Adopting a race horse

So, after practicing your horseback riding on your gentle, old pony for several years, you finally decide that you are ready to take the plunge and bring home an ex-race horse. Answer some ads. The important thing to do is to ask and to be a good listener. Find out as much as you can about the horses' background. How did he do in his races? How many years did he race? What ended his career? What happened to him since he came off the track and so on.

If the horse can be ridden, see if the trainer, or rescue person will saddle him up and ride him for you. It may not be a good idea for you to get on right away, unless the trainer knows your abilities, or unless the trainer can vouch for the horses' gentle character.

Race horses, like other horses and people, come in all dispositions. Some are difficult and contentious; others are sweet and mild. Don't assume that sleepy looking creature standing in the stall is a milk-toast kid's horse, or the 17 hand monster shaking his head and whinnying is a thunderbolt. Looks can be deceiving. I went to visit a small, delicately built mare that had recently retired. She had a lovely, sculpted face with a wide forehead with a white star, large, intelligent eyes and small, exquisitely shaped ears. I thought her adorably perfect for my ten year old daughter until the trainer put the mare in the crossties. She went ballistic. I tossed my daughter up onto the haystack as high as possible for safety, faster than you can hit a birdie with a badmitten racket. The mare was finally put to rights after ending up on her back, legs flailing wildly in the air, but she was in such a snorting frenzy that she had to go back to the paddock to chill out for the rest of the day. Luckily, she wasn't hurt, nor were we, but we learned that prettiness isn't the key feature to look for in a thoroughbred.