Over and over and over again, on almost every OTTB web page or article you see, is an opinion about a recently retired racehorse, and transitioning him into a sport horse.
Many, many people will say, Ï give my horses at least 6 months of turn out to let down from the track.” or “No OTTB should be ridden right of the track without a year of let down to just be a horse!”
Why is this? Does your horse need it? Does your horse benefit? Or, do you? The thinking seems to be that they’ll relax, they’ll “forget being a racehorse”, or somehow become a better riding horse with weeks, or even months, of (typically) pasture let down.
Where did this theory start and does it truly help. My thought is NO. It does not help in the least!
(NOTE) In cases where the OTTB is recovering from injury or illness, or if his body is simply sore from an intense racing campaign, then there certainly is a reason for letting him down. It’s very unfair to the horse to put him right into work, if he truly needs recovery time to be physically and mentally fit for his new career. A chiropractic adjustment, checking teeth, etc., is a great way to start, as well!
On a perfectly healthy horse, I think it’s his new rider that benefits from the time off, NOT the horse. (did I wake a few of you up with that statement?) With personal experience with dozens of OTTBs, I think the real reason people insist on let down is for the benefit of their own personal confidence in getting on a “racehorse”!! Many people, way deep down inside, are afraid. Afraid of their own (lack of) ability, their own self-confidence, what they’ve come to believe re racehorses and Thoroughbreds, or just that they feel they are not qualified to be a jockey. That after weeks or months of relaxation, their horse will tend to “forget” his life on the track. IT WON’T HAPPEN!
Think about it, horses learn via memory, both good events, and bad. Once they are exposed to track life, albeit for a short time, they do not forget it. They only can learn more and cannot be untaught.
While on the track, your new OTTB was used to steady exercise six days a week and plenty of hand walking on the seventh day. He’s received daily grooming, attention to his feet, regular bathing, and quantities of high quality concentrates and forage. Turning him out in a large paddock, with minimal attention is doing him no favours whatsoever. He has grown extremely accustomed to attention and human interaction.
In all the years that I’ve owned OTTBs, and placed several dozen more, I always recommend an early change to better enable transitioning to show-horse life, is diet modification. While racing, your horse was fed large amounts of concentrates with a high sugar and starch content. Race Trainers want them “hot” and exploding with energy. Besides that, they have a significant workload that burns a ton of calories. Not so much when transitioning to the show world! I recommend a feed (preferably pelleted, as many times they contain way less sugars than a textured feed) that is as low as you can find in sugars and starches, and higher in fat content, with a protein in the +/- 12% range. The higher fat is a great source of fuel, without the spikes and drops in blood sugar that the sugars and starches impart. I believe you’ll see a difference in a couple weeks on his new diet. Another excellent product for horses just of the track is Remard’s Total Gut Health supplement. Many OTTBs have ulcer issues, and I believe a few months of this product works wonders, and is far more effective and less costly than the ulcer- and gastro-guard products.
If you still insist on a let down period, for whatever reason, I suggest keeping your horse in some type of work several days a week. I am not talking about hours of mindless lunging in circles, either. That only accomplishes two things, boredom (for both of you) and an ever increasing level of fitness for your horse!
My suggestion would be to spend the time doing ground work, double lunging (2 lines) and ground driving. An accomplished trainer with long lining can teach a horse dressage movements, up through Grand Prix from the ground! Think how much easier it would be training tons of basics from the ground, before you ever get on!
My daughter currently owns an FEI driving horse, currently transitioning to ridden dressage. She has taught him to move away from the tiniest touch of her finger tip on either side, exactly where your heel or spur would touch when riding. She can make him back up, step, after step, after step, just by touching the middle of his chest with her index finger. He will walk in a wash rack, she twirls her index finger in a circle, and he immediately turns 180 degrees and stands waiting to be cross tied. If a Dutch horse can learn, an OTTB certainly can, as well!
Training like this can pay huge dividends; a polite horse that’s easy to handle makes any horseman’s life improve immeasurably! Your bonding and trust between you and your partner will leap forward and you’ll be comfortable knowing you’re getting the very best out of your new OTTB.
Thoughts? After all, this is…Just One Man’s Opinion.
Special thanks to the following for reviewing and critiquing this post!
Linda, Hauck, OTTB expert, Eventing trainer/judge, Tapestry Equine Products
Steuart Pttman, President, Retired Racehorse Project/Thoroughbred Makeover
Michael Heath, former jockey, exercise rider, young sport horse expert
RANDOM THOUGHTS on Horse Sport 
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