Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Katherine T on March 6, 2009 at 11:32pm

well. my experiance with my horse is AMAZING. because your is older you probibly skipped the part i am going through now. ginger is 4 and is a little ball of energy. i bought her and she was deadly skinny. off the track but her owner/breeder died and the lady i got her of basically rescued her. she is SSSOOO sweet. loves attention peole company, other horses. she has amazing potential and i am going to do my ponyclub A on her when she is ready. she easily jumps 3'3''. there is no dought that is you want an athletic horse the bullseye is the thoroughbred. she has the stamina of nothing i have known before and is willing to please. and also a bit too smart for her own good. REASERCH i know a lot of people that would never go near a throghoubred and even old barnmates detested her becuase they were huge showers with their big fancy $40,000+ warmblood. some can be way to firey and are uncontrollable becuase that is what they are breed to do. take the horse on trial is my suggestion AT the place you would be riding them. also carefully check their conformation. throghoubreds are commonly hit with bucked shins when they are young so be especially carefull with buying an ex racehorse becuase they will be speedier and will probibly be morefinly built. after my horse i would always go for another TB. they can be amazing jumpers to and lots of high level riders ride tb's. but always go with the horse that is right for you. i think tbs are a wonderfull way to start

Permalink Reply by Kat on March 7, 2009 at 9:45am

Thanks!!!

Permalink Reply by Kat on March 7, 2009 at 9:49am

If I did get another tb do you think I should get one at the ages of 5-7 or 7-12? Because I am thinking of doing ponyclub and eventing and I don't know If I should look for the younger ones or... the other ones?

Permalink Reply by Ari on August 3, 2009 at 3:27pm

If you are prepared to give him/her a lot of extra schooling, then the younger one would be ideal, because you can train them fully to the way you would like them to be. If you just want a horse that you can get on and ride, however, I'd probably go for one that is a bit older because he/she will have mellowed out a bit more and hopefully will have a bit more schooling... Good Luck!

Permalink Reply by Judith A James on March 7, 2009 at 9:58am

Hi Kat, thoroughbreds are wonderful. I bought my current thoroughbred mare as a newly backed 3 year old. I have had her since 1996. As a 3 year old she was volatile and could be quite explosive. She is still sharp and athletic at 16yrs old. Now she is more prepared to be ridden properly and can give me the most wonderful feeling of flowing energetic movements in dressage. But I would say beware and do not choose a young thoroughbred if you want to compete your horse. My young tb horse could find things quite overwhelming. I fear that if she had gone to a home where she was put under a great deal of pressure to perform then she would have been in real psychological trouble. I spoke with the breeder of her sire who also said that tb's take longer to mature than warmbloods and while the latter might be competing at 5 a tb might take a good deal more time. But there are some really good x-breeds with good tb blood in them that make really good competitive horses.
Good luck
Judith

Permalink Reply by Kat on March 7, 2009 at 10:14am

Thanx, and ya I would either get a tb around the age of 8-10 or this really sweet canadian horse for sale named pam that events and the canadian horses are really good eventers!!

Permalink Reply by Kat on March 21, 2009 at 11:00am

i found a tb for sale and he looks nice! We might be looking at him, check him out!!
http://horsetopia.horse-for-sale.org/classifieds/ad367538
NO ONE BUY HIM I'M LOOKING AT HIM!!
:)

Permalink Reply by cassandra vinckers on March 29, 2009 at 11:44am

I have ridden and worked with tbs all my life- like people all different- we rescued one from a sale in kentucky last year and brought her home all skin and bones and haie- she is 7 now and dwas trained for racing but then her owner who was fabulously wealthy had a whim about breeding swedish warmbloods so sent our mare to be bred twice- then ditched her and ran off to south america with some polo guy- anyways our mare ended up at a sale and we brought her home- got on her bareback with the halter(overtop of the blanket that was hiding the ribs) and by the next day she was lining herself up alon g the fence for me to climb on- she goes in a "jumpiong hackamore " which is basically a halter with reins and my husband hacks her all thru the simcoe county forest- she is careful and bombproof and couldnt be sweeter-yes some tbs are a little nuts but if you get a good one and it bonds to you they are fabulous- good luck and happy horse hunting!

Permalink Reply by Kat on March 30, 2009 at 5:18pm

thanks for the tips and advise everyone!!

Permalink Reply by J.Everheart on March 31, 2009 at 10:21am

A really good website to check out is www.bitsandbytesfarm.com . It's a Thoroughbred farm in Georgia and they buy horses off the track and re-sell them as sport or pleasure horses. Even if you don't buy from them, they have TONS of good info on the site. Go to the success stories section and you'll see tons of stories from people who have had excellent experiences with their Thoroughbreds.
I have a 6 year old Thoroughbred gelding that came straight off the track. He is my first horse and some people thought I was crazy for buying him. I have had a fantastic experience with him. He is smart, not spooky, a hard worker and loves attention. He is more laid back than some of the paints and quarter horses at my barn. So I would HIGHLY recommend a Thoroughbred; just make sure you find one with a more laid back temperament.

Permalink Reply by Janine Savoie on April 15, 2009 at 4:48pm

I have a 5 year old that I bred. My intentions were to run him then keep him for whatever he had the ability to do. Long story short he decided to be a riding horse instead of running. He is very laid back, easy to be around and I can not ride him for a month or two, jump on and he is an angel. His mom is the same way. He's so easy that I galloped him when he was in training on the track after not galloping in almost 20 years.

Permalink Reply by Equiryder on April 22, 2009 at 3:00pm

Hi there, I worked at the track(s) in the early 90's and rescued one (he broke down) at the end of the season. He was of the Northern Dancer lines and fairly high spirited. I really didn't know any other kind at the time and fell in love with him & his zest for life. Still got him now and he is still a pleasure to watch buck and run in the field.
Recently, I acquired another OTTB, 7yr old G who is the complete opposite. Very much a gentleman and quiet. I am (with help) re-schooling him now. Couldn't ask for a nicer tempered horse. Easy-going, big boy with a lot less spookiness. Both love scotch mints. There are so many great TB's out there waiting for a chance to prove themselves.
Best of luck in your search!