Can anyone tell me about ex racehorses?

[Notinmykitchen]

I have been looking for a horse on loan now for a couple of months with no success. I have noticed there seem to be a lot of ex racehorses available for loan. My initial reaction was to rule them out as I have heard a lot of bad things about ex racehorses, along the lines of, they are only good for galloping in straight lines, have no brakes, and injury prone due to the stresses of racing at such a young age. I am now wondering if this is in fact the case. I have not had any dealings with any ex racers, although I have met some lovely thoroughbreds, who do not fit any of the stereotypes. I would be grateful to hear from anyone who has experiences, good bad or indifferent, of ex racehorses. Thanks in advance!

I work with racehorses and have ridden my pointers out. I've nothing against racehorses at all but I'd countenance against taking them on unless you are an experienced rider and used to looking after blood type horses.

There is a really good article about them by Katie Jerram in this week's Horse and Hound. She points out it can take months of retraining to turn them into riding horses and not every one makes it to a safe level.

If you do decide to go down this route try one of the racehorse rehoming centres where the thoroughbreds have been of the course for a few months and have been reschooled. They will make sure they are, comparatively, safe for you.

Hi Butkin, thanks for the reply. I have a fair bit of experience of horses in general. I have had a thoroughbred before, and he was the most laid back and easygoing horse I have ever looked after, although I know they are not all like that! The horses I have seen advertised have all been a couple of years, at least out of racing, so hopefully reschooled already. I certainly wouldn't take on anything straight off the racecourse, I think that would be beyond me!

As Butkin says I would start with one of the official rehoming of racehorses yards - HEROS is one, and there are others. They will assess you and if they think you are suitable will try and partner you up with the right horse.

I have an ex pointer who is a star and they can be the most wonderful horses but they are lightning quick sometimes. Someone said to me when I got my first one that "by the time you think they might do something, they've done it!"

I've had horses all my life, backed 15-20 youngsters, ridden at HOYS etc, but retraining an ex racer was the biggest challenge I've had. They're not all the same, but they do come with baggage that youngsters don't come with, both mentally and physically. If you think one might suit, why not have a look. Hurdlers tend to be bigger, have more timber and are often more level headed, while flat racers are lighter framed and have been started younger so can come with problems related to that.

Thanks for the replies, I will certainly look into Heros and the other charities!

I have nothing but wonderful things to say - an ex-racer is just a horse, some are difficult, some are laid-back. My 6 ex-racers are angels (and all have good brakes). Like with any horse, take your time to choose carefully and you could find a really great horse. Mary at Moorecroft racehorse re-homing should be able to help you. It is true that injuries can cause a lot of problems though, joint problems can bring on arthritis much younger than you'd expect in a horse that's been started later. Should just mention that I've only dealt with flat racers, have very little experience of hurdlers.

Have a look at www.ror.org.uk which is all about retraining racehorses and has lots of links and advice.
I agree with Dappleton. I took on an ex racehorse a year ago. It was the best thing I ever did. Perhaps I have been lucky but the horse is an angel. I suppose most racehorses have always been handled by experts so haven't been messed up by amateurs. My horse was a jumper and he is stunning to look at and I am hoping to do some riding horse classes and dressage this summer. He is a rock in traffic, hacks out alone, boxes, shoe, clips, is forward going but sensible. He retired with a tendon injury at 8 so I will always have to keep an eye on that but there have been no problems so far. I would definitely recommend looking into it.

Keep us posted in progress!

When I worked at my mate's riding school we had an ex racehorse.

He was a very, very safe ride for novices, totally unflappable and perfectly happy to canter along sedately at the back of the group on hacks. Equally, he would work really nicely for more experienced riders.

On the ground however he was the most evil horse I've ever known - and I've known plenty of crotchety, temperamental, nippy/kicky horses. He was something else. No physical problems (we checked) - he just hated people. I'd put money on the likelihood of him having been mistreated at some point before we got him; I can think of no other reason why he was the way he was.

My old mare was an ex racehorse, she was wonderful, we had so much fun together and even though my mare I have now is wonderful I still miss my old girl, can't get her back though as she went to horsey heaven at the ripe old age of 28!

She was a dream to handle on the ground so long as you were confident and female, she HATED men and would let them know it! She was a super safe hack on the roads - we used to hack down the road with buses/lorries/tractors and she never batted an eyelid. She was also a fun hack on the common as long as you handled her right, she could be strong and a bit fizzy but was always safe. We competed in show jumping and dressage and won many classes. We had great fun and she looked after me as much as I looked after her. Sadly she fractured her pedal bone in a field accident and even though I and the equine hospital nursed her back to health she was never completely sound afterwards, although she did have a happy 5 year retirement before the arthritis set in.

I would get another if I had the chance - sadly am too overweight for the TB type these days.

The ex racer I mentioned above far preferred men to women. The only person I ever saw him behave in anything approaching a friendly manner with was a bloke who used to have lessons on him.

Thanks for all the responses (I am the OP just a slightly different name). I have decided to go for it, and if all goes to plan he will be arriving on Friday. He only raced as a 2 year old, and was re schooled as a riding horse after that. He is now 7 and seems like a lovely uncomplicated character. Very very excited now!

Congratulations, so exciting, I hope you have a wonderful future together.

Wow, how exciting. I bet you can't wait! Good luck with him

Great - hope that everything goes well for you. Keep us posted!

Well he is here!!!! He loaded and travelled fine, settled in the stable after about 20 minutes, so its all good so far!

pictures please!

hope it goes well. I've had great experiences with them. I used to share the most gentlemanly ex racer, admittedly he was 20 and not been on a track for 17 years, and had competed at both show jumping and dressage. Until I got pg I was riding 2 ex race horses, one who was a baby straight off the track aged 3, she was very chilled out, not spooky, lovely manners on the ground. At first she had no idea how to do anything apart from walk and gallop, but the owner spent a few months leading her out from another horse before riding her, and she soon worked it out. The other had been out of racing for about 6 years and really is the most lovely hack ever. She is occasionally spooky, and the brakes not that reliable once she is in top gear. Totally bomb proof with traffic. I ride her down the side of the A1 just outside London, including over a foot bridge over it, and through a horrible low tunnel (so low you have to duck) with a culvert running through it under the M25. Again, perfect manners on the ground. She got a really bad over reach injury in the field and had to have daily dressing changes. She would stand with her foot held gently in your lap while this was done. I let my toddler sit on her. Both horses however got very stressed when alone, when the second was on box rest with her foot she had to have company, even when the others went out for an hour's ride. Oh, and both horses live out 24/7 all year round. Come in for feeds 2x a day and compete internationally at horseball.
In Australia (and probably everywhere) there are 1000's of very young horses that come off the track every year. The ones that don't go for meat go into every equestrian activity. I'm sure in the athens Olympics one of the Australian horses had been saved from the dog food factory. They are also in riding schools, back gardens, cattle stations and mounted police. Don't forget not every ex race horse has actually raced, some have only been trialed and found not up to the grade or unsound.