Considerations When Purchasing or Adopting an Ex-Racehorse for Sport

Thoroughbreds that have retired from the racetrack often transition into sport horse careers, but prospective ex-racehorse owners should carefully consider temperament, medical condition, and conformation if they want a successful show partner.
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Thoroughbreds that have retired from the racetrack often transition into sport horse careers, but prospective ex-racehorse owners should carefully consider temperament, medical condition, and conformation if they want a successful partner in the show ring. Chris Newton, DVM, veterinary partner at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky., explained to owners what they should look for or avoid before purchasing or adopting an ex-racehorse at A Winning Edge: Promoting Peak Performance in Equine Athletes, a seminar held on Sept. 24 in Lexington.

According to Newton, prospective owners should first carefully evaluate the mental and physical condition of the horse, including previous injuries, mental acuity, and strength and flexibility. Owners also should avoid horses with injuries and conformation faults that might predispose them to conditions that could impair their future as performance horses.

Newton listed several conformation faults to avoid when choosing a Thoroughbred for a sport horse career, including severely underrun heels, severe toeing in, dropped fetlocks, severely back at the knee, severe sickle hocks, and horses with long backs. He did, however, say that he can live with mild cases of bench knees, cow hocks, knock knees, and club feet.

"A base-narrow horse that never raced is okay; he would not have had inappropriate pounding on his legs," Newton explained. "A horse with sickle hocks has the potential for plantar desmitis, and upright pasterns have the potential for suspensory injuries

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Alexandra Beckstett, a native of Houston, Texas, is a lifelong horse owner who has shown successfully on the national hunter/jumper circuit and dabbled in hunter breeding. After graduating from Duke University, she joined Blood-Horse Publications as assistant editor of its book division, Eclipse Press, before joining The Horse. She was the managing editor of The Horse for nearly 14 years and is now editorial director of EquiManagement and My New Horse, sister publications of The Horse.

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