Jenerationanx, I’d buy him if I could. I’d vet and buy off the pictures and video. I think he is seriously NICE. But I wouldn’t buy without a vetting… I’d take a chance on everything else based on the photos, the video, and the race record. He seems to be a war horse like my present thoroughbred, who raced 47 times.
I have two… always happy to share updates… :encouragement:
Both are eventers. One was listed on FLF, the other went from FLF to Second Chance and was rehabbed there.
Technically, I have had… five that have had their last race[s] at FL and came from NY… but not all of them came through FLF. My best, most athletic horse (Watral’s Nat Star) came from Finger Lakes.
Still surprised to see some of the horses unplaced!! Lots of really nice horses, and I still really like that Dixie Union filly…
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I was surprised too! I had breathed a sigh of relief that I’d made it through end of meet without an impulse buy but several of my faves are still listed as available.
@beowulf It doesn’t even have to be a FLF horse. I think I just have a fascination for seeing horses come from the track (or the mustang round ups, those makeovers are fun) and do something else and see how their potential pans out.
Do you think OTTBs are easy to transition to eventing? I would think their exposure to crowds and things on the track would put them at an advantage over another youngster.
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Maybe we need a “Where Are They Now?” thread for our racing graduates onto second careers? I would love to see something like that, as I often wonder myself how horses that caught my eye are doing!
Every horse is an individual but yes, all of the TBs I’ve gotten from the track have taken to eventing (that is my primary discipline). To me LL eventing is easy for most TBs, it comes down to whether they want to play the game, and how sound their track career leaves them.
I am the furthest thing from an UL rider for the record: I’m an amateur rider that picks prospects based on my own needs and type. I usually give them the winter off (I get them in the fall) and then just start riding them around the farm in spring. Across the board they have all transitioned easily to jumping, not a single one of them couldn’t jump around a Training level course - and not all of them were what I would call “athletic”.
Some have better than others in the sandbox, with almost all of them struggling with letting go of that tension, and truly moving over their back. All of the (OT)TBs I have gotten, have come off of the track already knowing W/T/C and steering. It was just a matter of teaching them to learn to carry themselves and balance themselves in a ring, vs out on flat ground or over terrain.
Most OTTBs that come off of the track already having a great handle on traveling, going to new places, hacking out alone or in company, and handling noise and a big atmosphere… so to them going from track horse to show horse is quite easy. These skill[s] we expect in show horses they generally will have: bathing, clipping, traveling, tolerating stalling, etc. This is not a testament to my “training program”, but a testament to how worldly a well-raced TB is – all of my TBs have transitioned seamlessly from “track environment” to “show environment”. I’ve never had to do any “extra work” to make them well behaved or settled at shows… YMMV.
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Oh, where?? I’m not on Facebook; I didn’t see them on the FLF website.
I don’t have a good eye; Chump Change just reminds me of my old mare and she seems like an honest soul.
I DO NOT NEED ANOTHER HORSE
I DO NOT NEED ANOTHER HORSE
I DO NOT NEED ANOTHER HORSE
(but I keep going back and looking at her… HELP!)
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What does everyone think of Queen Diva? She has a kind expression in a plain orange wrapper and her video is much more appealing than her pictures. Ok someone pick her apart so I don’t end up with horse #5 😣
ETA: Does anyone has experience purchasing directly through track? Would need some hand holding to pull the trigger if I found a good fit. Obviously PPE and shipping but how does every get arranged?
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I bought a horse from Fingerlakes last fall. He was listed by Fingerlakes Finest. I spoke with FLF volunteers about a few, and then contacted the trainer contacts in the FLF listings of the horses I was interested in. A normal person would then go to the track to meet the horses, but I did not. I vetted at least one that didn’t pass before vetting the one I did. FLF has a very helpful FAQ on their website and FB page. This was my first time buying a horse straight off the track, and it was almost as easy as buying paper towels on Amazon, lol.
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@bip this has to be my favourite quote of 2019.
@Where’sMyWhite you are a shameless enabler!! LOL!!
@City Ponies Queen Diva is adorable!! I like her too, but I’m inexplicably drawn to teeny-weeny horses ATM.
Do I go for #4? Not quite a six-pack so that means I’m not crazy, right? …RIGHT?!
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When I did it a few years back, I looked at the listings in advance. When I went to the track, I got there first thing in the morning and looked at the one that interested me the most first. Then I looked at the others on my list of potentials and compared them to that first one. I decided I liked the first one the best, arranged for a basic PPE, and took him home that day. The people who list the horses were super helpful and friendly, and I think they were the ones who gave me the name of the vet. Probably the hardest thing to do is go there with a trailer and leave with just one horse. Lol.
Especially by this time of the season, I would think everybody there should be pretty flexible at this point if they still have a horse on the property.
Good luck! ðŸ€
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What did you vet for? I expect they will have some amount of soreness from running, maybe not. I’m used to sporthorse PPE. Do you go in with the same mentality, flex then xray? Or straight jog to x-rays?
I wouldn’t be able to go see a horse in person so buying through channels and shipping. Which I’ve done several times before just on QH or WB with less mileage. Of course I would utilize FLF volunteer to help with coordination’s.
Technically this is equine #7 🤦, but one is out on long term lease, two are ponies, one is my retired jumper, one is my husband’s (and he foot’s for bills), and my only actual riding horse is a 4 yr old OTTB who has been off track for 2 years but he is going to be a very slow developer, he’s gangly and growing still. So I do technically have time to ride 2 😆
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You know, I went into the process thinking I would x-ray everything, but for the one I bought, I’m not sure I ended up doing any x-rays. He was 3 and had only raced 2x. He was slow, so I had him scoped to check his breathing. Maybe that was silly. He turned out to be super-sound.
I needed to wear ‘this’ Tshirt :lol: and add a line below that says
WELL HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT FOR THE DAMN THING?
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:rolleyes: See my other post… Amen to this! It’s like puppies and they all need good homes. So heartbreaking…
I had quite a collection for awhile …. it did immensely add to my daughters educations! Who? will the next one be and figuring them out. I adored all the personalities. I learned a lot!
Now at the end of my prime I miss this A LOT. Carry on kids!!
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Somebody please get Millymillybobilly and then tell me how wonderful she is and how I missed out!
Well Queen Diva has already been placed just not updated on the site. Guess I’ll keep my eyes open for one that catches it 😉. I’ve also already been approved for New Vocations but was hoping to get something with clean-ish legs for something that could do the 1m jumpers. Waiting for that right baby to speak to me 🥰
I wonder if a lot of them are placed and word just hasn’t gotten back to the FLF volunteers yet.
i KNOW! i love her…sigh…
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Possible as the track is closed and the horses are at private farms or other tracks.
