A good friend of mine and I were arguing the other day over the pluses and minuses of OTTBs (you know, Off Track Thoroughbreds). The concept of taking an ex-racehorse and retraining him to be used as a regular riding horse, even a show horse, is pretty pervasive throughout the horse world nowadays. Particularly here in New Orleans, where the majority of our equine culture revolves around the Fairgrounds Race Course. Due to the nature of the racing industry, Thoroughbreds straight off the track tend to be young and highly energetic--with a penchant for running. To some people (like myself), owning and riding an OTTB just makes sense, but to others (namely my aforementioned friend), Thoroughbreds just aren't worth it.To quote a mentor of mine, L, "Everyone and their grandma owns a Thoroughbred." This is probably true. Every year, hundreds of racehorses retire in Louisiana alone. Some of them end up in overseas slaughterhouses, others in local stud farms. Those are too good for the latter but not good enough for the former usually find their way into the local market. A straight-off-the-track OTTB can be purchased for anything from $200 to $2,000, making them an attractive option for buyers who can't afford the Hanoverians and Oldenburgs preferred by New Orleans' nouveau riche. Of course, an OTTB is a bit of a step up from your trusty Quarter Horse gelding, and I think that's what throws most people off. Thoroughbreds have a reputation for being hot. While that reputation isn't 100% deserved, they are bred for energy and most racehorses are trained for speed, not for ground manners. Much less under-saddle manners. So yeah, if you buy an OTTB expect to put some time and money into professional training. Retraining a horse is not easy, and even with professional help, it's going to take some work on the rider's part. Riding a green OTTB can certainly be dangerous, and it isn't something you should get into unprepared. I've ridden a few horses who had been off the track for a few years, and even they were still unpredictable. (If you don't believe me, take a look at the bruise on my leg that lingers from when Bombay threw me into a metal fence a few months back.)
So while owning or even riding an "off-track" Thoroughbred isn't for the fainthearted (and certainly not for the novice rider), it's one of the more admirable choices. There is so much waste in the Thoroughbred industry, where horses are being bred more and more for quantity in hopes of striking it lucky with quality. Every ex-racehorse that is retrained into a riding horse reduces that waste. Horses may be a reusable resource, but that doesn't mean we should just throw away the four year old babies who didn't strike it rich on the track. OTTBs, for all their unpredictability and raw energy, have that one quality that sets Thoroughbreds apart from the crowd--heart.
Yeah, you may get a little scratched up along the way, but if you have the experience, patience, and money required to turn an off-track Thoroughbred into a quality riding horse, you're doing a pretty big service, to yourself and the horse world. You can give a horse a new career--a new sense of purpose and of being. You can reduce the amount of wasted horses bred for the racing industry. And you might just find yourself with a true partner-a horse brave enough to face the challenges that come his way and athletic enough to get both himself and you safely through them.
So when asked... Yes, mes amis, I am most definitely pro-OTTB.
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In the picture: A rider working with their new Thoroughbred, who is recovering from a severe lameness. Used under Creative Commons license.
