SEVERAL PAGES THIS month are dedicated to ex-racehorses and their careers after the track, and they all make fascinating reading. Some riders shy away from taking on a former speed machine, thinking that they will be difficult to’s #Hack1000Miles challengers confirm that this is true (page 8), with Tracey Jones saying: “My ex-racer, Percy, is brilliant in traffic, which I hadn’t anticipated — tractors and lorries, he takes them all in his stride. A crisp packet on the side of the road, oranew patch of tarmac, are whole different matters, though!” Meanwhile, Philippa Gilmore, Retraining of Racehorse’s head of welfare operations, notes in the second part of our mini-series on rehoming horses (page 62) that there are myths surrounding former racehorses that they “are difficult to retrain [but]… they are very adaptable and usually relatively easy to train”. Therefore, the message is, anyone with experience, confidence, patience and a little spare time shouldn’t discount taking on a former track star.
