Tell me about your ex racehorse

[Goldenstar]

Here’s J I think he’s six here

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Oh Elf - that picture!! He's going to find Unicorn school very hard!!!!!

Thats just one of many pics of Gray that I have pulling faces ???

 

[AandK]

I have one, he is exactly what I was looking for in a horse, aside from the vet bills! He’s beautiful, well put together and an all round nice person. He’s a doddle to handle on the ground, easy to load, catch, shoe etc. Great to hack alone and in company, great work ethic, quick to learn. But he is sharp, and can be hot, would be fine for a novice to handle but definitely not to ride.
I’ve had him two years, but not managed to take him anywhere other than the vets! Field injury after 6 months (lateral collateral ligament in his hock) requiring an op, got a bad impaction due to the GA and damaged his tail. Recovered from that, rehabbed him over last summer and then went lame in front Oct, long story short, he had to have another op to remove a keratoma from his foot in November. He’s actually doing really well now, going better than ever. I love the TB brain, the athleticism and how they ride and look. Hopefully this will be the last of the veterinary shenanigans, but who knows. Would I have another? Ask me in a few years, but I probably would...

 

[Spirit2021]

How about a Irish sport horse you get the best of both worlds and no vet bills.

I think you should get experienced with tb before committing to buying one. They are brilliant horses but it very much you like them or you don’t. Unfortunately Tb do have a bad rap which is unfair.

 

[paddi22]

I also would never own or ride an ex trotter again. They are even worse than TBs. They are usually equally crazy but with the difference of being of poor riding horse conformation and having really horrible gaits, especially when it comes to canter. Here where I come from people buy ex trotters when they can't afford proper riding horses and then usually struggle with re-educating them.

That's a pity you had such bad experiences with them,. We retrain and rehome a lot of trotters/standies and they have all turned into super xc/dressage/xc horses with super temperaments. I find them much easier to keep and train than the tbs (I love tbs too), but the trotters have a much better work ethic. The picture of the one below doing flatwork is when one had been rebacked about 6 weeks and went in and did a baby show. They have all just gone in and focused on any job you want them to do, they amaze me all the time.