Taking on a ex-race horse

Well. Title says it all. Within the next month and a half to two months we will be taking on a ex race horse. So many requirements to adopt one. It's crazy. But understandable. Now to start piecing together everything. I will admit. I'm crazy excited though. :) Anybody else do this? And want to share there experience.

Have had a couple off the track horses. They are a handfull. All I can say is stay sharp on your toes and always be ready for the unexpected. Oh, and oh how they can eat. ALOT! :rolleyes:

The one I'm after has been off the track for 7 months. Has been reconditioned. So her metabolism isn't crazy anymore. She's a 09 mare. They give her 2 flakes of hay and a scoop of feed toe times a day and she looks pretty good. Little bay mare. Has the sweetest eyes. Pretty nice under saddle. You actually have to use leg to get her to go. But we will be doing a lot of ground work and she will be learning how down-under horsemanship works. And then switching to a western saddle. I've got my hands full. Guess its a good thing I am almost always home. Lol


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I'm not one prone to mares. But I haven't gotten her off my mind since I laid eyes on her.


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I don't know anything about horses but good luck.

Definitely keep us updated and post pics!

Mares are, an acquired taste. Like dark chocolate. My QH mare is definitely a handful, but I look forward to the day that I will get to bring her with me.

Pics Pics! I love bays!

Does somebody want to tell me how to post pictures? There saved on my computer

Upload them to photobucket, then copy and paste the IMG link.can't wait to see!!

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Doing it right now.

http://s1021.photobucket.com/user/ca...=recent&page=1

There is the mare I am looking to get once everything is ready and we get approved.

What an absolute beauty!!!!

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I haven't owned any, but I used to work at a stable that had several off the track horses. A couple thoroughbreds, and a few Arabians. Nice horses, but some were a little crazy. One tb mare was really nice and easy going. The other I didn't like very much. One tb Colt came in off the track before he even started racing (was still training and got injured if I remember correctly), he was quite a handful and always kept us on our toes. The Arabs were a grab bag of temperaments, but most were very high energy.

Beautiful mare! What are you planning on doing with her? Her pasterns look a little steep IMO, I would be cautious if you wanted to do serious jumping. I think you said something about putting her in western.

Gorgeous animal!! I love the little socks (or are they stockings??) on her feet...

You're planning on getting a pre-purchase on her, right??

She's so pretty! I've never known anyone with an ex racer, so I have no idea what it will be like! Good luck and keep us updated!

After speaking with them more and getting more pics. I decided not to get her. I don't like the plasterns and there contract was a bit crazy.. I feel it would be more of a headache. So I purchased an 6 year old Morgan mare and put her first ride on her Saturday. :)


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Aw nuts, sorry the OTTB didn't work out. Was this through CANTER or some other organization?

I have an OTTB, a 17.2 hh 1987 chestnut gelding I got back in 1992. He's still hanging around at a retirement farm, just with a touch of arthritis but he still acts like a three year old otherwise. He taught me a lot and I love him to death, but I'm old enough now that I don't bounce when I come off, so the next pony will be something a little slower and lower to the ground.

We took on a ex racehorse a few years ago. She was a grand daughter of Secretariat, too! Drop dead gorgeous! She need sooooo much work. We ended up long line lunging her everyday for hours. Very very sweet mare. Had never been in a herd but she learned real quick that our percheron mare was the boss. We pretty much copied exactly the same training schedule we were using on a yearling QH, with the exception of how long we did each exercise. We did find out the she loved to jump! Cribbed very badly on anything, which really sucked. Good part was she was only sucking air and not doing her teeth any damage. We did get her switched to a western treeless saddle but she was always happier with an English one. Ate, ate and ate! LOL...she needed so much more hay than our other kids! Our biggest problem was getting her calmed down if she ever got extremely excited!! She would than just need to run it off, which loose in the pasture or at the end of the line...and then she would remember what was going on and continue our lesson like nothing ever happened.
Raine
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Had an OTTB, he was insane. Had an OTQH, he was a doll. Roll of the dice.

Best of luck with your morgan. Great horses.

Oh my gosh! I freaking love horses so much! I am going to be doing a working student program in April on a horse farm and I am super excited. I will be getting riding lessons in return for all the work I will do. I met some of the horses and they are just beautiful. There are two Arabian stallions that are not saddle broken yet. There is also a big and beautiful TB mare that is just a total sweetheart. Apart from that there is also two older horses that no one even pays attention to anymore, the owners basically just pay for the boarding and that is about it. I cannot wait to get started, even if I am just going to be mucking out stalls to begin with. I just love horses so much and this is the opportunity of a lifetime for me.

I have an OTTB. he is insane. he came home with a ton of anxiety, head issues, rain rot, a brutal cold,and sky high withers. BUT!!!! After I nursed him back to health, beat the rain rot (took 8 months & a shed), put about 100+ pounds on him (he was SO SKINNY), he is an incredible animal, LOVES to work, when he gets his head down he is fabulous. He has a true passion for running and loves going fast. He is my treasure, my project, and my brat all in one. He has taught me so much about patience and forgiveness, preserverance. I'm not saying that all OTTBs will be a piece of work, but the sad reality is that once their track career is over, so is the care they receive. I love my Joejoe so much and am so happy I took a chance on a crazy thoroughbred. If you have the passion and true love for horses, go for it. But be prepared to pick yourself back up when they throw you for a loop every now and then!