# Retraining ex-racers thread



## TheMule (26 June 2022)

As a few people seem to be on this journey currently and I'm joining the ex-racers club this week I thought I'd start a thread to share experiences/ trials & tribulations!

My new boy comes home on Thursday- he is 8 and has run 35 times and won 5, mostly on the flat with a couple of hurdles races. He has had a break since coming out of training so we'll be starting slow and steady with lots of groundwork and quiet hacking. He has come from a nice yard where he has seen a bit of life so hopefully this will all go swimmingly….. 🤔😂

Meet Eagle


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## lannerch (26 June 2022)

What a handsome boy he is mule and quite chunky with substance for an ex racer . Love him looks very useful


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## RachelFerd (26 June 2022)

Well he's very attractive. Looks rather Simon-esque actually!


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## CanteringCarrot (26 June 2022)

Ooh, love his type.


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## Amymay (26 June 2022)

Good grief!  That’s the best looking horse I’ve seen for a long, long time!!!!


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## Tiddlypom (26 June 2022)

He is seriously nice!


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## TheMule (26 June 2022)

RachelFerd said:



			Well he's very attractive. Looks rather Simon-esque actually!
		
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If he turned out like Simon I'd be delighted!


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## TheMule (26 June 2022)

Amymay said:



			Good grief!  That’s the best looking horse I’ve seen for a long, long time!!!!
		
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It took me approximately 10 seconds to type the number into my phone when I spotted him on Preloved 😂 Hopefully he has a good brain too 🤞


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## TPO (26 June 2022)

There will be a queue if you can find his twin brother! 

He's a lovely sort. Looking forward to following his updates


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## ycbm (26 June 2022)

He's a very smart horse.
.


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## RachelFerd (26 June 2022)

TheMule said:



			If he turned out like Simon I'd be delighted!
		
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To be fair he looks better put together than Simon - but a v similar chunky type. How's he bred?


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## TheMule (26 June 2022)

RachelFerd said:



			To be fair he looks better put together than Simon - but a v similar chunky type. How's he bred?
		
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https://www.tattersalls.com/cat/february/2019/456.pdf


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## lannerch (26 June 2022)

There’s always northern dancer in majority of TB somewhere


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## humblepie (26 June 2022)

He looks a lovely type. Very exciting.


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## LEC (26 June 2022)

I want to be in this club but a small disagreement on value at the moment 🙈


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## daffy44 (26 June 2022)

Thats a very smart horse TM!!


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## Fern007 (26 June 2022)

Gosh he is gorgeous!! Hope you enjoy him for years to come.  This is my ex N/H / pointer. They are great horses that can turn their hooves to anything!!


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## Horseysheepy (26 June 2022)

Very very nice.


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## SashaBabe (26 June 2022)

He's lovely.  Hope you have very many happy years together.


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## Elf On A Shelf (26 June 2022)

I thought he looked like a Lope De Vega. They are nice horses! He looks like a lovely sort, I hope you enjoy him and have lots of fun with him!

I'm guessing he picked up an injury in his last run as no one would retire a young horse on a win otherwise.


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## BronsonNutter (26 June 2022)

What a lovely looking horse! I know of another exracer called Eagle (also chestnut) and he is a star, hopefully yours follows suit!


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## Trouper (27 June 2022)

He's gorgeous - lots of photo updates for those of us who, these days, have to live vicariously through others' horses please!!!


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## Squeak (27 June 2022)

Oh he is a really really nice type.  I'm not surprised you snapped him up.  What are your plans with him?

I'm another with an ex-racer.  I've always been partial to a tb but I'm not sure I'll be going back to another breed after my current boy.  He's the easiest, sweetest horse, who really tries his heart out.


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## j1ffy (27 June 2022)

What a beauty TM! Good spot


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## j1ffy (27 June 2022)

Elf On A Shelf said:



			I thought he looked like a Lope De Vega. They are nice horses! He looks like a lovely sort, I hope you enjoy him and have lots of fun with him!

I'm guessing he picked up an injury in his last run as no one would retire a young horse on a win otherwise.
		
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I've just done some stalking on the trainer's page - he was still in training in December 2021 so maybe had an injury in between then did something else?


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## J_sarahd (27 June 2022)

He’s gorgeous! After getting my own ex racer (albeit 2 days ago) I’m really interested in other people’s journeys! So I will be watching this thread!!


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## TheMule (27 June 2022)

LEC said:



			I want to be in this club but a small disagreement on value at the moment 🙈
		
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Fingers crossed he's useless!


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## TheMule (27 June 2022)

Elf On A Shelf said:



			I thought he looked like a Lope De Vega. They are nice horses! He looks like a lovely sort, I hope you enjoy him and have lots of fun with him!

I'm guessing he picked up an injury in his last run as no one would retire a young horse on a win otherwise.
		
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Yes, small injury, came back into training but owners have given up
Thanks for the info on Lope De Vegas, I know nothing about that line other than I love Giant's Causeway. I'm such a sucker for a ginger!


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## TheMule (27 June 2022)

Squeak said:



			Oh he is a really really nice type.  I'm not surprised you snapped him up.  What are your plans with him?

I'm another with an ex-racer.  I've always been partial to a tb but I'm not sure I'll be going back to another breed after my current boy.  He's the easiest, sweetest horse, who really tries his heart out.
		
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Hopefully he'll be interested in eventing, but it doesn’t really matter if not, I just urgently needed another horse to make numbers work and he's a very useful sort so if he just hacks that's fine too.


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## TheMule (27 June 2022)

J_sarahd said:



			He’s gorgeous! After getting my own ex racer (albeit 2 days ago) I’m really interested in other people’s journeys! So I will be watching this thread!!
		
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You'll definitely have to join in here! Has your girl just been in training or did she race too?


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## J_sarahd (27 June 2022)

TheMule said:



			You'll definitely have to join in here! Has your girl just been in training or did she race too?
		
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She’s only trained. Apparently too slow, which I can believe! Love being part of the ex racer club


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## Squeak (27 June 2022)

TheMule said:



			Hopefully he'll be interested in eventing, but it doesn’t really matter
if not, I just urgently needed another horse to make numbers work and he's a very useful sort so if he just hacks that's fine too.
		
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I bought mine with that criteria too - best buy ever 

Have you had a look at the series and championships that Ror have on offer? They have a good range of them and I've enjoyed having extra things to aim for.


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## Elf On A Shelf (27 June 2022)

Squeak said:



			I bought mine with that criteria too - best buy ever 

Have you had a look at the series and championships that Ror have on offer? They have a good range of them and I've enjoyed having extra things to aim for.
		
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The Elite RoR series the horses have to have ran in England, Scotland or Wales. Quite a lot of RoR they don't need to have run or can have run in other countries to do but the Elite - the top level showing, jumping, dressage and eventing they need to have ran here.


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## Irish-Only (27 June 2022)

TheMule said:



			As a few people seem to be on this journey currently and I'm joining the ex-racers club this week I thought I'd start a thread to share experiences/ trials & tribulations!

My new boy comes home on Thursday- he is 8 and has run 35 times and won 5, mostly on the flat with a couple of hurdles races. He has had a break since coming out of training so we'll be starting slow and steady with lots of groundwork and quiet hacking. He has come from a nice yard where he has seen a bit of life so hopefully this will all go swimmingly….. 🤔😂

Meet Eagle

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I saw this lovely chaps advert and really liked the look of him. Have fun.


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## BenvardenRach2 (28 June 2022)

He is gorgeous, a lovely chunky type - my favourite. Can’t wait to hear all about your journey.
I joined this club nearly 3 months ago when I got my first ex racer. Best decision I ever made. He is the sweetest character that has an exciting future ahead of him  best horses ever!
Here he is, last ran Aug 2021. Such an exciting journey!!


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## Asha (28 June 2022)

He really is wow 🤩 love a ginger . Hope you have loads of fun with him .

Spell check is a funny thing .. I wrote love a ginger .. but it changed it to finger 🤣🤣🤣


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## SashaBabe (28 June 2022)

He's gorgeous.  Hope you have many happy adventures together.


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## AShetlandBitMeOnce (28 June 2022)

TheMule said:



			As a few people seem to be on this journey currently and I'm joining the ex-racers club this week I thought I'd start a thread to share experiences/ trials & tribulations!

My new boy comes home on Thursday- he is 8 and has run 35 times and won 5, mostly on the flat with a couple of hurdles races. He has had a break since coming out of training so we'll be starting slow and steady with lots of groundwork and quiet hacking. He has come from a nice yard where he has seen a bit of life so hopefully this will all go swimmingly….. 🤔😂

Meet Eagle

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I sent his advert to someone on here looking for a horse as I loved the look of him! Just my type, I can't wait to see how you get on with him


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## TheMule (28 June 2022)

BenvardenRach2 said:



			He is gorgeous, a lovely chunky type - my favourite. Can’t wait to hear all about your journey.
I joined this club nearly 3 months ago when I got my first ex racer. Best decision I ever made. He is the sweetest character that has an exciting future ahead of him  best horses ever!
Here he is, last ran Aug 2021. Such an exciting journey!! 
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He is a lovely sort too- how is the journey going so far?


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## TheMule (28 June 2022)

AShetlandBitMeOnce said:



			I sent his advert to someone on here looking for a horse as I loved the look of him! Just my type, I can't wait to see how you get on with him
		
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I think it was on a thread here that I saw the original advert and wished I had space for another. My circumstances then changed and he came back on the market so I snapped him up!


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## BenvardenRach2 (30 June 2022)

TheMule said:



			He is a lovely sort too- how is the journey going so far?
		
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Thank you! Brilliantly, he’s been an absolute super star. He has such a lovely horizontal nature which was one of the big green ticks for me when buying. He’s a full up 16.3 but thinks he’s a tiny pony  We have mostly hacked, loads of hills here so have been building muscle and fitness. Now starting to do short sessions in the school. Went to a dresssge show a few weeks ago as it was so local and a lovely relaxed vibe he coped ever so well and tried his hardest. I’m loving the journey, he is the kindest most gentle horse I’ve ever owned. Can’t wait to see you updates too! X


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## TheMule (30 June 2022)

BenvardenRach2 said:



			Thank you! Brilliantly, he’s been an absolute super star. He has such a lovely horizontal nature which was one of the big green ticks for me when buying. He’s a full up 16.3 but thinks he’s a tiny pony  We have mostly hacked, loads of hills here so have been building muscle and fitness. Now starting to do short sessions in the school. Went to a dresssge show a few weeks ago as it was so local and a lovely relaxed vibe he coped ever so well and tried his hardest. I’m loving the journey, he is the kindest most gentle horse I’ve ever owned. Can’t wait to see you updates too! X
		
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That’s fab! I don’t know why so many people won’t consider them. But then you do need to be a kind and considerate rider to succeed so I guess they’re not for everyone.
My boy came home this evening- he's very settled and happy so far, tomorrow we'll have a little play and see what we've got


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## SilverLinings (30 June 2022)

TheMule said:



			That’s fab! I don’t know why so many people won’t consider them. But then you do need to be a kind and considerate rider to succeed so I guess they’re not for everyone.
My boy came home this evening- he's very settled and happy so far, tomorrow we'll have a little play and see what we've got
		
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That's exciting Mule, I hope he settles in well, he looks lovely from the photo in your first post!


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## BenvardenRach2 (30 June 2022)

TheMule said:



			That’s fab! I don’t know why so many people won’t consider them. But then you do need to be a kind and considerate rider to succeed so I guess they’re not for everyone.
My boy came home this evening- he's very settled and happy so far, tomorrow we'll have a little play and see what we've got
		
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Tha very true, they aren’t for everyone but I think that’s also down to people not wanting to put the work and time into ‘retraining’. My partner did think all ex racers were mental based on the select few he had seen at the yard over the years 
But funnily enough, Trippy is SO kind natured that he is more confident handling him than my 15hh Connie x that I’ve owned for 10 years!

My friend said once you own an ex racer you won’t have anything else again… I may agree!

How exciting, it’s great that he is settled! Please update us tomorrow! Good luck xx


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## AandK (1 July 2022)

Looking forward to seeing how you get on with the new boy! I have an exracer, absolutely adore him. Such a character, great work ethic, beautiful and athletic, great to handle, hack, etc. Sadly he's lived up to the sicknote reputation in the 3yrs I have owned him (hock ligament field injury, keratoma removal and now the ongoing issues caused by those things with a bit of kissing spine to add to the mix..), thank god he's such a lovely chap!


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## milliepops (1 July 2022)

Yeah i have had my fingers burned by a sicknote and won't have another, but very much enjoyed the process of him coming out of his shell, so will enjoy watching other peoples ones develop instead!


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## Squeak (2 July 2022)

milliepops said:



			Yeah i have had my fingers burned by a sicknote and won't have another, but very much enjoyed the process of him coming out of his shell, so will enjoy watching other peoples ones develop instead!
		
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I would have loved to see what you’d be able to achieve with an ex racer having seen what you’ve done with some of your others. It was a real shame you were burnt


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## TheMule (3 July 2022)

So, I did a bit in the school with him for a couple of days just quietly in hand so he knows it's a low-stress environment (he did a good job of pruning the thistles around the arena 🫣)
And then today I did a bit more- a bit of contact in hand and some starting/ stopping and crossing of the hindlegs, then we learned that mounting blocks = pony nuts and I hopped on. He's actually fairly straight and willing to go forward but has no muscle, no mouth and a bit of a waggly tongue so plenty to work on!

Photos are to show our starting point!


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## RachelFerd (4 July 2022)

TheMule said:



			So, I did a bit in the school with him for a couple of days just quietly in hand so he knows it's a low-stress environment (he did a good job of pruning the thistles around the arena 🫣)
And then today I did a bit more- a bit of contact in hand and some starting/ stopping and crossing of the hindlegs, then we learned that mounting blocks = pony nuts and I hopped on. He's actually fairly straight and willing to go forward but has no muscle, no mouth and a bit of a waggly tongue so plenty to work on!

Photos are to show our starting point!

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He's lovely.... but he looks so much like a combination of my two boys, its ridiculous!


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## TheMule (5 July 2022)

I’m being brave and posting our first progress video- all very raw!
He has settled really well and made big progress in 3 short rides. The first 2 clips were ride 1, the longer clip was ride 3, today.

The left side of his mouth is tricky as that’s the tongue waggle side, but I'm really pleased with how he is taking his lesson to the bit so far. The plan now I have reliable controls is a couple of sessions in the school a week with lots of hacking to build some strength


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## Tiddlypom (5 July 2022)

That's a lot of improvement already . Ride 3 looked much easier for the pair of you. 

Great stuff.


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## TheMule (5 July 2022)

Tiddlypom said:



			That's a lot of improvement already . Ride 3 looked much easier for the pair of you.

Great stuff.
		
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I agree- ride 1 I didnt ask anything in the contact but going along like that is physically very harmful to him so we had the conversation about it ride 2 and today he had mostly retained it. He has quite a nice mouth, he's just clueless


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## Squeak (5 July 2022)

Looks like huge progress in a couple of rides.  I love the intelligence and attitude that a TB has, it's amazing how fast they pick things up.


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## TheMule (5 July 2022)

Squeak said:



			Looks like huge progress in a couple of rides.  I love the intelligence and attitude that a TB has, it's amazing how fast they pick things up.
		
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I also love the TB brain- sometimes I don’t love their ability to lose their sh*t in an instant, but at least it generally also comes back quite quick, unlike many warmbloods I've experienced!


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## RachelFerd (5 July 2022)

TheMule said:



			I’m being brave and posting our first progress video- all very raw!
He has settled really well and made big progress in 3 short rides. The first 2 clips were ride 1, the longer clip was ride 3, today.

The left side of his mouth is tricky as that’s the tongue waggle side, but I'm really pleased with how he is taking his lesson to the bit so far. The plan now I have reliable controls is a couple of sessions in the school a week with lots of hacking to build some strength







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This horse is so much like the Simon I got straight out of racing - if at any point you have second thoughts about him, you best tell me first as he can join the ginger club here. I'm sure you won't though, as he looks every bit the nice trainable boy that is willing to try and learn.


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## Oreo&Amy (6 July 2022)

TheMule said:



			As a few people seem to be on this journey currently and I'm joining the ex-racers club this week I thought I'd start a thread to share experiences/ trials & tribulations!

My new boy comes home on Thursday- he is 8 and has run 35 times and won 5, mostly on the flat with a couple of hurdles races. He has had a break since coming out of training so we'll be starting slow and steady with lots of groundwork and quiet hacking. He has come from a nice yard where he has seen a bit of life so hopefully this will all go swimmingly….. 🤔😂

Meet Eagle

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He is lovely- best of luck. I think it’s great that RoR has become so successful. I used to dislike horse racing due to the number of horses ‘disposed of’ if they couldn’t race any more or weren’t competitive enough- now so often they get a new chance at competing and living a lovely life!! Well done and good luck! Xx


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## Oreo&Amy (6 July 2022)

RachelFerd said:



			This horse is so much like the Simon I got straight out of racing - if at any point you have second thoughts about him, you best tell me first as he can join the ginger club here. I'm sure you won't though, as he looks every bit the nice trainable boy that is willing to try and learn.
		
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If that is early days I think you will do really well with him in RoR. Slow and steady with the training with lots of love which I’m sure he will get and who knows where you could end up! Best of luck and let us know your progress! Xx


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## Oreo&Amy (6 July 2022)

RachelFerd said:



			This horse is so much like the Simon I got straight out of racing - if at any point you have second thoughts about him, you best tell me first as he can join the ginger club here. I'm sure you won't though, as he looks every bit the nice trainable boy that is willing to try and learn.
		
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And wow definitely a few lovely moments getting the idea of an outline! Xx


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## TheMule (6 July 2022)

RachelFerd said:



			This horse is so much like the Simon I got straight out of racing - if at any point you have second thoughts about him, you best tell me first as he can join the ginger club here. I'm sure you won't though, as he looks every bit the nice trainable boy that is willing to try and learn.
		
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I'll put you top of the list 
He has a lovely brain so far- I do think that’s one of the advantages of getting them a bit older after plenty of racing. He has been tonnes of different places and isn’t phased by the goings on here. He had both foals zooming round next to him ride 2 and didn’t bat an eyelid!


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## Squeak (6 July 2022)

TheMule said:



			I'll put you top of the list 
He has a lovely brain so far- I do think that’s one of the advantages of getting them a bit older after plenty of racing. He has been tonnes of different places and isn’t phased by the goings on here. He had both foals zooming round next to him ride 2 and didn’t bat an eyelid!
		
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My boys the same, he only raced as a 2 and 3 year old but was a bit older when I got him.  Nothing phases him,  I take him to the big county shows and he doesn't bat an eyelid.  He'll event one day, give a pony ride to a toddler the next and then nanny a youngster hacking with HGV's and tractors the day after.  Racing does give them great exposure to life.


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## TheMule (6 July 2022)

Squeak said:



			My boys the same, he only raced as a 2 and 3 year old but was a bit older when I got him.  Nothing phases him,  I take him to the big county shows and he doesn't bat an eyelid.  He'll event one day, give a pony ride to a toddler the next and then nanny a youngster hacking with HGV's and tractors the day after.  Racing does give them great exposure to life.
		
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It is such a shame they have gained such a bad reputation that so many people feel the need to totally discount them from their horse searches


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## Elf On A Shelf (6 July 2022)

Squeak said:



			My boys the same, he only raced as a 2 and 3 year old but was a bit older when I got him.  Nothing phases him,  I take him to the big county shows and he doesn't bat an eyelid.  He'll event one day, give a pony ride to a toddler the next and then nanny a youngster hacking with HGV's and tractors the day after.  Racing does give them great exposure to life.
		
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Jeff was only scared of portaloo's! Gray was 100% bombproof in all traffic but if a blade of grass moved wrong at the side of the road you were going under the bus!


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## MummyEms (11 July 2022)

I've been in the ex racer club a very long time.  I'm getting on now at almost 40 and have had a variety of breeds, plus my daughters ponies...I must say the thoroughbred ex racehorse is by far the Kindest most genuine and giving type I have ever owned.
My current RoR is featured on the ror website ad my horse of a lifetime forever horse and she really is just that.  Good luck with your beautiful ex racehorses.


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## TheMule (12 July 2022)

Eagle has now done a couple of loose jumping sessions and has impressed me. He's not going to be a world beating SJer but he has a neat technique, particularly behind, and he learnt from a mistake. Due to other circumstances he cant go out hacking yet so he will do lots of walk raised pole work interspersed with schooling for now.


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## Squeak (12 July 2022)

TheMule said:



			Eagle has now done a couple of loose jumping sessions and has impressed me. He's not going to be a world beating SJer but he has a neat technique, particularly behind, and he learnt from a mistake. Due to other circumstances he cant go out hacking yet so he will do lots of walk raised pole work interspersed with schooling for now.
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The first couple of times I jumped mine he didn't show much potential and someone even said 'I wouldn't expect to much of him'.  But with a bit more experience and gridwork etc. he has completely transformed and has a serious jump on him.  Don't write him off too early!!


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## MummyEms (12 July 2022)

Squeak said:



			The first couple of times I jumped mine he didn't show much potential and someone even said 'I wouldn't expect to much of him'.  But with a bit more experience and gridwork etc. he has completely transformed and has a serious jump on him.  Don't write him off too early!!
		
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What is wrong with some people 😱😂


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## CanteringCarrot (12 July 2022)

Yeah, his technique is actually pretty poor. No potential there. In general I'd just give up.

I'll take him off of your hands free of charge 🤣 




tongue firmly in cheek


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## TheMule (12 July 2022)

CanteringCarrot said:



			Yeah, his technique is actually pretty poor. No potential there. In general I'd just give up.

I'll take him off of your hands free of charge 🤣




tongue firmly in cheek 

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Such a generous offer 😜
I love his brain- I hadn’t ridden him for a few days but hopped back on today and he had retained everything he learned last week so we just went on to learning the next thing. You don’t get this with warmbloods(!)


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## Lady Tinseltime (12 July 2022)

Asha said:



			He really is wow 🤩 love a ginger . Hope you have loads of fun with him .

Spell check is a funny thing .. I wrote love a ginger .. but it changed it to finger 🤣🤣🤣
		
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😂😂😂😂


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## TheMule (22 July 2022)

So, we have now completed 3 weeks and he is still fab- we had 1 stressy day because he has got a bit attached to the mare in season over the fence, but he worked through it and got on with his work after a small negotiation!
We have made it out hacking, he had to go it alone straight off which wouldn’t be my normal choice but he did it very well and he has also been walking in the haylage field (initially quite exciting until he realised it wasn’t a grass gallop)
This week we have introduced canter- it's pretty wild, but it has nice enough basics to work with. The aim for the next week or so is to quietly introduce little jumps out in the fields.

This video is raw- it shows our bad bits as well as our better moments!


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## criso (22 July 2022)

Elf On A Shelf said:



			Jeff was only scared of portaloo's! Gray was 100% bombproof in all traffic but if a blade of grass moved wrong at the side of the road you were going under the bus!
		
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Like mine, brilliant up close and personal with farm machinery and had to lead the wb past the incident type tape that was flapping in the wind and making a funny noise when turning out this evening but god help me if someone puts the jumps that live next to the school in the wrong order and if i change his water bucket he'll either refuse to go in or hide in the corner snorting loudly.


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## TheMule (22 July 2022)

criso said:



			Like mine, brilliant up close and personal with farm machinery and had to lead the wb past the incident type tape that was flapping in the wind and making a funny noise when turning out this evening but god help me if someone puts the jumps that live next to the school in the wrong order and if i change his water bucket he'll either refuse to go in or hide in the corner snorting loudly.
		
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Hours of endless fun…….


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## Katie&Judy (22 July 2022)

Hi!! I just bought my first ex racer just off the track 3 weeks now I think! 
meet Barry!
Barry’s on his break still as we still need a saddle!
He does not understand fly masks 😜


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## TheMule (23 July 2022)

Katie&Judy said:



			Hi!! I just bought my first ex racer just off the track 3 weeks now I think!
meet Barry!
Barry’s on his break still as we still need a saddle!
He does not understand fly masks 😜
		
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Good luck with Barry!
Was he raced on the flat or over jumps?


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## Cloball (23 July 2022)

Barry is such an excellent name! He's very handsome.


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## Katie&Judy (23 July 2022)

TheMule said:



			Good luck with Barry!
Was he raced on the flat or over jumps?
		
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He was point to point but wasn’t making money 🙈 so I got him off a local man! Very good manners but such a baby! Has 0 hill balance 😂


Cloball said:



			Barry is such an excellent name! He's very handsome.
		
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Thank you! He’s such a cuddly boy..very different to my mare 😅


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## Barton Bounty (23 July 2022)

I love this thread, I love that tbs are no longer tossed to the side any longer ♥️ They are the sweetest horses with the most trainable attitude, just love mine ♥️


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## Ambers Echo (23 July 2022)

Sorry to hijack, but folk on this thread might be able to advise. A novice rider on our yard went out and bought herself an 11 year old ex steeplechaser. Was told he had been retrained as a happy hacker years ago and was a dope in a rope when she rode him at the viewing. But was on his toes immediately on arrival. She looked up his racing record and in fact he raced here and in France till very recently.  A pro came to sit on him for her and said he’s as green as grass, like 3 year old. Safe but needs retraining. He rode w/t/c in the arena and then she got on and immediately was unbalanced and hanging on to the rein which stressed him out. Obviously totally unsuitable for her. What is her best option now? She mainly wants to secure an appropriate home. She knows she’s going to have to cut her losses.


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## Barton Bounty (23 July 2022)

Ambers Echo said:



			Sorry to hijack, but folk on this thread might be able to advise. A novice rider on our yard went out and bought herself an 11 year old ex steeplechaser. Was told he had been retrained as a happy hacker years ago and was a dope in a rope when she rode him at the viewing. But was on his toes immediately on arrival. She looked up his racing record and in fact he raced here and in France till very recently.  A pro came to sit on him for her and said he’s as green as grass, like 3 year old. Safe but needs retraining. He rode w/t/c in the arena and then she got on and immediately was unbalanced and hanging on to the rein which stressed him out. Obviously totally unsuitable for her. What is her best option now? She mainly wants to secure an appropriate home. She knows she’s going to have to cut her losses.
		
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my personal opinion is… this horse will not be used to being ridden in normal circumstances and with normal tack , so effectively needs started, if she wants to keep him, she should start with some groundwork and give him some let down time, maybe a few weeks to get accustomed to his new home. Most tbs come good after that but it should be a slow and relaxed process for the horse.  A very different environment from what he is used to. If she doesnt want to keep him then pop him up for sale and there are plenty of people like me that would snap him up cause the love a challenge! 😂 
Its really easy to get them restarted feel free to pm me for advise, it only took me A short time. You have to be calm and gentle. I would give that a try before selling as tbs tend to be very trainable and loving.


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## Ambers Echo (23 July 2022)

She doesn’t want to keep him but does not feel confident selling him herself. He did go on sales livery to a woman with a silver tongue who did nothing with him  - not even feed him! So he looked like a hat rack when she went to check on him and she’s brought him back to the yard.


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## Ambers Echo (23 July 2022)

She’s a nervous novice who wants a happy hacker. She accepts he’s not the horse for her x


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## Barton Bounty (23 July 2022)

Ambers Echo said:



			She’s a nervous novice who wants a happy hacker. She accepts he’s not the horse for her x
		
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Best thing is to sell then, better for both and that will allow her to get something suitable but of he has been missold! Thats a whole new kettle of fish!


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## Ambers Echo (23 July 2022)

How/ where to sell? The risk is a dealer picking up a cheap horse to sell on quick rather than retrain and him being passed pillar to post. Or another novice overestimating their ability and being out of their depth. Or ending in a welfare situation. How can she find someone genuine and with appropriate experience to retrain him?


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## Elf On A Shelf (23 July 2022)

Ambers Echo said:



			How/ where to sell? The risk is a dealer picking up a cheap horse to sell on quick rather than retrain and him being passed pillar to post. Or another novice overestimating their ability and being out of their depth. Or ending in a welfare situation. How can she find someone genuine and with appropriate experience to retrain him?
		
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Is there a small training yard near you? Some may take the horse on to sell for you as it is, a recently retired racehorse as they will know how to sell it as that. Many won't but some will if you lay everything out to them and ask for help.


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## Trouper (23 July 2022)

Can she not send him away to someone who does the basics with the re-training of racehorses then pick him up again with some professional insight into how to carry his training forward.  Alternatively, (and it will come at a cost if she does not want to sell on) give him to the racehorse rehoming charity in the North West?


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## Barton Bounty (23 July 2022)

Ambers Echo said:



			How/ where to sell? The risk is a dealer picking up a cheap horse to sell on quick rather than retrain and him being passed pillar to post. Or another novice overestimating their ability and being out of their depth. Or ending in a welfare situation. How can she find someone genuine and with appropriate experience to retrain him?
		
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Horse quest and right horse right home


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## TheMule (23 July 2022)

Ambers Echo said:



			How/ where to sell? The risk is a dealer picking up a cheap horse to sell on quick rather than retrain and him being passed pillar to post. Or another novice overestimating their ability and being out of their depth. Or ending in a welfare situation. How can she find someone genuine and with appropriate experience to retrain him?
		
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There are lots of ex-racer pages on Facebook and a few charities which might be able to help- maybe speak to ROR in the first instance? I understand the concern over placing him somewhere suitable- I got mine from Preloved but he had already been through an unsuitable home and returned to the trainer. I’m not really sure why as he is the easiest horse to have around!


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## Ambers Echo (23 July 2022)

Some good ideas, thanks x


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## RachelFerd (24 July 2022)

Ambers Echo said:



			How/ where to sell? The risk is a dealer picking up a cheap horse to sell on quick rather than retrain and him being passed pillar to post. Or another novice overestimating their ability and being out of their depth. Or ending in a welfare situation. How can she find someone genuine and with appropriate experience to retrain him?
		
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These situations are *so* frustrating. This is exactly why TBs end up with a totally undeserved reputation. I do know of an experienced home locally actively looking for a TB project - but 11yo may be a little old. And would depend on how well he moved. 

I do wish I had the time/space to take on TB projects as it's so rewarding and having spent 10 years in the industry riding out, I'm pretty able to understand the TB brain and accommodate for their previous life experiences. But have no time, nor space  

Meanwhile with my older superstar - he finished 2nd in a BE Novice today at Warwick Hall - our best result at the level. He's quite incredible really as he's such an 'average' horse - not a great mover, not a flamboyant jumper, not especially bold... BUT he has a brilliant brain, excellent proprioception and a willingness to trust in his rider that makes him actually quite special. He's so uninspiring to ride at home, but he's a dependable friend out at a competition. Today I worked out he's racked up 17 BE points, which is quite something - my previous best horse got a grand total of 1 😂 

Video of his efforts in the weekend thread.

We're off to the RoR eventing champs at Gatcombe in a fortnight.... Big prize fund and fairly low entries, so fingers crossed!


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## TheMule (24 July 2022)

RachelFerd said:



			These situations are *so* frustrating. This is exactly why TBs end up with a totally undeserved reputation. I do know of an experienced home locally actively looking for a TB project - but 11yo may be a little old. And would depend on how well he moved.

I do wish I had the time/space to take on TB projects as it's so rewarding and having spent 10 years in the industry riding out, I'm pretty able to understand the TB brain and accommodate for their previous life experiences. But have no time, nor space 

Meanwhile with my older superstar - he finished 2nd in a BE Novice today at Warwick Hall - our best result at the level. He's quite incredible really as he's such an 'average' horse - not a great mover, not a flamboyant jumper, not especially bold... BUT he has a brilliant brain, excellent proprioception and a willingness to trust in his rider that makes him actually quite special. He's so uninspiring to ride at home, but he's a dependable friend out at a competition. Today I worked out he's racked up 17 BE points, which is quite something - my previous best horse got a grand total of 1 😂

Video of his efforts in the weekend thread.

We're off to the RoR eventing champs at Gatcombe in a fortnight.... Big prize fund and fairly low entries, so fingers crossed!
		
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Well done on another brilliant placing- you must be in contention on some kind of league as well? He has been so consistent this year 🌟


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## MummyEms (1 August 2022)

Ambers Echo said:



			How/ where to sell? The risk is a dealer picking up a cheap horse to sell on quick rather than retrain and him being passed pillar to post. Or another novice overestimating their ability and being out of their depth. Or ending in a welfare situation. How can she find someone genuine and with appropriate experience to retrain him?
		
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I'might be able to help. WhatsApp me on 07741 270437


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## Ambers Echo (1 August 2022)

MummyEms said:



			I'might be able to help. WhatsApp me on 07741 270437
		
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Thanks I'll PM you x


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## Squeak (1 August 2022)

You could maybe try a really honest ad on HorseQuest and be really careful who he goes to.

Alternatively giving Ror a ring could be useful. They should hopefully know the retrainers in the area or possibly have some contacts to be able to help.

Well done RF, what a great season you’re having.


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## RachelFerd (1 August 2022)

Squeak said:



			You could maybe try a really honest ad on HorseQuest and be really careful who he goes to.

Alternatively giving Ror a ring could be useful. They should hopefully know the retrainers in the area or possibly have some contacts to be able to help.

Well done RF, what a great season you’re having.
		
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RoR are about as much use as a chocolate fireguard on finding retrainers...


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## TheMule (1 August 2022)

Our weekly update- I went ahead and gave him a little jump under saddle and he really impressed me with his attitude. We then went on our first outing in the trailer. He settled in the indoor well on his own and then 3 other horses came in which made things a little more lively. He coped really well until they started cantering which did cause a bit of confusion! He came down from the adrenaline high pretty quickly though and he just needs lots of repetition of this so he learns this is just how things are now.

Sorry, only a couple of rubbish pictures


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## Elf On A Shelf (2 August 2022)

RachelFerd said:



			RoR are about as much use as a chocolate fireguard on finding retrainers...
		
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Chocolate fireguards still have a use - you can eat them.


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## humblepie (2 August 2022)

Off piste, but RoR did help someone I put in touch with them who was really struggling. Bit sad really as horse had been owned by a seriously wealthy family but then passed around.


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## BACR (6 August 2022)

Hello everyone, I'm a long time lurker here but I have an exracer and would love to join in with this thread and rest of you that have taken on these beautiful animals. Mine is an ex national hunt horse that has raced 40 times in his previous career, he's a real gut feels, heart strings horse for me. I've bought him with the aim to event but he needed downtime when I got him and had 4 months just enjoying being a horse in the field with new horsey friends. After that he's done lots of ground work, walking in hand, long reining and lunging and it's apparent that he's very trainable and cooperative. Now he's hacking like a pro alone and in company and learning to turn his egg shapes into circles in the school. 
	







I hope you're all having as much of a lovely time with yours as I am with mine. Here's some pictures of him over the 7 months since I got him.


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## TheMule (7 August 2022)

BACR said:



			Hello everyone, I'm a long time lurker here but I have an exracer and would love to join in with this thread and rest of you that have taken on these beautiful animals. Mine is an ex national hunt horse that has raced 40 times in his previous career, he's a real gut feels, heart strings horse for me. I've bought him with the aim to event but he needed downtime when I got him and had 4 months just enjoying being a horse in the field with new horsey friends. After that he's done lots of ground work, walking in hand, long reining and lunging and it's apparent that he's very trainable and cooperative. Now he's hacking like a pro alone and in company and learning to turn his egg shapes into circles in the school. 
	View attachment 97269
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I hope you're all having as much of a lovely time with yours as I am with mine. Here's some pictures of him over the 7 months since I got him.
		
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What a nice horse- good luck with him, I look forward to seeing your journey


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## Barton Bounty (7 August 2022)

Hes beautiful! And hes growing up just lovely ❤️


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## BACR (7 August 2022)

TheMule said:



			What a nice horse- good luck with him, I look forward to seeing your journey
		
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Thank you very much. I'm taking things very slowly with him. He was initially quite shut down and lacking in confidence but he's coming out of his shell and becoming very bold and brave. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's journey too, what a privilege it is to be able to give a new life to these lovely horses.


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## Elf On A Shelf (7 August 2022)

I sincerely hope you and your new beasty have great fun no matter what the future holds!


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## BACR (7 August 2022)

Elf On A Shelf said:



			I sincerely hope you and your new beasty have great fun no matter what the future holds!
		
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Thank you very much. He's got the most beautiful temperament, the people from his racing days have most definitely instilled fabulous manners into him.


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## RachelFerd (8 August 2022)

Worth anyone with a H&C subscription and an interest in retraining ex racehorses to take a look at the XC footage from the RoR class at Gatcombe this weekend. 12 lovely horses went forwards and made much lighter work of the XC than the Corinthian cup and Open Novice horses did the day after.


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## TheMule (8 August 2022)

RachelFerd said:



			Worth anyone with a H&C subscription and an interest in retraining ex racehorses to take a look at the XC footage from the RoR class at Gatcombe this weekend. 12 lovely horses went forwards and made much lighter work of the XC than the Corinthian cup and Open Novice horses did the day after.
		
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I'm going to sit down and enjoy it this evening. Well done again, your boy is definitely up there doing a great publicity job for the ex-racers!


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## RachelFerd (8 August 2022)

TheMule said:



			I'm going to sit down and enjoy it this evening. Well done again, your boy is definitely up there doing a great publicity job for the ex-racers!
		
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If people met him in person, he'd do an even better job. He's a giant labrador of a horse - incredibly friendly, nosey, entertaining - just wants to spend time with people. Just makes me LOL every time I see a 'no TBs' requirement on the event horse wanted ads - lots of people with no idea of what they might be missing out on!


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## BunnyDog (10 August 2022)

This is truly not too reliable as I forget names, but when I did the Tb retraining competition here in 2015 and won the field hunter division, the RoR contingent that came to watch all agreed that of all the horses competing that year, my guy was the one they all wanted in their barns. He was a truly lovely horse.

But fwiw, I thought based on this that the ROR were very smart people. LOL



This is one of my favorite pics of him.


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## LEC (11 August 2022)

I can now join this thread. This is Aldrich Bay. I went to see @TheMule chestnut gelding with her and as you do started looking on the trainers website and spotted 5yo Aldrich and just loved him. Then went along with TM and in the field was this bay and I said who is that? Oh that’s Aldrich. So we looked at Eagle and then I couldn’t help myself but to look at Aldrich. Messaged the trainer and said let me know if he wants another life fully expecting him to go back into training for hurdles and maybe to fail a bit more around November/December time which would be perfect with me having crappy health
Especially as they bought him at the sales for £20k.  Trainer contacts me and says we would sell for £8k, I was like nah happy for him to fail a bit more. Comes back and we haggle and get to a price I am happy with 🙈. Go back today to check I still love him and I do, so pick him up tomorrow. I have been looking at sporthorses up to £15k but don’t like anything as much as I like him. He is so uphill you can see his withers from behind. Just needs the slow work now to get the topline done. 

I love his breeding as loads of Sir Gaylord, Bold Bidder, Princequillo and Prince Chevalier. Perfect sporthorse TB breeding.


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## TheMule (11 August 2022)

LEC said:



			I can now join this thread. This is Aldrich Bay. I went to see @TheMule chestnut gelding with her and as you do started looking on the trainers website and spotted 5yo Aldrich and just loved him. Then went along with TM and in the field was this bay and I said who is that? Oh that’s Aldrich. So we looked at Eagle and then I couldn’t help myself but to look at Aldrich. Messaged the trainer and said let me know if he wants another life fully expecting him to go back into training for hurdles and maybe to fail a bit more around November/December time which would be perfect with me having crappy health
Especially as they bought him at the sales for £20k.  Trainer contacts me and says we would sell for £8k, I was like nah happy for him to fail a bit more. Comes back and we haggle and get to a price I am happy with 🙈. Go back today to check I still love him and I do, so pick him up tomorrow. I have been looking at sporthorses up to £15k but don’t like anything as much as I like him. He is so uphill you can see his withers from behind. Just needs the slow work now to get the topline done.

I love his breeding as loads of Sir Gaylord, Bold Bidder, Princequillo and Prince Chevalier. Perfect sporthorse TB breeding.
		
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I suspect we may well have another TB or 2 from the same source along the way 
It's so nice to see a race yard where they're treated as individuals and live a normal life- they go out in the field, go hacking and get ridden properly.


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## j1ffy (11 August 2022)

They're both beautiful horses - the trainer clearly has an eye for a TB sports horse...!! Best of luck with him LEC.


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## Elf On A Shelf (11 August 2022)

LEC said:



			I can now join this thread. This is Aldrich Bay. I went to see @TheMule chestnut gelding with her and as you do started looking on the trainers website and spotted 5yo Aldrich and just loved him. Then went along with TM and in the field was this bay and I said who is that? Oh that’s Aldrich. So we looked at Eagle and then I couldn’t help myself but to look at Aldrich. Messaged the trainer and said let me know if he wants another life fully expecting him to go back into training for hurdles and maybe to fail a bit more around November/December time which would be perfect with me having crappy health
Especially as they bought him at the sales for £20k.  Trainer contacts me and says we would sell for £8k, I was like nah happy for him to fail a bit more. Comes back and we haggle and get to a price I am happy with 🙈. Go back today to check I still love him and I do, so pick him up tomorrow. I have been looking at sporthorses up to £15k but don’t like anything as much as I like him. He is so uphill you can see his withers from behind. Just needs the slow work now to get the topline done. 

I love his breeding as loads of Sir Gaylord, Bold Bidder, Princequillo and Prince Chevalier. Perfect sporthorse TB breeding.
		
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Your lucky! Most trainers wouldn't have given up on him so soon. Did he have an injury? He has been off the track for a year which would suggest soft tissue.


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## TheMule (11 August 2022)

Elf On A Shelf said:



			Your lucky! Most trainers wouldn't have given up on him so soon. Did he have an injury? He has been off the track for a year which would suggest soft tissue.
		
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The trainer didn’t want him sold, the owner's circumstances meant it was just lucky timing


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## LEC (11 August 2022)

Elf On A Shelf said:



			Your lucky! Most trainers wouldn't have given up on him so soon. Did he have an injury? He has been off the track for a year which would suggest soft tissue.
		
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He has grown quite a lot - I know the work rider for him, had full medical passed on to me and the trainer is straight as no reason not to be. She wanted to keep him for jumping. He wasn’t that cheap…. But all the ones I like never are. I have basically paid for a 5yo blank canvas who is ready to crack on which is a lot cheaper than the sport horses I was looking at.


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## humblepie (11 August 2022)

He looks lovely.  Good luck and look forward to updates.  

Bunnydog - that is a lovely photo and gorgeous looking horse.


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## TPO (11 August 2022)

He's a cracker @LEC I can see why he got under your skin!

Looking forward to following his progress 😀


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## MummyEms (11 August 2022)

RachelFerd said:



			Worth anyone with a H&C subscription and an interest in retraining ex racehorses to take a look at the XC footage from the RoR class at Gatcombe this weekend. 12 lovely horses went forwards and made much lighter work of the XC than the Corinthian cup and Open Novice horses did the day after.
		
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This has made me want to get a subscription just to see it 🥰🥰🥰


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## RachelFerd (11 August 2022)

LEC said:



			He has grown quite a lot - I know the work rider for him, had full medical passed on to me and the trainer is straight as no reason not to be. She wanted to keep him for jumping. He wasn’t that cheap…. But all the ones I like never are. I have basically paid for a 5yo blank canvas who is ready to crack on which is a lot cheaper than the sport horses I was looking at.
		
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Lovely looking. Although I am scarred for life by a Sir Gaylord 😱


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## LEC (12 August 2022)

RachelFerd said:



			Lovely looking. Although I am scarred for life by a Sir Gaylord 😱
		
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My mare has a tonne of him and she is great. Funny isn’t it as always certain lines we get scarred by.


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## RachelFerd (12 August 2022)

LEC said:



			My mare has a tonne of him and she is great. Funny isn’t it as always certain lines we get scarred by.
		
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To be fair, I think the mare I had serious issues entirely unconnected to her breeding. Even though the sire (Moonax) was a nut nut. 

Now if I could find any more Champs Elysees (Simon's sire) I'd struggle not to take them home. I rode quite a few in training and loved them all. Big thickset wooden-headed lumps.... but nice ones!


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## LEC (12 August 2022)

RachelFerd said:



			To be fair, I think the mare I had serious issues entirely unconnected to her breeding. Even though the sire (Moonax) was a nut nut. 

Now if I could find any more Champs Elysees (Simon's sire) I'd struggle not to take them home. I rode quite a few in training and loved them all. Big thickset wooden-headed lumps.... but nice ones!
		
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I think you will struggle as see he died in 2018. Probably a good thing they are not that common for your bank account!


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## RachelFerd (12 August 2022)

LEC said:



			I think you will struggle as see he died in 2018. Probably a good thing they are not that common for your bank account!
		
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Yep, they're in short supply. Which is for the best for me, probably. Someone would need to tie my hands behind my back if I found another...!


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## LEC (12 August 2022)

RachelFerd said:



			Yep, they're in short supply. Which is for the best for me, probably. Someone would need to tie my hands behind my back if I found another...!
		
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Just looked at Doncaster and median price is £12k for them!! The Xtensions are much better value.


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## RachelFerd (12 August 2022)

LEC said:



			Just looked at Doncaster and median price is £12k for them!! The Xtensions are much better value.
		
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I'm no genius with pedigrees, but interesting to look at these 3 (and my boy's...)

Gold Nugget (current 4* horse, winner of INROR class this weekend) - https://www.pedigreequery.com/gold+nugget9
Dream Big (current 4* horse, 2nd in INROR class) - https://www.pedigreequery.com/dream+big4
Our Old Fella (current 3* horse, winner Barbury ON ROR) - https://www.pedigreequery.com/our+old+fella
Mine - https://www.pedigreequery.com/king+louis4

Common thread is Danzig in all of them. But that's not hugely surprising as was very commercial.


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## Elf On A Shelf (12 August 2022)

RachelFerd said:



			I'm no genius with pedigrees, but interesting to look at these 3 (and my boy's...)

Gold Nugget (current 4* horse, winner of INROR class this weekend) - https://www.pedigreequery.com/gold+nugget9
Dream Big (current 4* horse, 2nd in INROR class) - https://www.pedigreequery.com/dream+big4
Our Old Fella (current 3* horse, winner Barbury ON ROR) - https://www.pedigreequery.com/our+old+fella
Mine - https://www.pedigreequery.com/king+louis4

Common thread is Danzig in all of them. But that's not hugely surprising as was very commercial.
		
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Your Champs Elysees is the only one with a pedigree racing people would want. The Misu Bond would be mildly attractive at the sales if he was a good looking horse. The others would be bought more based on looks and the hope they would win a few at a low level.


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## RachelFerd (12 August 2022)

Elf On A Shelf said:



			Your Champs Elysees is the only one with a pedigree racing people would want. The Misu Bond would be mildly attractive at the sales if he was a good looking horse. The others would be bought more based on looks and the hope they would win a few at a low level.
		
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Gold Nugget was a 62k yearling, so definitely not to be sniffed at. Mine was the most useless on the track of the lot!


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## criso (12 August 2022)

Gold Nugget is the same sire as mine and he was 60,000 guineas first time through the sales though was useless as a racehorse and been a bit anxious and stressy out.  His favourite environment is an indoor school.  Very good looking horse though.



https://www.pedigreequery.com/pro+valour

This was the one that everybody got excited about from a sports horse point of view.  Had a shoulder problem before he came into his own but perfect for attitude and ability. 

https://www.pedigreequery.com/saint+francois


Another stallion no longer with us but I'd love another Tobin ded Champs.


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## Elf On A Shelf (12 August 2022)

Elusive City's first couple of crops showed promise hence the price tags, you wouldn't get them now. 

Plus he was disqualified from his first 2 races (in which he was first past the post) because he has banned substances in his system. Whoops!

Eta - it was only Gastroguard. It has a 72hour withdrawal period but obviously some horses process things faster than others so may well have had a slower metabolism hence why it was still in. Or the trainer did it knowingly. Who knows but at least it wasn't something worse!


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## criso (12 August 2022)

I think Tigger's dam produced a couple of useful half brothers before him so that might have bumped the price up.  He put paid to that streak.

I think he was at Godolphin when there was the steroid thing, the vet mentioned at the time gets a name check in his passport but he didn't run at that time.


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## RachelFerd (12 August 2022)

Elf On A Shelf said:



			Elusive City's first couple of crops showed promise hence the price tags, you wouldn't get them now.

Plus he was disqualified from his first 2 races (in which he was first past the post) because he has banned substances in his system. Whoops!

Eta - it was only Gastroguard. It has a 72hour withdrawal period but obviously some horses process things faster than others so may well have had a slower metabolism hence why it was still in. Or the trainer did it knowingly. Who knows but at least it wasn't something worse!
		
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I used to ride Elusive Flame quite often working at home. She was decent and quick... 90 rated on the flat. But a TERRIBLE mover - trot was more like a crab scamper...


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## Elf On A Shelf (12 August 2022)

criso said:



			I think Tigger's dam produced a couple of useful half brothers before him so that might have bumped the price up.  He put paid to that streak.

I think he was at Godolphin when there was the steroid thing, the vet mentioned at the time gets a name check in his passport but he didn't run at that time.
		
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Godolphin had 2 main trainers at that point. Saeed bin Suror and Muhammad Al Zarooni. Bin Suror's yard tested clean. Al Zarooni's yard had a LOT of positive steroid tests. Including the horse that denied Camelot the Triple Crown 10 years ago. Encke tested positive when the yard was tested but he was in the dope box after he won the St Ledger and did test clean that day. So the Britain's wait for a new Triple Crown holder goes on. So it depends which Godolphin yard your horse was in as to whether it had the chance of being on the naughty lost or not.


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## Elf On A Shelf (12 August 2022)

RachelFerd said:



			I used to ride Elusive Flame quite often working at home. She was decent and quick... 90 rated on the flat. But a TERRIBLE mover - trot was more like a crab scamper...
		
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I find Holy Roman Emporer's like that. Horrific movers! It's not until you get them down long and low into the true, full gallop that they then surprise you at how well they can stretch out. The rest of the time it's like sitting on a jack hammer.


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## criso (12 August 2022)

Elf On A Shelf said:



			Godolphin had 2 main trainers at that point. Saeed bin Suror and Muhammad Al Zarooni. Bin Suror's yard tested clean. Al Zarooni's yard had a LOT of positive steroid tests. Including the horse that denied Camelot the Triple Crown 10 years ago. Encke tested positive when the yard was tested but he was in the dope box after he won the St Ledger and did test clean that day. So the Britain's wait for a new Triple Crown holder goes on. So it depends which Godolphin yard your horse was in as to whether it had the chance of being on the naughty lost or not.
		
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I don't think he's on the naughty list as I suspect he wasn't worth wasting expensive drugs on but he was with Al Zarooni according to his passport.  I think he was there earlier though assuming that when they weren't doing it before they were caught.


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## LEC (13 August 2022)

There is a tonne of Robin horses eventing through his son Robin Des La Maison who has focused sporthorse. They don’t do it for me admittedly. 

I like Dream Big pedigree the most for eventing.


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## criso (13 August 2022)

LEC said:



			There is a tonne of Robin horses eventing through his son Robin Des La Maison who has focused sporthorse. They don’t do it for me admittedly.

I like Dream Big pedigree the most for eventing.
		
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Anything bred as a sports horse will be out of my price range and presume the mares are WB/ISH so more of a range of types.

What I need is a nice slow lazy one bred to race but useless, eating some poor trainer out of house and home.  But not right now as I don't have time or money for another.  

Like Frankie. 




View attachment 97615


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## Katie&Judy (16 August 2022)

Getting really tired of seeing all the posts of people looking for horses and seeing no TBs 🤦🏻‍♀️ They’re genuinely such sweet babies


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## McGrools (16 August 2022)

Katie&Judy said:



			Getting really tired of seeing all the posts of people looking for horses and seeing no TBs 🤦🏻‍♀️ They’re genuinely such sweet babies
		
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Agree. They are missing a trick. I’ve got an absolute superstar for a fraction of the price of the ish/ wb’s.


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## Elf On A Shelf (17 August 2022)

Katie&Judy said:



			Getting really tired of seeing all the posts of people looking for horses and seeing no TBs 🤦🏻‍♀️ They’re genuinely such sweet babies
		
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People who think like that don't deserve them anyway.


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## J_sarahd (17 August 2022)

Katie&Judy said:



			Getting really tired of seeing all the posts of people looking for horses and seeing no TBs 🤦🏻‍♀️ They’re genuinely such sweet babies
		
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I’ll be honest, I was like that before I started looking. I was adamant I’d never want a thoroughbred, having briefly shared one before and hearing horror stories of ulcers, field injuries and kissing spines. But I couldn’t have asked for a better mare than Nova. She’s basically everything I wanted in a youngster (and more) that I would’ve paid triple for (easily) if she were a WB or ISH.


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## Katie&Judy (17 August 2022)

J_sarahd said:



			I’ll be honest, I was like that before I started looking. I was adamant I’d never want a thoroughbred, having briefly shared one before and hearing horror stories of ulcers, field injuries and kissing spines. But I couldn’t have asked for a better mare than Nova. She’s basically everything I wanted in a youngster (and more) that I would’ve paid triple for (easily) if she were a WB or ISH.
		
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So many people warned me off tbs! It’s awful 
I’m glad I’m so stubborn!


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## humblepie (17 August 2022)

Criso - Frankie was seriously nice looking horse.  Lovely pictures x


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## J_sarahd (17 August 2022)

I’d heard people say that ex racers are good at hacking but I genuinely didn’t realise how good until Nova. We got our saddle last week and have done two short hacks with company - one on a route she’s walked in hand and one a bit further with a bit more to look at. At 3 years old, she was genuinely so much better behaved than my 9 year old. She’s not a fan of standing still/waiting for others to catch up though (as she has a bit more of a forward walk than them). 

Also, every professional  who I’ve had out to her (vets, physio, bit fitter, saddle fitter…) has said she is going to be such a cracking horse, which just makes my heart sing.


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## BACR (17 August 2022)

I think the 'no tbs' is a bit of a topical debate. I, as I assume the vast majority of us in this thread, am a massive fan, but I can see from other peoples point of view why they may not understand what ownership of a tb involves. I'm just speaking from the point of view of owning my current lad. 

Pros, incredibly athletic, beautiful temperament, excellent manners on the ground, incredible ridden horse with massive potential (huge paces and so smooth to sit up there), he has excellent brakes (I pop him up into whatever gait and he stays where he's asked to until I ask for something else), a complete dude to be around a real people person (as long as you are calm and gentle, he will reciprocate), real life Duracell bunny (goes forever and enjoys it ears forward and happy), easy to fitten up (basic fitness work in walk and trot and he looks like he's ready to go round badminton), forward thinking (I am a lazy rider, I want to put minimal effort into my horse moving forward, default mode is go), brave and bold (sometimes too bold by just going for things and frightening himself, I always give him time to think and reintroduce himself so he understands the particular situation) and I personally think he's the most beautiful horse I've ever seen in my life. 

Cons, feed bills (we live in the East of England, no rain for months so eating almost an entire conventional bale of hay a day in addition to 2x hard feeds), vet bills (we've had an unfortunate series events over the last 3 months, reaction to vaccination, cellulitis infection from a minor graze and fly strike) all caught early so bills are relatively small but he's a little accident prone/unlucky, saddle fitting (mine is tall but short backed 16.2 but only 6ft 3 in rugs, he has a big shoulder and high sloping withers so a 17 inch jump saddle is the max he can take), weight issues (not everyone can keep trim enough for it to be fair to ride a tb, I know exceptions exist but the majority are not weight carriers), forward going (not everyone will have the skill or want to ride a very onward bound horse), regular work, which is pro for me really but not necessarily for everyone, (I generally ride 6 days a week, he's fine after a week off but the more he works the more enthusiastic he is about everything - apart from food, he's always enthusiastic about food), potential wear and tear (mine has raced 40 times to the age of 7, I'm prepared to go through whatever is fair on him to keep him sound but I'll retire and keep as a beautiful field ornament whenever that is the best situation for him). 

I understand my view is bias towards my horse in particular but I made sure I could comfortably afford this sort of upkeep before buying him. As I said before I'm obviously a massive fan, the pros far outweigh the cons for me but I appreciate they are not for everyone. In fact, there are a few people I know who I would despair to see owning a tb! Apologies for the essay, I'll share my wine with anyone who gets through it!


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## TheMule (18 August 2022)

A little whippity 2 year old that has just been in a production line on Epsom or similar is going to be a very different horse out of training compared to my 8yr old hurdler who has been done in a lovely small yard where they're hacked, get turned out and are treated like 'normal' horses. I do think people need to pay more attention to how they've been produced and attribute more to that than a breed stereotype


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## Katie&Judy (18 August 2022)

Is 28 times by 5 years old a lot of racing? 
just wondering how much wear to expect on my boys joints


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## Elf On A Shelf (18 August 2022)

Katie&Judy said:



			Is 28 times by 5 years old a lot of racing? 
just wondering how much wear to expect on my boys joints
		
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To be honest I wouldn't be overly worried. He ran over a mile or less which is the equivalent to a piece of work. 28x in 3 years, most of which were in 2021, is a fair number of races but flat racing is a lot easier than jumping. He was clearly a very sound horse to run so often. Are you in the Britain or Ireland? If Britain you can't do the Elite RoR series's with him as he only ran in Ireland.


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## Katie&Judy (18 August 2022)

Elf On A Shelf said:



			To be honest I wouldn't be overly worried. He ran over a mile or less which is the equivalent to a piece of work. 28x in 3 years, most of which were in 2021, is a fair number of races but flat racing is a lot easier than jumping. Are you in the Britain or Ireland? If Britain you can't do the Elite RoR series's with him as he only ran in Ireland.
		
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We are both in ireland ☺️
that’s perfect thank you for the info..can’t say I know a lot bout racing


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## Elf On A Shelf (18 August 2022)

Katie&Judy said:



			We are both in ireland ☺️
		
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Your OK then 😂 are you heading to Dublin to watch the racehorse class on Saturday?


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## Katie&Judy (18 August 2022)

Elf On A Shelf said:



			Your OK then 😂 are you heading to Dublin to watch the racehorse class on Saturday?
		
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Can’t I work weekends 🙈 Dublin is also about 4 hours away and hotels there at the moment are..insane 🫡


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## Elf On A Shelf (18 August 2022)

Katie&Judy said:



			Can’t I work weekends 🙈 Dublin is also about 4 hours away and hotels there at the moment are..insane 🫡
		
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It's a good line up this year of Invitees. A Scottish horse is heading over that has picked up 2 HOYS tickets this year - as a racehorse and a hunter - and I suspect he will be very hard to beat. But of course we will all be rooting for Arthur 😂


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## RachelFerd (18 August 2022)

TheMule said:



			A little whippity 2 year old that has just been in a production line on Epsom or similar is going to be a very different horse out of training compared to my 8yr old hurdler who has been done in a lovely small yard where they're hacked, get turned out and are treated like 'normal' horses. I do think people need to pay more attention to how they've been produced and attribute more to that than a breed stereotype
		
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The Epsom horse hasn't been in a production line - the Newmarket horse has. 

An Epsom horse has likely seen plenty of traffic, dealt with all sorts of random lunacy that you see on the (public) downs and will have had turn out.

I will always advocate for the Epsom ex-racehorse specifically, as they've had much more life experience than those from any of the major training centres. It's a small and strange training centre, but it does have some positives!


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## Elf On A Shelf (18 August 2022)

Ours are used to be walked, trotted, cantered and yeehaad (you defos couldn't call it anything other than yeehaaing!) Round the fields with us as well as work on the roads, straight and circle gallops, in the school over a variety of obstacles and all are turned out every day.

Soxy is a total dude!


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## humblepie (18 August 2022)

Saw a group of three horses in Lambourn the other day meeting a huge artic. All good as gold. Life experience


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## humblepie (18 August 2022)

Elf On A Shelf said:



			It's a good line up this year of Invitees. A Scottish horse is heading over that has picked up 2 HOYS tickets this year - as a racehorse and a hunter - and I suspect he will be very hard to beat. But of course we will all be rooting for Arthur 😂
		
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Didn’t know he was going over.  Did seem him many miles from Scotland getting his racehorse HOYS qualification. Be cracking class to watch in Dublin.


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## RachelFerd (18 August 2022)

humblepie said:



			Saw a group of three horses in Lambourn the other day meeting a huge artic. All good as gold. Life experience
		
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Things I met in Epsom riding 2/3yo flat horses....

- multiple M25 motorway bridge crossings (at one yard, all of our 2yos were hacking over these within a week of being broken in...)
- double decker buses and arctic lorries crossing roads and riding along roads
- Pegasus crossing (rider activated traffic light crossings)
- children sledding on the snow covered downs in winter
- people flying kites
- the weekly model aeroplane flying club
- someone doing push-ups ON THE GALLOP
- loose dogs (there was not any kind of dogs on leads rule due to ancient byelaws about the downs)
- a cyclist who thought it was a good idea to throw stones at racehorses (we ended up getting the police involved after 3 days of this)
- the entire construction and deconstruction of the funfair on the downs for the Derby festival
- auto sprinkler systems running on the racecourse
- people doing cross country skiing practice on wheels
- infinite numbers of runners/cyclists/dog walkers with zero common sense


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## humblepie (18 August 2022)

RachelFerd said:



			Things I met in Epsom riding 2/3yo flat horses....

- multiple M25 motorway bridge crossings (at one yard, all of our 2yos were hacking over these within a week of being broken in...)
- double decker buses and arctic lorries crossing roads and riding along roads
- Pegasus crossing (rider activated traffic light crossings)
- children sledding on the snow covered downs in winter
- people flying kites
- the weekly model aeroplane flying club
- someone doing push-ups ON THE GALLOP
- loose dogs (there was not any kind of dogs on leads rule due to ancient byelaws about the downs)
- a cyclist who thought it was a good idea to throw stones at racehorses (we ended up getting the police involved after 3 days of this)
- the entire construction and deconstruction of the funfair on the downs for the Derby festival
- auto sprinkler systems running on the racecourse
- people doing cross country skiing practice on wheels
- infinite numbers of runners/cyclists/dog walkers with zero common sense
		
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That is definite life experience.  Funnily enough both of mine were from private yards with own facilities and private gallops.  They‘ve ticked off quick a lot similar to your list since though fortunately no one throwing stones. Did have child lying down on skate board appear out of sloping driveway right in front of us a few years back


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## Elf On A Shelf (18 August 2022)

RachelFerd said:



			Things I met in Epsom riding 2/3yo flat horses....

- multiple M25 motorway bridge crossings (at one yard, all of our 2yos were hacking over these within a week of being broken in...)
- double decker buses and arctic lorries crossing roads and riding along roads
- Pegasus crossing (rider activated traffic light crossings)
- children sledding on the snow covered downs in winter
- people flying kites
- the weekly model aeroplane flying club
- someone doing push-ups ON THE GALLOP
- loose dogs (there was not any kind of dogs on leads rule due to ancient byelaws about the downs)
- a cyclist who thought it was a good idea to throw stones at racehorses (we ended up getting the police involved after 3 days of this)
- the entire construction and deconstruction of the funfair on the downs for the Derby festival
- auto sprinkler systems running on the racecourse
- people doing cross country skiing practice on wheels
- infinite numbers of runners/cyclists/dog walkers with zero common sense
		
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On our private gallops we have encountered a tattie cannon - some horse pelted past, some slammed the brakes on, you just figured out which one would do what and put a zoomy one behind a stoppy one so the zoomy one got slowed down the stoppy one got rammed up the butt and kept going forwards 😂😂 

We have also come across "shenanigans " 😯😯😯 they shifted on pretty quickly! 

Racehorses do see a hell of a lot of life. Way, way more than their equivalent age sports horses or in fact most horses in their entire lives.


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## Elf On A Shelf (18 August 2022)

humblepie said:



			Didn’t know he was going over.  Did seem him many miles from Scotland getting his racehorse HOYS qualification. Be cracking class to watch in Dublin.
		
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Yeah he got an invite as he has done so well. There are 6 invitations and the other 12 have to have qualified. Arthur is an invite as is Douvan and Tiger Roll. General Principle won his way in as did Black Hercules.


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## RachelFerd (18 August 2022)

humblepie said:



			That is definite life experience.  Funnily enough both of mine were from private yards with own facilities and private gallops.  They‘ve ticked off quick a lot similar to your list since though fortunately no one throwing stones. Did have child lying down on skate board appear out of sloping driveway right in front of us a few years back
		
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Yes, far more life experience than the average riding horse. It is really noticeable with my current ginger that he came from an extremely sheltered experience, being trained at Barbury Castle. I don't think he had ever seen a farm animal, a cyclist or any traffic moving faster than 10mph before I got him, let alone loose dogs or wild children! He spent a lot of time being shocked/scared in our first few years together. He's quite a lot better now, but definitely lacks a bit of the "yeah whatever" that you'd get from proper early exposure to stuff.


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## criso (18 August 2022)

RachelFerd said:



			Things I met in Epsom riding 2/3yo flat horses....

- multiple M25 motorway bridge crossings (at one yard, all of our 2yos were hacking over these within a week of being broken in...)
- double decker buses and arctic lorries crossing roads and riding along roads
- Pegasus crossing (rider activated traffic light crossings)
- children sledding on the snow covered downs in winter
- people flying kites
- the weekly model aeroplane flying club
- someone doing push-ups ON THE GALLOP
- loose dogs (there was not any kind of dogs on leads rule due to ancient byelaws about the downs)
- a cyclist who thought it was a good idea to throw stones at racehorses (we ended up getting the police involved after 3 days of this)
- the entire construction and deconstruction of the funfair on the downs for the Derby festival
- auto sprinkler systems running on the racecourse
- people doing cross country skiing practice on wheels
- infinite numbers of runners/cyclists/dog walkers with zero common sense
		
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And yet i still have problems with Daffodils and a large leafed plant i sometimes see i have nicknamed Triffids.

I can hack over the railway bridge with a noisy goods train underneath us though.


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## Barton Bounty (18 August 2022)

Elf On A Shelf said:



			Ours are used to be walked, trotted, cantered and yeehaad (you defos couldn't call it anything other than yeehaaing!) Round the fields with us as well as work on the roads, straight and circle gallops, in the school over a variety of obstacles and all are turned out every day.

Soxy is a total dude!
		
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Theres just something about thoroughbred ears 😻


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## humblepie (19 August 2022)

Hacking mine out today I had a conversation I have with him sometimes - was it more fun being a racehorse, so stabled more but his work being going out for a canter with his horsey mates with the occasional race, or now when he is out for much of the time but has to go round and round and round in circles (that isn't strictly true spends most of his time hacking not schooled but does get dragged off to shows).


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## criso (19 August 2022)

Frankie never got the point of dressage, he didn't mind schooling so much and I could pop him into a canter and he'd happily stay there cantering round  in circles.  What he didn't get was the constant changes of pace, I could feel him getting more irritated with each transition and he'd comply but with an irritated little head shake as if to say "make your mind up". Much preferred being out exploring.  

Tigger in the other hand likes the school as a safe space and gets a bit more anxious in open spaces.  If we are going to hack, he's much more relaxed in enclosed areas like woods or lanes with high hedges than an open field.


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## humblepie (19 August 2022)

Crisco- Yes I think that too with frequent transitions!


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## Peglo (19 August 2022)

My TB was probably one of the ones that give TB’s a bad name 😂 she had terrible feet, great long thin neck, didn’t enjoy hacking, would be a fluffy cuddly bunny one moment and then threaten to kick the next. She would argue with my requests and I would have to ask ‘pretty please’ or would get mini bronks. Anything out of routine was a big deal. Very bossy with the other ponies. But she was 100% in traffic! Never looked at anything, big tractors with trailer, artic lorries. Nothing. She was beautiful and brave and athletic and I would love another one.

really enjoying reading this thread. Beautiful horses everyone.


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## Elf On A Shelf (19 August 2022)

criso said:



			And yet i still have problems with Daffodils and a large leafed plant i sometimes see i have nicknamed Triffids.

I can hack over the railway bridge with a noisy goods train underneath us though.
		
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Well duh! Every flower is out to kill them don't you know?!?!? Trains - meh. Flower - ARRRGGGHHH!!!! ITS GOING TO EAT MY FETLOCKS!!!!! 

Standard racehorse procedure 😂😂😂


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## Barton Bounty (19 August 2022)

Peglo said:



			My TB was probably one of the ones that give TB’s a bad name 😂 she had terrible feet, great long thin neck, didn’t enjoy hacking, would be a fluffy cuddly bunny one moment and then threaten to kick the next. She would argue with my requests and I would have to ask ‘pretty please’ or would get mini bronks. Anything out of routine was a big deal. Very bossy with the other ponies. But she was 100% in traffic! Never looked at anything, big tractors with trailer, artic lorries. Nothing. She was beautiful and brave and athletic and I would love another one.

really enjoying reading this thread. Beautiful horses everyone.
		
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Half of that is my boy! He is so sensitive! Mini bronking for the least little thing! Yesterday it was half a branch with leaves attached 😂


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## BunnyDog (19 August 2022)

I've owned 12 of the most wonderful Tb's who raced. Since 1984 through last week (My last Tb died unexpectedly) and none of them were ever all of the stereotypical things that the detractors lean on.

They've all played their roles in allowing my progression as a rider. Like any horse they had things they taught me to learn to surmount, and gracious kindness for holding us together when needed.

I don't mind the folks who feel they don't want them, in much the same way that I respect that people from the gaited world have skills and love for their section of the horse world that I am capable of honoring and respecting without feeling the pull to join in. Over here not every sports fan loves all sports, so I don't take it personally if folks have preferences. I won't buy a Mercedes Benz car for my own reasons. I don't think it's very far off the same ideas.

Plus...  more Tb's for the rest of us 

Link to OLD pics of some of them:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/xctrygirl/albums/72157625931573818

Em


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## Barton Bounty (19 August 2022)

BunnyDog said:



			I've owned 12 of the most wonderful Tb's who raced. Since 1984 through last week (My last Tb died unexpectedly) and none of them were ever all of the stereotypical things that the detractors lean on.

They've all played their roles in allowing my progression as a rider. Like any horse they had things they taught me to learn to surmount, and gracious kindness for holding us together when needed.

I don't mind the folks who feel they don't want them, in much the same way that I respect that people from the gaited world have skills and love for their section of the horse world that I am capable of honoring and respecting without feeling the pull to join in. Over here not every sports fan loves all sports, so I don't take it personally if folks have preferences. I won't buy a Mercedes Benz car for my own reasons. I don't think it's very far off the same ideas.

Plus...  more Tb's for the rest of us 

Link to OLD pics of some of them:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/xctrygirl/albums/72157625931573818

Em
		
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Lovely pictures 😊 and very true words


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## LEC (4 September 2022)

Aldy is slowly putting on weight and muscle. Went for his first solo hack today and boxed up both ways. We have crap hacking from the yard so I have been ponying him up and down the road 
as he was a little worried about flapping things or signs telling you to slow for ducks but ponying has worked a treat and he can now deal with scary things and was a gem today. 

 I just love him. The sweetest and nicest person ever. I have started popping him over little fences out of trot and on the lunge to get him using his body and he has done a month of basic fitness. Will start getting him out and about a bit more now I know the basics are in place.

He gets the saddler this week as been borrowing a saddle for him as my M Equipe is far too big. I need to measure him for rugs as well as think 6’9 might swamp him!


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## TheMule (4 September 2022)

Eagle has been busy having his horizons broadened- for a horse who has raced 35 times, a dressage show was a bit of surprise to him. He kept it together and performed the kind of test you'd expect from a racehorse for 57%. But it's a box ticked and he'll only improve!
He has also been to a couple of jumping lessons and has been awesome- he really enjoys his jumping, he has good footwork, he's brave, quite naturally careful, and he makes a lovely shape when the feet are slow enough, but of course we're still battling a bit of that hurdler mentality when we string a few together in a bigger space. We did do a rather entertaining wall of death the other week 
He is also the most wonderful hack- he goes anywhere on his own and we've started to have some lovely long canters where he is just a joy


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## Elf On A Shelf (4 September 2022)

Its so nice to see everyone's progress! They truly are amazing horses!


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## Barton Bounty (4 September 2022)

LEC said:



			Aldy is slowly putting on weight and muscle. Went for his first solo hack today and boxed up both ways. We have crap hacking from the yard so I have been ponying him up and down the road
as he was a little worried about flapping things or signs telling you to slow for ducks but ponying has worked a treat and he can now deal with scary things and was a gem today.

I just love him. The sweetest and nicest person ever. I have started popping him over little fences out of trot and on the lunge to get him using his body and he has done a month of basic fitness. Will start getting him out and about a bit more now I know the basics are in place.

He gets the saddler this week as been borrowing a saddle for him as my M Equipe is far too big. I need to measure him for rugs as well as think 6’9 might swamp him! 
	View attachment 98902

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He is gorgeous! Maybe a 6’6 he is a nice boy, cant beat a tb’ hes getting some nice chest and neck muscle too ♥️


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## AandK (5 September 2022)

Lovely to hear the progress LEC and TheMule!

My guy is doing really well so far coming back after his ulcer treatment. He's back hacking out, faultless as always! And I'm doing a little bit of ridden work in the school with him now too, just walk and trot and he is feeling so good, better than ever! Fingers crossed it continues...


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## Carrottom (5 September 2022)

Re rug size - mine have all been 6'3". That is 15.2 up to 17 hands. The tall one does have a short back though.


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## criso (5 September 2022)

Current finer 16 2 is 6'3" but he also has 6'6"s from a chunkier 16 2 with big shoulders.


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## LEC (5 September 2022)

Here he is today - I think eventually he will do a nice dressage test. I had just cantered him up and down the field to find out what happened so a bit buzzy but he will learn to let go quicker and relax. I have lost a lot of core strength due to my health so it says a lot that the ex racer is safer than the Warmblood who I can’t do stuff like that with at the moment. I dare not canter the Warmblood in an open field as she is spooky and bucks. I would just be off. 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CiIix6Oo7Ua/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=


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## Barton Bounty (5 September 2022)

He looks very willing and sweet 😍


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## J_sarahd (6 September 2022)

Nova has been having a couple of weeks off as she’d done a lot and she’s only 3.(Someone on the yard was questioning why I was giving her time off and not just getting on with it… *sigh*). We had a little yard show the other week and I thought I’d enter her into the poles on the floor in-hand. She was great, except for when faced with the water tray and tarp. But it’s given me things to mess about with when she’s back in work. I’m a bit worried she’s going to be difficult to jump as she isn’t very brave - but then again, she’s only 3 and hasn’t seen a lot of things like water trays or tarpaulin! 

I also need to pose a question to this thread. What do people expect 3 year old “ex racers” to be doing? I had a bit of a moment the other day as I saw a friend of a friend whose 3 year old ex racer was already jumping cross poles under saddle and doing prelim dressage. And a local dressage rider has a 3 year old who is already starting dressage moves. Nova can walk, trot and canter in the school (though I haven’t cantered her since getting her as it’s a very unbalanced canter) but has mainly been long-lining, in-hand poles and hacking. Am I going too slow? I know every horse is different but I just had a moment


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## RachelFerd (6 September 2022)

J_sarahd said:



			Nova has been having a couple of weeks off as she’d done a lot and she’s only 3.(Someone on the yard was questioning why I was giving her time off and not just getting on with it… *sigh*). We had a little yard show the other week and I thought I’d enter her into the poles on the floor in-hand. She was great, except for when faced with the water tray and tarp. But it’s given me things to mess about with when she’s back in work. I’m a bit worried she’s going to be difficult to jump as she isn’t very brave - but then again, she’s only 3 and hasn’t seen a lot of things like water trays or tarpaulin!

I also need to pose a question to this thread. What do people expect 3 year old “ex racers” to be doing? I had a bit of a moment the other day as I saw a friend of a friend whose 3 year old ex racer was already jumping cross poles under saddle and doing prelim dressage. And a local dressage rider has a 3 year old who is already starting dressage moves. Nova can walk, trot and canter in the school (though I haven’t cantered her since getting her as it’s a very unbalanced canter) but has mainly been long-lining, in-hand poles and hacking. Am I going too slow? I know every horse is different but I just had a moment
		
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It sounds like you're doing just fine - 3 is too young to want to be doing anything intently focussed. Certainly not a prelim dressage test - the rules of most competitions should limit any horse under 4 taking part anyway.

Lots of bits of low-stress education and plenty of time off too is all you need to be doing with a 3yo. You'll be ready to do a bit more work next Spring as a 4yo.


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## humblepie (6 September 2022)

Definitely no rush with your three year old. Just basic education and life experience.  That said mine was 8 when he finished racing and my other at 5 so no real life knowledge!   Time spent on basics never wasted though see far too many horses of all types rushed because at the early stage they can but it becomes unstuck later.  Sounds very exciting.  My no longer with us one would never walk over over a pole but won BE and became a top show horse so wouldn’t be worrying about braveness re the tarp etc. Sounds just confidence building.


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## AandK (6 September 2022)

Seem to be failing at getting a decent pic of my boy, he either moves just as I take it or looks like a right dobbin 🤣 he is very handsome in the flesh! This was the best I could do this morning…


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## Barton Bounty (6 September 2022)

AandK said:



			Seem to be failing at getting a decent pic of my boy, he either moves just as I take it or looks like a right dobbin 🤣 he is very handsome in the flesh! This was the best I could do this morning…

View attachment 98956

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He is gorgeous ❤️


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## AandK (6 September 2022)

Barton Bounty said:



			He is gorgeous ❤️
		
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Thank you! He gets admired wherever we go, he is such a lovely chap.


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## Barton Bounty (6 September 2022)

AandK said:



			Thank you! He gets admired wherever we go, he is such a lovely chap.
		
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I dont think I have ever seen an ugly tb! They all have a certain  look about them, I am biased ♥️


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## J_sarahd (13 September 2022)

We hit a milestone today that I just had to share with you! 

So Nova has been on holiday for 2 and a half weeks as we got to a good stage in our work. I brought her back yesterday and thought it was best to long-line her first. The school was hectic (even though I’d booked it for private use but that’s another story!) and she was so well-behaved. Honestly, couldn’t have faulted her. Once everyone left, I long-lined her down a row of poles that had been left out. Wobbly, but an absolute angel. I got on her for the last 5 minutes to just walk around. Again, perfect. So I decided to walk down the line of poles under saddle. ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! She was responsive to my leg to keep her straight and very willing. 

Obviously poles under saddle aren’t going to be a regular thing at her age and perhaps I was a bit impatient/greedy to do it yesterday but I’m over the moon with her. Especially considering that until less than 3 months ago, she’d never even seen a pole and asking her to walk over one in hand took a good 10 minutes.


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## RachelFerd (13 September 2022)

Well done @J_sarahd - I don't think doing a bit of light polework on a 3yo is at all over the top, especially if she is finding it easy.

Meanwhile, here's a video of my older chap 7 years further into the retraining process than yours (really it isn't retraining any more, it is just training...) enjoying his spin around Cornbury novice at the weekend.







He's such an easy horse these days to ride around a XC course - he comes back to me very quickly and easily, and naturally backs himself off his fences, so I can just put my leg on and ride forwards. No pulling and fighting required - and all in dressage legal tack, no extras!


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## Elf On A Shelf (14 September 2022)

Barton Bounty said:



			I dont think I have ever seen an ugly tb! They all have a certain  look about them, I am biased ♥️
		
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I have 😂 we had one come through the yard that looked like someone found the box of spare parts at the Christmas party and decided that a great drunken game would be to make a horse out of those parts 😂 

JS -a 3yo walking over poles is not too much by any stretch of the imagine! Little and often with youngsters keeps their minds busy and occupied. These horses like thinking! Giving them something to think about males them happy!


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## TheMule (14 September 2022)

AandK said:



			Seem to be failing at getting a decent pic of my boy, he either moves just as I take it or looks like a right dobbin 🤣 he is very handsome in the flesh! This was the best I could do this morning…

View attachment 98956

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You can’t beat a ginger TB!


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## TheMule (14 September 2022)

J_sarahd said:



			We hit a milestone today that I just had to share with you!

So Nova has been on holiday for 2 and a half weeks as we got to a good stage in our work. I brought her back yesterday and thought it was best to long-line her first. The school was hectic (even though I’d booked it for private use but that’s another story!) and she was so well-behaved. Honestly, couldn’t have faulted her. Once everyone left, I long-lined her down a row of poles that had been left out. Wobbly, but an absolute angel. I got on her for the last 5 minutes to just walk around. Again, perfect. So I decided to walk down the line of poles under saddle. ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! She was responsive to my leg to keep her straight and very willing.

Obviously poles under saddle aren’t going to be a regular thing at her age and perhaps I was a bit impatient/greedy to do it yesterday but I’m over the moon with her. Especially considering that until less than 3 months ago, she’d never even seen a pole and asking her to walk over one in hand took a good 10 minutes.
		
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What a good girl! Love progress like this, sometimes it's the seemingly simple things that bring us most joy


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## TheMule (14 September 2022)

Eagle has been to a couple of gridwork sessions now and his technique is improving rapidly. Once we get the strength bedded in to back it up he will be a lovely fun jumper I think. I'm still trying to convince him that dressage outings are extremely dull. I think he might end up being more of an SJer


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## LEC (14 September 2022)

TheMule said:



			Eagle has been to a couple of gridwork sessions now and his technique is improving rapidly. Once we get the strength bedded in to back it up he will be a lovely fun jumper I think. I'm still trying to convince him that dressage outings are extremely dull. I think he might end up being more of an SJer 

View attachment 99351

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Point to pointer …..


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## TheMule (14 September 2022)

LEC said:



			Point to pointer …..
		
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## J_sarahd (15 September 2022)

Thanks everyone, I feel much happier about doing little bits like poles occasionally with her now. I’m just worried about breaking her as I’ve had people at the yard basically saying I will if I do too much. She’s very happy doing poles and I think even more happy under saddle as she felt more confident. She’s very keen to do be doing stuff so I think it will keep her mind occupied.

Last night we had our first little canter out on a hack. It was very short and with a sensible friend. I was expecting fireworks as I’ve not cantered her since I tried her due to just strengthening her up and her canter in the school being very unbalanced. But she was so calm - we had a little excited bunny-hop, but it was basically just an exaggerated canter stride rather than anything unsettling. And then straight back to walking like a sensible girl.


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## Barton Bounty (15 September 2022)

Elf On A Shelf said:



			I have 😂 we had one come through the yard that looked like someone found the box of spare parts at the Christmas party and decided that a great drunken game would be to make a horse out of those parts 😂

JS -a 3yo walking over poles is not too much by any stretch of the imagine! Little and often with youngsters keeps their minds busy and occupied. These horses like thinking! Giving them something to think about males them happy!
		
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Those are the ones I love, the ugly ones and the lunatic ones!
My boys very handsome he is an exception 😂


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## Barton Bounty (15 September 2022)

J_sarahd said:



			Thanks everyone, I feel much happier about doing little bits like poles occasionally with her now. I’m just worried about breaking her as I’ve had people at the yard basically saying I will if I do too much. She’s very happy doing poles and I think even more happy under saddle as she felt more confident. She’s very keen to do be doing stuff so I think it will keep her mind occupied.

Last night we had our first little canter out on a hack. It was very short and with a sensible friend. I was expecting fireworks as I’ve not cantered her since I tried her due to just strengthening her up and her canter in the school being very unbalanced. But she was so calm - we had a little excited bunny-hop, but it was basically just an exaggerated canter stride rather than anything unsettling. And then straight back to walking like a sensible girl.
		
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Sounds like you are going in the right direction, and doing well too, just keep doing little bits! ♥️


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## spacefaer (5 October 2022)

I've just read this whole thread and despite being known on here for our 17.2++ RID hunters, I can now confess that my OH came back the other day with a little whim of an acquisition....

I will put a pic up shortly but safe to say, he is nothing like the IDs .... he's the tiniest, most exquisite little thing I think I've ever owned. His pasterns are the diameter of my wrists and my 7'3 rugs are somewhat voluminous.  I've had to go shopping for rugs, boots and a saddle. But he is the most laidback, easy to do chap, who has been out round the lanes with another horse for company and has proved to be the perfect hack - he's never set foot on a road before.

He turns out by himself, eats grass and doesn't hoon around and I took him round the local farm ride where he stood and watched my friend jumps fences all round him. 

Very very long time since I've owned a TB and never one who last ran 4 weeks ago!


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## spacefaer (5 October 2022)

By Flemensfirth out of a Presenting mare for anyone interested in his breeding. 
He was never going to make a hurdler with that pedigree, was he??


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## Barton Bounty (5 October 2022)

spacefaer said:



			By Flemensfirth out of a Presenting mare for anyone interested in his breeding.
He was never going to make a hurdler with that pedigree, was he??
		
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Oh wow!!! He is gorgeous!!! ♥️


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## spacefaer (5 October 2022)

Barton Bounty said:



			Oh wow!!! He is gorgeous!!! ♥️
		
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Thank you - I'm biased obvs but I do think he's very cute!
 He's only just 16hh with growing to do. He's technically 5 but was a May baby and only has the teeth of a rising 5 yr old even now.


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## Barton Bounty (5 October 2022)

spacefaer said:



			Thank you - I'm biased obvs but I do think he's very cute!
He's only just 16hh with growing to do. He's technically 5 but was a May baby and only has the teeth of a rising 5 yr old even now.
		
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Mine ended up 16.1 which is just right 😀


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## Squeak (5 October 2022)

spacefaer said:



			By Flemensfirth out of a Presenting mare for anyone interested in his breeding.
He was never going to make a hurdler with that pedigree, was he??
		
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He's lovely.  You can't beat a nice tb, they're just the most lovely horses.  I hope you have a lot of fun and enjoyment with your new boy.


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## humblepie (5 October 2022)

Spacefaer. He is very smart and love your stables aswell


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## spacefaer (5 October 2022)

@humblepie thanks - Sadly that's the trainer's yard in the background, not mine!


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## Barton Bounty (5 October 2022)

spacefaer said:



			Thank you - I'm biased obvs but I do think he's very cute!
He's only just 16hh with growing to do. He's technically 5 but was a May baby and only has the teeth of a rising 5 yr old even now.
		
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Is this your first tb?


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## spacefaer (5 October 2022)

Barton Bounty said:



			Is this your first tb?
		
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Nope. Just the first in a while. Most of the horses I evented were TB or near -  they ranged from ones I backed myself to others who went (old) 3* so plenty of historic experience of the breed!  

Had a couple who had raced previously - I think both ex hurdlers. One was chronically unsound physically, the other temperamentally!


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## Barton Bounty (5 October 2022)

spacefaer said:



			Nope. Just the first in a while. Most of the horses I evented were TB or near -  they ranged from ones I backed myself to others who went (old) 3* so plenty of historic experience of the breed! 

Had a couple who had raced previously - I think both ex hurdlers. One was chronically unsound physically, the other temperamentally!
		
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I just find them the kindest temperament ever! They try their hearts out and will give you their all, cant wait to see what you get up to! 
We are just hackers 😊


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## spacefaer (5 October 2022)

@Barton Bounty 
Thanks. I'm going to do various things, just to see what he'd like to do. He seriously loved his xc schooling - he was trying to cut back to the fence to jump it again - so more jumping is on the cards.

 He'll go out and see hounds soon too. I've been told he's either a large hack or a small riding horse, which is seriously not my wheelhouse but means he could do some RoR etc type showing too as he's a very straight mover. 

See what he thinks he'd like to do really! He was acquired via a casual conversation and a spare stable so not something I'd planned for!


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## humblepie (5 October 2022)

spacefaer said:



@humblepie thanks - Sadly that's the trainer's yard in the background, not mine!
		
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Mine came from a beautiful courtyard stables to a converted cow shed. Took him a while to get used to hacking on non perfectly manicured grass. Now wades through anything.


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## Elf On A Shelf (5 October 2022)

spacefaer said:



			By Flemensfirth out of a Presenting mare for anyone interested in his breeding.
He was never going to make a hurdler with that pedigree, was he??
		
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He should have been a staying chaser with that pedigree! I love a Presenting!  Not so keen on Flemensfirth's though. They've all been soft as melted butter 😂


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## Elf On A Shelf (5 October 2022)

BTW the RoR has had a bit of restructuring and there are new RDO's (Regional Development Officer's) to get to know. They are there to really get in touch with everyone with a TB and help in any way possible. As well as organising clinics, camps, social things etc. So check out your local RoR Facebook pages!


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## spacefaer (5 October 2022)

Elf On A Shelf said:



			He should have been a staying chaser with that pedigree! I love a Presenting!  Not so keen on Flemensfirth's though. They've all been soft as melted butter 😂
		
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The trainer only has flat/hurdlers. And the owner wouldn't change trainers so he had to be a hurdler 😄 
He jumps like an event horse so again, never going to be competitive as a racehorse! 

He's very soft and cuddly 😍


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## LEC (6 October 2022)

He is a nice type - I am sure he will be grand.


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## Barton Bounty (6 October 2022)

humblepie said:



			Mine came from a beautiful courtyard stables to a converted cow shed. Took him a while to get used to hacking on non perfectly manicured grass. Now wades through anything.
		
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Mine wont even step into a muddy area 😂😂 ‘oh steaming hot lava’ 😂


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## J_sarahd (12 October 2022)

I had my first fall off Nova today. We went for a canter on a hack with two sensible horses and whenever she was in front, she decided to bronc. I stayed on a few but then the last one had me off over her head. 

I’m thinking it’s just baby insecurity mixed with her being in season. Well, I’m hoping it’s that!


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## Barton Bounty (12 October 2022)

Has she got a martingale?


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## J_sarahd (12 October 2022)

Barton Bounty said:



			Has she got a martingale?
		
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No I haven’t got a martingale for her. I basically wanted to start with as little tack as possible!


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## Barton Bounty (12 October 2022)

J_sarahd said:



			No I haven’t got a martingale for her. I basically wanted to start with as little tack as possible!
		
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Get yourself a neck strap, try to sit back and grab the neck strap if you feel her starting to bronk, turn her in a circle ☺️


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## J_sarahd (12 October 2022)

Barton Bounty said:



			Get yourself a neck strap, try to sit back and grab the neck strap if you feel her starting to bronk, turn her in a circle ☺️
		
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To be fair I managed to sit a few of them before she did the big one that dumped me! But yes I do usually ride out with a neck strap - I just forgot it today because it was a bit of a rush to get tacked up!

Does it sound just like baby insecurity/napping to people? Never had a horse like this - old pony loved being in front and wouldn’t give two hoots where the others were


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## Barton Bounty (12 October 2022)

J_sarahd said:



			To be fair I managed to sit a few of them before she did the big one that dumped me! But yes I do usually ride out with a neck strap - I just forgot it today because it was a bit of a rush to get tacked up!

Does it sound just like baby insecurity/napping to people? Never had a horse like this - old pony loved being in front and wouldn’t give two hoots where the others were
		
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Yes  , it sounds like napping or excited to me. My boy used to bronc all the time when scared or too excited, its a knack sitting them, you will get to the stage they wont bother you, stay calm and confident! The important Thing Is to get straight back on if you do come off , hopefully she was just feeling good as she was in front 😬
BB is a pro broncer!  He can spin and bronc in one move, he can also spin while reversing really fast and moonwalk 😂


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## Squeak (12 October 2022)

J_sarahd said:



			To be fair I managed to sit a few of them before she did the big one that dumped me! But yes I do usually ride out with a neck strap - I just forgot it today because it was a bit of a rush to get tacked up!

Does it sound just like baby insecurity/napping to people? Never had a horse like this - old pony loved being in front and wouldn’t give two hoots where the others were
		
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Had she been in front in walk and trot? Was it only canter there was an issue?

Also have you tried cantering in front with just one other?

Potentially it could also just be the change in weather making her feel a bit jolly. I’d have thought as a racehorse she would have been very used to cantering in a group.


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## J_sarahd (12 October 2022)

Squeak said:



			Had she been in front in walk and trot? Was it only canter there was an issue?

Also have you tried cantering in front with just one other?

Potentially it could also just be the change in weather making her feel a bit jolly. I’d have thought as a racehorse she would have been very used to cantering in a group.
		
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Yeah,  it’s just canter that’s the issue. Don’t get me wrong, she will always make sure she’s not very far ahead of the others in walk and trot, but she is still more than happy to do it. 

I have cantered in front with just one other. First time she bronced a little, second time she was fab! Then the last time, which was about a week again, she did a small stop - originally thought it was because she was gawping at sheep but it may be whatever issue is going on here. 

That’s what I thought too. I would have expected her to be used to others in front, behind, at the side. 

I am starting to worry that there’s something wrong (saddle fitter and physio are both coming out in the next few weeks). She doesn’t bronc in the school if I ask for canter (but we don’t do that often).


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## Elf On A Shelf (12 October 2022)

Sounds like she is just excited at getting to be in front mixed with nervousness. Given she is young she probably never got to canter in the front of the string on the gallops and always had to follow the tail in front. I doubt there was any mallace in it at all.

My general motto is - just keep kicking! It if starts bucking stop kicking 😂😂


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## J_sarahd (12 October 2022)

Elf On A Shelf said:



			Sounds like she is just excited at getting to be in front mixed with nervousness. Given she is young she probably never got to canter in the front of the string on the gallops and always had to follow the tail in front. I doubt there was any mallace in it at all.

My general motto is - just keep kicking! It if starts bucking stop kicking 😂😂
		
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You’ve truly put my mind at rest. I think you’re right that she’s probably just anxious about being at the front. At least it gives me a few things to work on before her winter break


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## Barton Bounty (12 October 2022)

J_sarahd said:



			You’ve truly put my mind at rest. I think you’re right that she’s probably just anxious about being at the front. At least it gives me a few things to work on before her winter break
		
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If theres anyones advice id take its elfs!

BB used to gallop and try bronc at the same time just out of excitement on the beach 😂

another thing if she has ever raced watch her races! 
I watched his and he never started first always win by coming from the back and smoking them all 😂😂


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## TheMule (17 October 2022)

Quick update from me, I can’t believe we're nearly 4 months into our journey! Eagle just impresses me more everyday. You can hack him anywhere, he's just zero fuss. New venues are always fine, no spooking, no drama. After years of warmbloods this feels like a rare treat!
He has had a quiet few weeks as work has been manic but has still made a lot of progress. I'm going to carry on just training him this winter with a view to getting competing in the Spring when he has more strength and a really established technique as currently he'll have poles not through carelessness but where he just hasn’t quite learnt to use his body yet.
I was privileged to have a lesson with Corinne Bracken a couple of weeks ago who loved him and gave me some really useful pointers and then yesterday he had a session with Cameron Beer which just elevated us to the next level.

@LEC and I have started documenting our journey here-


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## j1ffy (18 October 2022)

TheMule said:



			Quick update from me, I can’t believe we're nearly 4 months into our journey! Eagle just impresses me more everyday. You can hack him anywhere, he's just zero fuss. New venues are always fine, no spooking, no drama. After years of warmbloods this feels like a rare treat!
He has had a quiet few weeks as work has been manic but has still made a lot of progress. I'm going to carry on just training him this winter with a view to getting competing in the Spring when he has more strength and a really established technique as currently he'll have poles not through carelessness but where he just hasn’t quite learnt to use his body yet.
I was privileged to have a lesson with Corinne Bracken a couple of weeks ago who loved him and gave me some really useful pointers and then yesterday he had a session with Cameron Beer which just elevated us to the next level.

@LEC and I have started documenting our journey here-







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I really enjoyed watching that, it's nice to see the process and (in the nicest possible way!) watching you both on less experienced horses, with the associated challenges that presents to position, contact, smoothness of lines. It makes me want to go and do some jumping!


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## TheMule (18 October 2022)

j1ffy said:



			I really enjoyed watching that, it's nice to see the process and (in the nicest possible way!) watching you both on less experienced horses, with the associated challenges that presents to position, contact, smoothness of lines. It makes me want to go and do some jumping!
		
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Thank you- I hope it will be quite interesting for people to see the process. We aren’t experts, but do go to good trainers.
Go jumping!!


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## j1ffy (18 October 2022)

TheMule said:



			Thank you- I hope it will be quite interesting for people to see the process. We aren’t experts, but do go to good trainers.
Go jumping!!
		
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We did some baby stuff earlier in the year, but I think it will be easier now his canter is more consistent. There's a Jonty Evans clinic at my yard next month so I've asked for a nervous numpties group 😆


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## BunnyDog (18 October 2022)

Oh damnit, you guys got to me!!!!

Meet "Lad" and his registered name is "English Lad"

4 yr old gelding. 16.2 at withers, 17 hands at croup. 

He's just arrived Sunday.... Shoes taken off yesterday and on turnout and catching back up at being a horse.

Lovely brain and a total snuggle bug.

He is a resale but first have to see what he knows.

Em



Pedigree is here:

https://www.equineline.com/Free-5X-...efs9bdgnJzG-xTMpc_p3MIzeD7XqRFy-eh6REPPB_OFag


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## LEC (18 October 2022)

He looks like a quarter horse!


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## BunnyDog (18 October 2022)

LEC said:



			He looks like a quarter horse!
		
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No he doesn't. The Palomino is a QH, not Lad. 

LOL

Em


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## stangs (18 October 2022)

Curious photos - from the side, he looks chunky like a WB; from the front, he looks slim like the racehorse he is. But definitely a pretty boy! I love his facial markings.

How’s he settling in?


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## BunnyDog (18 October 2022)

Ok, so maybe videos will help. He's bigger but I have ridden and seen Qh's that were bigger and I don't think he resembles them.

From the day I met him at he track. (That's me jogging him)






And from yesterday:








@LEC @stangs can you guys see these???

Em


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## BunnyDog (18 October 2022)

stangs said:



			Curious photos - from the side, he looks chunky like a WB; from the front, he looks slim like the racehorse he is. But definitely a pretty boy! I love his facial markings.

How’s he settling in?
		
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So far, so good. I stopped out on my lunch break and still happily grazing away. It's a huge help that he's been on turnout every later fall/winter of his life. 

Em


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## J_sarahd (18 October 2022)

I love his face markings!!


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## Caol Ila (18 October 2022)

Well bred horse, Em (another Em, lol). Affirmed and AP Indy aren't too far down that pedigree. Seeking the Gold is also a lovely sire, and Medaglia d'Oro won lots of G1 races. Nice. And he's beautiful.

I was one feral Highland pony away from looking at ex-racers. If Fin had been a little bit more nuts than he is, I would have done. Not sure if my life would have been easier or harder.


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## Barton Bounty (18 October 2022)

Ohhh he us a handsome boy! My type ♥️


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## j1ffy (19 October 2022)

BunnyDog said:



			Ok, so maybe videos will help. He's bigger but I have ridden and seen Qh's that were bigger and I don't think he resembles them.

From the day I met him at he track. (That's me jogging him)






And from yesterday:








@LEC @stangs can you guys see these???

Em
		
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He's really beautiful and what a lot of power - his back-end almost wants to overtake his front end at the moment!

I don't think anyone was being literal in saying he looks like a QH, just that he has a massive hind-end for a 4yo OTTB. We don't often see them that tall and so powerful behind at a young age over here, horses like that would probably be in a National Hunt (jump racing) yard preparing for a brief career over hurdles before going steeplechasing. He looks like an overgrown sprinter!


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## BunnyDog (19 October 2022)

j1ffy said:



			He's really beautiful and what a lot of power - his back-end almost wants to overtake his front end at the moment!

I don't think anyone was being literal in saying he looks like a QH, just that he has a massive hind-end for a 4yo OTTB. We don't often see them that tall and so powerful behind at a young age over here, horses like that would probably be in a National Hunt (jump racing) yard preparing for a brief career over hurdles before going steeplechasing. He looks like an overgrown sprinter!
		
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Interestingly he was a sprinter. 6 furlongs. He won 2 races ago and that, in his case, was a bad thing. By winning he faced much tougher company in the condition he suited with his win. 

So he ran once more, bled and was dead last and then was for sale.

Em


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## BunnyDog (19 October 2022)

So for those who don't know a lot about American TB pedigrees... Have a look.

https://www.pedigreequery.com/english+lad4

Among the esteemed members of Lad's family as one of his great Grandfathers is "Bailjumper." Nowhere near as famous or well known as the iconic Sadlers Wells, Bailjumper was a full brother to a sire named Mokheiba.

How this plays is in is that Mokheiba was the 3rd all time leading Steeplechase Sire and he sired a LOT of well regarded Eventers. Including one of my horses who was the first one to compete at the Intermediate level with me.


Here's a pic of Mokheiba. https://www.pedigreequery.com/photos/MOKHIEBA.jpg?1543383965

Here's a pic of Bailjumper. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oGaR2lMoSIceIyTSvPBWmR0aEysYT-7W/view?usp=sharing

Add in the venerable Jump Start and Medaglia D'Oro and it was a hard pedigree to avoid. That's why I started tracking him last fall. I'm ecstatic to be able to own him now. Even if I will be reselling him.

Pic of Jump Start in Obit: https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-ra...ading-mid-atlantic-sire-jump-start-dies-at-20

Medaglia D'Oro: https://sporthorse-data.com/showphoto?id=181189

Em


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## Elf On A Shelf (19 October 2022)

He is a proper sprinter build isn't he! A proper stocky lad! 

GrayMo was born and bred American. He was by Lasting Approval out of an Affirmed mare. But he was very much the opposite of your lad - tall and lanky!


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## LEC (19 October 2022)

Whereas I would be very excited about 4x bold bidder. The Sir Gaylord and 2x Princequillo. It’s a good pedigree for eventers.


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## TheMule (26 October 2022)

Another little update as Eagle continues to do really well with his re-training. Now he has a bit more strength we're working to develop the jump from canter a bit more- he finds it very easy to jump like a hurdler in canter, off a long, bold stride, but I need him to learn to slow and pop. He is massively improved, but it's a long road!
You can watch his and @LEC Aldi's latest efforts here-


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## Squeak (26 October 2022)

TheMule said:



			Another little update as Eagle continues to do really well with his re-training. Now he has a bit more strength we're working to develop the jump from canter a bit more- he finds it very easy to jump like a hurdler in canter, off a long, bold stride, but I need him to learn to slow and pop. He is massively improved, but it's a long road!
You can watch his and @LEC Aldi's latest efforts here-







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Love seeing their progress, they're both improving so much.


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## TheMule (26 October 2022)

Squeak said:



			Love seeing their progress, they're both improving so much.
		
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Thank you- they're both so wonderfully easy, it's just fun!


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## TheMule (31 October 2022)

The boys went out and about again- a bit of indoor training this time and a lesson with Eric Smiley who does a lot of ROR stuff so was a useful font of knowledge. Main takeaways- I need to be a bit more daring with the canter on Eagle to actually change it, get it slower and change the habit of lobbing along. Aldy needs to learn to be a bit surprised by a jump so his brain gets quicker thinking as apparently he struts around looking beautiful but without much else going on


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## Elf On A Shelf (31 October 2022)

Eagle looks like he is such a dude! Not my kind of ride though sorry 🙈🙈 I like horses that take me forwards, as you say he does just lob along without a care in the world. 

Aldy looks much more my type, more forward thinking. Though he kept going disunited on the tighter bend. Is this normal for him? We had one at the yard that did it and needed his hocks medicated.


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## TheMule (31 October 2022)

Elf On A Shelf said:



			Eagle looks like he is such a dude! Not my kind of ride though sorry 🙈🙈 I like horses that take me forwards, as you say he does just lob along without a care in the world.

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Eagle was an absolute tank of a racehorse- every single race report refers to him being too keen and taking a strong hold. But I've just spent 4 months switching him off so that he's a nice ride for his new job. He is far more forward thinking than Aldy


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## LEC (31 October 2022)

Elf On A Shelf said:



			Aldy looks much more my type, more forward thinking. Though he kept going disunited on the tighter bend. Is this normal for him? We had one at the yard that did it and needed his hocks medicated.
		
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He isn’t forward thinking at all - hocks are 100%. He just can’t hold his canter on his harder rein because he gets unbalanced and because he is desperate to sit on the right rein/shoulder. He struggles to turn right as well which makes you desperate to grab right rein but he needs to learn. When he first arrived he was solid in right rein and grabbed it all the time but is now nearly even in both after a lot of work.


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## Elf On A Shelf (1 November 2022)

TheMule said:



			Eagle was an absolute tank of a racehorse- every single race report refers to him being too keen and taking a strong hold. But I've just spent 4 months switching him off so that he's a nice ride for his new job. He is far more forward thinking than Aldy 

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Really? He looks like an absolute plod! Sorry 🙈 You've done a great job with him to change his way of going round completely.


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## Elf On A Shelf (1 November 2022)

LEC said:



			He isn’t forward thinking at all - hocks are 100%. He just can’t hold his canter on his harder rein because he gets unbalanced and because he is desperate to sit on the right rein/shoulder. He struggles to turn right as well which makes you desperate to grab right rein but he needs to learn. When he first arrived he was solid in right rein and grabbed it all the time but is now nearly even in both after a lot of work.
		
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That makes sense. Its amazing how many racehorses hang or just simply hold one rein given that most go in fairly straight lines or if they do go round circles or bends they go both ways evenly.

I rode one horse, lovely wee thing he was, if you only rode him on a straight line he was the nicest, peachiest ride in the yard, straight as a die. You went round a bend on him and he hung like a one hinged, upside down rusty gate. You may as well have taken your left rein off and left in the stable as you weren't going to be using it. There was nothing physically wrong with him to make him do this it was just how he did things.


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## TheMule (1 November 2022)

Elf On A Shelf said:



			Really? He looks like an absolute plod! Sorry 🙈 You've done a great job with him to change his way of going round completely.
		
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Lol- it's really funny that he comes over that way now, and actually quite gratifying! There's a video somewhere of us doing a wall of death around the same arena about 6 weeks ago and clattering through every fence at 100mph


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## J_sarahd (16 November 2022)

Feeling quite disheartened this evening. After a few weeks of Nova being amazing and us progressing nicely, she had a few days off. I changed her bit too to a comfy barrel snaffle. Today I decided to school with a friend - she’s only been in the school once with others and she was quite well-behaved. 

I asked her for trot and she completely lost it and chucked me off, taking her bridle with me. I know she’s most likely just being nappy but I am feeling pretty pants about it right now.


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## Carrottom (16 November 2022)

J_sarahd said:



			Feeling quite disheartened this evening. After a few weeks of Nova being amazing and us progressing nicely, she had a few days off. I changed her bit too to a comfy barrel snaffle. Today I decided to school with a friend - she’s only been in the school once with others and she was quite well-behaved.

I asked her for trot and she completely lost it and chucked me off, taking her bridle with me. I know she’s most likely just being nappy but I am feeling pretty pants about it right now.
		
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Aw, sorry to read that, these things do happen, hope you are OK.
Could you try doing some in hand work with someone else in the school to regain confidence.


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## CanteringCarrot (16 November 2022)

Carrottom said:



			Aw, sorry to read that, these things do happen, hope you are OK.
Could you try doing some in hand work with someone else in the school to regain confidence.
		
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Yeah, I would do some in hand work and also not try this again directly after she's had a few days off from work? she was possibly feeling too fresh and had some funny ideas.

Bringing along ex-racers and/or youngsters is a journey that goes in zig zags sometimes...ups and downs. Happens to the best of us.


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## TheMule (16 November 2022)

CanteringCarrot said:



			Yeah, I would do some in hand work and also not try this again directly after she's had a few days off from work? she was possibly feeling too fresh and had some funny ideas.

Bringing along ex-racers and/or youngsters is a journey that goes in zig zags sometimes...ups and downs. Happens to the best of us.
		
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Totally agree with this- it's easy to think everyone else is just following a straight line of progression but we're really not! I fell out with Eagle schooling today over something really trivial and had to just get off and remind myself how far we've come.


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## J_sarahd (17 November 2022)

Yeah I kind of had a bit of an existential crisis about it, more because I know this is the nature of having young ex racehorses and I didn’t know if I’d done the right thing buying her. But now I’ve had a sleep, I’m feeling better. She’s been 99% perfect recently, so it’s bound to happen. I am going to do some in-hand stuff with others in the arena and build on that. I need to get her used to others in there, but I don’t want to overface her. 

I also realised last night that her bit may have been too high. Probably such a minor thing but it could have contributed to the overall tension. I changed it on Sunday to try another bit and I had to put it up as the bit was bigger, but I forgot to put the cheek pieces down today. 

I’m going to hop on today for my confidence more than anything and have a quick 10 minute walk and trot on our own.


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## humblepie (17 November 2022)

J_sarahd said:



			Yeah I kind of had a bit of an existential crisis about it, more because I know this is the nature of having young ex racehorses and I didn’t know if I’d done the right thing buying her. But now I’ve had a sleep, I’m feeling better. She’s been 99% perfect recently, so it’s bound to happen. I am going to do some in-hand stuff with others in the arena and build on that. I need to get her used to others in there, but I don’t want to overface her.

I also realised last night that her bit may have been too high. Probably such a minor thing but it could have contributed to the overall tension. I changed it on Sunday to try another bit and I had to put it up as the bit was bigger, but I forgot to put the cheek pieces down today.

I’m going to hop on today for my confidence more than anything and have a quick 10 minute walk and trot on our own.
		
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Hope all goes well - there will definitely be blips along the journey.   Mine used to want to follow the other horses around - had very helpful riding club trainers who were happy for me to go to their clinics and build on him doing his own thing in a group lesson.


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## J_sarahd (17 November 2022)

humblepie said:



			Hope all goes well - there will definitely be blips along the journey.   Mine used to want to follow the other horses around - had very helpful riding club trainers who were happy for me to go to their clinics and build on him doing his own thing in a group lesson.
		
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Thank you. I think that's something I will look to do after her winter break, definitely. The girls on my yard have regular "away from home" lessons, so it may be that eventually we go to them with the aim of just being in the arena do, like you said, doing our own thing. But before her winter break, I'll definitely get cracking on just being in the arena at home with others in hand and then eventually ridden. 

I was told this morning that she napped when being led out to her field. She usually naps to and from her field when she's in season and has to go past two geldings (one of whom was cut late and definitely thinks he's still a stallion) so I'm thinking that may be what's happening. She doesn't really get many behavioural changes during her seasons since putting her on agnus castus, but she is definitely nappier. I've tried to keep a diary of her seasons but with the symptoms being so subtle now, it's difficult and I don't want to take her off the agnus castus because she's much happier now.


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## AandK (17 November 2022)

I would try the old bit again. I tried a barrel type bit with my exracer, he said in no uncertain terms he did not like it! Didn't throw me off but was very chompy and humpy. Changed back to old bit straight away and all good again.


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## J_sarahd (17 November 2022)

I did think that maybe it was the bit yesterday as obviously that was one of the two variables about yesterday's ride. *But*, I tried her in a barrel bit on Sunday and she went so sweetly, like the best she's ever gone - but that bit was too big (hence the cheek pieces having to go up) so I had to buy a new one - which is the one I tried yesterday. Obviously, if she's still the same again today, I will change back to her old bit but I really don't think she liked that. It's a single jointed D ring - which I've read aren't good for TBs anyway - and any time I so much as touched the reins, her head shot up.


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## Elf On A Shelf (17 November 2022)

J_sarahd said:



			Thank you. I think that's something I will look to do after her winter break, definitely. The girls on my yard have regular "away from home" lessons, so it may be that eventually we go to them with the aim of just being in the arena do, like you said, doing our own thing. But before her winter break, I'll definitely get cracking on just being in the arena at home with others in hand and then eventually ridden.
.
		
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When you are ready to venture away from home look for RoR Club Nights local to you. They are very low key, no pressure environments where everyone has been through the retraining process or is just starting it. Groups are tailored to horse experience so you could easily slot into a group of people who just want to mosey about chatting, chilling and letting their horses see life away from racing. Most groups do not exceed 4 horses. There is always a qualified instructor present to help you with anything too. I went to one a couple of weeks ago and both horses in the arena had never been in an indoor before or away from their new homes with their new owners. One did a fair bit of walk and trot work and had a wee canter at the end as the horse was so good. The other one just walked about taking in life and worked on bending and stretching. The lady wanted to do no more and expected to leave after 20mins. Instead an hour later she was beaming from ear to ear with a much more relaxed horse who she will do more with next time. 

The RoR Club Nights really are designed for this purpose.


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## J_sarahd (17 November 2022)

Elf On A Shelf said:



			When you are ready to venture away from home look for RoR Club Nights local to you. They are very low key, no pressure environments where everyone has been through the retraining process or is just starting it. Groups are tailored to horse experience so you could easily slot into a group of people who just want to mosey about chatting, chilling and letting their horses see life away from racing. Most groups do not exceed 4 horses. There is always a qualified instructor present to help you with anything too. I went to one a couple of weeks ago and both horses in the arena had never been in an indoor before or away from their new homes with their new owners. One did a fair bit of walk and trot work and had a wee canter at the end as the horse was so good. The other one just walked about taking in life and worked on bending and stretching. The lady wanted to do no more and expected to leave after 20mins. Instead an hour later she was beaming from ear to ear with a much more relaxed horse who she will do more with next time.

The RoR Club Nights really are designed for this purpose.
		
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Oh wow, thank you that sounds like something we could really, really benefit from. I will definitely look into this when I am ready next year as it sounds perfect for what we need.


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