Question for performance horse experts!

[CA Michael]

Thirteen years ago I made the foolish mistake of naming one of my TB foals after one of my kids. He won his first start at Del Mar, after which I made my second foolish mistake by not accepting a nice offer for him. Two days later he came up with a small, low bow and was off the track for 2 years. I raced him another couple years after that but when it was time to sell him my son suddenly revived his interest in his namesake and prevailed on me to keep the horse. That was my third mistake.

Fast forward to today, seven years later. Said horse has been turned out all this time, at great expense to me and with little interest from my now teenage son. A classic 'hayburner.' So, I've decided I should invest a few more wasted dollars in him so I can sell him as some type of performance horse. This is an intelligent, very attractive black gelding (when he's not sun-bleached) who still remembers voice and hand commands from his early round pen work. Many people urged me during his racing days to "make a jumper out of him" when he retired.

Any suggestions as to how to proceed? Am I about to make mistake number four?

(p.s. Although I blame my son here for this embarassing tale, it's really my own fault. This colt was the orphaned foal of my favorite mare, and was the last foal of my first stallion, 'The Carpenter'. I just want him to have a happier, more productive life than he has now.)

[jumper77]

I wouldn't exactly claim to be an expert on this, but I do live in the h/j world, so I'll give you my two cents. Most people I know wouldn't buy a 13 year old as a sporthorse unless he's a packer that's been in the ring for several years and already knows his job. When I get a greenie, I aim for the 3-8 yr. old range, but I've seen some 10 year olds so robust I'd still buy. I'm sure it's possible, though. Someone on here has probably done it. And I've had plenty of hunters with old bows, but when I look at a horse with a bow, I try to stay away from the low bows and go for the middle or high ones. Has he had any work over fences at all? You might set up a small free-jump and see if he's got good form. If his knees are up by his eyeballs you'd probably do well. And aside from the bow, is he a very sound, solid, sturdy horse? The ones that look like you could take a baseball bat to and not disturb a hair usually are a good bet even if they're older.



Edit: Thought of a couple more things. How tall is he? Also, you might want to invest in a vet check to a) make sure he's sound to jump, and b) have something to compare to the vet check your potential buyer gets. Often times a lot more problems will "show up" on the buyer's vet check.

[FancyHorse]

I have retrained a few horses straight off the track. Once of which turned out to be very sound for H/J. It took me a month to get him to go over small fences, which isn't bad for only being off the track for a week! He is tall, gorgeous, and looks like a warmblood. He isn't that hard to ride, and I've had a few buyers come take a look, but I find what most people want in the H/J world is a push button easy going horse. HA! Anyways, I'd put him up for sale now for like $1500 and train on him until he sells. Chances of him passing a vet check, mmm slim to none, my horse failed and he has never showed any signs of soreness his whole life! Vets are just too darn picky and hate the word "ex racehorse". I find it easier to train a horse for trail riding, they sell for more and sell quicker! Good luck on him!

[Vindicated]

one of my favorite "projects" of all-was a gelding that retired from the track at 10-
He proved very easy to get along with and very competitive. I stress the competitive part-I prefer horses that actually win races as opposed to the "rejects" although I train those too-I just usually don't keep them.
He had some soundness issues, but very managable-with the right knowledge and patience-
I would think that you would want him evaluated before you put too much money into him-

Best of luck