I have a brand new OTTB. Just ran on Wednesday. Very fit. I have purchased him and now he is at a boarding facility in the PNW. I have access to a very large indoor and an all weather outdoor as well as a covered round pen (deep and somewhat wet footing). He is in a 12 x 12 stall with a 20 ft. run. I have never gotten one this fresh off of the track and want to make sure he doesn’t get injured and I can give him a good introduction to his new life. Acknowledging that every horse is an individual, does anybody have a schedule that they follow with these guys? My thoughts are to start him out with just handwalking 30 minutes a day or so and then eventually let him have some liberty time in the arena and then introduce him to the lunge. I don’t want him to kill himself in the arena the first time I let him have some liberty. Thoughts? Ideas?
I always let my horses who were still racing have liberty time on Sundays and a few days post race in a round pen, small paddock or a larger paddock if they were pretty sane. The roundpen is especially beneficial in letting them do some self chiro. and it is much safer for you than handwalking a dead fit horse unless you have a safe place to do it. it really depends on the individual. Congratulations, glad you got your guy. The Sadler’s wells are such a nice line
I wouldn’t cut him loose in the indoor until you establish that you can catch him. I claimed a mare one night out of the first and cooled her out, then turned her loose in a stall to urinate. Couldn’t get her caught until the last. She had extremely well aimed heels
Very timely post, thanks fibbermaggee! I just got a new boy off the track this past week and my plan was to give him a month off and then see where he is mentally and physically. I do board mine as well and I started mine off in our outdoor for a couple of days, for about an hour, after the other horses were brought in to lessen the excitement and then started turning him out everyday. I found him firmly entrenched in his hay manger in the field this morning! The excitement is apparently already gone for him, or he is so food motivated that it trumps everything else! I didn’t think to really do much with mine as he needs to decompress and learn more about his new home and other inhabitants(like my BO’s cows and mini donkey!), so I thought a month of nothing would be best for him. Am I being too conservative?
FWIW, the barn that I board at does A LOT of lay ups from the local harness track. They go right out…
Hand walking is basically stall rest. You think the horse is fresh now, wait until a few weeks of that! Put him out whenever and wherever possible. The more the merrier.
OK…so tomorrow
In the indoor for some liberty time? I can usually have it to myself in the morning for about an hour. I just didn’t want him to run crazy and crash. Of course it is nice and big and there is good footing! There is no long term turnout in this part of the country in the winter…unless you are sacrificing an area of pasture at your place and you have sane and mellow horses ( which I do at home and have three of them in a large turnout for long periods…but it is slick and muddy!)
The indoor sounds perfect. Don’t watch for the first five minutes! He’ll be fine assuming he has no injuries to exacerbate. Congrats!
Thanks Laurierace! Will take your advice (especially about closing my eyes!) Will let you know how it’s going tomorrow!
Good grief they are horses. I bring mine home from the track for a break and just turn them out. Maybe a little ace, depending on the individual. You would be shocked to learn that we treat racehorses just like normal horses, the problem being that there is no where to turn out at most tracks. Mine play on the walker every morning. I don’t watch, but they don’t get hurt, and they don’t pull the walker over (very often anyway:rolleyes:Thanks for getting a X racehorse, you will enjoy him.
While you are NOT at the barn with your new pony, Kimberly Clark at Leighton Farms has written a nice guide for OTTB retraining.
We kept Lucky in a stall that opened directly into a small paddock the first few weeks. (He probably wishes he could go back there. Between Trudy in one pasture and Vandy in the other he’s going to develop a phobia of redheaded mares.) Enough room he could move (bigger than 20’) and he could come in if he wanted. It also gave him some time to adjust to being able to run around. If you have an indoor with nothing he can crash into, I’d try that.
In Lucky’s case it also meant he could escape the Strange White Cold Powder That Falls From The Sky, too. (He moved in Michigan in December and I gather he’d never wintered north of Florida before. Snow was an interesting new experience–he had to be hand-walked into the stall the first time he saw it.)
Polos and bell boots are your friend when first turning a fresh horse out. An ace pill can help too! I also agree on turn out in a small space, or the indoor over hand walking. Try to keep him on a schedule, as that is what he’s used too. Don’t cut down on his feed to quickly, just start changing it up slowly.
I put my fellow out in a smaller, but outside paddock the day he came home from the track. There were some snorts and tail flags and some exuberant trots and canters but he was too much of a wise soul to put himself in danger. He spent most of his time standing still and staring off into the distance at the countryside!
Within a few days of single turnout he was out with the resident geldings. Easy peasy.
Ive brought 4 horses home from the racetrack in the past 6 weeks, and they went right in a small paddock. If you keep a fit racehorse in a stall without the daily training they are used to, you’re in for trouble. Get them out as soon as you can, in a safe small paddock. Some will buck and fart and run and some will just stand there, roll, and look for their hay.
Get him out of that stall, pronto. Make sure his back shoes are pulled, first.
Congratulation on your new fellow. If he raced last Wednesday, he would have walked 3 days…th/f/s/ and most likely off Sunday too. Monday and Tuesday probably just jogged.
I would skip the lunge line. Im sure you can find all the COTH posts of those who did and sored their horses -- tbs are used to be open, straight line training.
The advice for an Ace pill (or two if you are more comfortable) is worthy. When a new horse comes in we continue their program as they know it, making changes daily; always ending each training session with a little trail ride (they are virtually bombproof you know).
They are used to tying to the wall for grooming and tacking, just mounting a rider – walking to the track for training – and walking home afterwards. Remember that walk to the track is wide open area, passing chaos everywhere :lol::lol:, so Im sure your new barn is mild in comparison.
We start with just transisiton work/ and cavaletti's into some low x-rails (until their stifles strengthen for more height).
Sessions are short with a trail ride that gets longer each time.
I now have three OTTBs. It has been my experience that there is no set formula - you have to go by the individual and their temperament and condition of mind and feet and body. My most recent one just came off the track in early December one day after his last race. On his first day at the new farm we hand walked him in the indoor to let him stretch his legs after the trailer ride and to start to check out his new home. On the second day we turned him out in the indoor, where he just trotted around and explored; third day turned out in the indoor he bucked and farted just a bit then settled right down; by the third day after his last race we were riding him. He got introduced to one of the geldings from his eventual turn out group in the indoor during his first week at his new home, and then after one week he went right out in to the group where he settled right in. The one week wait was to make sure he didn’t come with any nasty little bugs. I put him on cross ties right away, and he was fine. His temperament is super laid back and quiet, and he has taken everything in stride.
My second OTTB came off the track this past September, about three weeks after her last race, and in the interval since her last race she had just been on the automatic walker at the track. At the farm we put her right out in a round pen, kept her there for three days for her little quarantine period, then introduced her to some of her turn out companions in the indoor and once it was evident that they would get along out she went. She adapted to turn out easily, and mostly just eats her grass, but joins in the playing and running around. As soon as we got her feet well trimmed and reshod we started lunging her and were riding her two weeks after she arrived at hernew home. She also went on cross ties right away. Her temperament is inquisitive but easy going, slightly tense at first under saddle but starting to figure out how to relax and go slow.
My third OTTB came off the track in November of 2010, 6 weeks after his last race, and had only been hand walked around the shed row since his last race, with all shoes pulled. We turned him out on his second day at the farm in a small paddock by himself, with some ace, since his temperament is much more hot than my other two. Turns out he hates to be alone, so he freaked out. He got a bit more ace for a few days, and did accept being alone in the small paddock. We introduced him to some of the horses from his eventual turn out group in the indoor arena, so he could identify his buddy. Once we saw that he had a buddy, he went out into the group, and once he got into his group he has been just fine with turn out. He, too, went right onto cross ties, and was fine with them right away.
With this last guy – actually the first horse I got right off the track – I had decided initially to give him a few months off to just be a horse. So I didn’t start him on any work for three months, until February, and that was lunging and ground work. In hindsight, I think I waited too long – OTTBs are used to working and they like having a job, and so long as they are sound, they seem happiest when they have something to do and learn. The transition from racehorse to new career has gone smoother and faster with the two that we started riding and working with right away in addition to the turn out.
So my advice is: don’t have a set schedule that you make the horse fit into – adapt to the individual horse; but do try to get them integrated into turnout as soon as possible, and don’t be too cautious about starting the retraining process.
And thanks for choosing an OTTB!
I tend to do exactly as Laurierace and Flypony do, always pulling hind shoes. If I bring two home at a time they go out together even if they’re strangers to each other.
One thing to mention is to keep their feed high because their metabolisms are still very tuned and they’ll need calories even though they may not be in work.
First day went fine…
I took some advice and aced him for the first turn-out. Just enough to take the edge off. He did fine in the indoor, bucked around a little, cantered a little, mostly trotted around. Then I just decided to ride him. I rode him at the walk for about 20 minutes in all the arenas and all around the property. The only time he offered to get frisky was when passing a paddock with other friskies running around! He was great…unfortunately, I am working the next two days so he will not get worked. He has a stall with a run on it. Hopefully he will not be to stir crazy!
Great news. (and smarts for the Ace)!
If you cant ride/work him…would you be free to just handwalk him about 20minutes? (That would resemble his old track routine).
Your TB or any tb coming off the track is used to a lot of people contact. Grooms fussing over them for 6hrs a day, maybe not 6hr individual time, but I dont know a groom that doesnt talk to his string all day -- fussing at feed time --- that good personal attention rubbing and doing up. Peppermint handouts, a quick pat.
Even if you just handwalk in the arena, or an area outside -- then tie to the wall for quick hoof picking, adjust his blanket, throw a brush through is mane and tail to get out the straw....
and chatter your hello’s and miss you’s.
I know I sound a bit sentimental but your tb will understand you much better (if you cant make it, trust me, he wont hold it against you either – he’ll adjust and be all that much more happy to see you next time).
I have one in my racing string who rears, shakes his head, stomps down both front feet at his door, looks just scarey when he says hello each morning! Soon as his halter is on, he settles -- his day now begins.
We are lucky to have a covered eurocizer, so our retrains go on that while doing stalls -- at a walk! then tuned up to just barely trot so they have to catch up to it, simulating, walk/trot transisition to build those muscles and also, learn on their own how easy this first transition really is. I was glad to hear you just walked 20minutes, you'll know when to add some trotting and your horse will let you know when its time to transition up further. Slow is the keyword, he learns quickly and EVERYTHING you are teaching him now is gold in his mind.
TB routine has a motto : same thing, same way, each day.
We get on ours immediately. These horses are used to a work schedule and thrive on it. We also turn them out in a 20 acre pasture within 48 hours of arrival from the track. I have never let one have a month of downtime. Granted, they may be a little fresh at first but I’ve never had one that just came apart! Last Saturday I got on one we got in the previous Monday, and he had raced the day before, so he had raced a week before I rode him. He stood to be mounted, walked around on a loose rein and stood for dismounting. He is turned out all day with his race-mate (we rode him too, a bit more “up” but still not a problem). It has been my experience that the let-down works best in the form of turnout, not in NOT riding. Good luck with your horse - OTTBS are just the best!
