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

Ex-racehorses do tinsel too !

So Christmas is upon us, and the ex-racers at the farm are not happy. For their humans it's a time of frantic activity, trying to make get all prepared for the festivities, as well as fitting in work and all the rest of their busy lives. It means that sometimes the horses are fed a little later than usual, or are brought in from the paddocks earlier (and since the grass is still growing in this unusually mild December, the horses want to stay out eating it!) And, sensitive souls that they are, the ex-racehorses quickly pick up on their stressed-out carers' irritability and tiredness, and respond by being as awkward as possible.

I always think that November and December are the hardest months for anyone involved in keeping livestock – in the UK, at least.. The weather may not be quite as severe as in January, but the ever-shortening days mean there is never enough daylight to do all that needs to be done. Add in days of persistent rain and occasional fog, and horses can end up spending too long standing in stables and not nearly enough doing exercise. So – especially if they are ex-racehorses used to regular hard work and discipline – they can easily end up bored, unfit – and naughty! Their 'Whoopee, playtime!' mindset quickly kicks in.

But – hey! - it's Christmas! It only lasts a few days, and soon enough the festive decorations will come down for another year and life will return to normal. If you are struggling to tend your ex-racehorse as devotedly as you would like, my advice is to cut yourself some slack, relax, stop struggling to be the perfect horse-keeper, and just enjoy the holiday. The horses, ex-racers or not, will come to no harm for having a bit of down-time themselves whilst humans over-indulge in food and drink for a few days. They will enjoy having longer turnout on Christmas Day – or even for the whole holiday. You will soon catch up with exercise, and discipline, afterwards. As long as the horses have good shelter, or rugs, to keep they warm and dry, and plenty of grass or hay to keep they occupied, they'll be happy as larry. Christmas carrots and polo mints optional, but always welcome.

Happy Christmas!

Ex-racehorses on Trainers' Websites

,I've been helping a friend research the history of her ex-racehorse - ( Racing Post is always a good place to start!) - and ended up spending lots of time delving through the websites of various racehorse trainers. A couple of things struck me.

First – considering that horseracing is a mega-million pound industry with a lot of high-flying high-achievers involved in it, one way or another – it 's amazing how disappointing, and sometimes downright wonky, many trainers' websites are. Sometimes they are creaky, DIY freebie versions with lots of typos. Even more professional ones are often difficult to navigate, and frequently do not provide the information you would really like. (A bit of consumer feedback might be helpful there!)

And so often the sites are badly out-of-date, with the last 'News' or Blog Post being months, sometimes years, earlier. Some trainers – even some very high-profile ones – do not have a website at all. (Perhaps they feel they do not need to bother with on-line marketing and publicity? ) Probably much of this is down to racehorse trainers, and their staff, being racehorse-trainers and horse-handlers, not techies. Ah well...

The other thing I noticed was that some trainers, often the smaller ones, clearly take a keen interest in the lives of their horses after they leave racing. These trainers will have a specific page of their site, sometimes a very extensive one, detailing the activities of their former charges. In sections with titles like 'Where are they now?' or 'Old Friends', there will be photos of ex-racers lolling about in fields, canoodling with kids and dogs and bunnies, and doing lots of good stuff in their new careers – showing, hunting, showjumping, teamchasing, polo, even sidesaddle demonstrations in fancy-dress. It's heartwarming to see, and it certainly shows just how versatile and adaptable ex-racehorses can be, given the opportunity.

It also shows that trainers do have a heart! Some of the ones I came across were obviously very proud of how their ex-inmates had succeeded in their new lives. And, these trainers seemed to think it was important to let people know that they took considerable care to re-home their retired racehorses appropriately. After all, as British racing likes to say, “It's all about the horses”. And these days, when many more people are concerned about caring for animals than perhaps used to be the case, it surprises me that more trainers don't publicize their achievements in successfully re-homing their ex-racers. Apart from anything else, it would be great PR for the industry. Also, if a trainer is proud of his re-homing record, it seems fair to assume he takes care to get it right and do the best for the horse, by choosing the 'right' new home. Therefore, he would probably be a good trainer to approach if you are seeking an ex-racehorse and want to know the full truth about it - including whether you could handle and ride it safely.

Of course, a regularly up-dated 'Where Are They Now?' section on a website would take a certain amount of office-time to keep up to – but surely not that much? No doubt for the really big trainers, who keep two hundred horses at a time and often have a high turn-over rate, it might be almost impossible to keep track of all the retirees. But then, these Big Boys have dedicated administrative staff – and techies – who surely could give it a bit of input?

And, obviously, the updates would rely upon the new non-racing owners feeding back to the trainers on how the horses were progressing. In my experience, this has a feel-good factor at both ends. Many trainers are delighted to receive the occasional update on a horse they once trained. ( I'm talking perhaps once a year, or occasionally when the horse has achieved something outstanding. Start sending weekly chitchat and you will soon be heavily de-Friended!) And for an ex-racehorse owner to see a picture of their happily-retrained Boy or Girl on the website of a racing trainer can be quite a thrill.

I think it's something all ex-racehorse owners should support, and encourage!

Here are some of the sites I found with lovely pages where trainers proudly show their re-homed horses.

Ruth Carr                 www.ruthcarrracing.co.uk

Robin Dickin            www.robindickinracing.org.uk

Micky Hammond      www.mickyhammondracing.co.uk

Alan King                 www.alankingracing.co.uk

Philip Kirby              www.philipkirbyracing.co.uk

Ex-racers score highly at Polo

Polo ponies need to be fast, agile, and intelligent. Do Thoroughbreds spring to mind? Ideally they should also be not too tall, and be great at short bursts of speed. Sounds just like a flat-race sprinter to me. Not surprisingly, ex-racehorses, at least the smaller ones, are becoming increasingly popular as polo ponies. Some 900 ex-racers – mostly 3-4-year-olds from the Flat – leave UK racing every year to retrain for polo. Polo players like them because, apart from having speed and athleticism, they are usually also good-mannered, quick to learn, easy to travel, and used to operating amongst other horses.

Through this summer, many polo ponies have been seen in play wearing white stickers on their quarters (rather like those labels that get stuck onto horses' bums in the sales ring!) The white stickers show that the polo pony has once raced – and therefore qualifies for the attractive bonuses ( £1000 + !) offered by ROR. There are different awards on offer, according to the horse's age, and whether it has raced in Britain or simply been in training here. (Horses that raced abroad can qualify through some of the International fixtures around the country.) There are prizes for the best ex-racer pony at the end of the season, and for the rider or producer who the panels feels has contributed most to the retraining cause. It is hoped that this will be an annual feature that grows the popularity of both ex-racehorses and the sport of polo.

This year's winners are:

High Goal Pony Award - Costa Lotta - owned and played by Ollie Cudmore

Young Producer - Jack Richardson

Costa Lotta is a 9-year-old mare by Statue of Liberty out of Costa Balena (clever naming!). Formerly in training with Ed Dunlop, she ran four times, winning zero. Clearly she simply needed a different career, because she's doing great now!

Jack Richardson gets most of his polo ponies from racehorse trainers such as Richard Fahey and the Easterby’s. Presently Jack has around 30 ex-racehorses on his farm, ranging from 2-year-olds to older, experienced playing ponies. His playing string of 12 ponies is made up of 10 former racehorses that Jack has produced himself. Ex-racers prove themselves once again!

                                      Costa Lotta does Polo !              (Credit  Annabel Wigley Equestrian)

Summer Showing and ROR Championships

2015 has been another great year of competitions for ex-racehorses, largely thanks to all the support and promotional work of Retraining of Racehorses. It's been especially good this year to see the categories and levels of classes widen, so that 'ordinary' ex-racers – with all their battle-scar lumps and bumps – can participate in meaningful competitions and still have a chance to win. The association with TARRA has really helped with this in the showing sector, particularly. There have been ROR classes at all the big UK shows, of course, but ex-racer classes at smaller events also seem to have been better-supported this year, after a long time in the doldrums.

There have also been ROR competitions for dressage, eventing – even horseball! And the sport of polo is increasingly promoting the use of off-the-track thoroughbreds too. (More in a later post.)

The headline stuff, though, is of course the showing, where everyone, on two legs or four, looks their most glamourous all the time. (Well, maybe not at 6.00am on show mornings, frantically plaiting and washing off last night's stable stains...) In a fabulous year, there have been three highlights for me.

Name-dropping first – It was great to see Barber Shop, that gorgeous old jump-racer, owned by H.M The Queen and ridden by Katie Jerram, doing so well all year and eventually taking both the Ridden Championship and the Overall Supreme Championship at the ROR National Championship Show at Aintree in August. It's encouraging that The Queen so obviously supports the cause of retraining racehorses.

Secondly, how lovely it was to see real old veterans strutting their stuff so beautifully in the Veterans Championship. The winner, My Broadstairs Joy, was 19 years old! Second place went to Lampos, a 15-year-old brown gelding, and third was 18-year-old Tap. Tap had been quite a successful racehorse, having 37 runs, winning 5 and getting placed too, to earn over £20,000. Clearly this retraining stuff works! The winner, though, My Broadstairs Joy, was not perhaps the best of racehorses – he ran eight times and won absolutely nothing. But this gorgeous grey has nevertheless clearly led a useful and happy life doing other non-racing things, and thriving on it.

My third highlight, though, I should perhaps have put first, because to me it's really heartwarming. Last year Joanna Mason, from Malton in Yorkshire, did really well showing her ex-racehorse Liverpool. Each winter – tough lass that she is – Jo rides point-to-pointing. And in March this year she took a fall at Hurworth point-to-point and broke her back. I was there and saw it, and it was horrible. Jo crushed her T9 and T8 vertebrae, and had to have eight pins and two rods inserted into her back. Many people wondered if she would ever ride – or even walk – again. But if Jo herself ever felt such fears, she certainly never let them hold her back. Just two months after her accident, 25-year-old Jo was back in the saddle. And during her recovery period, she decided to try riding side-saddle. As you do. (!) “You can't be in your comfort zone forever,” she says. ( Is she ever? But what a motto to live by!)

With guidance from side-saddle showing experts, Jo took lessons and then introduced 13-year-old Liverpool to the elegant art. “He took to it like a fish to water,” Jo reports. “I was like a fish out of water.”

Be that as it may, in their first side-saddle class, the Horse of the Year Show qualifier at the Great Yorkshire Show in July, they came fourth. ( And, they came third in the ROR class too.)

And now look what they achieved at the ROR Championships:

4^th ROR Concours d'Elegance

3^rd Ridden Showing Ex-racehorse of Show Riding Type

1^st TBA/TARRA Ridden Qualifier for 2016

2^nd Tattersalls & ROR Ridden Show Horse

2^nd Amateur Home Produced Ridden Ex-racehorse

2^nd Side-saddle Ridden Ex-racehorse

3^rd Overall Supreme Champion

How's that for Come-back Kids !

Joanna Mason and Liverpool       (Credit  Laura Clark)

RESULTS

RoR National Championship Show at Aintree - 29-8-2015

Class 2 – Jockey Club Novice Qualifier:
1st MISTY GEM – Sophie Staveley
2nd THUNDER BAY – Lesley Dexter
3rd PRIDEUS – Brian Storey
4th LEVERAGE – Helen Jackson

Class 4 -Tattersalls Special Class:1st JACK THE GIANT – Allister Hood
2nd BEWARE CHALK PIT – Justine Armstrong-Small
3rd BARBERS SHOP – Katie Jerram
4th TYCOONS REFLECTION – Helen Newbold

Class 6 – Jockey Club Novice Final:1st ROYAL ROCK – Oliver Hood
2nd BEWARE CHALK PIT – Justine Armstrong-Small3rd FLYJACK – Andrea Winstanley
4th THE LODGE ROAD – Jane Pimply

Class 7 – TBA TARRA In Hand Final:
1st NICENE CREED – Hannah Chisman
2nd A NOD AND A WINK – Kim Shepherd
3rd PANOPTIC – Alexandra Hawkes
4th ANOTHER LATE NIGHT –

Class 8 – TBA TARRA Ridden:
1st MOONOKI – Ann Wright
2nd DANCE ISLAND – Catherine Beaumont
3rd CRISP NOTE – Isla Mansell
4th POPPY – Rebecca Jones

Class 9 – TBA TARRA Final:
1st MOONOKI – Ann Wright
2nd DANCE ISLAND – Catherine Beaumont

Class 10 – RoR Concours Delegance:1st BANG ON TREND – Sophie Tranter
2nd THE ROYAL DUB – Jessica Seels
3rd GRAY KNIGHT – Laura Grey
4th LIVERPOOL – Joanna Mason

Class 11 – RoR Elite Showing Series Final:1st JACK THE GIANT – Allister Hood (The Jackpots)
2nd BARBERS SHOP – Katie Jerram (HM The Queen)

Class 12 – RoR Retrained Racehorse Challenge Qualifier:1st BUNACURRY – Clare Halliday
2nd CRISP NOTE – Isla Mansell
3rd LAMPOS – Jolene Midgley
4th WILD WEST – Lizzie Harris

Class 13 – In-Hand Ex Racehorse:
1st NICENE CREED – Hannah Chisman
2nd A NOD AND A WINK – Kim Shepeard
3rd PLEIADE DE LA VEGA – Bethany Ford
4th BLAISE WOOD – Bryony Close

Class 14 – TBA/TARRA In-Hand Qualifier For 2016:1st NICENE CREED – Hannah Chisman
2nd A NOD AND A WINK – Kim Shepeard
3rd BRIGHT SUN – Carolyn Bates
4th CHATTERLY’S LOVER – Elisabeth Gardner

Class 15 – In-Hand Ex Racehorse:
1st AUNTIE DIFF- Abigail Smith Dawe

Class 16 – Ridden Showing EX Racehorse of Show Riding Type:
1st ALLIED ANSWER – Dannii Thexton
2nd DANCE ISLAND – Catherine Beaumont
3rd LIVERPOOL – Joanna Mason
4th COLONEL KLINK – Alice Heaver

Class 17 – Ridden Showing Ex racehorse of Hunter Type:
1st BARBERS SHOP – Katie Jerram
2nd TYCOONS REFLECTION – Helen Newbold
3rd ROCKPILER – Emily Rudd
4th BANNOW STRAD – Angela Prouse

Class 18 – TBA/TARRA Ridden Qualifier For 2016:
1st LIVERPOOL – Joanna Mason
2nd SPANISH HILDALGO – Kimberley Gould
3rd FUTURISTIC DRAGON – Emma Wade
4th JIMMYLING – Samantha Dexter

Class 19 – The Tattersalls and RoR Ridden Show Horse Class:
1st MY BROADSTAIRS JOY – Heather Blythe
2nd LIVERPOOL – Joanna Mason
3rd SPANISH HILDALGO – Kimberley Gould
4th RED TARN – Emma Tillett

Class 20 – Amateur Home Produced Ridden Ex Racehorse:
1st BILLYBO – Claire Griffiths
2nd LIVERPOOL – Joanna Mason
3rd HEEZAZARI – Tamsin Karn
4th ANNA ISABELLA – Vicky Campbell

Class 21 – Best Grey Ridden Ex Racehorse:
1st PRIDEUS – Brian Storey
2nd ALLIED ANSWER – Dannii Thexton
3rd RED TARN – Emma Tillett
4th WHATCANYASAY – Brian Storey

Class 22 – Best Aintree Ridden Ex Racehorse:
1st DANCE ISLAND – Catherine Beaumont
2nd OSCAR BAY – Victoria Hamlyn-White
3rd AIKMAN – Rachel Robson
4th Fastfred – Lisa MacLennnan

Class 23 Side Saddle Ridden Ex Racehorse:
1st WILD WEST – Lizzie Harris
2nd LIVERPOOL – Joanna Mason
3rd BANG ON TREND – Sophie Tranter

Class 24 – RoR Veteran Championship:1st MY BROADSTAIRS JOY – Heather Blythe
2nd LAMPOS – Jolene Midgley
3rd TAP – Sam Dixon
4th VICTOR MERLYN – Jo Llewellyn

Class 25 In-Hand Championship:

1st NICENE CREED – Hannah Chisman
2nd Auntie Diff – Abigail Smith Dawe
3rd A NOD AND A WINK – Kim Shepeard

Class 26 – Ridden Championship:
1st BARBERS SHOP – Katie Jerram
2nd BILLYBO – Claire Griffiths
3rd ALLIED ANSWER – Dannii Thexton
4th WILD WEST – Lizzie Harris

Class 27 – Overall Supreme Championship:
1st BARBERS SHOP – Katie Jerram
2nd NICENE CREED – Hannah Chisman
3rd LIVERPOOL – Joanna Mason

Ex-racehorse Summer Time

So much to catch up with after the summer!

Starting at the grass roots - over at the farm the ex-racers have summered well. The fact that it was such a poor, typically British, summer, and rather miserable for humans, actually meant that it was good for horses. Frequent showers made the grass grow, and the cool and gloomy days kept the flies away. We've used far less fly-repellent and eye-lotion than usual!

There has been a new arrival – a gorgeous dark bay ex-chaser called Ben ( he's by Beneficial, so it figures!) He 's had an illustrious career in National Hunt, had a chill-out year off, then a concentrated period of retraining. No-one knows yet what his next job is going to be. He's a lovely-natured lad, and has the ability to do almost anything. He has nicely balanced paces so could do well at dressage, eventually (at the moment he has trouble cantering on the correct leg!) He jumps like a stag, and with his good looks he's bound to do well in the showring. His owner – primarily a racing fan – originally simply wanted to find Ben a good home doing a new job. But the 'right person' hasn't come along yet – and meanwhile owner and horse are getting increasingly fond of each other....! Who knows how it will turn out, but in the meantime we are just keeping Ben going quietly and learning more each day. I'll keep posting on developments.

The old retirees are all fat and glossy. Magic weighed in last week at 648 kilos – he looks more like a bullock than a Thoroughbred! (You would never believe that he once won hurdle races.) And the grass is still growing – it's early October, and we haven't had to put out any hay yet. Once we have a few frosty nights, of course, all that will change and the big bales will go out – but, so far, so good. If we do get a long, hard winter, we may be having to feed hay into May...

At the moment the main problem is the vexed question of : To rug or not to rug? We've had a few cool nights lately, and some foggy mornings, but mostly the days have been warm and sunny. As we know, Thoroughbreds have fine coats and thin skins – and some of them are terrible wimps when it comes to braving the weather. A horse that stands miserably shivering and shaking for twenty-four hours will soon loose condition. But, a horse that gets too hot under its rug will loose weight too, through sweating up and, possibly, going off its food. In autumn and spring, with the mixed weather we have even within a day, it's hard to get it right.

I was told long ago that it's better for a horse to be too cold than too hot – especially as far as rugging-up goes. And I think it's true. After all, horses evolved over millions of years to be weatherproof! It's more natural for them to tolerate a cold spell than to be overheated by clothing. And when in doubt, I tend to favour the most natural way. On the other hand, we know that it's Nature's Way, in the wild at least, for horses to grow thin in winter. And we don't want the Old Boys looking like toast-racks! We find it's persistent rain that does the real damage. A single wet day is no problem, but two or three in a row would soon see the weight falling off. So, with their own winter coats not yet through, and four days of heavy rain forecast, the boys have had their rainsheets put on. They all look very smart – but since they all love rolling and play-fighting, that won't last for long!

Magic and Ben enjoying the last of the summer

Ben takes well to being an ex-racehorse