Social media, as well as the RRP Horse Listings, have enabled potential Thoroughbred owners to review a large number of retiring racehorse listings at any time. Newcomers to the breed might find it challenging to consider a prospect right off the track and decide if it’s a match for their desired purpose.
In this column, veteran Thoroughbred Makeover trainers share their strategies for assessing and selecting prospects, and assess provided conformation photos based on their disciplines of choice. We feature trainers from two disciplines in each column.
Our Trainers
Claudia Dollinger
Third in 2024 Show Jumper with Gotta Connect
Claudia Dollinger got her start in the saddle at age five, riding “anything and everything” at a hunter barn. She moved from green ponies to her first Thoroughbred around age 12, and fell in love with the breed’s intelligence and athleticism. She moved from the hunters to jumpers and began showing locally as well as on the rated circuit throughout her teen years. She also began working at a local Thoroughbred breeding and rehabilitation center in her teens, taking over the management when she was 18. In 2020, she started her own boarding facility in Glenmoore, PA, and focused on starting and rehoming Thoroughbreds for second careers.
Raechel Ramsey
Winner of 2024 Ranch Work with Brooklyns Finest
Raechel Ramsey rode cutting horses and started two-year-olds for her cutting trainer as a teenager, and then began showing cutting horses after college. She also began working with “project” horses, which she defines as horses in need of rehabilitation, training, or both, developing green horses into solid partners for resale. She continues to branch out her equine education, continuing to learn more about ranch riding, dressage, eventing and hunter/jumper; she finds that riding in different disciplines with different trainers helps expand her skillset when working with horses, especially the Thoroughbreds.
Choosing a Horse
Both of our experts are comfortable utilizing a variety of tools, services and connections to acquire their prospects. Dollinger has a network of track connections through which she sources horses, but also utilizes the CANTER organization website to help make additional inroads at the tracks in her region. She appreciates having a good jog video to get an idea of how a horse moves.
Similarly, Ramsey looks at prospects via social media, and is confident in her ability to assess horses from videos and good-quality conformation photos. She notes, however, that if she’s sourcing a horse specifically for her own Makeover entry, she prefers to work with New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program, joking that she asks the organization for the “shortest, fattest horse they have” as she is usually looking for something compact that’s well-suited to the ranch work discipline.
Dollinger, in contrast, is looking for horses physically built for hunters, jumpers or eventing (and notes that she likes to let the horse dictate its own path). Generally, she looks for horses evenly built in thirds, from ears to withers, withers to lower back, and lower back to tail. This method generally finds her horses that are lighter and more balanced rides. She does not mind working with horses with old injuries. Above physical build, however, she emphasizes her prospects needing to have a good brain: “I love a good horse that can be handled easily and adapt to change or challenges,” she describes. “This usually signals to me that the horse wants to go right to work and learn its new job.”
Similarly, Ramsey lets personality be a deciding factor as well. “If I have a few horses to pick from and they’re equal in conformation, I like to go for the horse that wants to run and play, or anything that shows they like to have a little fun,” she describes. “It makes the journey that much better to have a riding partner that likes to play and interact.”
Conformationally, she likes to see a short and compact horse with a big hip, which suggests the ability to get the hind end under itself to stop and turn. She doesn’t pay too much attention to bloodlines, and like Dollinger, doesn’t mind a rehab or a horse with a few blemishes or old injuries provided they’ve been cleared for work by a vet.
Meet the Prospects
Our horses for this edition come from After the Races, in Elkton, Maryland, which specializes in rehabilitation and rehoming of retired racehorses.
After the Races has helped rehome nearly 1000 Thoroughbreds and typically has around 20 at a time that are in rehabilitation or ready for adoption. Horses come from private owners and trainers who are willing to make a one-time donation toward their horses’ care. The organization also partners with Beyond the Wire, Aftercare Charles Town, New Start for Horses, and Second Call, which are all track-based retirement programs. After the Races is accredited through the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance and is an official adoption partner with ASPCA Right Horse.
The horses pictured here are all currently seeking new homes. While these three horses might no longer be available for adoption when this column publishes, After the Races has plenty of prospects looking for their next partners.
Horse 1: Abundant Story (Field Commission – Shining Story, by Notebook), 2015 mare
Horse 2: Brysons Option (Cross Traffic – Listen Boy, by After Market), 2021 gelding
Horse 3: Israeli Army (Army Mule – Carried Away, by Dixie Union), 2020 gelding
Dollinger’s Picks
Horse 3: This horse is my first pick. I’m a sucker for a big hunky bay! This horse is very much my type and I could see him going any route but personally would love to take him as a hunter prospect. He fits into my rule of thirds well, and that hind end is lovely and balanced. The body is a bit on the more compact side, but I love that type of ride and find it easier to manage. His front end is straight with a beautiful shoulder that looks like he would have a snappy, clean front end. Some buyers might see the clipped tendon area and be concerned, but I personally never scare away from old bows – especially this leg that doesn’t look like it has much of a silhouette.
Horse 1: This horse is my second pick. This horse is very cute and one that I would scoop up as an eventing partner. He is a little shorter in the neck than I’d usually want but I tend to see that as less weight for the horse to rock back onto their hind end, and they tend to be a little handier to ride. He has nice, straight, balanced legs with a powerful looking hind end. He is not over at the knee at all. The only thing that I would consider as a new buyer is that he looks a tad high-headed and is more muscled on the underside of his neck which means he has probably gone with his head up in work for a while and would need to be taught to reach down for the bit and work the top line muscles to get fit for a new job.
Horse 2: This horse is my third pick. This is a beautiful, athletic looking horse who looks lovely for coming off the track. I would take him on as an event/jumper prospect. He is also a tad shorter in the neck than I’d love but if he dropped it a little more for the photo then I think it would be closer to my rule of thirds. He looks as if he would step under himself nicely behind to make balancing him an easier job. His front end is a little dropped at the fetlock and his foot is dropped in the heel but the feet could be corrected some by good shoeing and pads.
Ramsey’s Picks
Horse 3: All of these horses are beautiful with good conformation and are immaculately turned out. I would be privileged to have any one of them in my barn, but if I had to narrow it down to one favorite, it would be Horse 3. The sloping shoulder and strong hindquarter give this horse an overall powerful and pleasing appearance. With a nice big hip under him this would make him my overall pick for my preferred western disciplines. With his shorter back and sloping pasterns it could give him the edge in agility, making him ideal for quick, lateral movements and big stops.
Horse 2: This looks like a taller, leaner horse with a long, elegant neck, a moderately sloping shoulder, and a well-balanced back. His hindquarters are strong but not as bulky as Horse 3’s, and his legs are long with well-angled pasterns which usually supports a smooth stride. The balanced back offers a good mix of agility and strength, suitable for a variety of disciplines.
Horse 1: This horse has a bit more of an upright shoulder and little longer back than the others. He still has a nice hip under him with long legs which will give him a nice ground covering stride, which might make a great jumper or endurance ride.
