[adamsmom]

It's the belief of many trainers that, the lower the heel, the flatter the foot, and the better the foot "skims" over the track surface. That's why so many low heels. They don't want them to dig into the footing like most of us do. So, it's not that they don't know or don't care, it's that they have a different belief & a different desired result than we do. Similar to saddlebred & walking horse people.

As for bloodlines & temperment/ability - we've had (& have) everything from Buckpasser to Nearco to Damascus to Green Dancer to Seattle Dancer....I think the Northern Dancer/Nearco line can be the most fiery, but they can also have amazing ability. My personal fav is anything w/ Buckpasser & his sons. Depends on what you want & what you're willing to put up with!

You win a few, you lose a few. Some get rained out. But you got to dress for all of them. --Satchel Paige

[Anna79]

I'm glad I resurrected your thread Rhymeswithfizz! That's great that your 3 yo is too calm. Even the calmest of them perk up when they get to the XC start box, so don't go calling the hunters yet!

I just got back from a fun trip to Penn National. I had a great time. I saw 3 that I am interested in. They're all on the mixnmatch website. One is # 295 and I think another is #444.
I told them that Robby LOFFS Rhoadey. They were very pleased he is working out so well.

[rhymeswithfizz]

I think you guys have seen these, but here is Gabriel's picture again. Can't wait to get him to the regular barn (he's at pasture 24/7 right now, which also may be why he's so darn easy going) with a real arena and round pen! All of our work so far has been in a big open field, which is a bit more difficult (we had to skip over longeing and go right to ground driving), but he has been a good boy!

He's plenty big even if he doesn't grow anymore, but I hope his front ends catches up a bit or he's going to be a llittle downhill (his butt is about even with his withers, which are small). He's a hair under 16.2 right now.

[poltroon]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by adamsmom:
It's the belief of many trainers that, the lower the heel, the flatter the foot, and the better the foot "skims" over the track surface. That's why so many low heels. They don't want them to dig into the footing like most of us do. So, it's not that they don't know or don't care, it's that they have a different belief & a different desired result than we do. Similar to saddlebred & walking horse people.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes, but unfortunately they're wrong - it doesn't make them faster, it makes them more prone to injury. I know they believe it - and a lot of them believe in blistering, too. I'm concerned about what other 'interesting' theories the trainer may have inflicted on that horse.

[rides2fly]

There are so many lines out there it's hard to sum them all up. What I've done is research the line of a prospect I'm interested in through sources like "Bloodlines of Hunters & Jumpers in North America", and through articles on event horse breeding I've saved from various publications. I also ask my buddies who ride work at the track -- they're usually pretty familiar with which popular line is throwing race horses whose temperament may make them a little "difficult" to handle.

I also want to know the farm where the horse was raised. You often hear criticism of the race horse industry but I know of one farm that does imprint training on its foals even leading them through a trailer "mock up" to teach them to load quietly. I am interested in the trainer who had the horse at the track as different trainers have different styles and knowing whose barn the horse was in may give me an idea of the manners the horse has and the amount of attention that was given to potential soundness problems.

I try to find other sporthorses from the same line and see what careers they have been successful in. It sounds pretty complicated but you'd be surprised how much information is out there. There was a serious student of TB sporthorse bloodlines writing under the name JW Equine who, for a fee, would research your horse's breeding and identify other sporthorses from the same lines. I don't have the contact info but a search engine might turn it up.

If nothing else, it is really fun to find out that your horse is by the same sire as something that competed at Rolex**** or that another foal from your horse's dam is competing at fourth level dressage. You're "in touch with greatness" -- that's what I tell my geldings when I see other sucesses from their bloodlines

Brooke

[Hopeful Hunter]

Oh, a couple more things...

If the horse is in racing plates with toe grabs, and has run in them a lot, REALLY look at the legs. Those toe grabs coupled with the mistaken faith in long toe/low heel farriery can really wreck those legs.

fwiw, my guy has Citation and War Relic waaaay back, and is a lovely hunter (his barn name and his race name are Asherman for those who care to look him up on Delmar). He's NOT an event prospect though -- HATES uneven footing, VERY picky, described by 4 trainers as "sensitive". My other OTTB was out of Native Dancer lines - a bit nasty with some people but a lot less of a pansy.

[sporthorselover]

Another good tip is to take OTTB's off grain completely, and go 100% free choice hay and turnout. You don't need any extra energy during the re-training period.

[Poombadesign]

I have an OTTB and he's great. I've been reading everyone's posts and a bunch of the quirks are so true (not necessarly bad things), even several years later. So that's why he doesn't like crossties!! I would have never thought. And one-sidedness, definitely, but we've worked through it pretty well. Also with him not really being 'my horse' rings true...seems like he could care less that he belongs to me. One thing about my guy that I dunno if it is typical or not is that he is bombproof on the ground, unflappable. If he doing something naughty that he shouldn't be doing (aka, cribbing [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]), I can't scare him away from the fence if I wanted to. I run at him waving my arms and yelling for him to get away, and he just stands there looking at me like I'm the dumbest person on earth. Hehehe, anyway, have fun with your new horse!! He sure is a cutie!!!

"It's Friday afternoon...do you know where YOUR Chronicle is??????"

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