From Racehorse to Sporthorse

Charmer is my first straight off the racetrack horse. As such, I got him in race-fit condition. To clarify, he was not in bad shape. He was in the condition that he was supposed to be in for the sport that he was doing at that time. Charmer was loved, treated well, and cared for. This is not whatsoever a post to say I "rescued" him or whatever. Because I didn't. If you get a horse straight off the track, you did not rescue them, you gave them a place to retire to. Charmer was in a fantastic home and his owners loved him. Both on and off the racetrack, he was treated like a king. But that said, racehorse fit and sporthorse fit are very, very different things.

Ever since the first day I got him, I was fascinated and excited to see how his body would develop as he changed disciplines. As he went from a horse that needed incredibly lean muscle to run as fast as possible, to a horse that needs thicker, different muscles to carry his body in a completely different way.

Plus, ever since day one, I have always searched for the "magic cure" to keep weight on him. He is a naturally hard keeper (thanks thoroughbred high metabolism...) plus he also windsucks/cribs which doesn't help the situation. Even his owners said right off the bat - he is tough to keep weight on.

July 8th, 2015

This is from the second day he was home. When you look at his body, you can see that he has muscle there, but its lean muscle. He is streamlined. He needs to run fast and far, and he is built for that. Holding a balanced, in frame canter that is worthy of a dressage test? Not so much. Jumping a 2'6" course? Not quite.

October 24th, 2015

He has put some weight on, but this is right during the time where I hadn't ridden him for 2+ months (thanks broken pelvis and soft pony feet). His body is still holding a mostly streamlined shape. The muscles that he has are still clearly more geared towards heading back to the racetrack, than heading into the jumper ring.

December 29th, 2015

Here is him after two months of work. Now granted, it is work that is mostly packing me around because I had poor balance and confidence, but he is starting to build up some topline muscle, all along his neck, back and butt.

February 17th, 2016

His back and butt muscles have not significantly increased from December, but his neck is beginning to take the shape of a sporthorse. You can still see his ribs, so still no magic cure for that yet, but he is starting to look a bit more like he belongs in a dressage or jumping show.

April 21st, 2016

Clearly pretty ribby here. I know you're a hard keeper Charmer, but give me a break! Still trying to figure out how to keep the weight on him. His muscle however is definitely headed in the right direction. The work we are doing to keep him on the bit/in a frame/whatever you want to call it, is starting to pay off. His hind end has gotten significantly thicker, and his shoulders and neck are thickening as well.

June 12th, 2016

Looking a little less ribby now, and you can see his glossy and shiny coat. He is at a good weight, his muscle is holding, he is starting to look more and more like he belongs in a sporthorse setting and less on the racetrack.

February 20th, 2017

Here he is now. His topline is at the best that it has ever been. For the first time since I got him, I cannot see his ribs. He really truly looks like a sporthorse now. No longer the racehorse trying to play sporthorse. Now he is the beefy, muscled sporthorse. He doesn't look like he is just playing the part anymore. He really truly is a sporthorse now, and I am so thrilled that I have been able to document his changes along the way.

Almost exactly one year apart

Let's just take a moment to look at that, shall we? In the top photo, I still see a racehorse trying to play sporthorse. He almost looks the part, but just not quite. In the bottom photo, I see a horse that isn't pretending anymore. Thick. Muscled. Beefy. He looks like he belongs in the sporthorse world.

Day 2 to now

This doesn't even look like the same horse to me. Honestly, if I hadn't been there since day one, I would look at these two pictures and think that these aren't the same horse. In the top photo, I see a really incredible racehorse, that was truly amazing at his job. In the bottom photo, I see a really wonderful sporthorse, who is learning to be just as amazing at his job.

I am so proud of his past, and I am so excited for his future. I can only hope he ends up being as good at his new job as he was at his old one.