standardbreds

[curiou_mare]

Hi I'm planning on training an ex-racehorse standardbred horse (pacer). I would like to hear from people who might have already done this and how the horse turned out. What was the horses personality like? Was it easy to start him under the saddle? And any thing else you can think of that might be useful would be greatly appreciated. Thank-you. :)

[jUmPingIsLifE]

my moms horse is a STB, it was our first horse actually. plus i have spent a lot of time wandering the stb racing barns at our fair when it rolls around. and i have known a couple others too owned privatly. from what i have seen they have been such loving horses! great temperments and loving natures. as for retraining i cant help with to much except that cantering might come hard. they are trained that cantering is a HUGE no-no on the track and they are scolded for it so getting them to relize its OK is quite a task. lots of patience and hard work but they are so worth it once finished.

[kirstenkirsten]

I currently own my second off the track standardbred, they have a great disposition, and a willingness to learn that cant be beat. Just take it slow, and make sure you do lots of transitions, at the walk and trot, take it slow, and dont be to concerned when you first start out, you want forward motion, and no pacing, so make sure you have lots of patience. The canter will come, if you watch them in the fields they will canter. Lunging is also a good way of helping them learn that they can trot and canter(use lots of praise) Both of my mares cantered, the second one the first time that I asked. Good Luck!! you will never regret owning a standardbred!

[momofsix]

I own an ex race horse (not standard breed though but a TB). She sometimes has a hard time standing still but has relaxed lots since she is in pasture. She has a great personality.

[notpoodle]

dunno about pacers, but i knew quite a few ex-trotters (these trot races with little cart things were very popular where i am from). they had lovely personalities but were VERY confused about cantering and not actually PULLING this little cart thing to start with :)

julia

[lazyobie29kr]

I actually just started to ride an ex-racer standardbred pacer and it's going quite well. He had some trouble with the bit, but through trial and error I finally found something that works. Some racers have bits with leather covering the entire bit. This is so that the horse will take the bit easier and not fight it. Make sure to ask the previous owner what kind of bit was used, whether it be a snaffle or a straight bit and whether or not it was covered in some kind of material like leather or a special tape. As for the saddle, take it slow. I had my horse sniff the blanket, touch it, I put it over his head; basically showed him that it will not eat him! When i put it on his head, i would slide it down his neck and then onto his back. I did much the same with the saddle; let him look at it, sniff it, touch it, then ever so slowly place it onto his back. Standardbreds are amazing horses with wonderful temperaments, they are very willing to learn and give you all they've got. They are also wonderful at taking baths since they were hosed down every time after a workout/race. Have fun!

[Santi]

Hi - there is one book available called 'Retraining the Harness Racehorse', i got it sent from the USA for $30 (amazon quoted £80) look on the internet for it. I believe it's the only book on the subject.(?)

It goes through the usual problems (head position and gaits) and has good advice on how to use their previous training (ie voice), how to break them in and what to expect and explains what they used to wear when racing (pretty horrific!). The only complaint i had was i thought it was a bit vague on timing, they had the horse tacked up and lunging in side-reins but didn't say how long it would/should take to get there.

My horse was easy to break to ride, i did it in a month (i had no experience training horses) but teaching him to slow down and balance has been harder. They are trained to listen to voice commands and you can continue this easily, i think he listens to that more than the other aids sometimes.

i am just moving slowly in the direction we want to go (more schooled and responsive to downward transitions - we have no problems getting faster!) There are more experienced people so i have no idea how long things are supposed to take. We have been hacking out for six months and we have trot and canter but he prefers to canter! slowing up isn't great. I have just started to use a running martingale with him and he finds that a little harder on his neck muscles. I do a little lunging to practice voice aids.

Hope that helps a bit.

[Skyhuntress]

Haha, I spent 2 years retraining pacers.
It's a challenge, but it's definately interesting.

In general, I've found that the actual retraining them to trot isn't the problem. It's the canter transition. Many of the horses I've retrained seem to forget that all four of their legs still need to move diagonally to get into the canter transitions ;)

I second getting the book 'Retraining the Harness Racehorse' - its ideal and takes you through a lot of different techniques you can try.

What I can say about standardbreds is that the majority of them are patient and willing to try to learn something new. Some of them are slow-witted, but the majority of them seem to take to things relatively well.

As for what they turned out like? I havent' kept tabs on all of the [9] ones that I completely retrained by myself. One was actually mine that I sold; she's in 1st level dressage right now with plans of taking a Junior Young Rider in the 3'0 Jumper division. Another is schooling 2nd level dressage but is plain awful at jumping. And another still is completely horrible at dressage (kind of moves like an elk actually :p ) but has a gorgeous form over fences.

[Cheeky]

Oooh cool!!

I am looking after a Stb for a few days and am gonna work with him to get him working from behind. He hates to canter (he was a winning ex-trotter too :p ) so will see what we can do :)

The other Stb there .. trialed only, canters amazingly .. but I get to work with her too :) Its gonna be cool :)

I would love to work with ex-trotters and plan to when I get my own land .. ciao

[Styric]

I have a standardbred X in breeding only, but he's got most of the problems mentioned (and advantages!).

They're smart (sometimes too much so) so make sure your schooling sessions are varied and challenging, but not enough to blow their minds.

Canter is a total pain, and has taken twice as long to work on than the trot. I actually convinced him the canter was okay using a small jump. When he cantered off after the jump, he got huge amounts of praise.

It seemed to break the 'I can't canter' barrier.

Their trot tends to be very flat and fast, do ALOT of transitions. Make sure they're good energetic ones to bring their hindquarters under and create impulsion rather than speed.

I've also found they tend to evade work using speed. Ask them to collect and do something difficult, and they speed up.

Other than that, they're great :D I want another...

[BNaturally]

I would say that, he's is a horse and breed don't matter.
I would also say that I must gain control of his feet, his respect and trust and you must be his leader.You need to establish the pecking order and you're on top and he is under you and its no heart feeling with this arrangement.
They all get excited, act up and is uncertian of what our intentions are at first, but he will come along in his training and will start to understand you better.
It is the way you deliver the communication, so be clear, consistant with your requests.
He will make mistakes, so don't react or be negative when this happen.
He will notice that you're fair and only asking him to do it correctly and you must promise him that you will release quickly all pressure when he get it correctly and that all.

Good luck and keep us posted.
I hope this helps

[Cheeky]

Time, patience and praise :)

I have recently and am still working with an ex-pacer atm. We took him out in an open field and let him lose .. pushing enough to alow him to canter .. he needed this room to find his feet. While cantering (mighty large strides) we rewarded with praise, pats etc .. then repeated with more control. He loved it .. he is normally the slowest horse around .. he was jigging to get going again. Took him into the arena, and asked for canter out of a corner, as it is easier for a horse to pick up the right lead here. He did, and can do upto 4 laps in canter now :) and on the right lead :)

Give a lot of praise and he will respond :) Also give time :)

good luck .. I will get a video soon!

[Wally]

Pacey Icelandics can be made to trot by riding or lungeing them on a 20m circle with poles!

it just makes them break the pace and hlep the diagonal beat come.

Mind you, this never worked on Magnús, he will pace to the last!

[Cheeky]

Well I am back from looking after the farm with Standy-news :)

The standy-that-is-known-for-never-been-able-to-jump-or-canter .. can now canter :) AND jump :)

He is able to canter on the correct lead each time for about 4 laps before breaking back to pace then walk for a breather :) Just as we left he was learning to pick up the canter when we asked, not just around the barrels and did it willingly :) This brightened him up :)

He is also now jumping small X bars in trot happily leading other horses over too :)

Oooh .. also, did I mention he has learnt to lower his head when working so its not jst sticking out ? :)