Second Start Thoroughbreds

09/02/2026

Less is more - the bridle with 9 lives 🐈

I started riding over 25 years ago.
Many professionals I rode with swore by tight nosebands, frequent bit changes, training aids, draw reins, you name it… if a horse was in their program, they would find a way to get the horse to eventually be submissive.
Submission is a term I hate. Who are we kidding? Most people I know have their horse in a show program. They trust & pay a professional several thousands of dollars every month to train them and their horse they claim to love.

Is it really love if you have your horse in a program that drugs it to make it show ready for you? Is it really love if the horse is always ridden in a harsh bit and/or draw reins? You promote laziness, and failing the horse. The truth is your horse isn’t getting correct training or it’s simply not meant to perform the job you bought it for.

I’ve been back in Amateur land for a couple years now. When I was a pro, I started thinking outside the box, as it was my program and I was allowed to do whatever I wanted. My business partner Annie is a lifelong reining trainer. She let me use a simple training bridle to flat my horses for the first time about 10 years ago.
What a difference. Bracing, rooting, pulling, head shaking, reluctance to go forward, sucking back, looking back at my leg, resisting contact, curling over the bit…. All fixed? So weird?!
Maybe not so weird after all…
Maybe my horses are just *happier*?

I have been using this bridle on horses I ride most of the time. This led to me loosening the noseband on my show bridles. Believe me when I say no horse needs a crank noseband, or a tack noseband. Every horse can benefit from patient humans who are dedicated to finding solutions to help it become a better athlete.
Riding it more, riding it less. Jumping it *less* frequently. Understanding how your balance affects theirs….

All of this to say…. Love your horse the way it deserves to be loved, not the narcissistic way.

08/27/2026

FÉLICITATIONS VERONICK! 🦄
For your consideration

Cinnamon Bits
2020 16.2ish (handler is very tall) mare by Tonalist and o/o a Society’s Chairman dam.
Cinnamon is extremely well behaved both on the ground and under saddle and loves any kind of attention. She’s very light to ride and likes a bit of a contact, is brave and sweet.
Her connections report she is sound with no vices, but simply isn’t interested in racing anymore (no bad moves here, she is just slowing down!). She has raced 24 times (5 starts in 2026) and can go any direction / has no limitations.

*Please note she does have some freeze fire marks on her LF shin, they have been there a while (way before her current connections claimed her) and have never affected her soundness. Freeze firing usually happens very early on, we suspect she might have had a small splint and the site was freeze fired to encourage healing.

Located at the Fort Erie Racetrack.
Jog videos available in the comments section
As always, we are happy to help you arrange a PPE and/or shipping.
Offered at 5️⃣ followed by 3 zeros.
Serious inquiries please - via DM.

08/25/2026

Back from a great learning experience once again, at Silver Central 4.
One show left in 2 weeks and then we have a long ish wait until hopefully the RAWF again🦄
Thank you Rio for taking it all in stride and being such a good sport!
Thanks to devoucoux_quebec_ontario for a lovely fitting saddle, Dr Kristin Varik for keeping Rio in great shape, becky.arbour for the top notch care, ecurieschanie for the continuous support and the great support team that is essential.training! Of course, none of this would be possible without my hubby Kevin, supporting me in this crazy hobby!

Onto Silver 5!

08/02/2026

Low quality pictures, high quality boy 🦄
This would be Alvin, our meat pen rescue from last Fall. With the help of LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society, we were able to save him promptly and Annie has done an absolute amazing job at getting him to trust us, plus the ground work she put into him has paid off - very uneventful first ride!
He’s got a very soft mouth and is a super quick study. We’re excited to see what the future holds for him!

07/29/2026

Greyson & Sia are loaded and on their way to their new homes! Safe travels 🦄

07/28/2026

PLACED! Congratulations to Sia’s new connections!

Strike a Note - 2022 15.3hh filly by Seattle Serenade and out of a Broken Vow dam.

Sia is correctly built and is a decent mover. She has 8 starts under her belt (3 of which are in 2026). She retired on a win late June and is looking for a less demanding career.
She’s easy to handle and straightforward to ride.
No vices.

The horses we list are always advertised very honestly- although she did pretty well at racing and likes the job, retiring her is in her best interest as her connections don’t believe it’s fair to her to keep racing her. She came back from her last race sore and has enjoyed some time off since.

Sia is looking for a home that will give her a bit more time before restarting her patiently and correctly. She would love to get some turnout and meet new friends!

We believe Sia can go any direction but would likely prefer a lower level career- this is not your next top level eventer, jumper etc. Low level jumping, dressage, etc is more what we’re looking for.

Please note that she has a pretty good pedigree, she should also be considerered as a broodmare.

Low/mid four figures: TWO FIVE ZERO ZERO
Located at Fort Erie racetrack
Serious inquiries only via DM.
Jog video in the comments

07/28/2026

This is a great read!

You didn’t get “taken advantage of”, you over estimated your abilities and made the decision to purchase a horse above your experience level, Savannah Simo writes.

Your horse wasn’t “drugged when you went to try it”, it was worked daily by a professional and sold to an amateur who won’t reprimand them.

Your horse wasn’t “abused by his previous owner”, you are putting out energy that makes him anxious and flighty and wondering why we need to be anxious and flighty.

Your horse didn’t “buck you off”, he crow hopped once because your back cinch should be considered a flank strap and you don’t know how to quiet your leg and your bit is on backwards.

This morning I had someone contact me about a horse she bought that was a “dud” from someone I think very highly of. She went to try the horse and he was great, and now a month later he is pushy and won’t stand and wants to walk fast and, and, and.

Now yes, there are bad sellers and there are bad horses. I can point you in the direction of many that I would stay as far away as possible from. Those are two things we will always have in the horse industry but, when someone comes to me with an issue with their horse after having it for a month without much issue – 99% of the time it is the new owner at fault.

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2023/07/06/you-didnt-get-taken-advantage-of/
📸 © Adam Hill

07/23/2026

*PLACED* - Congratulations to Greyson’s new connections!

Loaded Truth
2023 15.3 1/2hh+ (still growing) gelding by Reload, o/o a Yes It’s True dam.

Greyson is unraced, but has 3 published works under his belt. He is still owned by his breeder, has never been injured and is simply too slow to pursue a racing career.
His dam has produced good quality, sound horses that have all excelled in their second career.
This horse is located at Fort Erie Racetrack and would love some time off to be turned out with friends and enjoy the nice weather before he is restarted as he is still growing.
This breeder starts all of his horses and also teaches them the ropes at the track, he reports that Greyson is a straightforward ride with no bad tricks.
Potential to go in any direction.
As usual, we welcome PPEs.
Please inquire via DM.
Mid-high 4 figures.

07/08/2026

Sharing here! What a nice war horse!