I am going to look for a sound Thoroughbred at the track soon for eventing. How long did it take you to transition your OTTB from the track, and how long was it before the horse's first event (prior to leaving the track)? How long was it before the horse calmed down? How did you transition him/her? I think I'll keep mine in a paddock beside the main pasture until he's ready to join the herd, then turn him out until he get the track out of him (so to speak) and once he's mellowed out a bit I'll start work in the round pen and slowly progress to ring work (dressage). I'll do some jump training once he's got his flat down, and just keep going from there. I can school at a cross country course that's very close. I know it will all depend on my horse but I'm looking for an average to base my estimated time on. Thanks for all help! No rude answers please!
When I got my OTTB home from the track I just turned him out and let him be a horse for eight weeks. I groomed him, I lavished him with attention, I introduced him to what treats where, I worked on his ground manners ( teaching my big 17.2H gelding "head down" was the best thing EVER), and I introduced him to the other horses.
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At the end of the eight weeks I started lounging and doing some roundpenning work. When he was lounging quietly both directions at the walk, trot, and canter I started to put some in the saddle time on him. Remember, OTTBs are NOT trained to be english riding horses. All they know is run fast and run faster. Don't skip the basics. Work on transitions and muscling. Don't rush the lateral work. When (and only when) your horse is able to maintain a balanced walk/trot/canter, has started lateral work, and is reasonably muscled should you begin training over fences. I suggest lots of pole work and gymnastics, working your way up to single fences, lines, and then courses.
Lots of hacks outside the ring, slow gallops, and hillwork should round him off for cross country. Best of luck!!
Be very careful in taking on a track horse ... why is he/she for sale? They are athletes .. lots of medication, legal or illegal. The older they are ... the more they've been thru. Be very picky about the history ... only from barns/farms you know & trust ....
It mainly depends on your Thoroughbred. Mine raced and was gelded at 7, and he still acts like a race horse now that he is 10, hahaha. My race horse sat for 1 year once he got off the track because he had a bowed tendon. The normal wait time is 2-3 months before putting them to work (a couple more months before jumping) So the medicine they pump them with and injury's they might have can heel and they can relax. As far as taking the horse to his first event, it depends on how ready the horse is but prepare the horse will be excited! Good luck!
My thoroughbred is quite sensitive, and so when I first got him, I let him into a pasture and let him learn how to run and kick-up his heels for fun. I let him out into the pasture for a year and didn't even think about hopping on him. I fed him treats, took him for walks with and without a saddle on, and touched up on ground manners. I also took him to a few shows later in the year to get him used to the atmosphere without the stress. By the time he was relaxed enough to start thinking about training, we had a mutual respect for each other that made training even easier. It didn't take him the full year to calm down, but I didn't want any set-backs, so I gave him extra time. Then I started lunging him in a round-pen. Once he learned that, I hopped on and took him on trail rides for a year straight. By then I could trust him with any rider, on the trails, and knew he was ready for training. So one day, after a trail ride, I trotted him a few times around the ring. Eventually I graudually lessened the trail riding and bumped up the ring work until we trail rode only occasionally.
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Now he's been off the track for three years and he's winning at 3 'hunters, and is a total sweetheart. I couldn't be happier.
Good luck:)
I would check out:
http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Track-Retra ... Having owned two Thoroughbreds (one was an OTTB the other circus trained), it really does depend on the horse. The one that did not race had never been saddle trained (though was ridden bareback), and he competed in his first novice event about 6 months after we bought him. However, he was older (5) and had a very sound mind. Most racehorses require anywhere from I'd say 6 months to a year or more to completely unwind from the tack life. I'd say with training add on another year or so. So, the timeline could run anywhere from a year and a half to two years or more. Good luck!
