tell about your thoroughbreds!!! (or the special one in your life)

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Permalink Reply by Kat on August 18, 2008 at 6:25pm

My TB is a 18 year old mare we bought her from someone who just used her for breeding and they had her for 5 years so she hasn't been used for that long, but when they bought her she was used as a hunter/jumper horse. The only problem is, is that since she hasn't been used for 5 years she has goten over-weight so now she always races to the jumps because she isn't confident going over them. So if I want to jump her I have to get her back in shape! Other then that she has a realy sweet temperment and is a bit of a princess!

Permalink Reply by lauren on August 20, 2008 at 5:35pm

ive a 17.1h chestnut tb! we've no papers with him but he has all hthe qualities of a tb!!!!!! i got him a year and a half ago from a riding school! he had been at the riding school 4 2 months and was in really bad shape! i took him on from there! i was told by 1 of my instructors we would never jump over 90cm! that never got me down and with a LOT of hard work and patience hes popping over 1.30m and 1.40m!!!!!!!! also when i 1st got him he wouldnt walk over a pole on the ground and i used 2 have 2 get off and persuade him 2 follow me! dad thinks hes an x steeplchaser cause he used 2 go straight threw the jump rather then jump it!! now hes a perfect horse except he can be a bit spooky but i love him!!!!!!!!!!!!

Permalink Reply by BarnBum on November 30, 2008 at 1:03am

My TB is a 17 hh bay gelding. He's 12 this year and we've had him for 5 years. Mom got him for herself after I'd been riding for a year or so. We both rode him, though I'm a nervous rider so it was mostly her. When she got her own mare he slipped through the cracks, then we moved to texas. I was training on an older and more epieranced horse for our upcoming showing season when all of a sudden I just 'wasnt allowed' to use him any more. I was lost. We tried several horses but I was just too tall! I'm 5'9". Then we pulled him from the pasture. I spent the WHOLE ENTIRE summer conditioning him and training. He couldnt even canter! So we took him to get osteopathy and acupuncture and then two months later we wont Dressage Rally for our Pony Club.

We've been inseparable since. This july we took a jump without enough impulsion and he crashed into it. He put himself in a dangerous position to try and keep me on. My mom, who was watching, said it was like he was trying to keep me on. I believe her. This boy has a good home for life.

Permalink Reply by REED HILL FARM - TN, USA on April 2, 2009 at 6:20pm

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Permalink Reply by Gail Rogers on April 22, 2009 at 3:04pm

Hello, I'm new to this forum, and very happy to be here!. While I have always loved all horses, the ones I love most have always been Thoroughbreds. I've always owned and ridden TBs, whether OTTBs as a young girl, or ones I bred myself later on.
I started out breeding for the track, but gradually evolved into breeding Thoroughbreds Sport Horses (although in my mind all the disciplines are 'sport').
In my opinion the Thoroughbred is the ultimate athlete of the horse world, beauty, athleticism, speed, intelligence and courage.
These are the qualities I aim for in my breeding program,producing sane, sound, beautiful athletes.
While the foundation of my breeding program is always my wonderful mares, the 'star' of my program, and our farm, is my homebred TB stallion, A Fine Romance.
Bred originally by me for the race track, he has had an outstanding career shown on the line, a multiple, many time Champion and Grand Champion. He started his performance career in eventing with International event rider Peter Gray who called him "one of the best".
I then changed his career to that of a show hunter, where he excelled as well, winning many championships as a Working Hunter.
But it is in the breeding shed that he truly shines, consistently siring offspring with his looks, athleticism, outstanding temperament and exceptional jumping ability.
One of his foals I am most proud of, a homebred (and FULL TB!!) is My Romance who competed to Advanced in Eventing before changing careers (and names) and becoming a WINNING Grand Prix Jumper.
One of the few TBs seen in that ring nowadays.
He has many other offspring winning on the line, in eventing, in hunters and in the jumper ring. Many of them full or almost full Thoroughbred.
A Fine Romance is a Gold Premium Canadian Sport Horse, (the highest level) and ISR Oldenburg NA approved. (one of the few TB stallions to be so).

With my firm belief in the value and importance of Thoroughbreds and Thoroughbred blood in sport horse breeding, I am very proud that these valuable and precious bloodlines are carrying on.

Count me in as a lifelong lover of Thoroughbreds!!

www.afineromance.ca

Permalink Reply by Equiryder on April 23, 2009 at 11:26am

Hi, I'm new too. I own 2 off track TB's. My first I got about 18 yrs ago at the end of racing season from Woodbine, he had broke down and was free to a good home (the lighter bay in my picture). I still have him here with me retired. He is now 20 and in good health!
More recently, I purchased (rescued) another OTTB off of a farm in sad shape. My heart went out to him and I knew I had to take him home, even if I just feed him and re-homed him I thought. He was thin and not in good health, silly me never looked in his mouth - he's a cribber. Over time he came around and of course we bonded. He has turned out to be a wonderful, beautiful horse, very quiet and friendly, comes when called. Loves his mints! The riding part is slow to come along as I am a re-rider, a bit intimidated by his 16.1hh size & his lack of experience. So far with help we are doing well (read: "I haven't fallen off yet", lol). He has learned much and come a long way, even jumped a few times, he seems to love it. I am so looking forward to this season and our first show together. I am smitten with TB's I guess!

Permalink Reply by Sharon Berard on May 20, 2009 at 10:46pm

I have a 15 yr old thoroughbred mare named Belle. She was race bred (Bold Executive) but never raced. She doesn't look like a typical thoroughbred. She is big boned and heavily muscled, but has a very thoroughbred mind - competative and very intelligent. She loves to run and was a bold and honest jumper (retired now). She thrives on challenges, either physical or mental. If you let her get bored, watch out - she'll come up with ways to keep herself amused. I have leased and ridden many breeds of horses over the years, arabs, paints, quarter horses, mixes of every description, but it was always the thoroughbreds that captured my heart.

Permalink Reply by Chris Gloin on June 7, 2009 at 9:00pm

I have a five year old never raced tb. He was green when I bought him ( ridden for 2 months only) a year ago. I have always loved thoroughbreds, and when I was a kid I used to draw them, write about them, and read about them constantly. Then I rode them for 6 or 7 years. I got back into riding at age 52, and probably shouldn't have a green horse, but I did it anyway and have been having the time of my life. My boy is a great grandson of Seattle Slew, 16 hands. He is so smart, and so beautiful that he takes my breath away sometimes just watching him and I have learned more about horses and him in the last year than I ever expected.

Permalink Reply by Jenna Uhlenhut on July 9, 2009 at 2:32am

I own a 7 yr old, 15.2hh TB mare (Jacobs Promise) who had 4 starts and came last in all but 3! (the other one being second last) I had only ever owned old station horses and was surprised at how quiet she was, hardly spooked at all. I took her to ag college with me as a project horse to sell off when I graduated (2007).............its now mid 2009 and yes...I still have her =P She was an angel at college, i was warned she hated circles and i would never get to trail ride her.....She will circle as many times as i ask and we can canter down a long grassy road on a loose rein. She was the first horse I took to shows and my first horse ive ever won ribbons on!!
I now have a stock horse gelding i 'started' myself as her paddock mate and reciently purchased two 1 1/2 yr old stock horse x TB's as I love both those breeds and the TB stallion is an amazing looking and moving horse (Extention)
Next I need to learn to jump...as her jump is waaayyy too powerful for me =P

Permalink Reply by Kathy Goucher on September 26, 2009 at 12:12am

I am the very lucky owner of a now 4 year old tb, who has been off the track for 11 months now. He is a dark bay, and I fell in love with him while working at Woodbine last year. He was a favorite patient of mine, and I couldn't believe my luck when the trainer called me and offered him to me free. He came into my life at a time when I was on the verge of losing my best friend, my QH of 20 years. I have only recently started riding him, and he is the best, most awesome horse. He is calm, sweet, friendly, and just has the most peaceful spirit about him.
He has brought the joy of riding back into my life when I was beginning to question if perhaps I should just give up and not ride any more. I know he is grateful to not be on the track, I wonder if he knows how grateful I am to have him as my friend?

Permalink Reply by Nyree on October 4, 2009 at 8:52pm

LOL I ride the same horse as Talesse, Jodie. I love her to bits. She can be a little silly though, sometimes she trips over when shes just trotting, and when I go over small jumps, she doesn't acctually jump them though cuz their to low. But she LOVES cross country. She is 12 too, same age as me lol.

Permalink Reply by Matthew on January 3, 2010 at 7:18pm

My guy is a 16.1h dk brown/bay coming 4 year old OTTB. He came from a great farm that bred him. He came to me in November, rehabilitated after fracturing his left "ankle" during training in '08. He is perfectly sound and now; the only thing he can't do is jump. He's a sweetheart. He's a cheeky monkey, too ;) It was so daunting getting a big horse again after many years (I used to show hunters and jumpers on the A Circuit). I've had minis for a few years and he looks like a giant next to them. A friend said, "Wow! He's huge! Is he around 17h?". I remember when 16.1h, for me, was an average sized horse; after the minis, he is a giant lol. I've ridden him a few times and he's great (especially for having little refreshing in a year+). I couldn't have asked for a better guy :)