Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Dyane:

 

When you say "rehabbed race horses", do you mean any horse off the race track and retrained for another discipline or are you talking about broken down horses off the track. 

 

My first mare was an older (20+) OTT Standardbred when I got her.  She did have some front end lameness issues.  However, after reconditioning her and rebalancing her (whomever had her before me rode heavy on her right side, which had some issues from racing for a long time), she was sound again.  She did 15 - 20 mile pleasure rides, moving along, and was sound the rest of her life.

 

I have a coming 15 y.o. OTT Standardbred.  He raced until he was 9, not broke to saddle before coming to me.  Came off the track sound and was immediately put into a conditioning/training program for CTR/endurance.  He was sound when I bought him, he is still sound now.  He was hooked in harness and started training for racing as a yearling.

 

My new mare is coming 6, OTT Standardbred (do you see a theme here?) at 4.  Gave her 6 months to become a horse again, then broke her to saddle at 5 and started saddle training. She was also broke to harness as a yearling and started her race training at that time.  She will do her first CTR this year, probably later in the season (September?) after doing early season trail rides, hunter paces and other conditioning work.  She was also sound coming off the track.

 

Do I worry about these guys breaking down?  Not really.  When I buy a Standardbred off the track for this sport, I have an extensive vet check done to see if there is any damage done to them as a result of the racing.  The vet who did the prepurchase on my 15 y.o. asked the owner (she came for the prepurchase exam) if he really raced.  He had very clean x-rays.  And I had him vetted by an endurance vet.

 

I think a big difference with Standardbreds vs. Thoroughbreds is that Standardbreds carry no weight on their backs when they are racing.

 

I can't speak to the averages.  I can only speak to my weighted averages, which I weight in my favor by doing my homework on the horse and then having a vet check to make sure.

 

Carolyn Burgess

Dyane Smith <sunibey@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Is anyone familiar with the longevity of rehabbed race horses (typically
started very young under saddle)? Obviously, there would be a range, but
does anyone know how it averages out?

Dyane (whose youngest colt looked like a foal until he was 9 and then
somewhere around 12-13 years, grew to be a very respectable 14-2.)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Juli Jakub"
To:
Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2006 8:45 AM
Subject: Re: [RC] [RC] EN Article - Lysanne & Cindy


> I agree the trend is changing, but I disagree that alot of the top event
> competitors do not break and train early. I was a working student for a
few
> of them and I was up and on the two year olds...I do admit however these
> were often horses they sold to other eventers, not the ones they kept for
> themselves. I have been out of it for a while and I hope that people have
> changed certainly, but I competed extensively with my TB and we were most
> often competeing against horses the same age. When I was a young rider
> competeing we were all on young horses practically. Every show I went to
> alot of the other young adults I met were riding 4,5,6 year olds. Someone
> was teaching us that it was okay and often it was high level competitors
as
> alot of us were working students for big names. That is alot of people
> riding young horses...mostly ones dreaming of Olympic Glory. Dressage
riders
> however are very slow with their youngsters....Good for Them!! People
often
> picked on them for it!! I shake my head at my ignorance now...but I was
> young and foolish with big dreams and it never occured to me that what my
> trainers told me might be wrong...but I still take full responsibility. I
> remember one well known trainer looking at a horse with me and telling me
it
> was too old!!! She wanted me on something younger so we would have a
longer
> career together competeing!!
> Juli
>
>

>

Juli Jakub

>

The Air of Heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears.

>

~ arabian proverb

>
>
>
>
> >From: SandyDSA@xxxxxxx
> >To: KimFue@xxxxxxx, ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >Subject: Re: [RC] EN Article - Lysanne & Cindy
> >Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2006 11:31:23 EST
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >In the past, having ridden, trained and competed numerous breeds in both
> >dressage and working over fences, it is less and less common to see 4
years
> >old
> >being competed, and the ones I do see don't last long.
>
>
>
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