Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Winning with Warhorses

Can a war horse do this? Yes. Yes he can.
I tell people that I like the thoroughbred war horses who've been there/done that on the track, but I didn't realize just how deep that ran. I was doing a little thoroughbred research recently and ran across some interesting info. Let's look at my horses.

Absolute Courage
You all know my little man as the blaze-faced sport horse that could. I knew him on the track and I knew he ran extensively. His equibase profile tells me that he ran 33 times, won two races, and had career earnings of $40,802.00. That's respectable, right? I mean, he's hardly a graded stakes winner, but he's a pretty classy horse and he ran 2007-2013 with one year off in the middle, so basically six years.



Always taking care of himself
Acuna
He's my beloved Hakuna Matata thanks to the helpfulness of show secretaries after he started his show horse career, but Cuna was no slouch on the track either. Again, equibase indicates that he ran 41 times and despite winning only once, he earned $25,747.00. He ran a mere 5 (!!) years, from 1997-2001. He wasn't a hugely successful racehorse, but he paid his bills.



Look what a wee young thing I was
Klasi Renee
I don't talk about her much on the blog, but this is the mare I leased and adored all through highschool. She evented, dressaged, jumped, showed, and taught me about being quiet and calm at all times lest we lose our brains completely. We had horrible disasters and we won giant trophies. I looked up her race record just for kicks. She ran 58 (!!!) times and won 9 races from 1994-1999. Despite those numbers, she ran at tracks that are maaaaybe a step up from bush league and only won $22,944.00.



Just Courage, winning a race
And those are just my horses. I certainly understand the mentality of wanting a young, barely started thoroughbred if you're trying to make it to the upper levels or something, but I'm not. I love horses and I love riding and I want to do 3'3" or maybe 3'6" jumpers. Maybe. Mostly I want a horse that's fun to be around, no matter what we're doing any given day. I want to jump and dressage and trail ride and chase cows and pony racehorses (not with Courage apparently) and do all the things.



The best at new careers
I guess it's because I'm something of an old soul myself, but these been there, done that types just speak to me. Whether it's because they've seen it all or because they hold up under high stress or because only a certain personality makes it that long on the track, I really can't tell you. I can tell you that every one I've met is a unique and cool in a very special sort of way. They maybe don't want to race anymore, but they are athletic and intelligent and like having a job.

They might not be for everyone, but they're definitely for me.

16 comments:

  1. Love a war horse.

    I never looked up my mare's history. I don't know why, I guess she had long since been off the track when I got her, I was told she did a claim race and won. But her equibase profile shows 10 starts, a 1 and 2 and a tiny bit of money! Go her!!

    Thanks for inspiring me to look!!

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  2. Love learning more about horses whether they are mine or someone else's.
    Thanks for sharing! If they had racetracks closer to me .- i think i would be in danger of being overrun with OTTBs, yourself, the redhead, L. Williams & Karly etc; have inspired me no end to look into OTTBs in the future should either of my darling girls no longer be rideable *knock-on-wood-this-doesn't-happen*

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  3. Awww, this is such a great post! I love OTTBs, the "been there, done that" types as opposed to a truly green, younger horse. Glad you found your 2 heart horses :)

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  4. I had a very special TB warhorse in my life and I know exactly what you mean :)

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  5. Klasi Renee was such a pretty girl! Love that type of TB. :)

    I agree with the war-horse business. My old man only raced for 4 years, but all the travel and the classy trainers and owners he had have made him into one fabulous horse. :)

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  6. This is cool! I love learning more about your horese!

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  7. it is so interesting of how many OTTBs there are in the US! Here, in Austria, you can hardly find an off the track horse in sports - I guess they can be counted on one hand - because there are not that many and of course because we have tons of other breeds here like warmbloods that are cheap enough for the majority of riders as well!

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  8. If those are war horses, does that mean Simon is a draft dodger? LOL

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  9. Fascinating! I think that horses who start off having jobs and then get to be someone's special pet have a special emotional investment in their humans, which makes for amazing relationship.

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  10. WOW! I had no idea about all that. Quite impressive when you think about it!
    Yankee only ran 9 times, placed second twice and won a mere $4500.
    Bacardi had 13 starts and won twice with $11, 607.
    Equibase is pretty cool!!

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  11. This is really cool. Good horses, good owner/rider.

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  12. Wiz never had a chance to race but I bet he would've liked it! He has a competitive streak... That pic of courage winning is adorable! But geez, that jockey looks huge! But he's always looked good in turquoise huh? :)

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  13. I love a warhorse, no matter what sport they got their experience in. So much more amateur-friendly when a horse has some idea about the world and has been out and about a bit!

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  14. My first event horse raced for 9 years and won something like 23 races. He was incredible.

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  15. I totally know what you mean. If they come out of years on the track sane and sound, they can usually handle anything we are going to throw at them and do it with a ton of heart. Willingness and try can trump so many things :)

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  16. My Best Man sure fits the category of war horse with over 70 starts winning over 300k...been there done that sort of guy...sound as can be..love him so...he really tries and is willing to learn...

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