Posters vs Actual Players

[newyorkmary]

We breed to sell/race. My husband has been involved on the racing end for over 30 years. Admittedly, he is far more knowledgable than I am, which is why I read more than I post. We recently got into breeding (we don't have very good timing) so I find this forum informative on breeding/selling issues.

[Denise]

Lifelong fan, owner/breeder, in the business since '00, with two mares, a retired gelding (12yo.) Field Master/Babysitter, and 5 homebred siblings in the racing queue, the first 3 of which have started and won. Two year old is in training (with luck, will start as a 3yo.) and the yearling is getting ready to come to over to the racing barn for breaking. Mom of all these babies had a year off in '07, and is IF for '09. The other mare (our best retired runner) just had her first foal this year, and didn't get IF, so she'll be bred in early '09.

[billl]

I have owned horses racing, pinhooked yearlings and sold broodmare prospects. I have been studying breeding of racehorses for about 20 years. At this moment I am out because of the economic crisis. I think at this moment it is too difficult to obtain a profit.

[bfinellc]

Current owner/breeder. Formerly a parimutuel teller, money room manager, parimutuels manager, jockey agent, etc.

You can see pics of my horses at: http://www.myspace.com/kyderbyteller

[Patuxet]

60 years ago in my early teens I galloped some of my uncle's horses for a trainer at Narragansett and was rewarded with a couple of old geldings and a mare which I patched up and raced at the Massachusetts fairs.

After college I lived in Europe and developed an abiding love for pedigree analysis and turf racing at a distance. Through the years I bred/bought and raced in a minor way on both coasts, but became disenchanted with the sport when both the races and the careers of the horses dramatically shortened.

Early on a wise old horseman warned me, "Ours is a lonely passion." He also might have added that it's also an infection that's hard to shake. I'm now back to breeding a few to race in Ocala.

[Tonno100]

Any racing enthusiast is always welcome to share their comments. It's just sometimes people post so arrogantly and with such disrespect and have never even mucked a stall, walked a colicky horse at 1:00 a.m., or pulled the sac off a foal and watch it takes it first breathe.

What kind of posts are you referring to, if they're about the things you mentioned fair enough.

I don't like the kind of attitude that prevails (and makes it hard to get a job) in the racing industry that you don't know anything unless you've shovelled plenty of poop! They seem to overlook a good deal of potentially high-quality workers in order to perpetuate this myth.

[pfrsue]

I'm definitely a poster and not a player, although I've "mucked a stall, walked a colicky horse at 1:00 a.m., and pulled the sac off a foal and watch it takes it first breath," many, many times. I've worked with and ridden plenty of OTTB's, but my experience is centered more around the CT/dressage/hunter world.

Thoroughbreds and horse racing are lifelong passions, but I've never had the opportunity to work within the racing industry. I'm mainly here to read in a lurky kind of way, learn as best I can from the experts, and to contribute my two cents when and if I think it's worth . . . well, hopefully at least two cents. I'm also a writer and I'd dearly love to do a book someday with racing as the backdrop for the characters. It's a tremendous resource to see the thoughts and opinions of people from so many different areas and levels of the industry here.

Also, a lot of people who've read my posts in the off-topic forum already know that I'm currently stuck at home while undergoing treatment for lymphoma. (It'll be another six weeks or so until they check for remission.) It's nice to come someplace and "talk horses" (or at least, "read horses" while I'm equine-deprived with so many very cool people. So it's really nice to hear that even 'posters' like me are welcome by the vast majority.

[pokeyman]

I'm definitely a poster and not a player, although I've "mucked a stall, walked a colicky horse at 1:00 a.m., and pulled the sac off a foal and watch it takes it first breath," many, many times. I've worked with and ridden plenty of OTTB's, but my experience is centered more around the CT/dressage/hunter world.

Thoroughbreds and horse racing are lifelong passions, but I've never had the opportunity to work within the racing industry. I'm mainly here to read in a lurky kind of way, learn as best I can from the experts, and to contribute my two cents when and if I think it's worth . . . well, hopefully at least two cents. I'm also a writer and I'd dearly love to do a book someday with racing as the backdrop for the characters. It's a tremendous resource to see the thoughts and opinions of people from so many different areas and levels of the industry here.

Also, a lot of people who've read my posts in the off-topic forum already know that I'm currently stuck at home while undergoing treatment for lymphoma. (It'll be another six weeks or so until they check for remission.) It's nice to come someplace and "talk horses" (or at least, "read horses" while I'm equine-deprived with so many very cool people. So it's really nice to hear that even 'posters' like me are welcome by the vast majority.

I agree that crossing over between disciplines is a great way to get a solid education. I have done trail riding, hunter paces, shown dressage, groomed at A hunter shows as a kid (couldn't afford to ride) and at CT events (could afford to ride but was just plain scared out of my wits to attempt it), and bred/raced/shown Arabians. I got Parelli level 1 certified and now am taking up driving! I have galloped my own TB for the track and now we breed and race thoroughbreds. Lucky enough to have a farm and the money to do it...... as it has been a battle to even break even.

Having grown up around horses, we come to racing with a different mindset. I believe in turning my horses out 24/7...even my racehorses. I can't subject them to track life. I want them to be horses who just happen to race. I want them to have manners and be able to be hacked. I know what it is like to deal with problems in an adult horse so I try to do all I can to make the racehorses sane and tractable. I don't want to run on drugs and I want to leave them barefoot as long as I can. We do natural horsemanship with all our babies. Our retired racehorses are sent to top local trainers who do natural horsemanship and get them doing ring work and trail riding so we can place them in a good home and know we did all we could to help this horse have a quality life. We are beating ourselves up as it is hard enough to survive in this game without trying to be unconventional!

In fact, I just had a 12 hour day; waiting at Suffolk looking at horses that trainers were trying to dump..perfectly good horses who were just too slow. Then, I shipped a horse from Suffolk all the way to Northern Vermont for free to a woman that would give him a good home and a chance for a new career. Long day but worth it. We all have to be responsible for these horses.....

On another note, I just wanted to mention to you that the Thoroughbred Times has a fiction contest every year. You might want to check that out as it sounds like it is right up your alley!

Lastly, I just wanted to send you some positive thoughts and prayers while you undergo treatment. {hugs}

[oliverstoned]

Hi there, I'm a Cancer and like long midnight colicky walks, and the fragrance of horse manure.

I've worked as a farm manager in the 80s and bought my first TBs in 1984. Haven't owned any lately but I have recently purchased a 11 acre farm in Florida and a pony for the kids, so I said to the Wife "the pony needs company and there is this sale in January.......and uhhh....."