I have had thoroughbreds who have been on the track at some point, but I have never bought one directly off the track. Should I ask the same questions I normally would? How should I handle this process? Experiences?
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this book Beyond the Track has good information.
You need to find out exactly what they’ve been eating, how much, and how often. It will help with settling into the new home if you can gradually taper them off the huge amounts of the exact feed instead of suddenly cutting them off. You should also go into it knowing what kind of wear and tear is acceptable to you, and what isn’t as they tend to have race-specific injuries that aren’t necessarily what we tend to see in h/j land. I would look at his race record as well, has he had a lot of unexplained time off? Or has he been racing steadily and the times are just gradually dropping off (if they were ever at the sharp end to begin with)?
x2 on darkhorsecj’s suggestion.
Read their equibase page (workouts, race record, etc.) Yes, a long layoff can be questionable–or it might not be (looking at the track locations can help there. Not everyone races their horses all year.) Ask the trainer how the horse is in the morning–I really liked hearing that gallopers liked working Lucky because that meant he was not a nut job where they felt like they were taking their lives in their hands getting on him. How long has he been in their barn?
The average race trainer is not going to know how a horse jumps or about the sort of gaits the hunters want as those aren’t important for a racehorse.
Try to get to know the horse’s breeders. Are they enthusiastic, kind, or careless and in it for the money? Make sure the horse is used to being handled kindly… I’ve known OTTBs that were beat around by grooms and such, so they were very cautious and head-shy. Make sure the horse is comfortable with you feeling all around his head, ears, legs, over the withers, etc. You can get a good horse that has had a traumatic past, but the re-habilitation will take patience, skill, and lots of time (it can be years!). If I were you, I’d ask around to find out the best breeders, and then get the horse from the breeder once it has been retired from the track.
Also do some research on bloodlines. I wouldn’t use that as a deciding factor since obviously every horse is different, but rather just another source of information on the horse. For example, I was looking at an Artax baby and everyone on here who had one raved about how easy they were. Definitely factored in to my decision and turned out to be true.
I think it also helps bringing a second set of eyes. I went with my trainer so that I wouldn’t fall in love with the first one I saw. We ended up seeing quite a few horses that day. Also what helped me was writing a wish list up before I went. A must have, great to have, awesome if they came with but not required. This helped me rule out the horses that were very nice to look at but there personalities were horrible and not a horse that I could handle as an amateur. Also include in that list faults that your willing to deal with and ones your not. I was okay with bad feet and my horse is built slightly down hill, but I did not want a stall weaver, a cribber, and no kicking or biting either. I also wanted a horse that I could touch every where. And I literally was feeling horses up and down seeing how they were. I wanted to see the horses in the stalls and not on hot walkers. I ended up going in my horses stall with him, put his blanket on, picked up his feet, and touched him every where.
Ironically, he was the worst behaved on the track, but he came right back and mellowed out after he bucked on the lead rope during his trot up and down the isle to see him move.
Also, my horse was supposedly a roarer, so I got a fabulous price on him, turns out he was preventatively treated when he was two but has never roared.
Sorry, last thing. Make sure you are serious about buying an off the track horse when you call the trainers up to look at a horse. Most trainers are great and they are spending their personal time with you and not showing up or just going to kick tires does not help get more thoroughbreds a home after track life. I know several of the horses I went to look at had many people calling to arrange appointments to see the horses but only some of them actually showed. I only called to make arrangements when I knew I was ready to buy one off the track.
If I can, I ask as many questions as I can about the horse’s “story.” From who bred it, where it was bought/sold, why it wasn’t more successful at the track, what it’s personality is like, if it has any quirks, if it has any vices or bad habits, if it had any injuries or had to have any time off, when it was gelded, how its feet are, etc. I am very wary of any reference to injuries even if they are glossed over as “no big deal.” Some racehorse people are very anxious to place their horses in new homes and/or don’t recognize that life as a jumper or hunter requires a fairly sound horse. I also take estimates of a horse’s temperament/hotness with a grain of salt. A quiet racehorse is very different from a quiet show horse. It’s a totally different scale.
But, that having been said, some of the best prospects I’ve gotten off the track I bought with very little information. I often just show up with a trailer and if I like what I see I bring it home. I’m not afraid to come home with an empty trailer, though.
Be serious, polite and professional. Be picky. If a horse isn’t what you are looking for, thank the trainer and tell them what you ARE looking for and leave your phone number. The more contacts you have the better.
Some things to consider…
When buying from the trainer, you are buying a horse he was not successful with…so if he/she is off hand and less than attentive…consider that this horse is a dissapointment to him.
Be wary of horses laughingly refered to as “Baby Huey” or as accident prone. I learned those “quiet” horses are often neurologically compromised. If they have actually made it to a race or two unsuccessfully, the trainer might suspect that there is something wrong, but will just say something like, “He’s the quietest thing in the barn.”
Practice flexing a horse’s ankles in front until you get a feel as to what is normal flexion…the horse’s foot should go pretty close to his ankle when flexed . If you can practice on several horses in your barn, or friends horses, you will get a feel for what is normal. If he flinches, beware. And if he can not be flexed much, you need to know if your job for the horse can be done with that restriction.
Another thing I learned is, if you have to talk yourself into liking a horse, walk away. Our inner instincts tell us more than we give them credit for. I talked myself into buying a pretty big grey filly that was “hitchy” behind…two years later she was still hitchy behind and not the star I had hoped!!
Talk to the grooms and the exercise riders, if you get a chance. The grooms and the exercise riders will tell you about that horse’s personality and how it is to ride, more so than the trainers will. Show up early enough to watch it put a workout in. How that horse approaches training will tell you a LOT about its attitude towards work - is it practically inverted, with its head cranked sideways because its uncontrollable, or is it easy to trot and gallop out?
If you have a CANTER organization or something similar to that in your area, I highly recommend going through them, or at least talking to their regular volunteers. They often know the trainers who are honest and take care of their horses, and the ones to stay away from, no matter how much you love a particular horse. Good luck!
So, is he (she) fast?!?!?!?
Basically ask any questions about soundness and general trainability that you can think of… and realize that they are not answering the questions from the same perspective that you would get from a hunter trainer… same goes for comments from the exercise riders… I’m convinced that most exercise riders are not quite right in the head… the horse that they love to ride is probably the one that is reasonably rideable but FAST and loves to run, while the one they all hate to ride is the big lopey dopey one that they have to really push along… so, the horse they LOVE might not be the horse that you will love… Also realize that “quiet” is a relative term and may or may not be accurate from your point of view.
Another thing to remember is that trainers at the track are not accustom to buyers that want to spend hours looking at a horse… they will quickly loose patience if you want to stand around and quiz them about every detail. Be ready to look at the horse for a few minutes and make a decision. Generally they are busy, they have been up since before sunset and they aren’t getting paid by the owners to show you the horse.
[QUOTE=fourmares;7021393]
I’m convinced that most exercise riders are not quite right in the head… the horse that they love to ride is probably the one that is reasonably rideable but FAST and loves to run, while the one they all hate to ride is the big lopey dopey one that they have to really push along… so, the horse they LOVE might not be the horse that you will love… .[/QUOTE]
Ehhhh…“rideable” is more important. Whether the horse is fast or slow, the ones most gallopers like are the ones who are rateable and aren’t inclined to do something stupid like lose their mind if someone comes up on them from behind or who can’t stand still or jog quietly if asked. Of course a quick one is more fun to ride but not if it means you’re going to end up with a set of broken ribs after he gets away from you and jumps the rail.
seastar941…uh, have you ever bought a racehorse? The breeders may not even remember the horse (Lucky’s breeder was DEAD long before I bought him and in any case, while his heirs had raced him, was two or three owners back.) They won’t in 99.99% of the cases have anything to do with it after it’s done racing because they haven’t owned it for years. Most racehorses being sold to non-racing homes are going because they’re either geldings who have no further purpose (can’t be bred, aren’t suitable or can’t be kept as a pony, etc) or mares who aren’t worth breeding. A lot of them at tracks like Finger Lakes and Charles Town belong to small-scale trainers directly, who don’t have a farm to keep them at and don’t have a place for horses who aren’t working any more.
Buying off the track is completely different than buying something restarted. You are looking at raw material and a track trainer might have an idea of what we thing a “good mover” is, but some will tell you that Bobby is a good mover, look at how high he steps (observe the cart horse knee action lol).
So some quick tips:
-Be ready to buy or make an offer.
-Don’t waste a lot of time. Handle the horse, see how he moves, is he sane, etc. It’s very unlikely you’ll get to see him jump or do anything that you would normally try on a restarted horse.
-Make sure he is sound for the job you a looking for, the right height, and easy to handle.
