04/14/2026
🏇OTTB Education🏇
Last time we posted something educational we had a lot of positive engagement so I thought it was time for another!
When we re-home horses, I always try to remind clients that racehorses are NOT uneducated, they simply need to learn a new job. Every horse responds to things differently and programs can (and should) be different for each individual while catering to their learning style, their age and their abilities both mentally and physically.
Here are 5 things that we have found to be true in our program:
1. A war horse that retires sound is worth their weight in gold! So many people want one that’s been un-raced, but those war horses? They’ve seen it all, they’ve traveled everywhere and the ones that retire sound are typically some of the most durable athletes you’ll be able to find as far as a second career is concerned.
2. The horse will let you know when he’s ready to go back to work. Everyone is different but we don’t necessarily believe in a long lay-off period (assuming the horse retired sound and without injury). These TB’s are used to being in work and typically enjoy being in some sort of program. How do we measure when they’re ready? Sounds simple, but my rule is that if they haven’t had a good roll out in the field, they’re not ready for us to get on. In our experience, when a horse is happy and relaxed after being retired from racing, he’ll roll, play around and he isn’t afraid of a little mud. When that day comes, they’re ready for us to get back on and get back to work. So far, this train of thought has led us to have uneventful restarts with all of our OTTB’s to date.
3. Your OTTB has a lead change, I promise. Racehorses do multiple lead changes on the track every. single. day. They’ll travel on the outside lead down the straights and swap to the inside lead in the turns. It can take work to reframe a lead change for a different discipline, but assuming physical issues or muscle weaknesses have been ruled out, their inability to get a lead change is typically a communication issue between horse and rider. Will it be perfectly balanced from the first ride? Maybe, maybe not. Will they understand the what the cue means at a canter vs a gallop? Maybe, maybe not. The point is, your retraining program should consider how a race horse has learned and been trained up until this point and just because they may not figure things out in the first ride or two does not mean they won’t or can’t do a lead change. When in doubt, this is what an experienced trainer is for, but again, we promise, your horse has done hundreds of lead changes already in its lifetime!
4. Turn out and feed matter. We’ve had horses of all levels come to us to be re-homed. Those that won thousands, and those that earned well into the 6 figures winning some big time races. Our typical restarting experience has been the same all the way around, uneventful (just how we like it). 24/7 turn out and a basic pelleted grain is what works for us. They get supplemented with extra hay as needed and we swap to sweet feed if they need weight but typically, it’s grass, sunshine, and the ability to be social with others in the field, that allows our horses to flourish. Obviously not every farm can do 24/7 turn out and some horses prefer or thrive being inside for parts of the day but even our highest earners have been pretty straight forward to restart. If you find your OTTB being particularly difficult or “hot”, my first question is always, “what’s their turnout situation and what are they eating?”
5. Listen to your horse and treat them like an individual (because they are). Not all horses have the same foundation and every horse has a different method of learning that works best for them. Some horses will come off the track knowing about lateral movement and can easily to do a circle, others won’t . Them not having these skills does not mean they weren’t given a good start to life or training, it just means they need more education in certain areas. Also, consider that some horses naturally travel more light or heavy on their forehand , some are more stubborn, more reactive, more balanced or more confident (and the list goes on). Pedigree plays a huge role in this too. Find what works for your horse and build on that. Every horse will have a different learning curve and that’s ok, just try to keep it positive and don’t skip steps!
Most of all, enjoy the journey as there aren’t many things more rewarding than developing your own horse!
Here’s a blooper of our HHS grad Willow attempting, and nailing (although playfully 😆)
her lead change her first time ever being asked since her time on the track. Had probably been a few years but alas, she did not forget 😉
