In the mid-seventies my friend Kathy Kusner had a jockey’s license and was trying her hand at life at the track. Kathy had a great eye for talented jumpers and saw a big, rangy, six-year-old bay jump a couple of fences. She called me and said I had to see the horse, called The Jones Boy. At about 17 hands but light and with immense scope, he could really jump. I loved him and bought him on the spot. The Jones Boy was a quick study with a lot of heart, which is not uncommon for big, athletic Thoroughbreds. People don’t realize with the slow-to-mature Warmbloods so popular now that it can take four years to teach what I taught The Jones Boy in four days! He was incredibly talented and went on to have terrific success with Katie Monahan Prudent.
Bertelan de Némethy was known to have said that in the Thoroughbred, Americans have “the best for Olympic jumping.” He told me repeatedly, “George, the best horses in the world are these American Thoroughbred horses.” He was correct. First, the physical size and type of the animal is right. These are big (16 to 17 hands), light, athletic, refined animals. Second, their mental capacity is usually good. While blood horses are often hot and nervous, they are at the same time extremely sensitive and intelligent. And what’s more important, they are bold.
George Morris with The Jones Boy. (Newspaper clipping from Morris’s personal collection.)
Even today when I look at horses in Europe, I gravitate intuitively and instinctively toward the Thoroughbred horse. You see, that’s our base, that’s our background, that’s our upbringing. You might bring out horse after horse after horse, but I won’t say “That one!” until it’s a blood horse.
I would like somehow in the next 25 years to see people in the United States get back in that direction and utilize this internal resource. Yes, it can maybe be harder today than it was years ago to find a horse like The Jones Boy off the track, but there are still all these Thoroughbreds…there are many, many farms and many, many tracks and many, many horses. Horses with class. If a book like this can help more people appreciate what we have right here, if it can help more people work with these sensitive, intelligent, classy animals, and help more of them find success in the show jumping ring, the dressage arena, on the cross-country course, then I believe it is integral to the future of our sport.
George H. Morris
Former Chef D’Equipe US Show Jumping Team
Author of Unrelenting: The Real Story:
Horses, Bright Lights, and My Pursuit of Excellence
Introduction
Ever since the first Thoroughbred race was run hundreds of years ago, there has been a need for people to help “transition” retired racehorses into new careers. In a business that rolls a lot of dice in the hopes that one will be a winner, it is natural that many of the horses bred and trained to run will fail to meet expectations—they might be too aggressive or spooky in nature, they might not be fast enough, or they might get hurt early in the game, rendering them unable to reach their racing potential. In North America alone, the Jockey Club registers about 20,000 Thoroughbred foals each year. A third of them might go on to be viable stakes winners or breeding stock. The rest…well, the rest are unsure of their fate.
In 1992, it became apparent to my mother, Dot Morgan, that a vast number of off-track Thoroughbreds (OTTBs) were in desperate need of new homes. When shipping horses to our home farm near Dayton, Ohio, my mother got on the horse van and saw a Thoroughbred still in the ties. She asked the driver where the horse was going, but it was clear that no one knew or was worried that the horse might end up in a bad situation. At that moment, the idea for New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program was born.
The goal from the beginning was simple: prepare ex-racehorses for new jobs instead of retiring them from all service. There are farms where horses are “retired” from working; they are simply turned out in fields. However, the vast majority of Thoroughbreds love having a routine and a job. With a little time and retraining, most OTTBs can go on to excel in other riding careers, whether that is in the show arena or simply as a pleasure mount.
As we began offering ex-racehorses a safe haven, rehabilitation from injury, and retraining, we quickly learned that although OTTBs are, in many ways, different from other types of horses, there is great potential in each one of them. Yes, Thoroughbreds are bred to run. But, they are not just “running machines”; they have great hearts, too. Once a Thoroughbred is retrained for riding he will do anything for his rider and handler. Many act like children and constantly seek their owner’s approval. Give these guys a job to do, and they will wholeheartedly give it their all!
Through the years I have seen thousands of adopted OTTBs leave our program and go to their new homes—New Vocations adopts out more ex-racehorses than any other program in the United States. Horses from our program have gone on to become eventers, show hunters, jumpers, dressage horses, Pony Club mounts, foxhunters, trail horses, endurance horses, and even barrel racers! Fortunately, most people who take these horses are successful in introducing them to their new lives, though there are inevitably a few who get frustrated and send a horse back to our program.
This book is designed for owners adopting or purchasing their first OTTBs, but it encompasses many additional tidbits that may be helpful for long-time Thoroughbred owners, as well. Equine aftercare, specifically racehorse aftercare, has expanded exponentially since New Vocations’ inception. There are now many options available to ensure that all horses retiring from the track have a soft place to land and transition to new chapters in their lives.
Over time I have noticed some common factors in the scenarios where OTTBs have been successfully transitioned:
Patience
It can take months—or even years—for a horse to fully settle in to a new career. Many of the people who are successful with OTTBs give a horse several months to just relax before they start really working him. Holding a horse to a set time frame only puts unnecessary pressure on both the horse and his owner.
Commitment
A person who chooses to adopt an animal is assuming many responsibilities; one who adopts an OTTB has the added responsibility of understanding that the horse is trying to learn right along with his new owner. Horses retiring from the track go through a massive life change. They must learn new routines, including how to be turned out and how to work in an arena, as well as new skills, like bending and picking up canter leads. And they learn that life off the track is much less regimented than what they are used to—and that this change is okay.
An OTTB needs an owner who is committed to ensuring that his transition from racehorse to riding horse is a positive one. An understanding and sense of empathy for the horse as he learns his new job is essential—and a sense of humor doesn’t hurt, either.
Experience
The more experience the adopter has with owning and training horses, the better. OTTBs need a lot of help figuring out how the world works away from the track—from both the ground and the saddle. When they first arrive at New Vocations, they may have bad barn habits, poor ground manners, and can be excitable and strong under saddle. While these are all issues that will likely change with kind and consistent training, they still require a foundation of horse knowledge and an ability to “read”
