exracehorse

Question
I am doing a speech for high school on retraining exrace horses and  iwas hoping you could help me by sending me via email some information I can use. it would be greatly appreciated. I am also currently  retraining a 6 year old ex racehorse that i adopted from CANTER so all the info helps me decide what to do next too. Thanks Sam

Answer
The first thing you want to do is reduce and change the feed gradually over a week or so from the high energy feed they were getting at the race track, to a low energy feed. Also make sure your hay is free from alfalfa, as this is a high energy source as well. During this time, the horse should be turned out into a small paddock for at least part of the day. It may take some time for the horse to be less "on edge" if he was high strung in the first place. When you feel he is ready to ride safely, then go about riding him with total confidence, as the horse can sense this. Treat him like you would treat any other horse you will train. It's just a matter of giving him something new he can be interested in. Race horses are not always trained with lots of leg pressure. This may be new to him so be patient and understand this is all new. Some race horses take longer to "break" than others. Each horse will have it's individual learning curve. Some can be a pleasure horse immediately and others can take years to forget the the track. It's a matter of giving them something new to enjoy. A rider's skill level is important as well. A skilled rider will be able to handle a horse who gets the "racing flashback", as I call it. A novice rider may get nervous and that will just compound a bad situation.

I hope this helps. It's hard to give written advice without knowing more about the horse himself. Every horse is different and it's one of those things as a trainer, I have to evaluate the situation and change my training methods accordingly. Send me your e-mail if you would like me to send this directly to your e-mail. Also if there are any specific questions, I will be more than happy to answer them through this website.


Christopher Crocker
Http://CrockerRacingStable.com
Crocker Racing Stable Inc. and
Thoroughbred Horse Racing Partnerships