Someone needs to stop me from going to horse sales...

[RENMACMINIS]

Hello Everyone.. would someone please come stop me from going to Horse sales?? We went to a local horse sale last night and yes.. I bought another horse..lol... She is a 5 year old bay TB, has only been off the track for 2 weeks. She has a good race record the reason they were selling her was b/c they had too many horses 200 to be exact.. all race horses/pleasure horses/breeding stock. they are getting old and they decided its time to cut back. Her name is Abidail.. b/c thier granddaughter couldnt say abigail. she is approx. 17.1-17.2 hands tall.. she is HUGE!!!!!!!!!!! She has a really sweet nature and is very loving and kind. The guy that brought her to the sale for the owners didnt want to see her sold as he broke her to ride etc. and he said she was the sweetest race horse he had ever seen. He was almost in tears as he said goodbye to her. I am not planning on doing anything with her until this spring.. that way it will give her time to fatten up and get used to me and the other horses and her pasture. Anyone on here ever get a horse off the track before?? If so any and all suggestions you can give me will be appreciated greatly!!

I will post pictures as soon as I get some batteries for my camera.

Thanks Everyone!!

sherry

 

[Leeana]

Know how you fix that???

Dont take the horse trailer! I swear i had to wean myself off from the horse sales. We use to go to the Mt Hope horse sale evry 2nd saturday of the month and eventually i said enough was enough, when we go we go to watch plus i love amish country! We dont go anymore, amazing how after about 3 or 4 times w/out taking the trailer you get over the 'addiction'. I also dont go anymore bc some of them break my heart and i cannot bare to see some of the things i have seen at sales here in Ohio.

Looking forward to pics of this gental GIANT! 17hh is a bit to big for my taist :lol:

 

[Vicky Texas]

Congratulations on the girl. I can't wait to see her pictures. Wow she sound so

big. I did buy a TB, she had been started on her racing career, but she was to

slow so they say. I think she just did not want to be a race horse. She had the

bloodlines but not the will. My mare was Skuteforloot, I called her Skuter. She

was 16.1 hands. She could be a handful, if you kick her in the side to go, she

would buck once, and if it happen again, she dump you. I don't mean kick hard,

just even pushing in to show go, off you go. But she was an incredible Jumper,

and was learning Dressge. She was so excited about it, she want to stand and

watch the other horses in our class. She was so much fun, and a true friend.

Skuter, I lost her when she was 10 to cancer, a tumor. We were in training for

dressge at the time. That was 10, almost 11 years ago.

Congratulations again, I can't wait to hear more on your baby, like your plans,

type of riding, English or western? I would have had hard time too, not buying.

I am so excited for you. I hope you have as much fun with your girl. I miss my girl,

she was fun to ride, talk to, to love, she was a fast learner. She was a great horse.

Wishing you and your girl the best.

Vicky

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Leeanna I am afraid that doesn't work as I have come home with two foals in my VAN!!!!

 

[momtotwo]

Sherry, We've found with the TBs that the best thing you can do for them is give them some free time to just be a horse before you start anything with them. It makes a world of difference in their attitudes. TBs tend to be a bit like Arabs, very sensitive. They won't tolerate mishandling and tend to be very sensitive to touch. We have a big gelding that was looking for a home because he was "crazy as a loon"--he broke all the halters and bridles the previous owner had on him, couldn't be saddled, acted the fool by pacing and hollering constantly, and had flipped himself over twice. The people who had him were inexperienced QH owners who believed that you just MAKE a horse do what you want it to do. I took my daughter to see him, fulling expecting her to tell me he was too loopy for her tastes, and it was love at first sight. She looked him in the eye and said, "Well, hello there," he stopped stock still and looked at her like, "WHERE have you been???," and that was the end of his foolishness. He has been an absolute doll the entire time he's been with us. We were told that he couldn't be caught but she walked up to him in a 50 acre pasture, put the lead rope around his neck, slid the halter on, and the walked out like they were in a halter class. We have a TB mare that had no clue what-so-ever as to how to behave around other horses. It took her over a year to learn how to communicate. We nearly had her put down a couple of weeks after we got her because she was so unpredictably volatile but, when her old feed wore off, she calmed down enough that we decided to give her a chance. She's a good girl but is not one that could be handled by just anyone. Anyway, take your time and enjoy your new horse. A little respect goes a long way with them. -jo ann-

 

[jayne]

I think your plan for just letting her be a horse until next spring is a great one.

The owner of the barn where I used to board for years and years (a small, family operation) used to buy TB's at auction who were so recent off the track that they still had their racing plates on. Her method was to turn them out (we had two herds on about 30 acres each, one of mares one of geldings) and let them be a totally FREE HORSE for several months. Now if it was winter, they had to come to the gate and get caught and brought in to their stall at night just like everybody else, expecting the same good manners, but other than that not much was requested of them. They needed to learn how to 'talk horse' in a group situation, and run off all the rich food and whatever else unhealthy might be coursing through their symptoms. It just helped them clear their heads and gain some good healthy weight.

After a few months they were started again from scratch. I don't remember even one of the dozen or so she got who wasn't a good horse. Several even went to kids for hunter/jumpers. I do know that she didn't pay much more than $500 for any one of them, and usually 6 months later they were sold for a minimum of $5000.

Of course she was taking a risk that one might have had permanent lameness issues, or was a nutcase, but so far that hasn't been the case. Another real upside of OTTB's is that when it came time for vetting or farrier work they sure didn't cause any problems. Must be something about the way they're brought up.

I think you will LOVE your big new girl. I have a 17 hand trail horse (my clydesdale) and it is a total PAIN to get on him (we're talking backs of pickups and sides of horse trailers). Always use a mounting block even if you CAN get up. You sure don't want to tweak her back pulling yourself all the way up there.

Contratulations! Can't WAIT to see pictures!

Jayne

 

[RENMACMINIS]

Leanna.. we didnt have the truck and trailer with us... :new_shocked: we had to call home and have them come pick her up..my dad is just so happy with us...

:

Vicky she is huge.. I am 5'8" and her withers are over my head.. I think I am going to have to go buy one of those lightweight saddles now otherwise I am not going to be able to saddle her up..

Jo Ann thanks for the heads up.. we are taking our sweet time with this girl as I dont think I could keep her in hand if she got wound up. You can feel the power thru the leadline she is so big and powerful looking. this is the first TB I have been hands on with so its a new experience for me.

Jayne. I think letting her be just a horse will help her ALOT!!! My plans for her are just to ride her around her and in a few parades. nothing fancy maybe show her in some halter classes at some local shows but other than that shes just going to be livng the life of luxury. no stalls, no jockeys, no trainers and definetly no running in circles... lol..

So without further ado.. here she is.. Abby..

Thank you all for your advice as I said this is the first time I have dealt hands on with a TB so its going to be a completely new challenge for me..

Sherry

 

[jayne]

Abby is BEAUTIFUL!!! It always suprises me when I am reminded how lean they keep them. Her color is beautiful and she is nice and shiny. It's pretty easy to see her nice comformation with her being so lean, not like my fat horses!! You are going to enjoy her soo much!!

Congratulations!

Jayne

 

[momtotwo]

Oh Sherry, Abby is beautiful!! What bloodlines does she come from? What are your ultimate plans for her? Take your time with her and I think you will do fine. TBs want to please their people. They do sometimes have some idiosyncracies because of the way they are trained so I would recommend reading some of the books about OTTBs. Congratulations on your new friend!! -jo ann-

 

[keeperofthehorses]

Ahhhh, she's pretty.

: I love TB mares. They are so sweet and loyal and yet so danged powerful. Mine got bored with endless circle dressage training. I found that lots of cardio, with just a bit of technical mixed in, worked best for mine. And sometimes, they just need to blow off steam, and then sit in the shade and get over it. They LOVE to get out on the trail and have adventures. Mine have also been very bold; when there's something spooky, they pull you toward it rather than run away from it. My girls have loved to be fussed over, massaged, and made pretty. They enjoy turnout and being a horse, but they also crave attention and interaction, even if it's just a butt-scratch. And though mine have also been big, they seem to know it and take care not to hurt me. My 17h TB mare is the biggest snuggle-bug in my barn.

Enjoy Abby; I can't wait to read about her progress.

:

 

[Robin1]

Leeana, leaving the trailer at home didn't work for me. I had to drive all the way home to get it and back again to get the horse.

:

Robin

 

[Leeana]

Okay how about this .....

If all else fails (including leaving the trailer behind) Leave the check book, credit cards, debit cards and all un-neaded cash at home!

:

:

:

I can see why you HAD to have her

:

 

[Ferrah]

I have retrained two off the track TBs (with supervision) and here is my best advice to you:

-Give her a break, which you are already planning

-Start training her like she has never been ridden before

-I did lots of ground driving with the two I retrained before I ever got on

-When you do start riding you will find it easier to teach her going clockwise rather than counterclockwise. A racehorse races counter clockwise.

-We did the ground driving because TBs on the track are not trained to stop in the same way a riding horse is. When a jockey gives a pull on their mouth they are trained to push and lengthen their stride. They stop them by standing in the stirrups and pulling back.

-Get her used to things against her sides, and especially squeezing against her sides, she has probably never been taught how to move off the leg with a squeeze.

-I found the two I retrained to be suprisingly calm. They only ran for it when you asked them to!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Well I am not a TB admirer but that is one nice horse, let's forget about breed, shall we??

The top and the third down photos show her potential, the others show what she is, and just why letting her down slowly and letting her learn for herself are the right ways to go!!

Good Luck and we want progress pictures so remember to take them!!!