Would a recently retired race horse, make a good trail horse?

Question

The horse is 3 tear old gelding and retired from racing two weeks ago. he is free, which is good because i don't have money to purchase one, but i do have everything else i could give this horse(attention,land,food). i am a beginning rider and want a horse w/ a good disposition and one that eventually,my children could ride. please, i would like horse experts to answer only. thanks.

Answer 1

this is a difficult question to answer with this little amount of information...have it vetted, and if you know any horse experts ask them to test the horse out for you...generally recently retired race-horses are not the best choice for a green rider, and often have bad habits like not standing still for mounting and unable to be girthed without walking...it all depends on the horse

Answer 2

It shouldnt be a problem if you follow the right steps. find out who trained it and also who rode it in its trackwork to find out any bad /good habits etc. Let it down gradually off the hot feed whilst riding in an enclosed area. This will tell you what its bridle needs  and habits are. good luck

Answer 3

I would not advise a beginning rider to take a retired racehorse.You would be better with an older calm horse.Horses can be dangerous!! If you have a riding teacher,have them go with you to scout out horses. Good luck!!

Answer 4

first of all, if you are a begining rider it might not be wise to buy an ex-racehorse. they are trained to run and they might just run off with you. plus, he is young which can also cause behavorial problems

second, you will want a vet to look at him and make sure everything is in order (because of the demand of racing horses often get injured).

if you think you have the expirence and eveything looks good, go for it! raceshorses can be used again, but it takes alot of work to get the "lets run everywhere" idea out of their heads. make sure you ride him (a good long ride) before you buy him. you want to throughly know what you are getting into.

if it dosent work out, don't be sad. the market is flooded right now because the slaughterhouses were closed down. there are plenty of well-mannered horses waiting for you

Answer 5

i would recommend someone to try him out first. A three year old racehorse still has the racing instinct to be alert and curious. They dont like standing still. You might want to brush up on your riding skills first before trying a horse like that. He might calm down a bit when he gets older but if he's just recently retired from racing then he's going to want to run fast and he thinks that he's got an expert rider on his back so he can gallop extremely fast.

Answer 6

I wouldn't even think about it.

Not unless you are an extremely confident horse person, and have an excellent trainer you could work with.

The horse would need minimum 6 months of just chill out time in a pasture.  Just getting groomed and working on ground manner, because trust me, your gelding will have absolutely no ground manners at all.

Then you would have to completely retrain the horse.  He is used to running as fast as he can in a circle.  He will need to learn how to walk, trot and canter, in both directions.  

If you have a good 3-5 years to spare, you "might" have a trail horse.

Answer 7

Depends on the conditions of his knees. If he has injured them, then he will have a very difficult time on a trail. If he is a thouroughbred, he may be frustrated with the slow pace, but you could simmer him down to it. If you are a beginning rider, and have little experience, then you should try lessons on him first, to see how he will be when you ride him. Then, take him out to a large area (field) and MAKE him walk. If he tries to bolt, you need to train him to listen to you, not to do whatever he wants. Also, you need to get him used to a western saddle and tack, because racing uses english saddles and tack, which allow speed more than comfort.

Some thouroughbreds have a HORRIBLE attitude, and if this is one of them, then don't even bother with the cost of upkeep.

Question the owner- why is he free?

Some of these answers concern thouroughbreds- but plenty of race horses are arabians and quarter horses. Arabians have amazing stamina. If you are riding him for long periods of time, (8-12 hours) you still need to condition him for that. A quarter horse is strong on all fronts. They are easily adapting, and great with young ones. If this is the breed, then still be cautious, race horses have a lot of twang, but you will not need to be as careful.

Check his feet. Is he foundered? Despite intensive investigation, founder is still a poorly understood disease. Though easy to diagnose and usually treatable, this disease has the potential to result in permanent severe lameness making euthanasia the most humane option.

Symptoms

The signs of founder are easy to recognize: they are the result of both front feet being sore. The back feet may be involved too, but the front feet bear 50% more weight than the rear so they usually hurt more. With both feet being sore the horse's steps shorten and become slower making the horse or pony look stiff. At rest he will prop his front feet out in front of him while leaning back on his rear legs to help decrease the weight on the front. Frequently, he will shift weight back and forth from one front foot to the other. As the pain worsens he may start spending a lot of time laying down.

Don't get a horse that is foundered. It is one of the most painful things you have to go through- both you and the horse. Emotionally and Physically.

Should you choose to accept the horse, ride him as often as possible. Groom him every day. Feed him at scheduled times. Horses like structure- hence the feeding times. Keep him away from other horses, until he is sure of his surroundings. Then, put him in a paddock near the others. Finally, introduce him to the crowd. They will establish a pecking order, so feed the horses in different areas of the paddock. Ride him every day, too. Get him used to the feel of a western saddle.

Have a great night.