I have a very soft spot in my heart for OTSTBs and standies in general. If I hadn’t stumbled upon my current OTTB mare’s ad when I had, an OTSTB was very very high on my shopping list. They are just the kindest, sanest, very often soundest horses. Teach them to canter and they can make amazing LL eventers.
So someone go get this lovely, gentle-looking giant!
This horse came from my friend’s mother’s farm - I think he was just too slow - He has since been re-trained and is ready for a new home -
I don’t think people realize it, but STBs are often very nice movers – and often, they are incredibly trainable – and dirt cheap. He had a really nice trot from the few moments I saw… though it seemed to me that the rider was trying to get him to gait instead of trot?
An OTSTB is on my bucket list. NV has a couple of really nice ones come in every year.
Yes yes yes! It’s not hard to see why, if you take a moment to look at the angles in a well put-together trotter: incredible laid back shoulders with lovely connection to the humerus, and powerful hind ends made to push and carry. Often very uphill with nice neck connection,too. Plus - rock hard, solid, sound feet.
They can look a little spazzy and awkward when they first learn to canter, but time and patience will take care of that. I’ve met many who were absolutely stellar jumpers too - bold, careful, and scopey.
I really wish I was in the market for a second horse. This guy really really stands out to me - and would be a nice complement to my fun-size TB mare :lol:
he is certainly really nicely put together… and they do tend to have excellent feet.
there is a poster here… let me see if my tag works – @myguyom who has a really nice STB… she hasn’t updated us in a while on him, I don’t think – but it’s nice to see that there are people out there willing to take a chance on these horses. I feel like the public perception of them is very different than the perception of someone who actually handles them - cantering can be hard to teach them (at first), yes, but is anything easy with horses?
When I moved my horses home, I needed a third wheel to balance the herd. Wanted a sane, potential husband trail horse, so got a cute OTTSTB from NV. DH had never ridden and I didn’t buy a horse just for him, but figured if I got a third horse, I wanted something that could become a husband horse. But honestly DH has enough hobbies, and the Standie moves great in the field, so I’m working him now to be my horse, not just hubby horse. He’d rather gait undersaddle, but trots and canters on the lunge. So I’m just lunging using voice commands and slowly working on him understanding wtc. I’ve worked at sales barns and ridden lots of babies, mainly OTTB, and love them, but I’m a huge fan of the Standie brain now!!! And farrier raves about his feet. Super excited to play with him and see what he can do! When my older two retire, I’ll look at Standies for sure (and Ottb and ASBs - only rescues).
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My friend and I - were taking a lot of her and her mom’s STB’s and re-training them to ride. I’m out of commission right now being 7 months pregnant. We showed at the National STB Show in NJ (where the two photos are from) and the MD State show - They really are SUPER easy to train and very willing to work. They are so level headed. The photos are of Wynnfield Spirit who was still actively racing while we were riding/showing. He’d won his race the night before the show actually. He could be nervous, but as long as you weren’t, he got along fine. It took us a couple of tries to get over that jump, scaredy cat.
Comet, we had put the saddle on once and thrown a little weight on when I was at the farm. My friend and her mom may have done a little more than that before he was sent to NV but I’m not sure.
We are really trying to get them to be as popular as the OTTB, but a lot of people don’t think they can canter, or think they’re ugly, since some do have that roman nose/big head look.
@myguyom has the loveliest STB. I have really enjoyed seeing their progress - she has done an amazing job.
Bang on about perception. We have a track in our province, and as a result quite a few of the bigger school barns (when we had more… they are really sadly going by the wayside :() had a lot of standies because they tend to be safe and sane and could be had cheaply. So the perception around here is that they are kind of dumpy little deadheads who plug along. We also have a large trail operation with almost exclusively STBs - many sound and happily still out on the trails into their late 20s and 30s.
Everyone I know who actually works with them loves them and sees the potential as sporthorses - but someone who has just seen the schoolies and trailhorses and backyard types doesn’t have much time for the idea.
ETA: RxCate- good on you for doing work with these horses! They are awesome 
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I’ve had more people say my guy “doesn’t look like a Standardbred” than I can count. When I went to NV, they had a chestnut that could have passed for a sorrel QH, a 16+ hh dapple gray, and just so many lovely horses. A lot don’t get to the website because they are adopted quickly!
The “your horse doesn’t look like X” is always so funny. I think your guy looks just like a Standardbred - and he’s lovely I often get the “oh, your TB looks much more like a warmblood”… which, you know, thanks I guess? But she definitely, definitely looks ALL TB, and it’s not exactly an insult for a horse to look like a TB, or an STB :lol:
Standardbreds are the best! The comment “they don’t look like a Standardbred” kills me because yes they do, Standardbreds have many different looks, and fewer and fewer have the giant jug heads of 30 yrs ago lol! I’ve own many Standardbreds currently have three at home, one looks very arabian another has mistaken for a quarter horse many times.
Unfortunately they still don’t hold a lot of value around here when it comes to rehoming ex race horses. You can get more for them for Amish than you can as a riding horse, and if you try and find homes for them for free you attract all kinds of crazy- there is a reason I still have three of them LOL
PS- Kashmere there are 3 tracks in our province 
although 2 are in CB lol
Is there a NV on the west coast? I love standardbreds and have vowed to buy one at some point in my life. Love their kindness and willingness.
ahaha - Poor CB. Always forgotten, as though it’s just a part of NLFD that broke off and floated over to our coast :lol: Right you are, though.
Good looking horse with a great shoulder.
I hope he gets a great opportunity, soon.
Can’t beat that price for his quality.
One thing - If anyone is seriously interested in him, I’d ask for recent video/photos - they all look like the original photo/video they had when they first listed him since there’s leaves on the trees.
Wow I had no idea how versatile standie were! What is the market like to purchase one that has an established canter? I don’t think I’m skilled enough to take anything right off the track.
You’d be surprised, they are SO level headed, so unless you get one that just happens to be a total nervous-nellie, you can get them to canter fairly easily.
Talk to NV, or Starting Gaits and I’m sure if you look on FB/google, you can find more - We are trying to get a clinic local to us to promote the breed and help those with them get the canter established, but just haven’t gotten our ducks in a row (doesn’t help I’m 7 months pregnant and can’t ride right now anyway!)
After watching his video, he looks like he would make a lovely smooth trail horse but he is definitely not a horse I would pick if I wanted to excel at dressage.
@16 Hands There aren’t any Standardbred rescues listed on USTA for the West Coast. There are very few harness tracks out west, Cal Expo in Sacramento and then a few in Canada. http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/content/racetracks.html That is a link to all the Canadian tracks.
You might be able to get in touch with a trainer at one of the tracks to talk about maybe buying a Standie who’s ready to retire from the track.
You can also try contacting Ellen Harvey at USTA or Bill Vallandingham who is the ID tech for the West Coast. You can get contact info for both of them on this link http://www.ustrotting.com/contact.cfm Either of them may be able to help you contact trainers or owners looking for a home for a horse.
Another possible resource is the California Harness Horseman’s Association http://www.chhaonline.com/aboutCHHA/contactCHHA.html
In high school I had the most amazing OTTB and my best friend and riding buddy had a standardbred pony. She was amazing! She knew all sorts of tricks (taught to her by a 16 year old girl). Was fun for her to ride but would also cart around beginners. Easy keeper, great feet and is now 28 and although retired looks like a 10 year old.
Honestly I think a lot of people don’t know about them as a option or they just forget, they don’t get the coverage or attention like OTTB’s do.
I need another horse like a hole in my head but he looks lovely! Hope he finds a good home.
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