We know she has 0 races. I would ask if she was ever based and training (galloping) at the track? If so which one and which trainer?
Em
1 Like
Iâll check for a tattoo. The current owner picked her up from the track so I will find out what I can.
1 Like
More than likely she has a Microchip not a tattoo. Some of the ages on the cusp have both. So do check, but donât be shocked by a bare lip.
Em
2 Likes
1 Like
I agree the clippers are a red herring. You can teach virtually any horse to be clipped, washed, stand on a tarp, stand tied, etc. Ground skills are easy IMHO because you are not at risk of falling off.
And yup. Owner got on horse a couple of times, got scared realized she was in over her head let horse sit in a paddock for 2 years and is selling. Donât expect to ride on your visit. And DO NOT RIDE unless owner gets on and you like what you see.
This horse has had no schooling. A plus point is sheâs had time to let down after track.
Big question was she on a field or in a barn? Field would let her let down. Barn could mean sheâs basically all bottled up and explosive.
This is a Project Horse that has defeated her first off track owner. That may be down to the owner not the horse. Best case scenario is benign neglect and field time.
Iâm saying all this because you may be going in with expectations that will get you physically hurt during your visit.
As far as clippers. My mare has never been clipped in her life. If she needed to be clipped I would introduce them slow and easy. I would never expect her first reaction to clippers to be demonstrative of her final reaction. And I would never let anyone try out a novel stimulus source outside of a training context that I controlled, just to see âhow she reacts.â
Ask when is the last time owner rode. Ask if owner will ride her during the visit for you to see. Ask what living situation for horse is, barn or field. These 3 questions will give you some insight into the mares personality.
If TB leave the track without racing its usually because they donât have the speed or drive, or less likely have somethung wrong with them. Generally they get moved on quickly, as 3 year olds that arenât worth sinking any more race time into. So if mare is 5 she has likely been with this owner for about 2 years.
I have to repeat, âdonât have enough time for this horseâ is a truncated form of âthere are not enough hours in the day that would make it worth my while to ever risk my neck on this creature again.â Itâs code for âI am too scared to ride this horse.â
That said, this happens a lot a lot a lot with naieve ammies, ambitious juniors, and even pro trainers who take on too many horses. There are so many OTTB in this position, sitting in fields, with no one to reschool.
Most OTTB are gorgeous pretty much perfect English sport horse types, and the bargain of the century. But they are not for everyone, and Iâve watched many permutations of the OTTB situation play itself out. We are only a few miles from a second tier track, there are lots of TB around. And I had to eventually make up my mind that I was not going to go that route because I couldnât deal with the energy level.
The fact that this mare defeated her first off track owner does not mean there is anything wrong with the mare besides being a young OTTB. It does mean that you cannot expect any coherent riding horse retraining to be in place, and that mare is possibly unsafe for you to ride right now and needs restart from the ground up.
You need to hope that the current owner did not create any bad habits like rearing.
There is also a chance that the mare has had intermittent NQR of some kind. But usually the horses that quit without racing donât have enough mileage to start up with the chronic stress injuries that old racehorses may show. They may of course have an acute injury or a congenital problem in neck or back that made them less race able. But they could just lack âheartâ which isnât a bad thing in a riding horse. Failed OTTB are still the fastest horse in the pasture and the most stamina. They arenât slow compared to anything else!
Feet are often an issue with OTTB due to a mix of genetics, early life shoeing, and trim practices. If mare has been underused since its possible her feet have been poorly trimmed and may be flat, shelly, cracked. Much but not all of this can be fixed with nutrition and trimming.
8 Likes
The horse never raced and has no published works. Itâs entirely possible that she hasnât been in any sort of regular work since she was 2.
Make sure you ask the owner to get on her first. If she wonât, basically consider her an unbroken 5 year old and take that into consideration when deciding to go forward or not.
Also, very carefully look at her legs. She was bred by a farm that also races, not as a sales horse. Itâs a bit odd that she has not one start or published work. Those farms usually give them at least one chance before moving them on.
3 Likes
And if she seems really quiet and kind, when you do a PPE, pull blood.
9 Likes
My trainer has gotten horses that went to the track, trained but didnât race. For whatever reason. Personality not injuries. Itâs quite possible. It means someone had a try at getting the horse to run fast in a straight line, so some of the issues with race horses will be present.
A totally green colt will often be slow and unsure under saddle the first few times whereas an OTTB that has trained, even if not raced, has learned that they are supposed to gallop under saddle. So they can get very hot expecting that.
1 Like
The weaving is also a hard No from me too. Not only does it make them incredibly hard to resell, what if you ever do have to stall her? Injury/soft tissue rehab, that kind of thing.
But regardless of that, you seem keen to go see her and give her a chance, and it sounds like youâd be a great home for her, so good luck.
1 Like
I passed on two horses that needed to be tranqed for hind shoes. I would ask how the horse behaves for the farrier. My farrier swears you can tell if something is wrong with the horse by the way they pick up and hold their feet for you.
6 Likes
Yes, I can see this would tell you about joint pain, pain in supporting legs, back neck or hip stuff, and overall tension. Lots of older horses are compliant but canât lift their leg high enough or keep it up. Different from an unbroke horse freaking out.
1 Like
Second this. Have had two horses that needed to be tranqâd for shoes. Both were a huge PITA to deal with. One earned his keep in other ways. The other I would not have had if I knew the extent of his issues prior to bringing him home.
1 Like
I am not a big fan of weavers and generally would pass on that or a cribber. I knew one OTTB that weaved but only at feed time. So literally twice a day for about 10 minutes each time. I knew another one that would weave as everyone was getting turned out. I think both were just anticipating something good was coming. I would not have had an issue with either one of them.
1 Like
Well, with a weaver⊠it depends. If they are a âblurâ in the stall, that can be a problem, for sure. If they weave a bit, at times, it probably wonât be an issue for me. Most of all, it signifies a horse who is susceptible to stress, and has an âaddictive personalityâ. Much like a cribber, or a nail biter in a human. A horse who needs a crutch, and addiction, to help him/her deal with life as they see it. An outlet for how they feel inside. So this is a âsensitiveâ horse, not a âclodâ of a horse. That IS the sort of horse that many TBs are⊠sensitive, so itâs not too uncommon to see this sort of issue if you are shopping for a TB, especially a TB who has been to the races and has been subjected to stresses in life. If thatâs not the sort of horse I am looking for, I wouldnât buy it. But if that is the sort of personality that I AM looking for, a sensitive and reactive horse who may also be an athlete, it wouldnât necessarily be a deal breaker for me, if the horse is a weaver. There are many things that I can do, as a horseman, that may help a horse who is sensitive, who needs a crutch to help him deal with lifeâs pressures, be more at ease. But he will likely still have the addiction, as that ârarelyâ ever fully goes away with anyone, human or equine.
6 Likes
My OTTB is a weaver. However, after I brought him home, he completely changed.
Now he only weaves if something is bothering him. It took a little while to figure out what the cause of his weaving could be. For example in colder weather, will weave when heâs cold. If I put a heavier blanket or add a neck cover, he stops.
He likes to touch the horse next to him so when they are in due to weather, my barn owner puts his stall guard up so he can touch the horse next to him via the front bars. The walls are solid in between the stalls. As long as he can stick his head around to look in his neighborâs stall when they are in he doesnât weave.
He will weave a little when tacking him up in his stall but not on cross ties.
I have noticed certain people in the barn will set him off to weave. He wonât stop until they leave. They are also people that tend to annoy me tooâŠlol
He likes his regular schedule and when itâs interrupted then the weaving starts. It doesnât matter how much hay or what toys he has in his stall. He loves his turnout but can handle time in if needed. My barn owner also discovered heâs much happier which led to less weaving when he was turned out in a larger group of horses that were older. He doesnât like to play.
So I think weaving can be changed with management. At least I have seen it happen for my boy.
14 Likes
Thanks all. I went to see this horse yesterday. Conformation looked good to me. Watched owner ride at walk trot in round pen. I did the same. She seemed level headed. I have a vet check scheduled today. Will see how that goes. The owner has multiple horses. Does not have time for this one- has 10 month old child and will be going in for surgery with down time. Horse is definitely green but cooperative.
18 Likes
Ok that all looks good so far!!!
1 Like
Does have hx of bowed tendon (learned this from someone who knows of horse, not the seller). She was at Los Alamitos, trainer was Brian Cunningham. I am guessing she bowed tendon in training and thus never raced. It would be interesting to talk to the trainer but I donât have his contact info and couldnât find anything in brief search of the web. So Iâll see if she passes vet and prognosis.
That would be good news, would rather have an old healed bow than many other possibilities. Especially if it is so tight now that you didnât even notice it when you saw and rode the horse. Good luck with the PPE, sounds like itâs a decent prospect.
2 Likes
Well update. Vet showed up for PPE. Horse had been in stall/small paddock and had just been turned out in large turn out area. It was good and windy. Horse was amped up. The vet was concerned about horses level of energy and if the horse would be a good fit for me. He does not know me or my riding experience. He wanted me to have trainer ride her and have trainer watch me ride her to see how we get along. And if that checks out, then move forward with PPE. The vet thought the horse looked good conformation wise. I sent the short video that I had of me riding to trainer she said âshe looks green but you are doing all the right things.â So now trying to coordinate between vet, trainer, and seller to wrap things up. I think that this is a horse that needs to get her ya yaâs out with a nice turn out session prior to ride (if she has been cooped up). I almost always lunge my current OTTB and let her run and play before I ride her. And she has always been a good citizen in return. If I get this horse she will be turned out the vast majority of the time.
2 Likes
