e oroughbred Forever Joy.
This is who the Thoroughbred is. He’s a horse with a clear sense of himself, athletic, powerful, and
seemingly able—almost—to unshackle himself from the ordinary restraints of nature…even of gravity. For me, watching a Thoroughbred run in “reckless abandon” is a moment nearly ethereal. Over the centuries, the Thoroughbred has been honored as the elite of all breeds—indeed, in German the word for Thoroughbred is Full Blood. The Thoroughbred was bred for racing but has proven himself over huge, tangled jumper courses everywhere in the world. He confronts the fences, fighting the constraint of the reins, nostrils wide with excitement He can also maintain a calm demeanor on a loose rein while stylishly negotiating an old fashioned hunter course. For years the Thoroughbred has been the horse of choice in eventing, especially as the demands of that
discipline made good use of the extra molecule of oxygen his blood carries. The Thoroughbred also was the pioneer horse in American dressage. He can be found on the hunt field and in the backyards of little girls. A Thoroughbred is a horse that will give you his heart. More than any other breed I have ridden or
competed, a Thoroughbred is the most responsive to the rider…and at the same time this quality is probably his biggest drawback because a Thoroughbred reacts to every nuance in the rider’s body be it tension or confidence. The Thoroughbred’s simpatico with his rider can result in a joyous harmony or in endless arguing so the horse is eventually labeled “a crazy Thoroughbred.” Eventually, the European warmblood became the sport horse of choice for many riders. These horses just
seemed so much simpler to rider. However, what makes them (in general) “simpler” to ride is what also can make them very frustrating. The warmblood does not carry the label “crazy” because he often simply “tunes out” the rider. For poor riders, this is a good thing; but for many riders, in having to work so hard to get the desired results, the element of finding an awesome connection with a horse is lost. And so it has evolved that as riders have become more skilled, their support systems more knowledgeable,
the American Thoroughbred has begun to enjoy a renaissance in the sport horse arena. Happily, riders in this country are rediscovering the athletic, proud, elegant, powerful, and personable Thoroughbred, and, because of this reawakening, retiring racehorses are finding new careers and new humans to give themselves over to. Thanks to organizations such as RTTR and TPR, many of these wonderful horses are not destined to the
killer pen or the lethal injection (as has been happening) but to a useful, happy life.
www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580 OCTOBER 2013 | THE EQUIERY | 79
877697-131013
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