[zorse]

A horse is a horse. Whether it's been on the track or not.
The small dirt tracks with irresponsible trainers will more-often turn out a sour, agitated horse. But then I'm not sure why someone would buy that anyways when there are so many up for grabs.
Everyone seems to think OTTBs are "crazy". They're not. The people on the track don't want to deal with a "crazy" horse anymore then you do.

[freedom32]

I've dealt with several OTTBs in the past, I worked at a TB farm that raced, and retrained before selling horses that didn't cut it on the track(what a novel idea eh?) I also have worked with a couple from other places. They can be a real challenge, you have to remember that you are teaching a horse to do pretty much everything opposite of the way he's learned. TB's tend to be hot-not a hard and fast rule, but it's the way they are bred. Usually they have good ground manners, that part of their life isn't any differant, they are bathed, clipped, hauled, bandaged, blanketed, tacked the same as any other horse, and they all have their own personalities, the same as any horse. Just remember to take things slow, baby steps!! For the most part it was a very rewarding experience, and it is always more rewarding if it's your own horse, not something you are training for sale. You can probably contact the Jockey Club for more information on adoption. Best of Luck!

[Jazzylea03]

Success Stories-

I have some of those-

I recently (beg. july) got two thoroughbred stallions that are ottbs! OMG they are the sweetest, most gorgeous boys I have in my feilds! They are so easy to work with, and dont forget respectful! They are literally kid safe, **** they are fly safe! I never in my life ever thought that I would find horses that were this awesome- especially- A: Thoroughbreds off the track B: Stallions!

And I didnt even have to pay an arm and a leg for them! I cant beleive that you can get quality and personality for nothing with an ottb! I beleive that I will stick with them for the rest of my life!!!

I have been able to ride them and they are so good- a few basics and your anywhere you want to be! They are so smart! They are used to the loud noise and constant moving around- unlike most horses!

All of my tbs would rather be with me than the rest of my herd- that says alot about them! They enjoy humans- I rarely see to many tbs that dont!

Any more questions, just ask!

[Blistering Winds]

Here is my take on OTTB's.

How was it handling them?

They handle like any other "RACING" Thoroughbred. They prance, they are excited when led, and are ready to GO GO GO at all times. You must know what you are doing when handling them or you can get hurt. There are a few exceptions, but the majority of the ones I've seen, they are still in a "racing" mentality.

Is it easy to retrain them?

Yes and no. Handling is easy to fix. Riding is where the hard part comes in. You must remember, they are use to contact when running. So that means, HAULING on their mouth to try to get them to whoa will be difficult and one of the hardest part about re-training. because they DON"T have much whoa period. Most are not trained to stop dead, so by asking for whoa and sitting back, they will slow down before ever stopping.

Also, arm movements. Many say...OH he's been abused by the whip, when the crop comes out and the horse sees it and runs. But that is not the case most of the time. Race horses are trained to go FASTER as the crop moves. NOT TOUCH them, but swings. Yes, they get a few pops, but they have an actual VISUAL cue with the crop. That is why you see the crop swing toward their face. Since MOST race horses get wacked on the rear.....it has nothing to do with "Force" but with a visual cue. If you watch, you will see them swing the crop forward and back a few times, and never touch the horse. Then in the backstretch, they will combine the visual with physcal to get that last bit of burst out of them. But again, not as much as many think, since there is a limit and a nasty fine to the jockey if they go over.

Do they learn quickly?

Depends. Each horse is different. Some will come around fast others it seems like forever before they understand a thing.

Do they bond good with people?

they bond just like any other horse. given time, the right setting, and the right personality, they can bond to the person just like any other horse.


Good luck deciding.

Personally, I feel OTTB's should be handled by people with experience because of the "re-wiring" of their brain and training skills.

[shell]

I have had 2 OTTB's and both were totally nuts! But, I got them from people who could not deal with them and then I didn't know what I was doing either. So, bad combonation all around. My TB stallion broke my nose rearing up while I was ridding him and so he was sold ASAP to a horse dealer. His name was Aerial Time. The mare was completly nuts and I was only able to ride her a few times. Could not tie her, could not keep her in the fence, couild not trim her feet. She was a handful. I gave her to a very experienced cross country instructor. She worked Mystic through her problems and competed her eventually.

[Xiphias]

My mare was OTTB too, but I did not get her untill she was 9, she raced untill 3 and was bred, the people that the dealer got her from got her after she was a brood mare, and rode for a year, and lost interest, the dealer I got her from was longeing and riding her on a regular basis, she hacked in the ring and picked up her leads, like a pleasure horse, she went out on the road around mailboxes, cars, and barking dogs with ease, the only problem was when I rode her in company, as soon as she left the hard road for the grass, she thought it was time to race, I know she needs more consistant work, and as the weather cools down , we will continue her retraining, to be a driving horse, wish me luck, she needs a different kind of job... most of the ottb's gotten from the track as 3 to 4 year olds, can most likely be retrained, you got to start them all over again like they are babies...Cathy

[EquineAddict]

I used to work at a racing farm with my friend in exchange for my friends board. My friend had a 17hh bay Thoroughbred gelding that everybody called "Psycho". He basically was. He was head shy, scared of just about everything, and of course, off the track. My friend was extremely green. She had only ridden some old cow horses here and there. She gave Brian (Psycho) about 1 1/2 to 2 years off, just turn out, and basic roundpenning. Then she decided she would ride him. It wasn't pleasant at all, she fell, he freaked. I decided that I couldn't let Brian go on thinking every ride was going to be like that, he's only 7 and had way to much potential. So I got on him. "Psycho" was lazy. All it took was when on the ground I would walk him, stop, walk him, stop and say Whoah each time. Still on the ground I would do a lot of bit work and got him used to stopping to pressure. When I got on him all I did was walk and a lot of repeated stopping. He was very good. I never felt a bit of "psycoticness" in him. The 19 year old I lease has more energy then he did.

So basically what i'm saying is, all OTTB's really need is at least a year off, patience, trust, and REPETITION! Thats the most important thing. TB's are kind of 'hard heads' and you really need to show them what they need to do a few times before asking them.

Here's Brian's ad, since I'm not working with her I guess she decided to sell him:
http://www.equinehits.com/horses-for...az__64023.html
Thats her riding him.

Hope i helped!

[Lucky Duck]

I have an OTTB... just got him last week and he is my second.

Both of my OTTBs handled about the same... in new situations, they can be strong... want to run. Once they settle in and get used to everything, they aren't too bad. My two have both been easy to catch and stand great for grooming, vet, farrier... and both loaded well.

As far as retraining, it depends on the horse and the situation... some horses learn faster than others. Horses raised on a 'family farm' may have had different experiences... My new boy was raised on a small family farm and is pretty good about riding. He does need to be lunged first because he bucks, but once you are on him he is fine... actually has a great headset and is a nice ride.

All-in-all, OTTBs are hotter horses and IMO, need more experienced owners/handlers/riders.

[willodean]

Rummy is an OTTB. He is pretty calm and when he spooks at things, it's not much of a spook. I think a good thing about getting an OTTB is that they''ve already been bathed, had their feet done, clipped. So, you really don't have to work on that (well, in Rummy's case anyway) I do suggest though that if you haven't been riding long that you look into something else. They're taught to run, run, run, and sometimes that can be hard to work with. We have some OTTB's that just flip out at everything. I think Rummy was an exception b/c he's so lazy. I have noticed though that any time we trailer him to go out on a trail ride, he thinks he's going to a race and gets pretty nervos. After we arrive and I walk him though, he's fine. Good luck on your search!

[Cool Time 84]

Ive had both good and bad experiences with OTTB's... if they are well cared for and treated well while racing generally they'll be calmer and easier to handle... some stables are abusive though and the grooms are rough on the horses, causing them to have severe trust issues (I also worked at a race track).

Retraining depends on the individual... but its not generally advisable for the newer horse person to buy one, unless it's already been retrained.