Social media, as well as the RRP Horse Listings, have enabled potential OTTB owners to review a large number of retiring Thoroughbred 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 based only on conformation photos. We feature trainers from two disciplines in each column.
Our Trainers
Chelsey O’Brien
Second in Barrel Racing and ninth in Ranch Work at the 2024 Thoroughbred Makeover with Unbeknownst To Me
Chelsey O’Brien, based in Berryville, VA, specializes in restarting Thoroughbreds for second careers in a range of disciplines. O’Brien has worked with horses for 27 years and Thoroughbreds in particular for 20 of those years, holding various roles in the Thoroughbred industry including broodmare manager, farm manager foaling attendant, yearling prep, rehabilitation, off-track sales, and training. She owns several OTTBs of her own and competes in barrel racing, ranch, hunters and jumpers, and plans to add western dressage to her repertoire this year.
Elliott Timmons
Fourth in Dressage and eighth in Eventing at the 2024 Thoroughbred Makeover with Pertinacious Tiz
Elliott Timmons, based in Summerfield, FL, got her start with horses via Pony Club in Indianapolis, which led her to the sport of eventing. Moving to the Ocala area, she campaigned Connemara stallions and her own OTTB to the Preliminary level, and produced many Thoroughbreds primarily for eventing and dressage. Timmons has also started a successful breeding program for Connemara Sporthorses by breeding OTTB mares to her Connemara stallion.
Choosing a Horse
Both O’Brien and Timmons tend to prefer smaller horses, though for specific reasons: Timmons believes her choice of smaller horse stems from riding Connemaras for many years, which taught her that riding sport doesn’t necessarily require a large horse; she also believes smaller horses tend to stay sounder long-term. O’Brien favors a small, compact horse to best physically suit her favorite sport of barrel racing.
Beyond size, O’Brien is looking for shorter pasterns, lower-set hocks, a powerful hind end and a matching shoulder; she likes to see a big, athletic walk and a sound jog with the understanding that let down time and training for relaxation and good biomechanics can improve any walk and trot. She credits her “imaginative eye” with seeing potential. Timmons looks for leggy horses with “correct” conformation, which she defines as being built in three even sections with a sloping shoulder, uphill build and a strong hindquarter.
Timmons sources many of her prospects through her national network of connections, but when she’s specifically shopping for horses, she purchases sight-unseen online based on photos and videos. She prefers to look at conformation before a job video: “they are usually so tight and fit it is hard to judge movement off a short in-hand video.” On the other hand, Timmons finds that watching race videos can be helpful, particularly if the horse has a win: “you are able to see a bit more of the horse moving out after the race,” she describes. “They move more freely under saddle; it also gives you a chance to see them canter or gallop.”
O’Brien typically sources her prospects from a network of known trainers as well as Pastured Place, an aftercare organization that partners with her for her Makeover mount. She prefers horses who have made a minimum of 10 starts, finding that those horses tend to have had “a plethora of experience and exposure, a good work ethic, and have held up to the demands of training.” She has a particular affinity for horses deemed “underdogs” for temperament reasons as well.
Timmons adds that her favorite bloodlines that she’s come to appreciate over the years include Tiznow, Malibu Moon, War Front and his sons, Union Rags, and Into Mischief. O’Brien also likes to look at pedigree, and also has superstitions about head whorls that she takes into consideration.
Meet the Prospects
Our model horses all come from Second Stride Inc. in Prospect, Kentucky. Founded in 2005 by five friends in a racing syndicate who had racing, show and pleasure horse experience, Second Stride helps about 200 horses annually find the next steps in their careers. The organization works with not only retiring Thoroughbred racehorses but also retired broodmares and unstarted young horses that never raced.
Second Stride pairs adoption applicants with an adoption counselor, who helps match people with horses based on their needs. Individuals adopting become the horses’ owners and can resell upon notifying Second Stride. The organization works to educate both the horse industry about the Thoroughbred and the racing industry about rider needs and OTTBs’ transitional needs. While these three featured horses may no longer be available by the time you read this article, Second Stride has plenty of prospects looking for their next partner.
Horse 1: Decision Maker (Court Vision – Town Queen, by Williamstown)
Photo by Gwen Davis
Horse 2: Jelly Fish (Wildcat Red – Sugar Lane, by Bold Truth)
Photo by Ashley Stinson
Horse 3: Vin d’Or (Congrats – Special Vintage, by Dominus)
Photo by Ashley Stinson
O’Brien’s Picks
Horse 2: This looks like a big, athletic horse that could do just about any job you asked of him. I absolutely love the shoulder, the way his neck ties in, and he has a powerful looking hip: overall, a well-balanced looking horse. As an all-around rider, primarily focused on western riding, I could see this horse excelling in ranch, western dressage, or barrels, but also the hunters or jumpers. This would be my first choice, the “safe pick,” strictly going off conformation.
Horse 1: This horse is a diamond in the rough, which is actually what I lean more towards as a person who loves an underdog. I could see him as a ranch, competitive trail and western dressage prospect. I love his shorter pasterns which gives me the impression that he will have springy movement. He doesn’t have your stereotypical ideal conformation, but I do believe that there is a lot of potential with proper development. I would love to see a different picture of him where he was as well turned out as the other two horses, but this would be my underdog pick.
Horse 3: This horse is probably the first pick for a lot of people. This photo requires a little imagination due to the angle, but I see a shoulder that compliments a nice strong hind end, though not necessarily what I would choose for a western discipline. I see this horse tackling some coops and walls out in the hunt field or loping around the show hunters and derby field. This horse has a kind and intelligent look. I bet there is a cute daisy cutter trot in there that is desirable for the hunter ring. Although I think you could throw a western saddle on to try out ranch, trail, or western dressage, I truly think the hunters are calling for this one.
Timmons’ Picks
Horse 3: What a stunning prospect! I love the build of this horse: it has three even sections of body, an uphill build, strong hindquarters and a lovely back. The shoulder may be a touch upright, which translates to the pasterns but it also could be the angle of the photo and the horse is standing over itself a little bit. This horse’s legs look lovely and clean, and it looks to have a nice, clean throatlatch. The hind leg on this horse is really nice with a lovely straight plumb line from point of buttocks to hock to ground. I would pick this horse as a prospect for eventing, dressage, or jumpers.
Horse 1: This horse is lovely! These are all very close prospects; it was hard to put them in order. I love the length of leg on this horse; he looks to have a lovely, sloping shoulder and a well built hind quarters. I would prefer the neck to come out a little bit higher from his shoulders, but he is still built uphill in spite of a lower neck set. As his topline changes and develops off the track, I bet this horse will be stunning. His legs look clean and I love his smaller, seemingly compact build. This would be a lovely horse for eventing, dressage, or hunter/jumper.
Horse 2: Another wonderful prospect! This horse is an absolutely lovely stamp of an old-type Thoroughbred: it looks to have wonderful bone and gives the impression of soundness. He seems to be built in three nice sections with a good shoulder and strong hindquarters. The neck may come out a little low for my personal liking but again, he seems to still be uphill and probably moves soft and lovely. This horse’s hind leg looks a little bit camped out but the strength of his back and haunches may help him collect and carry weight behind. I think this would be another lovely horse for any discipline; he looks very kind and genuine.
