Cross Breeds - How many people have retired TB racers?

How many people have retired TB racers?

How many people out there have ex TB racers? Every time I ask a question about my TB people assume is an ex racer. I live in Northern California (which means north of Sacramento) and the "retirees" aren't so common up here. My TB has been ridden western his whole 10 years of existance and most people think they can't or shouldn't be ridden western. Is there a reason for this? Just curious. He is a great western horse, nice smooth ride but definately not racing material! =) Hey thanks! That is good to know that there are others that do western with TBs and I want to Barrel Race him, I think he would do great! I have just heard so much negative feedback on western TBs I wanted to hear something else. Thanks people for the response on this. I am SO happy to know there are other Western Riders our there that ride TB's!

Public Comments

I regularly get racetrack rejects and retrain them. It doesn't matter WHAT discipline a TB is in, so long as they have a good life (as any other horse), it's better than going to slaughter (where the vast majority of ex-track horses go. Many many TB's come from the racetrack, but as you said, not all. Oh- PS-- I know a gal who runs a couple of TB's on barrels...
teaching a horse western will eliminate the "Drive" needed for racing. all retired race horses can be taught western style of riding, but then they will not be effective racers.
I have two that were trained for racing, but never made it, and I have two ex-racers.
Yep, I have owned several. I did comment about an OTTB, in regard to their lunge training but not meant in regard to your particular question. There is nothing wrong with riding western on a TB at all. Been doing it for years:)
I bought a tb ex-racing horse and i rode him with a western saddle and it did not bother him...he was one of the best horses that i have ever had....
Any horse can be trained and ridden Western So who ever says that, ether doesn't know a lot about horses or is a "little" byest towards TB I know people that have a retired TB race horse and 3 retired Standardbred Harness racers These 2 breeds are not hard to find Most TB Race horses have a short racing career (because of injury or just not fast enough), so a lot of people buy them for pleasure mounts That's probably why people assume your horse is a X Racer
Any horse can learn anything. It's true that TB's are not your typical western horse, but there's nothing wrong with it! I think it's not as common, because "some" of them are more sensitive than say your average Quarter Horse. I bought an ex race horse and it was the best thing I've ever did. He loves his new job as a Hunter. I take him out every now and again to let him run some steam off on the trails. I would definitely buy another!! Here's a great website if anyone is looking for one. This is where I found mine. www.canterusa.org
I have an ex-racehorse, just don't tell her that! She is 19 and does Barrel Racing with me. In Poles we are the best in the class. It is harder for TB's to do Contesting because they are so big, it just takes a lot of conditioning.
I have 3 currently, all English mounts, but they could be ridden western if I wanted too. I gave one away recently that is being ridden western now, but he looked like a QH to begin with so most people didn't know he was a TB. I also know a few people who barrel race on TBs. Many of the sprinter-bred TBs look like QHs anyway, so they can definitely excel in any discipline.
I had a TB and I rode him bareback most of the time (Is that considered western? I'd say so) and he was the best horse I could have wanted. Never did any kind of show riding; just pleasure/trail. He also was not fast enough for the racetrack but he sure gave me a few thrills. Gosh, I miss him.
I have an ex racer. He was retired due to a mud slip injury (an injury to his back from slipping on a muddy race track). He is the most sensitive horse I have ever worked with. He is actually one of three ex racers a friend of mine and I rescued, with the help of a friend of hers (he found the horses, supplied the trailer, we took them). They had all been ridden before we got them by the people who had rescued them from the track. Unfortunately, they became serious rescue horses because the people could no longer afford to take care of them. All were emaciated and had a skin fungus that was very irritable (but easily removed, I forget what it was called, hot something) and their feet were terrible (mine is still recovering from the fact that he had no heels). He was ridden western, and will be again once I’m done retraining him. There is nothing wrong with riding a TB western. The main problem comes from the fact that most westerns saddle don’t fit TBs because of their high withers. Best thing is to get a treeless saddle (for any horse) but they are very expensive (for the good ones). So I’ve gotten him a western saddle made for gaited horses which has a special tree designed for horses with high withers. It works very well. So, on my street, there are to ex racers (my neighbor got on just a few days after we got ours) and at the end of the street are the other two from the batch mine came from. All geldings, and almost all of them are very good horses. (My friend’s mom’s is completely insane, we think he was beaten. But we‘ll fix him.) I'm located east of Sacramento (if i remember my directions correctly) and aside from us, there aren't many TB lovers here. Its all about QHs.
i have an ex-racer, one of the best horses i've ever had so far, i'd love to ride western on him but over here in britain there aren't many places that teach western
My mare is an ex racer - she was too slow for the track :) I ride english, dressage, fox hunting. I've got a colt out of her, half app. He's quite a bit faster than she is...
I have a 15 yr old TB. We bought him from a rescue barn. Before he was there-The people that had him Jumped and did dressage with him. But they went to college and he was left without food for 6 weeks :( So when he was rescued he was on food 24/7 for 6 months. ---Now hes fat BTW--- he-he But while he was there--he was shown barrels and poles. Even though he is a 3rd level dressage horse he is an awesome barrel horse also. He was never raced. <>Emily<> :-)