Thoroughbred Retirement

This is produced by the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association in Arcadia, CA. It is funded by The Oak Tree Charitable Foundation. This is the first in an educational series of web features. This first story is an overview on the subject of Thoroughbred race horses and their usefulness and success after their racing careers are over.

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What are good flatwork excercises for my green 6 year old thoroughbred?

I just recently bought a 6 year old Thoroughbred. She is kind of green from not being worked and sitting in a pasture for the past 2 months! She needs to learn how to relax, when i ask her for the trot she is very speedy but then she will relax. She also doesnt bend around her corners. I wil eventually want to start jumping her I just want to get her prepared for that. Do you have any “tricks” or exercises that may help? Thanks!!

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Thoroughbred – Precious love – Olivia Newton John

**Song Lyrics** (Olivia Newton-John / Annie Roboff) In this world- where life keeps changing- There and ever seemed – be enough- I kept gone, my soul was searching- Looking for something that would fill me up- I have always – felt a yearning- Something inside me was unsatisfied *** Precious love You woke my heart up It’s been sleeping- for such a long time- This crazy feeling- I can believe it Your love has found its way into my life ***- Take our time- slow and easy- I’m so comfortable when- I’m with you Catch my breath- when you come near me- can’t control this if I wanted to Thought I’d never- trust another- and here in your arms I feel safe again- Precious love- You woke my heart up- It’s been sleeping- for such a long time- This crazy feeling- I must be dreaming- Your love has found its way into my life You touched a part of me And set my spirit free- *** Precious love **** This crazy feeling- I must be dreaming- Your love has found its way into my life- You know, your precious love- has changed- my life ******************oo********************* Love is on. No matter whoever or whatever it is. “Love is precious” Song by Olivia Newton John

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Thoroughbred Horses

Summary

The Thoroughbred horse is a breed of horse. The Thoroughbred horse is a member of the “hot blooded” group of horses.

Thorough bred horses are outstanding competition horses. Thoroughbred horses are excellent jumpers and are intelligent trainable horses. Thoroughbred horses can often be seen in the show ring and compete at the highest levels of show jumping and dressage. Visit the Horsewizard website for these sort of Horses for Sale. Smaller Thoroughbred horses are in demand as polo ponies due to their agility and great speed. Thoroughbred horses dominate the top levels of eventing as they posses speed, stamina and the ability to jump large obstacles.

The Thoroughbred horse is most famous for being a race horse, and was originally bred to race, but they excel in many equestrian disciplines. They are supreme equine athletes; they are extremely fast, strong and have superb stamina. There is no correlation between the size of the horse and its athletic capabilities, many champion race horses have been under 16 hands.

Characteristics

Thoroughbred horses usually stand from 15.2 to 17 hands, they can be any solid colour, although they are normally bay, black, grey or chestnut. If you are looking for a Horse for sale with these characteristics then visit the Horsewizard website. Thoroughbred horses have muscular, lean bodies, they have a defined head, a longer than usual neck, high withers, deep chest, a short back and fine lengthy legs.

History

The Thoroughbred horse was developed in the 17th century in England; three imported Arabian stallions were bred with English mares. All of today’s modern Thoroughbred horses are descendants of the imported Arabian stallions, Darley Arabian, Godolphin Arabian and Byerly Turk.

Thoroughbred horses have artificial birthdays. Horses born in the northern hemisphere all share the 1st of January as their birth date, Thoroughbreds born in the southern hemisphere share the 1st of august , this is to regulate the races for thoroughbreds in age categories.

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How can you tell if a thoroughbred has raced before?

I’m thinking of getting a thoroughbred, a 9yo gelding, and i want to know if it has raced before. How can you tell? The owner doesn’t know.

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The American Quarter Horse: Faster Than A Speeding Thoroughbred

The Quarter Horse is known as the All-American horse and as the world’s most versatile horse. Not only is it the most popular breed in the United States, but it is possibly the oldest horse breed in the US. Named for its amazing speed during a short one quarter mile sprint, the fastest galloping speed by any horse has been achieved by the American Quarter Horse which has been clocked at speeds near 55 mph (88 km/h) in a quarter mile or less. Their immensely powerful hindquarters can propel the horse into a gallop almost from a standing start, and Quarter Horse racing is becoming more popular. The average Quarter Horse usually lives 20 years, but 35 years is not uncommon when properly cared for.

It has been called by many names over the years: American Quarter Horse, Foundation Quarter, Standard Quarter, Racing Quarter, Running Quarter, Quarter Miler, Short Horse and the cowboy’s Cutting Horse.

While the breed originated in the United States and is now distributed worldwide, its ancestry dates back to the Arabian, Barb and Turk horses that were imported to America by early Spanish explorers, conquistadors and traders. These were combined into the Chickaswas breed by Native Americans to form one side of the bloodline, with English horses and Thoroughbreds on the other. Morgan and Standardbred horses have also been used in the breed’s development. But it is difficult to give the exact origins because the blending of bloodlines to produce a short-distance horse started in colonial regions prior to the Revolutionary War. The true beginnings are believed to have been in the Carolinas and Virginia but the principle development was in the southwestern part of the United States, in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, eastern Colorado, and Kansas when in the early 1600s, settlers began importing English horses and breeding them to the native Spanish-based Chickaswas stock to create a tough all-purpose horse.

Of course, naming horses after people was common practice back then and when the horses were sold their names were often changed. This led to confusion when attempting to verify pedigrees. Nowadays a horse’s name must be acceptable to the American Quarter Horse Association and must not exceed 20 characters. Quarter Horse names may be reused only if certain criteria are met as per AQHA rules.

And no particular attention was made to keep them as a distinct breed, either.  Fast horses were raced in any suitable open space with many races being run as “match races” after a private wager between owners or riders. Any of these fast horses that also made good cow horses were crossed to existing mares.  Many of these mares had Spanish, Arabian, Morgan, or Standardbred backgrounds. 

In 1889, Traveler, a horse of unknown pedigree, was shipped to Texas in a carload of horses but it is believed that he originated in Kentucky.  Traveler was apparently not considered valuable and at least once changed hands in a craps game.  He and his descendants were mated to some excellent mares, and many Quarter Horses today can trace back to him along the paternal side.

Currently there are two basic varieties of the breed. The Foundation Quarter, Standard Quarter or old-fashioned “Bulldog” type is the smallest, shortest, stockiest, most muscular variety, yet extremely agile and sure-footed. Used for ranch work, trail and pleasure riding, they average 14 to15 hands and weigh 900 to 1,100 lbs. The Racing Quarter, Running Quarter is taller, leaner and looks more like a well-muscled Thoroughbred due to the added Thoroughbred genes. These average between 15 to 16 hands, weigh 1,000 to 1,250 pounds and tend to be in solid colors with limited white markings.

American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), the largest equine breed registry in the world, and founded in 1940, has registered more than 5 million American Quarter Horses with the current population estimated at 3.2 million animals.

The breed is usually recognized by a short muzzle, broad forehead with a straight profile and large jaws. It has small fox-like ears and large, wide-set eyes. The neck has a slight crest. Their backs are short with good withers and a sloping croup.  The barrel is deep with well-sprung ribs and the hooves are well-rounded, with deep open heels. The following 13 colors are accepted by the AQHA: brown, chestnut, gray, dun, red dun, bay, buckskin, black, grullo, red roan, blue roan, and palomino, with sorrel being the most common and limited white markings.

The walk, trot, canter, and gallop are the Quarter Horse’s natural gaits. Some individuals have long, leggy movements with a lot of knee action, while others take shorter steps.

As for disposition and personality, this horse is the most willing, laid-back, quiet and even-tempered of all the breeds, and has a gentle nature. They are quick and agile, level-headed and sensible, sure-footed and steady with good stamina. Their unflappable nature has made them suitable for mounted police units in cities. Intelligence, reliability, adaptability and willingness to please their owners make the Quarter Horse very easy to train in all ways. The breed seems to have an innate “cow sense” and can anticipate the moves made by cattle which makes them indispensable for herding and cutting.

There is one downside to the breed however, a genetic oddity known as Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis (HYPP). This is listed as a genetic defect in AQHA’s rules, along with Parrot Mouth and Cryptorchidism. HYPP is inherited as a dominant trait and is characterized by intermittent episodes of uncontrolled muscle tremors (shaking, trembling or twitching) or profound muscle weakness, and in severe cases, may lead to collapse and/or death. To date, HYPP has been traced only to descendants of a horse named IMPRESSIVE, #0767246.

They are indeed an all-purpose horse with uses ranging from racing, herding, and rodeo, to show jumping, dressage, carriage and pleasure riding.

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Thoroughbred foal numbers continue to fall

Thoroughbred foal numbers continue to fall
T HE 2010 crop of thoroughbred foals will be the smallest in 33 years, according to the Jockey Club. Based on official reports of mares bred, which are filed by stallion owners, the number of foals expected for 2010 is about 30,000. Matt Iuliano, Jockey Club vice president of registration services, said the number of mares bred has declined annually since 2006, when the subsequent year’s foal …

Read more on The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star

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Horse Care & Buying Tips : How to Choose a Thoroughbred Horse

When choosing a thoroughbred horse, remember that these horses are hot and quick, so watch the owner ride the horse to determine what level of rider is required. Pick a thoroughbred horse with tips on riding and general confirmation from anequestrian coach in this free video on horse care. Expert: Mara Keith-Hunter Contact: www.sycamore-stables.com Bio: Mara Keith-Hunter is a lifelong equestrian and head coach for the Hampshire College equestrian team. She rode in the Intercollegiate National Horse Show for two universities. Filmmaker: David Pakman

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A day at the lake Sonoma Equestrian Center

Rescued 2 year old arab rescue filly at the lake at Sonoma Equestrian Center getting used to the water, and the concept of swimming in Glen Ellen

Duration : 0:2:2

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Thoroughbred Cross Horse / Flat work

This is my horse Darren at 4 years old. The video shows him in flat work. www.thewelcomefarm.com

Duration : 0:6:27

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