TB owners?.. not TBs but appys and they are home! update 4/11 NEW PICS

[bufforp89]

I am considering adopting 2 TBs and was wondering about their temperments...I have always heard that they are flighty and high strung...true? The pair I am considering are 5 and 6 year old geldings and are described as super easy going gentlemen.

I have worked at a show/training barn for about a year and 6 months now and have had experience dealing with all different types of horses...I have handled broodmares and babies, yearlings, 2 year olds, well behaved stallions and 2 and 3 year old race horses getting ready for the track....all quarter horses though....

So are they as flighty as they say?

Obviously all horses can have their moments and I am prepared to deal with that but dont want to end up with horses that scare super easy or are always on alert..

 

[babyblue]

most horses pulled directly off the track are in their most physically fit shape of their life. go from that to only turn out or even stall rest for injury's and you've got one full of them self horse. time, patience and exercise does wonders for this. personality wise yes they have a tendency to be more alert, agile, bold and ready to go. thats what they are breed for. however track horses dont always have the best ground training, as long as they can run fast and turn left thats all some know how to do. sometimes they are abused or handled very very roughly. in a horse like a tb that can turn them spazzy and skittish or in a few cases nasty. granted if I was sore, tired and got beat frequently Id bite and kick if I got the chance too.

track horses need time to rest and decompress a bit before jumping into heavy under saddle training IMO. this is a very good time to work on ground work. leading, grooming, trailering, good manors being lunged or handled around other horses. a very good time to acclimate them to things they have never seen before. my sisters Tb never saw a cart before she got him, same horse never saw a mini horse either. was freakin hysterical to watch this enormous 17+ at the withers 1300+ pound bright red horse cowered and shaking in fear because what at first glance he assumed was a dog was in fact a very tiny, loud mini stallion.

also like any horse each individual in the breed has its own personality. my sisters tb was quite literally a big loving goof with the mind set of a puppy. however people were terrified of him because of his size. the worst thing my sister had to work on was getting him to realize he was a horse, not a pet like a puppy and open spaces. poor guy had actually never been in an open pasture or field, at least not in so many years that trail rides were torment for him for years.


if you like these guys, if you have the time and patience to work with them go ahead and get them. you could turn them into really nice horses. do however make sure they are sound. even if the vet check gets expensive track horses have so so much more potentional for injurys then a pleasure horse and Id hate to see you get so much time and work invested in a horse that endeds up as a pasture ornament.

 

[key west chick]

My only experience was with DD's second horse. When she was about 10, she had outgrown the potential of her first horse. We bought her a 16 year old, barely 15 hand TB mare. That little thing was more horse than I wanted to mess with. But she and DD had a bond and did great together until a freak pasture accident took her life about 2 years later. She was a handful. Sometimes even their trainer was tested to his limits with her. She wasnt mean, just very opinionated and strong willed sometimes.

 

[Peaches Lee]

Quote:
I really like TBs. I would say yes, high-strung, they just have energy. Very sensitive, to touch, weather, training. I really don't think they scare super easy, and if they do spook, it is usually an honest spook (like snow sliding off the roof of a building--startles me too). They are great mounts. I prefer my TBs to my warmbloods hands down. But in the end it is just going to come down to the individual. Good luck, you will probably really enjoy them.

 

[seymore0626]

Thoroughbreds have usually had lots of handling...sales, routine farrier/vet, shipping to race, and usually a fairly regimented daily routine. They go to the race track, but they lack turnout for the most part. The biggest issue when letting a thouroughbred down is a safe, small paddock, and the ability to tranqulize for the initial couple of turnouts. Some horses can come off of the track and be really happy, while others need more time to adjust. These guys (and gals) need horseman capable of reading them as individuals, and providing the support and care individually.

We handle literally hundreds of thoroughbreds every year, and most of them let down and relax very well. If one doesn't, it is up to the person in charge to figure out why...rather than blaming the breed, and considerations should be made in regard to gastric ulcer, DJD, OCD etc. !!!!! (Especially gastric ulcer, which is very manageable.)

Thanks for considering a Thoroughbrd rescue!

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
If it weren't for your next sentence, I'd say "if you ahve to ask, then don't do it", not until you can get a good amount of experience with various similar horses under your belt anyhow.

(Are these horses off the track -- if so, directly out of the training barn or have they been turned out/laid up for a while? -- or are they unrelated to the racing industry? The three categories can be very different, on average)

However, if you have worked with racebred QHs in training, and youngsters, "maybe". IME some racebred QHs are not all THAT much different than Florida-bred TBs

I dunno, these QH youngsters you have worked with, were they all rock-solid and calm, or were there nutty reactive ones? And if there WERE nutty reactive ones, did that bother you?

If the answers are "yes" and "no", respectively, then I think it would be worth your going to look at these TBs. They may in fact be quite solid citizens, plenty of TBs (even off the track) are not nutty or reactive at ALL... but since it can be hard to judge a horse's lifetime character and behavior-in-all-situations from just one meeting, and since there IS in general a definite difference between yer average TB way of reacting to the world vs yer average QH way of reacting to the world, I would hope that you would not consider getting two young green TBs without being experienced and comfortable with dealing with that sort of thing if they should turn out to be that way once you got them, you know?

Good luck, have fun,

Pat, love love LOVES thoroughbreds

 

[Bec]

I agree with Pat. I, personally, am partial to TB's but I can handle a more spirited horse. I think a lot depends on the particular horse. I definitely wouldn't rule them out just because they are TB's. I would go take a look, have someone ride them before you do though, preferably someone who is "Ok" at riding. For example, I could make it look push button and easy to ride my horse and he was a complete handful and could never be trusted with anyone inexperienced. I have seen TB's as dead beginner horses, some are just calm and easy as they come. These 2 could very well be just as they are described to be!

3 days before Christmas I lost my TB that I had for 19 years. He was "Experienced Rider ONLY" his entire life. I got him straight off the track as a 3 year old and he turned out to be a fantastic show/jumper. He and I cleaned up at the shows for years and years. Even as an old man, he was very spunky and full of it. I have a 20 year old now that raced for a good 12 years and he is a handful on the ground, but I can put my kids on him and he does very well. My kids are 7 and 10. It all depends on the horse, I would go check them out and see what you think. I can't wait to see what happens!! Keep us updated!!

 

[Whiskey Bay]

I agree with everyone above,so I won't retype what they've said in other words.What I will add is they can be the best animal in the world,or your worst nightmare in an instant.I have trained and worked with TB for the track for almost 20 years.I have met many horses on both sides of the fence.A few instances for you....
One mare a fella bought for a broodmare. BEAUTIFUL black heavy mare,but on closer inspection she had severe scars that were almost invisible to the eye because of skin and coat color.He wanted to have her broke for riding/restarted riding (as he really didn't have much history on her). Wonderful personality,loved brushing,cleaned all four feet,bathed,saddled,bridled like a pro.Put weight in the saddle,nothing. Put your butt in the saddle and she just flipped over backwards.No run/jump/buck.Not even a slight signal she was gonna trip.We worked with her for months. I have permanent cervicogenic damage from her.( I mounted numerous times) Finally he decided to just use her as a broodmare.
One gelding about 6 yrs old or so,retired from the track.He was a really nice gelding.Wonderfully built,almost Quarter looking,but well bred TB.WE took him and started him under saddle...eventually moved on to running barrels,Pro circuits.One of the best mounts I've ever had.Took him to Angola prison Rodeo in LA one year and took home the money. Can't even begin to add up the winnings from him in barrels and poles.Awesome horse/awesome personality.Died a few years back from a tree falling on him in a bad storm.
I could go on all day on both sides.I love the breed,but like I've said I worked with them for so long.Besides I'm an adrenaline junky when it comes to them. So much power,so much speed,so little control if they only knew....

 

[welsummerchicks]

It varies an awful lot.

I've worked with horses off the track that were very, very quiet, and ones that were, well, dangerous. It just really is not possible to say what these horses will be like, nor what they'll seem like to you.

Thb race horses are handled, in general, by very experienced, strong young men. What doesn't bother them at all, what THEY think of as quiet, may not seem the same way to you.

Some horses settle down when they leave the track and some do not.

Some horses get 'burned out' at the track. They get sore, hurt and they lose a lot of their energy and excitability, basically because they are hurting - sometimes permanently.

Some get burned out AFTER the track - if they've been on steroids a long time, they can come off them very suddenly and be very depressed and dull after.

And some of them go to the track gentlemen, and leave the track gentlemen.

I don't know if you are planning on riding these horses, but if you've only been around horses a little bit, the horse that's going to be suitable for you to ride, is not an off the track horse. If you want to ride, it would be very unusual to have an OTTB work out for you.

I got one that was injured and taken out of racing. They said he was just an ANGEL! Incredibly and unusually quiet, a real dream, and absolutely perfect manners. Very, very, very quiet. Unusually so for a Thoroughbred.

He was put on stall rest for 6 months to heal a serious injury, and then after that six months given to me. When I took him out of his stall the first time, I think he about lost his mind. He just started running as fast as he could, slipped, fell, got up, slipped, fell again, with me flying alongside like a kite - wheeeee! After a couple weeks of that, I got on, but the only place I felt was safe, was his stall.

Well I have to admit I have never really seen a horse do quite that many laps of his stall that fast, either.

So. It is very very very very very good if you can have an extremely practical understanding of how things could go, and not have any unrealistic ideas about how easy it would be to ride them.

As far as handling them, I think that just depends on prior experience. I honestly don't think people at the track that handle the horses are at all fussy about how they are allowed to behave. Jockeys and exercise riders hop on, often with the horse in motion, and most of the shenanigans of a rambunctious horse are basically ignored.

 

[bufforp89]

Thanks for all the replys, very informative and just what I was looking for. I have made arrangements to go out and take a look at these guys and am feeling pretty good about it.

They have both been off the track for a few years now. They were rescued at a meat pen and have been at the rescue for 2 years now. They spent their winter living in a runout shed with another gelding. I guess one if great for trail riding and some light ring work and is appropriate for a confident beginner and up. The other is described as being totally broke and quiet and just in need of miles.

I have experience in dealing with horses that are nutty, just a few weeks ago we got a race bred QH yearling in who was not halter broke and had almost no human attention from the day he was born other then the old man who owned him pitching hay out 2x a day. He was very reactive to everything but I was safely and confidently able to handle him and now he is a happy halter broke boy.

I guess the only thing to do is go and take a look, we are supposed to be getting 2 OTTBs in anyday now for retraining so I guess I will get a little taste of what they are like. There are not many chances to handle TBs in my area, they are not a super popular horse around here despite numerous race tracks just hours away. Thanks again for the replys!