TRANSITIONING YOUR OTTB

To a more natural life

By Christine Pinna

Thoroughbreds are notorious for having hoof issues, requiring stables, blankets and plenty of concentrates to maintain their condition. But is this really the way it has to be?

Background

It is important to understand the lifestyle your newly purchased Thoroughbred has lived up until the point that he became yours. As a foal, he may have had a fair upbringing, with many stud farms allowing the mares and foals to live outdoors in herds. This is very much conducive to raising a healthy and robust young horse. Having said that, the foals are often separated from their mothers at six months of age which, according to studies, is not optimal for growing healthy youngstock. Extended breastfeeding in human babies has been linked to better brain development and more robust immune systems, so it makes sense that this should follow through in other species. When the foals are separated from their mothers, they are usually put in a herd of other youngstock, void of older parental figures, which can make the weaning process even more difficult.

Then, because the youngstock are required to grow as quickly as possible, they are often fed unnecessarily high amounts of sugary concentrates. This, unfortunately, can have a negative effect on the horse's stomach, hooves and immune system, resulting in stomach ulcers, poor hoof quality and ill health. Hoof care is also often neglected, with few youngstock being kept on a regular 4-6 week trimming cycle. This trimming cycle should actually start from birth with regular monitoring and small adjustments as necessary, rather than the standard 'wait until six months of age before beginning to trim'. Unless the horse's environment is quite hard and rocky with vast expanses of land, more often than not, the youngstock's feet are in trouble if they are not trimmed from very young.

Youngstock can be sold at varying ages, with some being bought as yearlings and backed as early as 18 months in preparation for two-year-old races. For some horses, the trainer's goal is for the horse only to win two-year-old races, so they are not expected to be sound for years to come. Of course, some of these horses will defeat the odds and still be available for purchase as riding horses after their racing career has ended but possibly not without some physical problems due to early backing and hard riding.

Whether the horse you recently bought off the track is a young horse or an older horse, there are a few things you can do to help them settle into a more natural lifestyle.

STABLING

While these horses can be creatures of habit, most of them take to living out like a duck to water and really appreciate the space to move around. After all, they are designed to run and seem to appreciate the opportunity to stretch their legs as and when needed, making them more pleasant to handle and ride without all the pent-up energy. According to a recent study, stabling has also been linked to compromised immune systems, so avoiding the stable seems to have more than just psychological and obvious physical benefits. It is most ideal to offer your new Thoroughbred free access to shelter should you choose to let him live out. Blankets may be necessary for the first winter or so, but after that, they may not be necessary once the horse grows in a full winter coat, provided he has access to ad-lib quality hay and good shelter.

COMPANIONSHIP

As we know, all horses are herd animals. I have observed that more than naturally raised and kept horses, Thoroughbreds tend to be particularly herd bound and can become quite frantic when left on their own, perhaps as a trauma response to being removed from their mothers at a young age. Offering your new horse a companion or even more than one companion can substantially help them adjust to their new life.

DIET

Transitioning onto a low-sugar feed with plenty of roughage will pay off greatly down the line. Your new horse may drop a bit of condition in the first few months as his stomach adjusts to a less acidic and sugary diet. A good pre and pro-biotic can assist with this. It is always recommended to consult with a nutritionist when changing your horse's feed. Testing your grazing and hay and formulating a custom mineral mix is ideal.

HEALTH

Ulcers are prevalent amongst racehorses due to their very high concentrate diet, with often very little or even no roughage in their diet. Treating your horse for ulcers may be necessary when they come off the racetrack and can be healed with mainstream medicine or herbal alternatives. Your horse's immune system may also be compromised, so using immune-system-supporting products is probably a good idea, especially if you are in a high African Horse Sickness zone.

BODY

While some trainers believe that racehorses should continue working as soon as they come off the track, this is not something I recommend, and it has certainly not worked out well for the few OTTBs I've tried this with in the past. Many Thoroughbreds suffer from back and general body pain from the lifestyles they live, the acidic diets they typically consume, as well as being backed and ridden hard from far too young. Considering that the growth plates of the horse's back only fuse at about 5.5 years of age or later, it is understandable that any significant amount of ridden work before this age could be damaging. It is recommended that pre-purchase x-rays are taken to rule out kissing spine, as this is common amongst Thoroughbreds. It is also a good idea to x-ray your horse's neck to rule out ECVM (Equine Complex Vertebral Malformation) due to the substantial number of Thoroughbred horses affected by the condition and the functional problems it can cause. Should you decide to rest your horse after you bring him home, the amount of rest your new horse will need is variable. During this time, one could look into groundwork and liberty exercises which are not only fun and good for the horse's body, but also great for bonding with your new horse. I would also recommend that your horse has a few treatments with a reputable chiropractor, physiotherapist and equine bodyworker to get on top of any possible issues.

While giving your horse this time off may be difficult, it should only be a small portion of your time together and will pay off in the long run. Horses that are pushed too hard from a young age may breakdown at some point, forcing the owner to rest the horse anyway, possibly inconveniently in the middle of the competition season, or perhaps the horse may even need to be retired entirely. Consider this downtime as an investment and something that your horse deserves. Understand that he skipped his 'childhood' and was put into hard work instead. He needs time to heal, recalibrate and find himself again.

HOOVES

Many Thoroughbreds have flat, flared hooves from high-sugar diets, irregular hoofcare and shoeing without caudal support. High-low syndrome is also frequently seen and comes with its own set of issues. Thrush is common due to the amount of time spent in a stable that is not always meticulously cleaned out, and again sugary diets can contribute to thrush as well, much like Candida in humans.

If you want to transition your horse to barefoot, it is important that your horse's diet is supportive of this - requiring it to be low sugar and mineral balanced, which

can only be accurately determined by having the diet analysed and the roughage and concentrates tested. Hoof boots may be necessary in some instances. Also important is regular hoofcare at 4-5 week intervals. The horse coming out of shoes should be trimmed sympathetically, with very little material being removed from the frog and sole.

NOTE

I'm sure there are stud farms that do things differently from what is described here, but they sadly appear to be few and far between.

WRAPPING IT UP

In essence, taking on an OTTB requires patience and dedication, but as anyone who has ever owned a Thoroughbred can tell you – the wait and work are more than worth it.