Posts Tagged ‘Prospect Horse’
First Ride on an Off-the-Track Thoroughbred
First Ride on OTTB Antioch
Attached are two pictures of Molly and Antioch’s first ride. He is very responsive on the ground and not very spooky. I do think Molly has some re -training of her riding skills to work on. Unfortunately since riding our challenging Arab she has learned to be a little more direct in her riding requests with her legs and hands and she ended up cantering around the round pen for a few minutes before figuring out how to slow him down. The sponging of her hands and sitting back worked, but she was taken a bit by surprise. After that she spent time walking, halting, walking, halting, and then she got him to trot then walk then halt three times successfully. (I am glad no one else was around to see it!) This might be a trial by fire type of learning for them! We are going to try again tomorrow with a lot more walking, halting, small circles, serpentines etc…. any other advice would be great!
First Ride on OTTB Antioch
Most people, when they get nervous or scared, make the mistake of grabbing the reins and leaning forward. This is the ‘GO’ command for an ex-race horse. Instead, sit tall and quiet and ’sponge’ the reins in your hands – first one hand and then the other. Have a light to medium contact and open and close your fingers on the reins like you are squeezing a sponge. The horse will relax on the bit and usually drop his head. Race horses are taught to lean into two solid hands and balance on them. When the jockey crosses the finish line, he sits up and lets go of the reins and the horse slows down. Don’t give the ‘GO’ command by grabbing your horse with two ungiving hands and leaning forward. Instead sponge the reins by alternating the movement from one hand to the other. Keep your elbows bent and your shoulders and elbows relaxed and following the movement of the horse’s head. Move your arm and not your wrist to give and take with the contact. You will be rewarded with a quiet happy horse.
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Tags: Parked Outside Antioch’s Stall
Ex-race horse, Antioch, meets his new mom Molly.
It has been a thrilling day! We spent the majority of our time parked outside Antioch’s stall sitting in lawn chairs. I feel like I have a newborn at home who I have to watch to see when they poop and drink and eat. He finally laid down for some rest this evening. He was exhausted. He has been eating and drinking.
I have to tell you that I have been met with some criticism from friends and “horsey” people on my decision to buy him. People are concerned he is going to become “hot” and crazy once he is healthy again. I feel like we are doing the right thing, and I plan to take it very slowly when it comes to my daughter riding him to be sure she is safe. I have encouraged these people to check out your website, but as always it seems they are willing to give their opinions but not really look into the details. Do you have any words of encouragement or wisdom to share?
Check out the Bits & Bytes Farm Web site for pages of stories about Buying Thoroughbred Horses from Bits & Bytes Farm. Also, read the pages under our Spotlight Stories menu on this site.
Antioch Arrives in Arizona
Antioch arrives in Arizona to meet his new mom Molly.
Elizabeth,
Antioch arrived late last night! He is gorgeous even if he is thin and woolly! He began eating hay and found the automatic waterer right away. We are heading over there in a few minutes to try some beet pulp. We will take some pictures when we get there! Bob Hubbard transport was super! The driver was so nice and caring and I would highly recommend them!
Maureen
Antioch - Thoroughbred horse for sale from the Bits & Bytes Farm Web site.
Reign Day Has a Quiet Rainy Day
I have to say, I’m pretty sure that Reign Day is not very impressed with the climate here in Massachusetts so far–today was overcast and dreary and it rained on and off. He had a very laid-back, quiet, “settle-in” day. I played with him in the aisle, gave him a good long groom, did his carrot stretches and a bit of backing up.
Of course, the minute Day came out of his stall, Copper (one of our other horses) went a wee bit crazy due to his excitement, and was whinnying and pawing. Rather than squealing or trying to leap over to Copper’s door, Reign Day simply watched his antics calmly and actually seemed kind of amused at Copper’s behavior! And though Copper continuously tried to get him to come over and say hi, Day promptly started falling asleep in the cross ties while I groomed him. I love this horse! And as it turns out, he looks quite dashing in with an Elvis Presley-type hairdo in his forelock… 
Unfortunately I didn’t have the camera at that point, but he just loved having his forelock braided and styled!!
He also was formally introduced to John Henry and Wilson–our goat and miniature pony. Quite an experience for Reign Day! John Henry was very excited to meet him, though Day is still rather confused as to what John Henry is exactly…smells like a horse, but its so small! Wilson the fat and sassy goat tried to headbutt Reign Day in the nose when Day tried to sniff him, and now I think Reign Day is thoroughly intimidated by Wilson, who is short enough to walk under Day’s stomach!
All in all it was a very mellow day, so there isn’t a whole lot to report. Tomorrow we will probably take him and Ty for a little walk down the driveway, maybe around the path behind the barn, but we’ll see. That’s all for now, say hello to everyone (people and critters alike) for me!
Julia
Read Reign Day’s training diary on the Bits & Bits Farm Web site.
Reign Day Made It Home to Massachusetts!
Reign Day’s new family lives in the Pittsfield, Massachusetts area!
Hello!
We have made it home! Nine and a half hours after loading into the car this morning, we arrived home (it was around 6:30), whereupon we unloaded Reign Day and Ty and they met our “crew”. Day was very good. He was a bit nervous, but in a very sensible manner, quietly regarding everyone and everything, and it did not take long before he seemed to be more interested in eating his hay than being nervous. He seemed a bit baffled by Wilson the goat and our little pony John Henry, who were very enthusiastic about meeting him!!! Very cute! He’s currently munching on hay in his stall and has figured out that, yes, the red water bucket won’t kill him and is quite safe to drink out of! Needless to say, he is quite calm and seems very relaxed… He has been sooooo good, other than being a bit stubborn about getting on the trailer–though I’m sure he will get over that very quickly–but once on he rode like a trooper. Actually, it was pretty funny, because every time he we stopped to check them and give them water, he would have managed to pull all the hay out of his hay bag and scatter it all over the manger and front area of the trailer, and would be munching it quite contentedly from there. I guess that made it taste better? We all found it quite comical.
Reign and and his mule friend made it home safely.
I will write up a better update tomorrow and send it to you (I’m practically falling asleep at the computer, I can’t imagine how tired Reign Day must be!), along with pics (the camera is being annoyingly persnickety and refuses to download the pictures onto the computer, a matter that will have to be investigated in the morning) of his arrival and first day in Massachusetts!
Well, we’re going to go out and do night check, give the boys some grain, and I’m going to give Day a quick groom. More tomorrow!
Say hi to Barry for me, and the Baroness Von River!
Julia
Reign Day Goes Home!
Reign Day at the race track in December 2009.
Reign Day was listed on the Bits & Bytes Farm Web site as a Thoroughbred Horse For Sale – Prospect Horse at the Track. He was purchased by John Reynolds, DVM and his wife Valeri to be a new Pony Club mount for their daughter Julia. Julia was busy with school commitments in February so we were asked to bring Reign Day to Bits & Bytes Farm for some training.
Reign Day arrives at Bits & Bytes Farm. February 7, 2010
We used this opportunity to keep a diary of Reign Day’s training show how we retrain a Thoroughbred that has just finished racing. We took photos and wrote stories about the training we did with Reign Day documenting his transition from race horse to sport horse.
Reign Day goes home to Pittsfield, MA on March 20, 2010
Julia and Reign Day with the red ribbon.
Reign Day left Bits & Bytes Farm on March 20, 2010 to begin his life with Julia.
Old Dogs Can Learn New Tricks – You Are Never Too Old For a Lesson
Stevie Loverboy and Missy Miller learn new lessons together.
I am finally sitting down to write a long overdue update about Loverboy…I say overdue because we have been so productive and had so many great moments in the last few months that I don’t know where to begin! Due to a run of sick kids, rain, and wicked cold weather, I actually suffered through a 2 week stretch without a single day in the saddle…needless to say, it was a very big “Mom Moment” when the next time I saddled up, I was able to hop right on Loverboy without even longeing him and he was amazing!
We have also started trying to do regular weekly lessons with Alice with the goal of trying to do a horse show, and not embarrass ourselves, by the end of the year. Loverboy seems to really enjoy the work and the variety and is responding so well. . . Read the rest of this entry »
Snowed In In Maryland
Outflankem enjoys the 24" of snow even if his mom doesn't!
I’m sure you’ve heard the Mid-Atlantic got walloped with a storm Friday into Saturday. My area got 24″! We’re all hanging in, and the horses don’t seem to be nearly as miserable as I would think they would be. Here’s a beautiful shot of Bailey, aka Outflankem, from about an hour ago.
Best wishes,
Jen
See more photos of Outflankem. He was a Prospect Horse for sale on the Bits & Bytes Farm Web site in November 2008.
Big Heart – Big Talent
Hi Elizabeth,
Been a while so I thought I’d check in. “Ping” (Shelby’s Hill) is now 7, and a full 16 hands. He has filled out and is beautiful.
After some work his feet are now great, and I hope to start his event training this year. He is so talented in dressage he could just do that, but that is not all I want to do. I long-lined him yesterday after not doing it for two years and he was just great. I still toy with the idea of a bigger horse but he has a big heart.
Hope all is well.
Sarah Farnham
My First Ride on Monarch’s Reign
My first ride on MY ex-race horse!
I still can’t believe how easy my first ride on Monarch was. I had read lots of other folks’ Thoroughbred Success Stories on the Bits & Bytes Farm Web site, as well as the article “Riding your OTTB for the first time.” I took special note of the line that said, “This is not your horse’s first ride, and it won’t be a rodeo,” but I think I still expected it to be at least a bit challenging. After all, the last time I was on a horse was more than two years ago, so I’m not exactly an expert rider these days!
Plus – and I almost hate to add this, because in retrospect it seems so silly – Monarch’s racing history gave me some reason to doubt my first ride would be a smooth one. After all, he had raced twice in his short career, and he’d lost his jockey BOTH TIMES! Read the rest of this entry »
