Not Dogs But The Horse Equivalent Of Greyhound 'wastage' Solut

[Boronia]

pretty good article

http://www.abc.net.a...dogmeat/5064978

Standardbreds once destined for dog food factory find their champion Landline By Pip Courtney Posted 1 hour 50 minutes ago

Photo: It has long been thought that standardbreds, like James, do not make good riding horses.

They shoot horses don't they? Yes they do. It's the ugly side of horseracing the industry calls "wastage".

"Any horse that's too slow and doesn't have an alternative career will probably be slaughtered for meat," says Melton pacing trainer Danny Mullan.

"They're humanely dealt with, but it's a fact of life. It's a by-product of racing - greyhounds, harness racing or gallopers."

The odds of being re-homed and used as riding horses are better for gallopers (thoroughbreds) than pacers (standardbreds), because of the widely-held view standardbreds don't make good riding horses because of their gait.

"They've certainly had that characteristic of a box head: they're ugly, they're bay, they can't canter and they can't do a four-beat trot, and all these things we hear," Mr Mullan said.

Harness Racing Australia's Gary Kairn says he begs to differ.

"The common gelding, which is the majority of our racing population, just make fantastic racing riding horses," he said.

Harness Racing Australia accepts the number of slow or retired horses being put down is a welfare issue.

The industry is addressing this through its "Standardbreds Unharnessed" program, which promotes ex-pacers as dependable, reliable and hardy riding horses.

"We're working to ensure those 'wastage' figures are kept to an absolute minimum," Mr Kairn said.

Overlooked breed 'willing to please'

The industry couldn't have chosen a better ambassador to promote the breed than Mr Mullan's daughter, 26-year-old Victorian show rider Kathleen Mullan.

"There are so many that can make it as great pony club horses," she said.

"They can give their owners a really safe and enjoyable time and are being absolutely overlooked in favour of a lot of other horses that are more fashionable, but probably far less suitable."

Ms Mullan has been winning ribbons in showing classes for the past year on James, a standardbred borrowed from her father.

"He was very sharp, very clever, and very agile and athletic, and I thought, 'Oh hang on a second, might have something here'.

"We went to one or two shows and he started to succeed, and I went 'I don't think you're getting him back Dad, sorry!'

"These horses are the smartest horses you'll come across they are very much willing to please. They love to be told they've done a good job."

Mixed response at top showing event

When Ms Mullan joked the pair was winning so many ribbons that the Garryowen was next, people laughed along with her.

It was an impossible dream, as she didn't have $10,000 to outfit her and her horse for the country's top showing event.

But then Mr Kairns stepped in with sponsorship from the harness racing industry.

He saw it as a good investment, given a good performance would show doubters standardbreds could cut it as competition horses.

News that the first standardbred would compete in the Royal Melbourne Show's premier showing class drew a mixed reception.

"We don't want people like them, or horses like that here at this event," one retired show rider told Landline.

"No matter how well they perform no self-respecting Garryowen judge will give a standardbred a blue ribbon," another said.

But show rider Sarah Tappy said: "He's gorgeous, I've never seen a standardbred that looks like that before."

Show rider Kelsey Bennett said: "He's presented well, he works well, and it's a credit to her that she's got him this far."

Judge Dennis Heather says there would be no prejudice from the five judges.

"He's a beautiful horse. I have been lucky enough to have won the Gawler three-day event on a trotter back in the 60's, so no bias. He will be judged for what he is," he said.

"Their horses today have confirmation equal to some of the best race horses in the country. The only difference is their gait, so if you can harness that to your advantage with training and delete the gait then there's no reason why you can't have a terrific companion."

Workout proved what standardbred could do

Ms Mullan received help from show riding legend Caroline Wagner.

A four time Garryowen winner, she was not put off by James' breeding.

"I think that's just a bit prejudiced," she said.

"Unfortunately he didn't make it as a trotter for the person that bred him but he's gone out and proved himself around the show so why shouldn't he be allowed to be a part of it?

"Who wants to ever send a horse like that to the dog man? It's not right, it's a bit like greyhounds. I think it's lovely for him to go on and have another life. Why can't they, you know?"

Ms Mullan had two and a half minutes to prove her point, and her workout - while not enough to get a ribbon - showed the big crowd what a standardbred with some retraining could do.

"We didn't come home with ribbons but that's not what we came for," she said.

"We came to prove a point and he absolutely proved such a point. The crowd went wild, I think he got the loudest cheer out of anyone. I'm just thrilled. He did exactly what we came for."

Proud dad Danny believes his daughter has started something.

"At the end of the day we're hoping to give more of them a life after racing. That's where we're travelling."

Watch Pip Courtney's story on the Garryowen on Landline on Sunday at 12:00pm on ABC1.

[DesertDobes]

I'm looking forward to watching this on sunday.

[AussieDog]

I was given a beautiful Standardbred many many years ago. He was jet black and didn't have the usual thick neck and "ugly" head most Standardbreds have. I was often asked where I got my Warmblood from. The only giveaway was his brand on the neck, a long maine hid it well.

He was an ex pacer but had a beautiful canter and trot; the pace would only come out if he was stressed or overally excited.

I had Willy for the best part of twelve years. He was the best horse. He now sits proudly on my bookcase next to the dog and cat.

Edited November 1, 2013 by AussieDog

[Inevitablue]

Hmmm photobucket not working

Edited November 2, 2013 by Inevitablue

[Marion 01]

Really good coverage on Landline. James is a gorgeous boy and didn't put a foot wrong for his rider. I really like them, apparently there are rescues for Standardbred ex pacers etc. and just like greyhounds they can be re-educated to fit into whatever life after racing.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I really enjoyed the story on Landline, hope this opens up the way for many more happy outcomes.

[Kirislin]

Standardbreds often make great trail riding horses too because they're fast walkers and some amble, which is frowned on my many and I dont know why, it's the fastest smoothest gait to sit to. I loved it when my horses occasionally ambled. It's a bit like the gaited horses in the US, covers the ground quickly and smoothly.

[Guest Wildthing]

At the height of the Equine flu outbreak, I rescued three failed Standardbred fillys from a stable in Canberra. One was retrained by someone involved in Brumby Rescue for his daughter to ride and the other two are part of the Carlton Draft Horse team in Melbourne.

I knew nothing about horses before I rescued them, but learnt very quickly most people will not touch them when they fail in the harness. I did learn that there are people out there who do rescue, retrain and rehome them. Always said I would not do it again as it was very expensive. Hugh out lay and no return.

ETA They will make good harness horses for people who like to do carriage driving.

Edited November 3, 2013 by Wildthing

[PuddleDuck]

I love to see this :)

When I was in year 10 I did work experience at a pacing training facility. We had people who did it locally that used to train before school and I had worked with them most mornings before school, so I went to a larger training stable for work experience. About 2 days in I was told to bring in 5-6 horses, including my favourite horse there, and load them onto a truck which I did, then I asked where they were going and got told they were going to the dogger I tried to beg to buy my favourite boy but got told that's not the way things worked and he had to go to the dogger. I ended up hysterical and dad had to come get me and tell my school I wouldn't be finishing the week. I spent the rest of the week at home with my own horse, fairly inconsolable, and haven't been able to look at any pacers since without getting teary. It's good to see things are changing

[BC Crazy]

Oh thats so very sad paddleduck horses are such beautiful creatures. I adore them. Unfortunately like eveything else that involves making money. Horses are just treated like a machine sometimes & if they aren't winning , well they aren't worth feeding

Hopefully this, the very ugly side of racing is slowly changing for the horses sake.

I missed seeing Landline on Sunday. Would have loved to jave watched that.

Edited November 3, 2013 by BC Crazy

[Inevitablue]

Reply is 11am today :-)

[Inevitablue]

** stupid autocorrect*** REPLAY

[BC Crazy]

Oh bugger I just missed the reply as well then. Thanks anyway for letting me know Inevitablue :)

[Lasareina]

mum's current horse Diesel is an ex-pacer ... lovely boy, beautiful nature. He only ever paces when he gets a bit overexcited or confused now :laugh: . He's a bit dopey bit we only really do a bit of trail riding so his easy going, calm temperment is perfect for us. I don't think he has an ugly face at all! Hard to keep condition on him in winter though .. compared to my quarter horse and the Hackney/Australian Pony anyways haha

[Nushie]

Growing up we had a standardbred. He was huge, standing at 16 and a bit hands but was the most gentle soul. As a kid every Sunday my mum would take me out to see him and i would brush him while he ate his feed, if i was lucky she would let me sit on him while he ate. Eventually i begged her to let me learn to ride and i would be on him bareback plodding around with my legs barely reaching half way down his ribs. So gentle and so calm.

Couldnt trot, only paced. My mum used to say he was the best $200 she ever spent.

[Sheilaheel02]

I watched James story online:

http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2013/s3882770.htm

S

[BlackJaq]

We used to have a 17.1hh STB gelding, including the big ugly bucket head with the funky upside down neck and all that. He was the calmest, most docile horse ever. I can't even remember how many beginners had their first ride on him. He did pace as well as the "normal" gaits, walk, trot, canter and gallop.

I think a lot of the dislike some people have for them is actually caused by the training they receive, along with their sometimes less-than-stellar looks.

They generally are taught to be very stiff and straight in harness and they don't get much exercise apart from that work in general. I have seen some nasty methods of keeping them straight, including all sorts of contraptions involving poles, hooks and whips and I've also seen some nasty scarring and injuries when horses run into the hook or whatever. Breaking gait into a canter during a race is heavily penalized by most trainers (I know people will say they are not punished for it but in my personal experience these people are talking out of their ass).

Now when you look at a riding horse, they need to be able to turn and bend in ways a harness racer never even dreamed off. Many of them have never even been taughy to back up (walk backwards). It can be difficult to limber them up to a point where they don't feel like a turning ship and many of them can be scared to deviate from what they have been taught. None of this is their fault, obviously, but I think it explains why some people prefer TBs or other rescue horses over them. Many people looking for a cheap saddle horse simply do not have the skill to retrain a harness racer, and I am not saying this because of their temperament (which is generally excellent!) but because of virtue of their previous training.

Alas, some of them are also a little ugly. Unfortunately, this is true.

[pebbles]

Sorry, BlackJaq, I can't go along with your description of the training etc of the Standard bred. Been involved with them for many years, right through from foaling to training and racing. Many of our horses were broken to saddle and ridden around the bush as well as track work. Some of our horses wore a lugging pole or a burr when doing fast work or racing, never had one injured actually these are used to stop the horse running with head on the side becoming unbalanced which if allowed can lead to cross firing and/or knee knocking so they stop injury without hurting the horse. A lot of horses have gone back to their owners as riding horses for the family. My daughter learnt to ride bare back on a 16h horse who was the kindest, gentlest animal. Ok some do end up at the doggers but none of ours did, owners generally wanted them after racing was over and we always had people lined up wanting a saddle horse.

Will have to find some of the horse photos, they're not all ugly (maybe I'm biased lol).

[BlackJaq]

Well the trainers you are working with must be better than the majority of what is floating about here.. I am not sucking this stuff out of my fingers, these are all things I witnessed quite regularly at the trainers' stables as well as at the trials when I used to do outriding.

Have never heard or seen one of the locals ride their racing STBs. Like.. ever

[flame ryder]

This was our standardbred we used to own. Anyone think this head is ugly? And the wavy mane was natural