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Is it possble for an OTTB who last raced in June to be calm, and quiet and not pitch me off?

Thanks for the encouragement guys, I got on her last night and she was amazing! Her trot is to die for, so smooth, and she’s very sweet and kind. I get so much conflcting information about tb’s and what kind of training they have at the track, what personalities they have, so it was giving me anxiety, but for no reason in this case. Plus, she’s big, over 17hh at only 4 years old.

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I think that was mostly the case when they were hopped up on steroids which have now been banned.

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That seems to be the case with this mare, both my instructor and I got on her last night and she has a smooth trot that is to die for, and such a sweet and calm demeanor. I think I’m in love!

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I got a horse right off the track like that, no retraining, and he was perfect from day 1. We took it slow, he had some foot issues and soreness that we had to work through, but he was super quiet and easy going. I think the first or second time I trotted him under saddle, we were ponying a small child and small pony on their first trot together. I joked that between, the kid, the pony (who had mostly hunted) and my green horse, I was the only one holding that ship together lol.

We trail rode alone, he is great at horse shows, has had special needs kids on him, and is currently at his forever home with a woman who rides with my mom’s trainer.

Some horses are just born that way, and growing up on the track, they can get used to a lot of stuff. Sounds like you found a gem, enjoy her!

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Yes, thank you!

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Bought my guy as a 7 year old (so VERY established in his race routine) about a week after his last race in November. Took him to the beach in December.

Did he absolutely FLY when I let him open up and he went into full competitive mode with the buddy we had along with us? Yes.

Was he explosive or dangerous in any way? Nope. I let him run for a bit and then pulled him up (buddy was long in our dust by that point). We turned and walked back to find poor deserted buddy.

They’re each individuals - but racehorse does not equate with dangerous or explosive.

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Proclaiming " all _____ (breed) are _____ " is evidence of limited exposure to said breed.

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My first instructor as a re-rider told me that all ottbs are hot, can’t be fed like a normal horse and I should never ride one.

Imagine my surprise when I found this forum and learned differently. :joy:

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I bought a 3 year old straight off the track and a few days later was trail riding her at a local park. She was a little on the hotter side at first but as she grew and matured, her calm, easy nature came out. I trained for eventing and she took to it like a duck to water. Brought her up to training level before I sold her when moved across the country.

then there’s this:

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One thing I noticed with my horses is that they don’t get freaked out at the same things as some of the others which have been boarded on the property, and there is a big difference between the broodmare who was never raced compared to those who raced for several years. It may not be universal but I think it’s generally true that race horses have been exposed to a lot of weird stuff at the track, so they don’t react to many things which might concern you. I had three which were raced, two of which raced for years, and one which had only been a broodmare. The two with the most experience were completely unfazed by traffic including the garbage truck, four-wheelers or golf carts, alpacas, goats, barking dogs, fireworks (actually none of them reacted to fireworks), and kids on bicycles.

Horses on the track see all sorts of things such as crowds of people with scary hats and umbrellas, exotic animals and lots of noise and commotion. It can make them surprisingly easy to deal with because an experience you expect to be new to them might be old hat or familiar.

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Yep. My OTTB never spooked, was alert but never frightened. What a treat to have a “been there, done that” horse who was handled by professionals (so, not a single bad habit).

As opposed to my Morgan, who was raised on a huge ranch out west, and was frightened daily by, well, normal (to me) life.

A woman tried to tell me to never take my OTTB to a parade because she’d freak out. Really, what did the person think racehorses DO? They parade around in front of thousands of screaming people.

This woman said a much better horse at a parade would be a ranch horse. Whose experience of a crowd is chittering prairie dogs.

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Yes, but the converse is also true. I’ve ridden many an OTTB that spooked at nature. Like squirrels, falling acorns, and, OMG, white rocks. :rofl:

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It depends on the horse, how it was treated and trained at the track as well as how the let down was handled.

Nobody likes the “it depends” answer but in horses? There is no black and white, etched in stone answer applicable to all horses all the time. People can react based on their personal experience or parrot what they were told or read on the internet. Just take any advice offered with the proverbial grain of salt.

IME, those selected and trained for something else must unlearn then relearn which will take time and patience and involve many opportunities for miscommunication, which may be as simple as getting confused or as dramatic as a bomb. Any less experienced riders will need some guidance smoothing that out, Thats with any breed switching jobs.

Have had many breeds, all were basically either sensible and kind or…ummm….not… by basic nature. Not by breed or past occupation. IME, most horses of any background don’t just blow up, they get confused, scared or defensive and react. How the rider handles that greatly influences whether it stays a teaching moment or disintegrates.

Horses bred for, trained for and recently racing have much to adjust to in their new jobs, some adjust faster then others, some never do “get it” There is much potential for miscommunication so wise supervision and lots of time/ patience is key.

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Absolutely. I was fortunate as my OTTB had not only raced (bought her right off the track) but had been extensively trail ridden and even shown jumpers. So, I got a multi-trained horse, plus I had the background and sensitivity to honor that professional training and not attempt to force the horse into my backyard hunt and show experience. And I got a trainer experienced with OTTBs, filling the (many!) holes in my personal knowledge.

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Yeah, but that can be any breed of horse depending on what they’ve been exposed to. :wink: The only things my STB has spooked at was a flapping tarp car shed, the round bale baler, and a calf & turkey combo on a trail ride. Fortunately they were both a startle type spook and not a head for the hills type.

I will chime in to say I’ve seen a lot of ammies and juniors get into trouble with OTTB, but also our DIY barn set up makes it hard for a less skilled person to manage a hotter horse.

Indeed, I’ve seen adult beginner folks get into trouble with older horses off a dude string :slight_smile: so really it’s about management and having a decent trainer involved (or not).

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Oh, of course. I just find it amusing when a horse is bombproof around heavy equipment, but freaks out over crunchy autumn leaves. It seems so unnatural.

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