she is! Always rides as though she's on her way to the start of the 3.20 at Kempton! A real prima dona - the geldings love her - very aloof, beautiful, spoilt, thinks she's above every other horse known to man! It's easy to hate her sometimes! Fabulous hunter, stunning to look at (in the summer, at least!), perfect stable manners, but SO precious! Cons....crap feet, very poor doer in the winter (costs a fortune just to keep her looking poor, he he!!!).

TBs....................we love 'em!
 
Charlie 16.2hh exracer, flat and hurdled. Ive owned him for 6 years, loves to jump, hack out, finds schooling boring and needs to be kept constantly entertained. Very intelligent, sensitive, affectionate, lovable nature and incredibly laid back. Ok the cons are, he is a walking diaster zone, very hard to manage in the winter and in the summer, a very bad poor doer and has cost thousands and thousands in vets bills, and appalling hooves, before he went barefoot. Apart from those cons I wouldnt swap him for the world. Im a very proud owner of an exracer.
 
catembi said:
The only drawback is that I'm struggling to get weight on him...still trying to find a diet to suit him. He's 16.3 & quite big framed. My two live at home so I've started a late night feed too, in the hope that a third feed will help.
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The only advice I can offer is be patient! Mine was a hatrack, but he is 17.1hh and I got him at 6 yr old it took until he was 10 to fill out into his frame, the extra hard feed is good. Mine now looks like the incredible hulk when we go pointing because he is just huge!

As everyone else, loads of pros- they are athletic, elegant, intelligent horses.
The only cons I can think of is the slight randomness of thoughts my 2 have (not applicable to all TBs!)
 
There's a huge variation in Tb''s but my experience:


Pros:
1.They have absolutely no difficulty in expressing their feelings, so you can quickly tell if something is wrong/right. You can build us a very quick relationship with such an expressive, overt "talker".
2.They massively want to please
3. They are STUNNING works of art!!! Best looking horse on the Yard, after a warmblood - lol.
4. Responsive ride - like driving a porche

Cons:
1. Self injurous - a vet's dream
2. Poor doers who cost a fortune to feed
3. Crap feet
4. Hard work as they feel the cold so much and will loose weight unless heavily rugged and stuffed with hay and hard feed and stabled in winter - lots of mucking out.
5. Thin legs mean no natural built in protection, so they need booting up, which itself can lead to problems (vet just left mine this morning, due to infection from field wraps)
6. Seasons they are HELL ON LEGS!!!!!!!!!!
7. They can quickly tear up a field by hooning around


Would I buy one again? On balance, no, would consider a cross Tb though - I'd want some Irish draft in it to make it more robust.
 
Tbh I feel you get 2 types of tb's, the skatty, spooky one's and the Bold, brave and sane ones.
What makes each one, I don't know.
I have 2, one is an ex racer and she's a loon! She's got such a sweet nature but on her she's sharp, spooky, unreliable however my gelding TB is forward going but would never buck, rear, he doesn't spook, totally bombproof etc.
 
Rotchana said:
There's a huge variation in Tb''s but my experience:


Pros:
1.They have absolutely no difficulty in expressing their feelings, so you can quickly tell if something is wrong/right. You can build us a very quick relationship with such an expressive, overt "talker".
2.They massively want to please
3. They are STUNNING works of art!!! Best looking horse on the Yard, after a warmblood - lol.
4. Responsive ride - like driving a porche

Cons:
1. Self injurous - a vet's dream
2. Poor doers who cost a fortune to feed
3. Crap feet
4. Hard work as they feel the cold so much and will loose weight unless heavily rugged and stuffed with hay and hard feed and stabled in winter - lots of mucking out.
5. Thin legs mean no natural built in protection, so they need booting up, which itself can lead to problems (vet just left mine this morning, due to infection from field wraps)
6. Seasons they are HELL ON LEGS!!!!!!!!!!
7. They can quickly tear up a field by hooning around


Would I buy one again? On balance, no, would consider a cross Tb though - I'd want some Irish draft in it to make it more robust.
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I agree with absolutely everything Rotchana says apart from buying one again. Pro points 1, 2 and 4 are fantastic especially for a numpty novice like me. He even told me off when I put his saddle about an inch back from where it normally goes. Absolutely fine once I'd repositioned it.

They do get get bored really easily so something to watch out for. Otherwise a pretty bombproof hack, really responsive quick ride and a joy to be around. I have noticed he really does look after me when I'm on his back as opposed to other people riding him, but maybe that's common in most horses...
 
I used to share a TB who had raced but had been at stud before coming to her first private riding home with the lady I helped out.

At the time I had hardly ever ridden outside a riding school. The first time I rode this mare was the first time I'd ever hacked out alone! :eek:

So Pros:
Good to hack alone (don't know about company, we never had any)
Ok in traffic, although I rode her one country roads rather than busy roads. She never did more than flinch even when passed fast or by unusual vehicles.
Not too spooky
Controllable for a canter out hacking (only once felt out of control and to be honest she stopped fine once she got to the end of the field, we just had a disagreement about how quickly we should get there)
Lovely smooth paces
Beautiful classy looking horse, easily outclassed anything on the yard.
Lived 50/50 in and out all year round without needing excessive rugs or feed
Easy to do, she would stand while you mucked out around her and move over when needed, she'd was straight forward to tack up etc.

Cons:
She was never an affectionate horse and didn't really "get" fuss and cuddles.
Although she would stand at a mounting block which is more than some ex-racers, once you foot was off the block she was off, she'd never stand while you did stirrups and girth etc.
She could be a nuisence to catch
She was a bit shy of handling around her back end, but that was due to her time at stud not racing.
She could really shift when she opened up, I thought I was going to die the first time she really went up into top gear!
She hated gates especially narrow bridlegates, you couldn't open them mounted at all ever, and getting back on again wasn't easy! Even if you did get off she'd go through the narrow ones like a bat out of hell, I suspect she'd perhaps been hit by one at some point.

I've ridden others too, the riding school I rode at in the 80s and early 90s had several straight off the track.

If I was looking for a horse just for me I'd consider a TB, but DH won't, he believes their reputation 100% and they aren't heavy enough to take up his leg sufficiently for him to ride comfortably.
 
Sleepeeze_dad said:
I agree with absolutely everything Rotchana says apart from buying one again. Pro points 1, 2 and 4 are fantastic especially for a numpty novice like me. He even told me off when I put his saddle about an inch back from where it normally goes. Absolutely fine once I'd repositioned it.

They do get get bored really easily so something to watch out for. Otherwise a pretty bombproof hack, really responsive quick ride and a joy to be around. I have noticed he really does look after me when I'm on his back as opposed to other people riding him, but maybe that's common in most horses...
Click to expand...

Haha, know what you mean about the saddle:D I got saddle fitter coming out tomorrow - it's the only thing I haven't done yet, she is so responsive that if I lean back, just 2 centimetres, she stops immediately - that kind of sensitivity needs a good saddle fitter.
I wouldn't DARE kick her or I'd be 20 miles away within seconds - the response to voice is like magic, my daft husband watches us and jokes i'm a horse whisperer!!
If I want to turn I just move my head slightly (about 3 centimetres)in that direction - and she turns immediately. It really is porche-like.

That type of response isn't all jam, though, I'm having to educate her to the leg!!:)

On reread that sounds like I'm bragging, but no, just trying to show what a huge pro this bit of a Tb is - lol
 
Actually all the ex racers iv had have been brilliant to canter/gallop. They don't pull, will go in front or behind and will not race unless I say 'go'. They always pull up easily and walk home on a long rein. IMO training on the gallops and racing has done them the world of good in terms of them being forward off your leg. They have also done so much cantering and galloping with ther horses that it's not a big deal to them, nothing to get in a fuss about.
A racehorse trainer would not like a horse in training that prats about in the string and will pull hard, bolt, rush in training as those horses waste too much energy to race properly.

I've also found them lovely to handle as they have always been handled by professionals not numptys. Also chilled out at shows and non spooky, used to banners, crowds ect! They settle into new yards well as they are used to moving around. They make brill comp horses as they are athletic, bold and learn quickly.

Cons is they are high maintenance, require lots of feed, rugs ect. But I like that as I love babying my horse. They also like a routine as they are sensitive and used to being fed at the same time each day ect.

They can be sharp to ride but if you want a decent horse to compete they all can. They are no sharper than your competition warmblood or ISH.

I adore my ex racer, he's stunning. He had a gorgeous temp, jumps anything and has lush paces. He's only 5 and competing BD novice already and jumping 3ft3. He also has good feet and legs.

They are like any breed, there are good and bad examples. Imo they only have the crazy tag because they are cheap and end up with numptys who don't know how to deal with a classy, switched on blood horse, they can't afford the flash ISH or warmblood so they end up with a TB and then can't handle it.

I love em! :)
 
like all horses it depends whether you get a nice one or a difficult one.

PJ is kind, sensible & brave.... not a bad bone in his body, no racing instinct, cracking breeding/ confirmation (also normally quite cheap to buy because of the bad reputation)
 
Hi,

I have recently brought a TB gelding who was trained for racing but was too laid back and slow to ever race. He is 6 now and his previous owner brought him at 4 and spent 2 years retraining him.

I have to say he is my absolute dream horse. I cannot fault him. He is the most loving and laid back horse. I did have doubts about buying a full TB but I do feel that even with a more forward going, fizzy TB as long as you keep the workload up and manage the feed etc they will be perfect for whatever job you have for them.

Mine has competed in BSJA, BE & RC. I am going to do mainly riding club with the aim for BE in the future. He is absolutely fantastic. I just need to work on his topline :-)

I say don't write them off until you have tried them and they are definitely not like the stereotype. :-)

x
 
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