Thoroughbred to transition from a pony

[Loreleya]

Hi lovely horsey people. My 15yo daughter has outgrown her 13.2h pony and wants to transition to horses. When looking for her next best friend she fell in love with an ex-racer TB gelding, felt safe on him on the arena transitioning though 3 paces. Her pony is not a plod along, is fast and she had to adapt her riding style to her. I keep hearing don't get a TB when moving on from a pony, unpredictable, high maintenance, etc. I'm wondering if people had such experience and what your views are about this idea? Thank you.

 

[bonny]

If your daughter is sensible and the horse is too then no reason why it won’t work out well. This forum has lots of exracers doing well in the right hands.

 

[TheMule]

The transition to horses is always hard (especially from a 13.2) as it's a huge change in stride length and moving from pony to horse brain. Dont try to get too big a horse, get yourself surrounded by lots of help and support and give her time to adjust with no competitive pressure etc.
There no reason why a thoroughbred would prove any more of a challenge than another horse, presuming it has been well produced.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

How long is it since the horse retired from racing?
Have they been re-schooled?
What job are they doing currently?
How are they out of the school eg in open spaces?

 

[Loreleya]

How long is it since the horse retired from racing?
Have they been re-schooled?
What job are they doing currently?
How are they out of the school eg in open spaces?

Finished racing 2 years ago, not doing much work currently, just occasional hacks as owner has small children and little time, have not tried him in a hack or in open space ourselves.

 

[TheMule]

Finished racing 2 years ago, not doing much work currently, just occasional hacks as owner has small children and little time, have not tried him in a hack or in open space ourselves.

Ok, so that rings alarm bells. The horse isn’t fit and muscled and it isn’t doing the job your daughter wants to do. That is NOT the right first horse

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I would be more confident if the horse was already doing the job you want it for, eg has been ridden by a teen who moved up from a pony but they are now off to Uni. My reservation is that I have known ex-racers that were never safe for say a group gallop on a stubble field with a rider that did not understand the difference in how a racehorse is ridden and pulled up at the end of a race. We don't know if this is that horse or not from the information you have.

The bottom line IMO when buying a horse is not to overhorse yourself. That is where it stops being enjoyable, moves into being scary, plus the odds of an accident go up.

Has your daughter ever ridden a TB when it whips round and teleports? It's one of those things that happens so fast and takes people by surprise. The quickness of a TB's reactions is a shock to some people.

 

[Zoeypxo]

I went from a 14.2 arab to a 16.2 warmblood at 15 years old. It was fine, but id already been riding sporty types around 16/17hh at the time so wasnt too alien.

if you can try the horse hacking alone and in company and ideally in an open space , and horse is sane and sensible. It should be ok.

 

[Zoeypxo]

also, get an regular instructor to help, if you don’t already have one!

 

[Flowerofthefen]

No reason a tb shouldn't be fine but I would go back and ride him again in different situations, or at least see him ridden in open fields and on the road

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

Have your instructor assess the partnership of your daughter and the TB…I would be cautious.My daughter had the opportunity of a TB as a move up from her 15hh gelding. The TB was lovely but her instructor…after teaching them for an hour said he would be the horse after the transitional one…and she was spot on.

 

[fankino04]

At 14 I went from a 12.2 Welsh B to a 15.2 ex racer, she had finished racing and been turned away for 6 months, no re schooling and lots of issues that we weren't aware of. She was absolutely my horse of a lifetime but was a lot of hard work and only came good because of the people I had around me.

 

[misst]

My daughter went from a 14h connie x to a 5 yo 15.3 TB. She was 15. He was bred for P2P but was too slow/small. He was working in 3 fairly balanced paces in the school when we saw him but nothing fancy. He was sensible in the school. The seller would not allow her to have him until she had taken him out on the gallops for a canter with another horse. They then had to turn for home and the other horse had to canter off. Daughter had to walk him back. He jogged all the way but was not silly and daughter adored him. They were happy to sell him to us after speaking to her PC instructor. He was a dream until he was injured. Even when fit fed and muscled he was a responsive ride. The only thing he was bad in was traffic which we knew and was fine for us as she did no road work. He did everything she dreamed of and more.
I think if the seller is honest and responsible and the pairing is right in terms of confidence/ability/temprement then being a TB is not an issue.

 

[Peglo]

I went from a 13.2 to a 16.1 TB. I was 16 though. I got on fine but would’ve done a lot better with an instructor to help. My TB could be a toad but I learnt a lot from her. And loved her a lot.

 

[Squeak]

I have and have had tbs for years and absolutely love them. Temperament wise, if you have the right one I wouldn’t be concerned at all.

My main concern would be if she wanted to do a lot of jumping, they can need a lot more setting up and holding together than other horses and a lot lot more than a pony. It is a generalisation and I have known tbs who can be almost pony like to jump so again if you got the right one you’d be fine but very much something to check if she wants to be competitive showjumping.

 

[Loreleya]

Have your instructor assess the partnership of your daughter and the TB…I would be cautious.My daughter had the opportunity of a TB as a move up from her 15hh gelding. The TB was lovely but her instructor…after teaching them for an hour said he would be the horse after the transitional one…and she was spot on.

She doesn't have the instructor, just gets help from people at the yard, but yes, a really good idea to ask one to help her.thank you

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

Lorelaya I would really recommend you find a good instructor to work with your daughter…with whatever horsey partner she has. “Help” from varying people at your yard may be counter productive as there may well be conflicting advice which may cause tensions. If you have a good trainer your daughter will have consistent instruction and support…it’s a good investment.

 

[criso]

I know if a few teenagers at various yards go down this route and slightly more haven't worked out than have and the tb has been sold on.

In one case I wonder if the fact the teenager in question loved my old tb influenced her choice. It didn't work out, she needed something inbetween in size and temperament. However a couple of horses down the line, she's got her tb, she just needed the transition horse first.

It's not just TBs though, I've also seen a big young wb as too big a step from ponies.

Another scenario is that it works out but takes a lot longer and she has to watch her friends go out and have fun while she needs to do more schooling to get to that point.

 

[Pippity]

Ok, so that rings alarm bells. The horse isn’t fit and muscled and it isn’t doing the job your daughter wants to do. That is NOT the right first horse

I completely agree with this. This is an unfit horse, who'd take some schooling to do what your daughter wants. He may be completely different once he's fit and in work.

I wouldn't rule out a TB entirely, but it has to be one that's already doing the job.

 

[Barton Bounty]

Im a huge vote for a TB never underestimate their ability to adapt to just about anything, they are very rewarding loving and kind.
they do have their moments but if your daughter has not been used to a plod of a pony then she should be absolutely fine.
possibly find someone who has one and she can ride a few times before deciding ?

 

[maya2008]

How big is the TB? Has your daughter ridden friend’s horses often enough to get used to the larger stride? My first horse was a 15hh TB (who had never raced). She was amazing, and better behaved than the naughty ponies I had dealt with! She was in full work though when I bought her, and her personality was exactly as sold. Sweet but opinionated and loved to run!

 

[honetpot]

Just like people TB's can vary a lot, but they were bred to be athletes, so when they react, its quick, and they have the speed to off and away before a novice has time to react, so even your plod lazy TB, we had one, when it does do something it can be sudden and explosive.
Unless the horse has been in some regular work, like hacking out at least three times a week, alone or in company by a competent novice I wouldn't buy. Not enough time, can be true, but it can cover a multitude of sins, and then you are left with feeling you have to allow more time to assess it.
Some downsides to having TB's.
Trouble finding equipment to fit, they tend to have high withers, which go in to their back like a sky slope, and often a narrow chest.
Separation anxiety, they live and train in groups, so change and separation can make this worse.
If they stress they can get ulcers, keeping weight on can be difficult.
Poor feet, tend to have flat shallow feet, often with low heels, so the farrier has to be good.
My daughter had one at fourteen but it was not my choice, and I didn't pay a lot so if it didn't work it was not a huge loss, and he had done a lot of show/dressage work post racing. Even though he was good to ride, he had challenging behaviour, which not everyone would cope with.
You really can not expect a child to have the ability to sort problems that even an adult may find difficult, so really you have to take total responsibility, its not just about riding skill, there are a lot of management skills involved.