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Retraining Off the Track Thoroughbreds


Retraining Off the Track Thoroughbreds with Jess Schneider, owner of Vengeance Performance Horses, near Geelong, Victoria.

A majority of the time horses will arrive directly from their respective race stables, straight from race work. Each horse is so individual with their needs, therefore is assessed individually on arrival with a plan structured to suit their needs. Generally a couple of months let down time is sufficient unless the spelling is required for injury in which case we would liaise with one of our brilliant vets and follow their advice.

First thing’s first. Body work is high on the to do list, we use and highly recommend Shane Williams, it’s very important to use a body worker with knowledge of the industry and plenty of experience treating racing stock. Next we have our star master farrier Sam Wilson attend and work out a plan of action regarding the horse’s feet and shoeing plans for future, the saying rings true – no hoof, no horse. Next is immunisations (2 in 1) and worming (Equest Plus Tape) to ensure we have them up to date and can provide dates to any potential future home. And lastly dental, we like to use Luke Shelbourne for their dental work, who never lets us down.

When these boxes have been ticked, the horse will begin a spell, during this time care is taken to ensure they are eating adequately, ideally on pasture with unlimited access to hay. If you aren’t lucky enough to have good pasture a round bale is adequate, gaining condition has a lot to do with the quality of the hay provided. During this time I will continue to hard feed most horses, I have always been a fan of Barastoc Breed N Grow, Lucerne Chaff, Soya Bean Meal and an oil daily. If the horse is letting down poorly or has a change of health I will scope for ulcers and treat if necessary.

Once the horse has let down and enjoyed some time being a horse, the fun begins!

Each horse I like to start in a similar way, plenty of groundwork to switch on their minds, develop suppleness through their bodies and teach cues which transfer well under saddle to create an understanding of exactly what is wanted from them. Good ground manners never go astray. You will find similarities between most great horsemen and their systems, personally I am a fan of Warwick Schiller and also AEBC Methods. I find OTT horses respond and learn incredibly well following these systems and they are widely known and accessible for the general public to then go on with and follow at home, on YouTube etc, which is a fantastic education tool particularly for those who can’t always access good trainers/clinics.

The first few rides are discovering what we need to work on that we haven’t already figured out on the ground, fairly pressure free and full of reward for the horse. Most horses have not much idea of contact, and are used to traveling with a high head carriage. We always have someone on the ground to assist with mounting for as long required, as many have not covered using something for a rider to mount from as most track riders/jockeys are legged up. It’s wise to spend the time getting them used to this in a calm happy manner, it’s not something you want to forget!


Moving forward, each horse will vary very greatly with their existing education, ultimately we want to teach every horse a basic dressage education and beginning of jumping education with plenty of tools in the toolbox to be able to go on to their next chapter successfully. Some horses come together incredibly quickly and some need time and patience to achieve this. Once we are happy with their level of education under saddle we will commence off property outings to local equestrian centres, small comps, trails, beach etc. They all take to this next step differently but through kind, calm exposure, nearly all of them do exceptionally well transitioning into their next chapter - whatever that may be, they can become anything from kids pony club mounts to four star international level eventing horses, army mounts and police horses.

Off the trackers differ to other horses as they are purpose bred for speed and athleticism, they can be very adrenalized under some circumstances due to this, however they have such a huge amount of positives that many breeds do not gain initially. Most racehorses have seen EVERYTHING in their time on the track, they are often used to crowds of hundreds of thousands of people, floating/trucking, working in company or by themselves, the beach, the bush, machinery, the list goes on. They are by far the most versatile and adaptable breed on the planet, they have heart, you find yourself a good Thoroughbred and you have yourself a mate for life, a horse that would go to war for you.

I’ve always found it easier to educate a horse with more starts under his belt when it comes to exposure and settling into atmosphere out and about, however the inexperienced horses have a lot less habits to undo and just require some more time introducing them to some things but they certainly repay you ten fold!

Jess’ tips when looking for an off the track horse: Attitude is number one! He must have a great work ethic, a good kind eye and boldness about him. Personally I’m a sucker for a big personality but this does not always make life easy. Ideally elastic paces with a scopey jump. I’m quite picky on conformation, my competition horses must have good straight legs, nice angled pasterns, great shoulder and the angle the neck comes out of the wither with a nice length of rein. Definitely aim for a horse who is in proportion, ideally you’d like his front, back and hind to be able to be split into three equal parts, a good powerful backend for performance disciplines and finished off with a classy head.

If you’re not buying to create a world beater the main priority should be attitude and kindness, the retrainer, race trainer or track riders will be able to give you a great insight into his attitude, they truly care about their horses and want the best for them. They don’t always have to be put together like unicorns to be useful, honest horses with a great purpose to serve. All the best and enjoy your horses.


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