Retraining the racehorse—some general considerations…

1. Is he sound?

Here’s the hard reality: Unsound=Pasture Ornament at $10-25 a day, which is somewhere between $3,560 and $9,125 a year to sit basically untouched in a field (which I won’t do, though some will).

2. Can I comfortably ride this horse?

I don’t like hot, I don’t like scared and I don’t like the idea that I can spend hours and hours of quiet work, and still have the horse remain a nervous wreck. Yes, he might get over it, but he equally might not, so if a horse seems super nervous I’ll look elsewhere. And, yes, I may be missing a good one, but, as they say, “life is short, art is long”, and I would rather work with one who seems more low key from the start.

Tense, my current "OTTB". © Tamarack Hill Farm

Tense, my current “OTTB”. © Tamarack Hill Farm

3. Can I see myself being able to turn some of this horse’s weaknesses into strengths?

Tense, like so many racehorses, is weak at the base of his neck. It is super easy for him to be either above the bit or behind the bit. He is weak, and underdeveloped behind. But if I can be the most patient rider on the planet, and be willing to take the time it takes, I think those are at least somewhat fixable.

Denny Emerson

Twice Wild, OTTB. ©Tamarack Hill Farm

4. Does this horse have talent for something?

It might be jumping or flat work or competitive trail, but there needs to be some “spark” of something that says, “Here is an avenue to pursue with this guy.”

And then I have to “take a stand” with the horse. What the heck does that mean? It means, ok, we are going to be steadfast in our work and commitment and take the ups and downs and not get all frazzled by the bad days, or overly euphoric on the good days, but just hang in there, not “forever” if there seems no light at the end of the tunnel, but neither should we expect quick results, and bail if they don’t come easily.

© Tamarack Hill Farm

© Tamarack Hill Farm

So many riders give up on a horse without giving the horse the time he/she needs to fit into a new life. Give the horse a real chance, not lip service chance. I think it takes a special “mentality” to hang in there, and maybe many of the really driven competitors are not ready yet to be that kind of trainer.

 


About the Author

Named “One of the 50 most influential horsemen of the Twentieth Century” byThe Chronicle of the Horse, Denny Emerson was elected to the USEA Hall of Fame in 2005. He is the only rider to have ever won both a gold medal in eventing and a Tevis Buckle in endurance. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and author of How Good Riders Get Good, and continues to ride and train from his Tamarack Hill Farm in Vermont and Southern Pines, NC.