Thoroughbreds - Accident prone?

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MagicMelon

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Been offered a TB, having only had part TB's in the past I'm just wondering how sound they generally are! I've read a few posts on here and quite a few people have said they are quite accident prone and often have bad feet and lameness problems. If you have a TB, how have you got on??
 
Well I guess each individual is different but after owning my ex racer would have to say she is a lot more accident prone than my cob.
Most of the time off she has had over the year has been back problems due to saddle issues. She has pulled off numerous shoes in both field and stable and bruised her sole. She is currently on box rest with a sore splint and cannon bone and inflamed suspensory after pulling a shoe off and probably knocking herself in the process on the stone water trough as shoe found right next to it.
All this said though wouldn't swap her for the world :)
 
I'm not sure, really. Ours are alright, they do utterly insane things to themselves occasionally and are less hardy than your average cob but looking back, none have really been any worse than any other horse in the level of work ours are in that I've known. I mean, we're not exactly able to replace horses or afford constantly injured ones but we only own TBs... Tango is the first not-TB we've had, and he's still half.

Bad feet are sortable- Bee's were super, and Smokes' is good too. Reg had poor feet but they're under control now... None are on a special diet really, just a sensible one. Reg has arthritic hocks, but he raced for 6 years so had a fairly hardcore life.

I don't think they're that bad really for lameness. I think they're often very badly managed and kept though, and people treat them in a way that's not conducive to soundness and good feet by feeding poor food and not really understanding the horse and what it needs/ wants... You can't keep them like some other breeds. You wouldn't have a chihuahua and a springer spaniel and do the same work with each and expect both to thrive, but people do with horses.

It's worth noting how varied TBs can be in terms of build/ size/ ability... We have Reg who's 17.1hh and soft and gentle and steady, Smokes who's barely 15.2hh and spends most of his life in a state of high excitement/ buzzed up on ego and then had Bee who was sharp as a tack and utterly ruthless. None have been remotely similar in any way, they're hardly recognisable as all the same breed!
 
I have found a tired tb is a healthy tb as such. Mine will cause grief when I try and be nice and give him some time off where as when he is in regular work he just bumbles about - does his work,grazes calmly etc. He is undergoing rehab at the moment but think this is more how he is put together rather than he is a TB as such. I have had a wicked 6 years with mine with nothing I could particulary pin down to him being a tb as such. He had a resp op when he was 18 months old before starting his racing training which has meant a few cough and snuffles along the way and also had tendonitis on one of his 'holidays' lasted a little too long . I love my tbs - wouldn't have anything else :)
 
My TB was sound until she was 22. Then she had two lamenesses that year, but quickly recovered, plus she cut her chest which was easily fixed with a few stitches. Then she was sound until she died from colic. She also had good hooves (barefoot).

ETA - I forgot, she did cut one of her pasterns before I had her as there was a scar. It wasn't an issue though.

This was her.

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MagicMelon said:
Been offered a TB, having only had part TB's in the past I'm just wondering how sound they generally are! I've read a few posts on here and quite a few people have said they are quite accident prone and often have bad feet and lameness problems. If you have a TB, how have you got on??
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Mine has never had a day's lameness despite being an ex-racer, has very good feet, and whilst his condition wasn't great last winter I did get him in November already in poor condition (and I'm also in NE Scotland and as you know it was already snowing here, and he was turned out to winter for the first time) and so it took til Dr Green came through to sort... this winter he is going in twice the size and on less feed with less rugs (in a 100g fill and is clipped atm, and is fine even with the wind and rain) and will again be out 24/7 all winter, so just coping better all round.

I've had three now, and only one of them was prone to hurting himself/having poor feet, and he was generally just that type of horse that always has something wrong, even if it's only mild... however all three were prone to mud fever on their white feet. The continually broken one had: tieback op, hock injection for arthritis, twice managed to rip the same heel bulb off on electric fencing, the second time he jumped out of his own field into one with electric fencing and ripped it :S, prone to mild colic, prone to mud fever, prone to starting fights but always coming off worst, swelling up like a balloon at every cut and scratch, and then finally tore all his back and shoulder getting stuck in quicksand... so he made up for the other two, who were both very sound!!

ETA Pics (can you tell I have a type? Before these guys had a grey ArabxLipp and a grey IDxWelsh as well, but haven't looked back...):

First one
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Second one (Mr Broken)
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Current one (Mr Sharp and Stupid)
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I picked up a TB for a friend, later bought him, he had a deep wire cut to his hock, after realising he was bored with us, we sold him, fast forward two years and he was gifted back to me,having found him a rider, covered in old bite wounds and disgusting feet, he came back in June and since then has cut all down the inside hind leg kicking at flies, bit his own chest trying to remove his fly rug, kept taking skin off his eyelid scratching his head, scraped his knees, going down on a hack and last week fell on the vet during a dental sedation, fighting the sedative, he tried to rear, slipped and landed on the vets legs, (vet ok) dental work completed on the floor, with grazed hips and various bits on the horse.
Would I swop him? Not on your nelly, I just keep Sudacrem and purple spray handy, luckily my lad is a quick healer
 
Mines fine. Decent feet (unshod), weren't great when I got her but sorted them without too much hassle. Lives out without managing to hurt herself...only had the vet out twice in nearly 5 years for non-routine things, oh, and she had an abcess once, good natured, good doer and prone to being a bit of a fatty. She's a nice mare.
 
I adore my TB but he's not cheap to keep.
It cost me over £ 4000 to sort out his mouth and jaw , but I warned my OH that he would cost a bit to run .
I would not swop him for anything he's clever ,he really values kindness , he changed so much since came he's like a big Labrador now he moves really well and you can ride him all day without feeling tired .
He's just the most beauiful thing.
 
haven't found my boy to be more accident prone than my non-tb mare, even living out in a mixed herd of 10! when he spent his first 7 years as a racer mostly stabled. all i find is his cuts don't heal as quickly, his skin seems thinner i guess. but he rarely does get any cuts.
feet: his are quite flat, he will also lose a lot of hoof if he does pull a shoe off, and go foot sore, but that doesn't happen all the time, and plenty of non-tb that have the same problems.
lameness: first 6 months i had him after racing he needed physio as had a sore back from racing. had one mysterious lameness about 1 year in, but went sound after a week. only this summer, aged 15, 7 years into having, he has been intermittently lame, but has now been diagnosed with arthritic hocks (but then he did race from 2-7).
agree than TBs vary so much in size and build, and i certainly wouldn't hesitate to have another just because of their breed, mine has a great temperament, just maybe with a few less miles on the clock from racing, or a non ex-racer.
 
Never had a thoroughbred. Friends do and they only complain about them pulling their shoes off which can happen to any horse. Go for it I say.
 
Accident prone? ? No.

Thin skinned yes, can you treat it like a hardier type and expect it to cope the same, no IMO. This is where people go wrong, it does need a bit more effort, the reward is its generally more athletic and capable horses. Problem is with tbs their feet are often miles away from their brain!

Enjoy it, I love caring for mine. Taking off 4 brushing and 4 muddy over reaches daily is a pain but it stops nicks and lost shoes.
 
I only had problems with mine when he had shoes on - constantly ripping them off deliberately and made himself sore from that simply solved by taking them Off completely and he's been fine since. I do find myself looking at him more to see if he's done anything, but so far he's had no more problems than any of my other breeds (well except having to feed him more!)
 
*Touches wood* Nothing major with my TB. He has great feet and is never sick or sorry .... You do always have a tub of sudacrem and some purple spray handy on a daily basis. He will come in most days with a cut or a graze :rolleyes: Its just who he is, they just need that little bit more TLC I think so don't let it put you off :)
 
My tb has actually been much sounder than my previous horses (again, TOUCH WOOD!!!!) whereas the two cobs I know have been lame almost constantly, and my first horse (chunky lad) was always lame too. I don't know if they are exceptions, but I love my lad and would definitely get another thoroughbred.
 
Hmm so you all love your TB's that's obvious but it does sound like they get general cuts and scrapes more than your usual non-TB's...

McW - You've worried me slightly by saying their feet aren't connected to their brain! As whatever horse I get I will be aiming to primarily jump him, BS and BE. BE-wise I really like a clever, agile horse who can get his feet out of the way and sort himself out! I thought a TB would be pretty good at that generally. Maybe not?!
 
Not my cup of tea being a cob/native lover, but my mother in law had an ex racer for 24 years, and he wasn't accident prone, and until he was into his 20s wasn't lame either. He lived out with a shelter and did very well on it.
 
MagicMelon said:
Hmm so you all love your TB's that's obvious but it does sound like they get general cuts and scrapes more than your usual non-TB's...
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I'd say on balance, this isn't true for mine. I've had the vet out more for my draughts and TBx's than my pure TB. She's actually pretty tough. She wouldnt make a jumper though.
 
MagicMelon said:
Hmm so you all love your TB's that's obvious but it does sound like they get general cuts and scrapes more than your usual non-TB's...

McW - You've worried me slightly by saying their feet aren't connected to their brain! As whatever horse I get I will be aiming to primarily jump him, BS and BE. BE-wise I really like a clever, agile horse who can get his feet out of the way and sort himself out! I thought a TB would be pretty good at that generally. Maybe not?!
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Think they're rather good at getting their feet out the way ;)

All of ours have been exceptionally clever. Reg does bash poles, but that's a physical limitation more than anything and fairly unique to him- with better early training and no hocks problems he'd be awesome. Bee and Smokes and Lilly are all allergic to poles types with exceptional natural technique, and all of them have been very clever at looking after themselves and Al over fences...

They're worth the potential extra work really, and 95% of the time are completely fine.
 
One of my TBs was a nightmare. He came in every day with a new cut or scrape, and he was such a big wuss that he wouldn't let you put purple spray/sudocrem on the wound to help it heal. His skin was so thin that he would roll and cut himself if there was a tiny rock on the ground. His feet were awful and he had various lameness problems. He needed exercising a lot otherwise he would become very difficult on the ground too.

Having said that, my friend has a TB who is the complete opposite. I wouldn't judge by breed, I would judge by individual horse!
 
Mine doesn't have the best feet in the world but with a decent farrier they're manageable. Despite being accident/incident prone & running up thousands of pounds of vets bills over the years he does have the decency to have always been a very sound horse. He's getting a bit creaky now but in his late teens that's not an issue & doesn't slow him down at all!
 
My TB's have been way more smart than my other types - have gotten me out of a few sticky places XC etc, and current one just DOESN'T touch poles, even if he has to contort! If anything I'd say they can be *too* clever sometimes in that they learn to predict and you have to work hard to keep them on their toes...

However yes, they are thinner skinned and I'd say more prone to cuts and bumps, anyway.

I'd say if you like the horse, and it doesn't have a history of problems, then go for it - they definitely make great event types, and having had a chat with Beanie Sturgis and Bettina Hoy at Blair about eventers for the hilly ground we have in Scotland, they did say that you can't beat a blood horse for agility and speed over steep XC - I quote "You just put them in gear and they keep on going".
 
Yep the two I have had one pure TB and one at least half but I'm lening towards 3/4 bred just seemed to hurt themselves more than any of my other horses.

Eowyn the part bred in two years cost me more than 8k in injury and related costs and was out of work for over half that two years due to injury. Wont be haing another one.
 
MagicMelon said:
Hmm so you all love your TB's that's obvious but it does sound like they get general cuts and scrapes more than your usual non-TB's...

McW - You've worried me slightly by saying their feet aren't connected to their brain! As whatever horse I get I will be aiming to primarily jump him, BS and BE. BE-wise I really like a clever, agile horse who can get his feet out of the way and sort himself out! I thought a TB would be pretty good at that generally. Maybe not?!
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I wouldn't worry, it was an off the cuff remark meaning they can be clumsy/leggy hence knicks etc.

Some will be keener than others but some of most laid back horses I know are tbs which can mean touching a pole isn't a big issue, others over jump. You would need to sit on a few to understand what I mean.
 
Lolo said:
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Think they're rather good at getting their feet out the way ;)

All of ours have been exceptionally clever. Reg does bash poles, but that's a physical limitation more than anything and fairly unique to him- with better early training and no hocks problems he'd be awesome. Bee and Smokes and Lilly are all allergic to poles types with exceptional natural technique, and all of them have been very clever at looking after themselves and Al over fences...

They're worth the potential extra work really, and 95% of the time are completely fine.
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I agree entirely but many tbs when jumping aren't naturally good at tucking up (shoving their knees under their chin types) especially the ex flat racers. They more dangle their legs, some, with practice and schooling develop that but for most they will compensate the lack of tuck with overall height. At the end of the day one might not care as long as the pole stays up but if one is looking for a true jumping type tb then I think you would have to put a lot of effort into finding or producing the right one. I for one think they are worth the effort but can have their limitations - like any breed really, and not breed specific to a tb, because individual conformation counts for a lot as well.
 
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McW said:
I agree entirely but many tbs when jumping aren't naturally good at tucking up (shoving their knees under their chin types) especially the ex flat racers.
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My ex-flat racer tucks her knees up pretty well ...

DSC_0469.jpg


I know it's not a big jump but she totally messed up her approach to this and just went for it. She could have refused or just crashed through it but she did the biggest jump she could and tucked her knees up as much as she could. She does also do this over bigger jumps but I dont have any pics :/
 
Mine came with a BE record for cricket scores in the SJ.
However he was big weak and in pain from his jaw / tooth issue and his feet hurt, his natural canter stride was fourteen feet but he had been shortened from the front so really it was not surprising he was struggling with the jumping .
He's now a carefull horse as he matures he becomes more and more agile and now he realises there are thing he can do to affect the outcome when he jumps the fence he's a very different horse .
I have however spent two years getting this point it does not bother me as I am just interested in the journey.
 
MagicMelon said:
Hmm so you all love your TB's that's obvious but it does sound like they get general cuts and scrapes more than your usual non-TB's...

McW - You've worried me slightly by saying their feet aren't connected to their brain! As whatever horse I get I will be aiming to primarily jump him, BS and BE. BE-wise I really like a clever, agile horse who can get his feet out of the way and sort himself out! I thought a TB would be pretty good at that generally. Maybe not?!
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Nope! Mine is actually quite self-contained in the field, the other two (irish sport horses) pester the other horses so get bites and scrapes.

Interesting what you say about being dis-co-ordinated, as I have actually found mine to be less sure-footed than the ISHs, tends to slip and finds heavy footing hard - though they both hunted a lot so not sure if this is the reason.
 
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