deserthorsewoman
Posted : 1/7/2010 11:38:07 PM
Nice Video! And then all the others who're there....had to stop myself from watching them all.
I do have a Standardbred (see my post under behaviour). And I agree, they are amazing horses. When I came here to Italy, I ended up, with three Arabians in tow, boarding on a Standardbred breeding and training farm. So not long after, I got my Fosco di Lucca. He never raced due to an upward fixation of the patella. But he went through all the training. Now he's on the way of becoming a very nice riding horse. And he's gaited too, he's offering the rack.
What I find most amazing about them, they have such a nice character, after all the use and abuse as race horses they attach to people right away and never take anything wrong. Very forgiving, highly intelligent, not as high strung as a TB (well, there are exceptions...), easy keepers, all in all, a lot of bang for the buck. And yes, they do it all.
I know of a gentleman in Germany who buys them off the track, retrains them, Western and gaited, and sells them. And they compete in gaited shows and win.
Here at my barn is a SB stallion who is currently racing and being ridden by the owner's 11 year old daughter. They jump up to 1 meter. Without any formal training, just up and go.
In fact, there's a couple more for give away here, I'm thinking about it............