Theraputic riding
We just got a OTTSTB at a handicapped riding program. WHAT A DEAR HORSE!!! During his first week a child ended up underneath him while mounting. He simply looked between his legs and sighed and never moved a muscle.
He is pacer but has a lovely forward even trot that is wonderful for my kids to learn on.
I want more like him
I thought my otstb was a pleasure to drive! Not for a beginner perhaps but I had great fun with him.
Op, if you are a beginner rider/driver you would want to find someone that can retrain your horse. Retraining any race horse is not a beginner task and even though stbs tend to be very gentle if they were raced they know what they are supposed to do when harnessed.
I used my horse for trail driving and I have a bit of a need for speed so we got along great. The plus of a race horse is getting a horse that is accustomed to traffic and man made noises. The down side is they can have a lot of go!
I rode my horse as well and used a different bit for riding. I described riding Ace as strapping your self to a rocket! But I could put a child on him and he would tip toe. Stbs are great horses and you may be able to find one that has been retrained for you with out great cost. But don’t get one fresh from the track unless you have help.
[QUOTE=SuperSTB;3413441]
My mare has been doing very well with the cart. We go out almost every day. She is definetly more forward in the cart then under saddle but she is much better in harness than under saddle.
The other standardbred mare… well we don’t know what to do with her so we might put her back in harness as well.[/QUOTE]
We started ground driving this mare. The cart is a bit snug so until we purchase one bigger were sticking to ground driving and exercises.
I have however ponied her off the cart- just like was done with her at the track. In talking with her previous (and only other owner) she wasn’t much for the track- raced in MA and NH briefly. She looks very non-stb and very warmblood.
Once that harness is on her- she’s serious but subdued. She is attuned to every voice command. Absolutely amazing- but she loves the harness. She also loves to go out under saddle when someone is driving the other mare. They can get into some serious speed quickly but respond very well to easing up back into the walk.
I wish I had a track nearby- there’s a flat wide packed dirt path just about 1/2 mile that we can trot down. We do a quick short trot and that’s fast enough for mind and equipt!
OTSTBs are very popular here…actually, there may be a whole bunch hitting the market shortly (Alberta) as one of the major tracks just closed.
I rode a former pacer on trails once. The owners had decided to give up on getting the horse to trot an canter and just enjoy her gaits the way they were 
It was a fun ride! Sweet horse, not afraid of anything, and lots of get-up-and go.
I have met a few others re-trained under saddle. It usually didn’t take much to get them from ground-driving to under-saddle…generally very trainable with sweet dispositions.
Of course it is a horse-by-horse thing, but in this area there are probably as many OTSTBs as OTTBs…and I hear more good about OTSTBs than bad. Often you get surprised at a show to learn that a horse you thought was a WB or Sporthorse is an off-track standardbred!
That’s all from a riding perspective, though, hopefully that helps a little.
I am a die-hard STB fan. My gelding is the best horse in the world.
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