Equine Transformation - Standardbred "Born Wild'

This article appeared in February 2019 Horse Deals magazine.

'Born Wild' and Belinda Quick.

How and when did Hank come into your life?
Hank came into my life in late 2013, I had attended a Jillaroo course in NSW and decided to buy my first horse when I returned to Victoria at 32 years of age.

He was the first horse I saw advertised and looking back I couldn’t have been luckier finding such a gentle horse for me to begin my riding adventure on – it could have been a very different situation.

What potential did you see in him?
As naive as this sounds he had gentle eyes and I just fell in love with him. I didn’t have any idea what a Standardbred was or what I would do with him when I got home.

What was his condition and temperament like on arrival?
He was very light on when I bought him but he had a great temperament, he is gentle, a keen learner and level headed.

What did you do with him in the first month? 
Hank had his teeth done on arrival and a worming. His feeding was a bit of trial and error, and it took a long time to see a difference with his weight, but once he started to gain weight and gain fitness he started to show a difference in his body shape – a real diamond in the rough.

How did he progress over six months?
Slowly over the first six months we saw a small difference after introducing Coprice G pellets (breed and grow). He didn’t gain weight quickly in the first six months but gained condition in his coat and hooves. The first six months was really only handling and natural horsemanship in hand work.

Progression after 12 months?
I started riding him after about 12 months once he had gained some weight and condition (he had already been started under saddle with his previous owner). That’s when we saw his potential, he was eager to learn new things and just started to excel each year. 

What retraining has he required?
Being a total novice when I bought him his progression was probably a lot slower than a professionally broken Standardbred but he has done extremely well in all competitions and taken all outings in his stride.

We took everything slow as he did resort back to pacing a lot in the beginning of his ridden career - pole work has really benefited Hank.

We have had many lessons over the years, most recently we had lessons at the Riding Success Institute who I can’t praise enough, Meagan is fantastic!

What was his first outing and how did he cope?
Our first ever outing was the beach with my friend Bec, Hank loved it! He didn’t bat an eyelid at anything.

Our first show was Geelong Show in 2014, we had no canter at this point of time but he showed a natural liking to being on show. He didn’t spook at the rides or the night before at the fireworks, he just took everything in his stride.

What is your biggest achievement together so far?
He has had an exceptional show career so far, always placing well but I would say placing in the top ten of the Alabar Off The Track series in 2017 was my biggest highlight. He has also proved himself as a real allrounder, doing adult riding, beach rides and dressage. Having Hank represent SPPHAV (Standardbred Pleasure And Performance Horse Association Vic) at Equitana this year was another highlight.

Does he have any special needs?
He needs shoes as he has very sensitive feet.

What was the key to his transformation?
A good balanced diet would be top of my list - finding a food that suits the horse and changing it if you don’t see improvement. A good diet along with a good worming regime, farrier and dental visits and the right exercise program and you can’t go wrong.

What advice would you give to someone considering taking on a Standardbred?
Take your time, make a bond and they will do anything for you.

What does the future hold for him?
I’m not sure - he’s having this season off but hopefully next season we might try our hand at EA dressage.

Would you do it all again?
Absolutely.

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