Ex-racehorse Resolutions - Try Something New in 2016

So here we are in the first working week of 2016, starting a fresh page in diaries and in life. ( Although, as in any good book, there will be some continuity too – otherwise how would long-term projects like re-training ex-racehorses ever make progress?)

Those of you who have ex-racehorses can use the turn of the year to make a new start for them too, whether that's teaching them a new skill, a new discipline, or even inducting them into their whole new ex-racing life.

In the best tradition, here are some New Year Resolutions you might like to try :

Teach your ex-racer something new

It doesn't need to be anything big or dramatic. Standing still to be mounted, perhaps. Or how to do a proper circle. But, sure – if you're already way past that stage, why not try a whole new discipline? Dressage, perhaps, or showjumping, or Le Trec, or maybe try a day's hunting.

Take your ex-racer on an away-day

Ex-racehorses usually thrive on routine, but they are also highly intelligent and new experiences can entertain, enthuse, challenge and reinvigorate them. So why not take them for a day out – for a show, ( probably indoors, if you're aiming to go at this time of year), an ex-racer parade, a charity/pleasure ride, or even a days riding at the beach? It may be sensible to go along with another horse - one of you boy's steady pals, who will reassure him ( and that way you can share travel costs too!). But it will do your ex-racer good to go somewhere that isn't racing – and find he enjoys it. And it will help his confidence, and the bond between you, to come back home together afterwards. You'll find it rewarding for both of you.

Have your ex-racer's back and joints checked out by a good horse physio.

As any retired sportsman will confirm, old sporting injuries can come back to bother you – if you try something new, if the weather's bad, or just for no obvious reason at all. It's a good idea to have your ex-racehorse checked over once a year. Even if there is nothing obviously wrong, there may be hidden strains or tweaks that will benefit hugely from a physio's expert hands and a few remedial exercises. If you do this regularly already, perhaps it might be worth trying another practitioner? They are all different, with their own specialist skills for both diagnosis and treatment. A new new pair of hands, and eyes, may provide the answer to a long-standing issue.

Do something to support racehorse retraining charities

Even if you did not get your own ex-racer from one of the charitable re-homing centres, you will know about the fantastic work they do and how desperate they always are for funds. Why not get in touch with one or two and enquire about ways you could help? It could be simply giving a donation, but you may be able to help in other ways too. If you are geographically near enough, you might be able to offer some time as a volunteer. If you are good with words, or social media, perhaps you could help with publicity and profile-raising? Or you could organise your own fundraising event – a show, perhaps, or a sponsored ride/swim/walk, or baking cakes to sell, or a jumble sale....

And of course, you can enroll your ex-racehorse with ROR, to take part in their competitions throughout the year.

Check out ROR's Events Calendar, & Others

Put in your diary every ex-racehorse event you even vaguely fancy attending, with or without your horse. Then you can plan ahead, school and practice, sort out tack and clothes, and organise transport and holiday time, so that you and your ex-racer can make the best of experiences new and old in 2016.

Have a great year!

New Year, New Fun for Ex-racehorses

Happy New Year!

And happy new lives for all ex-racehorses starting new post-racing jobs.

One of the rural New Year 's Day traditions, here in the UK, is for the local hunt to meet at some sociable pub (with a big carpark or field attached!) and have a convivial stirrup cup or three before trotting off down the lane to follow hounds and get plastered in mud riding over nearby farmland. These days all British hunting is drag hunting – ie; they follow a pre-planned scent trail laid earlier on, - so the guys in charge make allowances for all the tinsel-bedecked tots on tiny ponies and slightly hung-over grown-ups who always turn out to ride on this festive occasion - no difficult jumps or mad galloping sprees expected! There are usually crowds of onlookers to cheer them on – people who enjoy the traditional spectacle and fancy a bit of fresh air between New Year's Eve and New Year's Dinner. And – perhaps surprisingly to some, there is usually a fair sprinkling of ex-racehorses plaited up and ready to follow hounds with the rest of them.(They're easy to spot – they're the sleek and handsome ones!)

Of course, it will have taken much patient preparation to get the ex-racer fit – physically and mentally – for a hunting outing. For one thing, they will have to be able to keep going for hours, so will have needed training for far more stamina than they ever required to race. Some ex-racers will have smart red ribbons plaited into their tails, – not this season's must-have fashion statement, but a warning to other riders (and foot-followers) that these horses may just kick out or buck when excited. A green ribbon signifies that the horse is a novice in the hunting field, so may behave … er... unpredictably. Also, hunting involves a lot of standing around in groups waiting for something to happen. Ex-racehorses don't do standing around and waiting. Their new keepers will have practiced for months trying to teach this new skill of switched-off motionless, but in the excitement of a hunting day it's likely to be forgotten. So, if you spot an athletically gorgeous horse quietly walking in circles a little way from the rest of the riders, chances are it's an ex-racer doing what they are used to do in racing before any action, to keep them calm and listening. It usually works well.

The hunting field doesn't suit all ex-racehorses. Some of them get over-excited and flip into racing mode, careering over hounds and hunt staff and generally causing trouble. But many ex-racers take to it like ducks to water and love it. And those that do make superb hunters, being fast, athletic, often good jumpers, and, when correctly fittened up, full of stamina. They also look fabulously elegant!

Many famous retired racehorses have become brilliant hunters in their new after-racing jobs. Denman and Big Buck's are but two of the more recent ones, whilst a horse called Bai Zhu became so good at hunting that he carried a Master of Foxhounds for many grand days following hounds.

Tally-ho !

Big Buck's ready to go hunting