Horses First: From Racing to Heart Horse

I fell in love with a beautiful, chocolate brown Thoroughbred named DC over two decades ago and thought he was the most stunning horse I had ever seen! He made an impression by  reaching his elegant neck out over the stall door and removing his halter from the nearby hook, shaking it up and down for his own entertainment purposes or to gain attention from onlookers. He belonged to a middle aged woman I sometimes took riding lessons with–she on her Kentucky-born steed, I on a 17.3 hand Appendix Quarter Horse I leased.

Thank you to America’s Best Racing’s Horses First for sponsoring this post.

I will never forget the first time I rode DC! It was during a lesson when my trainer had my barn friend and I switch horses. This Thoroughbred was light and sensitive–he felt like a sports car and made my previous mounts seem like sedans by comparison. The big bay with a blaze had never raced (he had no lip tattoo), but had been trained instead as a show hunter, a job he excelled at. 

DC’s gait and athleticism reminded me of the white tail deer I often saw bounding through fields of my native Illinois, leaping effortlessly over fences with a flick of their tails. Riding on his back I felt like a partner to a mythical creature, and my joy was palpable. That feeling never gets old, and is what drives thousands of amateur equestrians like me across the U.S. and beyond to choose a Thoroughbred for our riding partners. That and the heart of the Thoroughbred–their character and try, embedded in their DNA.

My Heart Horse

Flash forward several months after riding DC and through a twist of events, I became the proud owner of my first Thoroughbred! The tall, dark and handsome gelding became my show horse, later a pleasure horse, but more importantly, my confidante and best friend. DC carried me literally and metaphorically through many life stages and is a main character in my first book Horses Adored and Men Endured: a Memoir of Falling and Getting Back Up.  

Our partnership of 16 years halted abruptly one fateful November morning when colic struck and there was nothing my veterinarian could do. My heart was broken and I took a four-year hiatus from horses. When the time was right I began horse shopping again, and only considered one breed–a Thoroughbred!

This time around horse shopping, I knew there were great off-track Thoroughbred organizations I could seek out to help me find my next best friend. Horse racing aftercare had grown and evolved considerably.  

I consistently browsed the New Vocations website, however at the time they did not adopt horses out west of the Mississippi (now they adopt OTTBs out to the contiguous 48 states). I perused a few different CANTER websites, but at the time I was in the market, there were no perfect matches for me in the CANTER California branches. 

Click here to read about Horses First, and racing aftercare programs.

After a few months of horse shopping and coming up dry, a friend referred me to a Thoroughbred farm in Southern California, about an hour from where I lived. My friend told me it  was a place where retired race horses were trained to be sporthorses, and given a second career. 

I phoned the farm, quickly introduced myself as a diehard Thoroughbred fan looking for a new best friend, and blurted out I wanted a horse to jump, trail ride, and all around have fun on. “And if he were a tall pretty bay with a blaze, that would be amazing.” 

The farm manager had a horse in mind and emailed me the gelding’s bio and photograph. I cried when I saw the picture, because this stunning horse who appeared on my laptop screen could have been a stunt double for DC, my previous horse I had loved and lost. 

Heart Horse Number Two

The day I tried out Tiz A Knight, sired by the legendary Tiznow (I had no idea his fabulous pedigree when I first met him), I remember thinking, “I love him,” from the second I first saw him standing tacked up, waiting for me on the cross ties.  

Knight was a pleasure to ride that first day, even though I was really nervous and out of practice. Even now, almost six years later he continues to be a pleasure to ride and own. 

My retired race horse Knight is special for myriad reasons and I’m so grateful for his life experiences being trained on the track. All of the routines and exposure have contributed to him being a solid citizen. 

For example, during one of my first rides on my green off-track Thoroughbred, a helicopter swooped low over the arena we rode in, en route to a small brush fire. My heart nearly stopped as the thunderous machine sliced through the air above us. I thought for sure Knight would spook and spin and I’d land on the ground!

He did nothing. 

Even though I was scared, he kept going, unfazed by the helicopter. 

He continued to walk along the arena rail, and didn’t even lift his head higher!

The Versatility of a Thoroughbred

Knight also possessed from the start many amazing life skills for a horse such as loading into a horse trailer with ease, standing patiently for grooming and picking up his hooves easily. It’s apparent he had excellent training, instilling good manners during his formative years.

Knight loves people and is a friendly horse. When I had a saddle fitter out to ensure that the wool flocking on the underside of my saddle is fitted perfectly to his particular back shape, Knight kept sidling over to the saddle fitter like a dog that wanted to be noticed and petted.

Last year I tried the sport of fox hunting on a nearby beautiful ranch (contrary to the name, it’s really about chasing coyotes off the rancher’s property). The sport has a lot of pomp and circumstance and sometimes gnarly terrain: sage and scrub brush, rocks and hills, sandy riverbed crossings and cacti. The first time I took Knight out, I couldn’t get over how he adapted to the rigorous terrain when all my riding experiences with him had been in groomed arenas. He didn’t mind the chorusing of the hounds or having other horses trot and canter next to him. He was calm and interested and it seemed like he had done this type of riding before, but I know he hadn’t.

I can’t say enough good things about my Thoroughbreds: both DC from long ago and my current mount Knight. I am grateful for the people and organizations within horse racing who take the long view on their horses to ensure they will have wonderful second careers and be placed in loving homes. Their stewardship of these noble athletes makes it possible for everyday equestrians like me to own and love the horse of one’s dreams. 

Click here to learn more about America’s Best Racing and Horses First. 

Leave a Comment: Are you a fan of Thoroughbreds too? What impresses you most about them?

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