Rio Bonita
"Rio"
FOR SALE
The information below is meant to answer all the questions that may be left unmentioned in his ad. Please take the time to read all of the information below. If you didn't read a book this summer, now is your chance. ;-) If you are still interested, I am happy to answer any additional questions you may have. I appreciate you taking the time to read everything.
16.1+ 7 year old Grey OTTB Gelding. Cleveland, Ohio.
$3,800 firm if sold before the RRP Makeover Challenge in Kentucky Oct 21-25
Price will go back up to $5k if sold at or after the makeover,
and will increase with training and show experience.
E-Mail for Inquiries: [email protected] 440-478-5772 cell
16.1+ 7 year old Grey OTTB Gelding. Cleveland, Ohio.
$3,800 firm if sold before the RRP Makeover Challenge in Kentucky Oct 21-25
Price will go back up to $5k if sold at or after the makeover,
and will increase with training and show experience.
E-Mail for Inquiries: [email protected] 440-478-5772 cell
His History / Why Am I Selling
I have owned Rio since March 2014 when he came off the track. I knew his trainer at the track. She sent me his info to see if I would help her find him a home upon retiring. My mother was looking for a quiet horse and we both liked him so had him vetted and bought him. We decided he would have the summer to just be a horse and she would start riding him in the fall (of 2014). He stayed sound for his entire racing career with no time off during his 47 races and $127k in earnings, so he deserved a vacation! My Mother discovered a medical issue in neck and the doctor told her no riding, so she decided to have me find him a new home. In Sept '14, I brought him to the farm I board at in Pennsylvania with intentions to find him a new home. A week later, that all changed. I just adored this little horse! My mom knew after the first picture I sent her of me riding him bareback in a halter-leadrope, I wasn't selling her horse. I had just sold an OTTB I rescued as I couldn't afford to pay for two horses, so of course I would decide why not try this again and keep Rio! I have spent yet another year trying to afford two horses and it is just not something I can keep doing. I only justified it as I have a 3 year old baby I bred/raised out of my childhood show mare, and told myself I would keep Rio until the baby was old enough to be ridden. I knew if I didn't have a horse and wasn't riding, trying to get back into riding on a newly broke baby wasn't the best idea. The baby was broke to ride in July and is ready to take up my time, finances, and focus. The baby was bred to be my forever-type horse, so parting with him is not an option. I will do my best to find someone who will adore and enjoy Rio as much, and hopefully more, than I have.
About Rio, Around the Barn, Vices, Health, Etc.
Rio has a very kind soul, aims to please, loves people, and adores kids. He has no vices, bathes, clips, loads/hauls well, crossties, stands perfectly for vet/farrier, can be handled and led by kids, loves grooming and any and all attention you are willing to give him. He loves you to hug his head and will doze off in your arms, watches you in the barn while you do chores.
He seems happiest with plenty of turnout. He is perfectly content living outside almost year round but prefers to be in during buggy/hot weather. He is a fairly easy keeper. He currently gets 5 qts of Buckeye EQ8 Senior pelleted feed and 2 qts of shredded beetpulp (no molasses) with water added, twice a day with a few supplements. Any of the high fat (10-12%)/low startch/10-12% protein pelleted type feeds he seems to do best on. Free choice timothy/grass hay. He maintains a nice weight with this. He lost some weight at the beginning of summer, likely due to bugs/heat, but quickly put it back on once he started coming inside during the day and only outside at night. He is on SmartDigest (ColiCare program), a hoof supplement, joint supplement, and UGuard supplement. He was treated with Gastrogard for ulcers when he came off the track (he had all symptoms of ulcers so we just treated), so we keep him on an ulcer preventative and make sure he has hay or grass 24/7 to prevent any re-occurrence. If traveling/showing etc I will give maintenance dose of gastrogard for long trips etc. He has been on a rotational de-worming schedule, powerpacked, and is UTD on all his vaccines/coggins. He wears regular steel shoes all around and we add pads to his front feet in the winter if the ground is really rough/frozen to protect his soles from bruising (as he lived outside last winter). His only bad habit would be when getting a bath. Rio is part Labrador and LOVES water a little too much. He insists on drinking out of the hose, wants you to spray his face, and sometimes if he thinks he can get away with it will try to paw in the water from the hose. If he can find a mud puddle outside, he will stand in it all day splashing. If you take him in a creek, expect him to splash around until he thinks you are both soaked enough. He has never tried to roll or lay down.
He wears an 82" blanket but fits in my 84's just as well. 52" fleece girth, Medium to Medium-wide tree saddle, horse size bridle (cob will usually fit too), horse size halter, and 5" bit. He seems happiest in a my D ring french link / happy mouth snaffle or a loose ring snaffle. Usually carry a stick as he can be a little lazy at times. Size large bell boots. Can be a little cold-backed in the winter so I got in the habit of using a Back on Track pad and throwing it on with a quarter sheet over top, to warm up his back a bit while I got ready to ride. Likes you to tighten the girth over a few minutes. I am 5'8'' and usually make every horse look small to give you an idea on his size.
For a TB he's very solid built, long neck, and takes up a lot of leg/upper body.
What Has He Done in the Past Year / Experience & Training
I got right to work with him in October 2014. I have taken a few years off of any serious riding so when I say got to work, I mean I started having way too much fun with this horse and not taking anything too seriously. I work A LOT, so riding for me is a chance to forget about the long day I had and enjoy some "pony time". Winter was here pretty quickly last fall so we spent a lot of time riding in the indoor ring or in the snow covered fields. His 6th ride off the track I had a 9 year old girl riding him. Rio was so concerned about this little human on his back, her older sister had to jog around the ring with a peppermint wrapper to get him to actually trot. He didn't care how much that kid on his back kicked or tapped him with a crop, he was not going to be responsible for doing something wrong. (Video below). Her older sister then started borrowing him on days I was too busy. That led to another teen beginner rider at the farm to borrow him, and then a retired woman who was horse-less to borrow him. He was saintly for everyone. We played around over mini courses of trot fences (x rails, brush boxes, flower boxes, mini roll tops etc), cavaletti exercises we found on the internet, etc. He was never bothered by anything, never once stopped at a fence, never spooks at anything, and the worst thing he ever did was shake his head once and make a pathetic whinny/squeal noise if he was really really fresh. He is a little nonchalant about jumping so we haven't done a ton as I knew he had a lot of flatwork to get under his belt before we got serious about jumping, and I didn't want him to spend too much time casually stepping over little jumps. We did about a month of playing around and then didn't jump much since. This summer I have played over a few little verticles and he has cantered some 18" verticles but that is as far as he has gotten since August.
I usually rode him 2-3 days a week max, sometimes taking a few weeks off in between and only fitting in 1 ride a week. He was always the same horse regardless. I had a blast with him, climbing on bareback over his blankets in a halter and lead rope for 90% of the winter. I could pull him out of his stall after 3 weeks off, climb on, and go play outside in the snow. There were days I climbed on bareback next to the fence and rode him around the pasture while he was turned out. He is always up for anything and a horse you can trust not to ever try and misbehave and get you off. In March I took him to a clinic with Nick Krazissis (video below). This was his first off-property ride since retiring from racing. He was perfect. Didn't look at anything in the new indoor, didn't mind the other horses in the ring, and did everything asked including cantering into a grid (which we had never done that before). In April I rode him bridless walk/trot/canter/over x-rail one afternoon while messing around with some friends at the farm (video below), winning a bet that I could ride my racehorse without a bridle. Most people practice this, I just leaned forward, took the bridle off, put a strap on his neck and said lets try it. As usual, he did his best to do as I asked. In May we took him to his first show. I did some flat classes etc, he didn't mind anything at the show, announcer, etc. He was a little nervous as his barn-buddy did the same classes and he didn't like that his friend was on other side of the ring during a flat class so the worst thing he did in first class was pick up the canter (we were supposed to be trotting...) and catch up to his barn-mate. He was never out of control, he just thought if we do a nice slow canter we will get to his "pony horse" faster. In the class without his friend he was perfect. A little nervous in his mouth but no acting up. Was content schooling in an empty ring by himself too.
It was around May that I got swamped with work and had to ignore him a bit. I rode him about once a week and one of the teenage girls at the barn would ride him one day also. Life in general was very stressful and riding had to get put on the back-burner for a bit. I became a "weekend-warrior". In June we attended something every weekend. Another horse show and one of the beginner riders took him in the Hunter In-Hand classes while I schooled around grounds and did some flat classes. We went to an ACTHA Obstacle Challenge, his first time doing anything like that, he finished in 2nd place. We went on his first trail ride with a local hunt for their annual benefit ride. He LOVED it. He was so good I had a smile on my face the entire ride. We somehow ended up with the "wild crazy group" and did 2 hours of mostly trotting/cantering through some pretty wild parts of the trails and he didn't spook at a thing, I rode him on a loose rein the entire time in a loose-ring snaffle. He led in the beginning and then followed in the back the remainder of the ride, usually with me closing my eyes and not looking at the trees whizzing by as we cantered on some pretty winding trails. This is when I got bit by the "trail riding bug" and realize how much this horse loved it. He was just SO happy.
The end of June I went home to Ohio for a few weeks (which has turned into a few months). It was time for my young horse to be broke to ride and us to start his future. I brought Rio and the baby with me to my Mom's small farm. A week after arriving I got convinced to ride Rio in a 4th of July Parade. Of course we did it, I knew he would be good and why not ride in a parade. I carried a little flag, threw candy over his head (sometimes hitting him in the ears), he didn't bat an eye at anything. He didn't mind the floats, beeping horns, screaming crowds, kids running under his feet to catch candy, tractors, golfcarts with decorations flapping in the wind, sirens, etc. Nobody could believe I was on a racehorse, it was quite comical. He just stood and watched everything the hour before it started and we were all in a holding area waiting to start. I spent July and August taking him trail riding every weekend (my family has a huge group of friends and they all trail ride every weekend). Usually there are apx 15 people in the group. Rio wants to lead or be the 2nd horse. He really likes being horse #2 and just puts his nose behind the horse in front and goes anywhere they go. He didn't win so many races for nothing so if he is happy up front I just let him be. My sister and I usually got bored after a while and would ride up ahead of the group so we could trot and canter. I think I had more fun cantering through the trails than I have had in YEARS. He will trot and canter, on the buckle, the most balanced lovely canter, and doesn't bat an eye at anything. He doesn't care if you are in a field, the woods, etc. At most he will look at something as he canters by and bend away from it but he never does anything wrong. During the week I would take him to a park down the street from my Mom's farm and do a 1 hour loop with 1 other friend mostly trotting/cantering. He crosses bridges (some very scary), busy traffic, bikes, dogs, motorcycles, joggers, underpasses, water, and up/down horse steps (yes, steps built into a hill at one of the parks, made for horses). So far he has been fabulous for everything.
I can pull him out of stall after 2 weeks not working and he will be quiet and safe.
We also spent the last two months doing Cow-Sorting practice with some of my western friends. Rio LOVES cows. He is totally infatuated with them. Some of the practice nights are held outdoors at a farm and there are herds of cows in the distance (and herds of sheep, galloping horses etc) at an Amish farm nearby and he can see all the activity going on but is never bothered. I rode him in the field with all the cattle, right through them, and he didn't care. Again, I am usually the only person in English tack or on a racehorse but he holds his own. I have tried to ride him in a western saddle but he didn't seem to fond of it. I have been driving back and forth between PA and OH (six hours) so he usually sits for 2 weeks in between when I am home since July. I will be going back to PA with my baby horse at the end of November so I am hoping to find Rio his new home before then. I am entered in the Retired Racehorse Makeover Project Competition at the Kentucky Horse Park October 22-25th and plan on attending if he is still around. If he sells before then, his new owner is welcome to take my place and we can even swap out the hotel room I booked. I have not had the time to really get him in proper training for hunters (which is what I planned on doing) so we are entered in Competitive Trail (a 6 mile course with 6 judged obstacles) and Field Hunter (various tests showing suitability to be a fox hunter/hilltopper type). I don't regret not having enough time this summer, I have had a BLAST with this horse doing things I never would have normally done. I grew up strictly in a ring doing the hunters,
and let me just say this summer was one I will never forget because of this horse!
Potential / Ideal Career
Rio's ideal life would be one where he is loved, spoiled, and has a lot of human affection. He is SO happy out of a ring, I think ideally he would be the happiest horse in the world if he could continue to be out and about. Trail riding, hacking out, hunter paces, hilltopping, clinics, local shows etc. We sort of left off with the "ring training" in the spring so he would need some more training in that aspect, but I know he would make a lovely hunter. He is willing and brave, I just haven't jumped him very much yet. He has trot fences down pat but is ready to move up. He is ready to start cantering fences, putting courses together, etc. He has been a little tricky to pick up the right lead in a ring lately (if I ask correctly/have a trainer correcting my bad habits, I will get it every time. He is just off balance and I haven't mastered getting him straight and asking correctly without someone on the ground yelling at me. He lands on it over a pole/jump so I fully admit it's me.), he has done lead changes the times I have asked, and has started learning to carry himself in the bridle and accept contact. All of the buttons are there, he just needs a month or so of fine tuning them where I have left off. I think he could easily be a 2'-3' hunter at least for local circuits, dressage, cart a kid around etc. I really want him to go to someone who wants to trail ride or hack out at least somewhere in there. He is so happy doing it, it would be a waste to keep him only in a ring for the rest of his life.
Ok...What's Wrong With Him / Vettings
I really can't say anything bad about this horse, but every horse has some quirks or issues. These are his. You either
can live with them or they are deal breakers so please be sure to read these and decide where you stand before inquiring.
I am being open and honest about him, including the negatives, to ensure he finds the best home.
He retired sound from racing with no known injuries or issues. We had a pre-purchase done at the track, he passed all flexions, does not roar, had clean legs, good heart/lungs/eyes/etc. We had x-rays taken of his ankles, hocks, knees, in March 2014. He had clean xrays with no major issues but a very small hairline fracture was found in his RF knee. His trainer was actually shocked because he had never taken a bad step. He had been racing on it, training on it, didn't flex positive and was not lame at all from the day of the vetting until now. The vet said the time off out to pasture we mentioned we would be giving him would be perfect and it would heal 100% and not restrict him from any new career. At minimum she wanted him to have 60 days off before he went to work, but we went ahead with our plan to give him 6 months to just chill out, unwind, and refresh. 4+ years of racing non-stop, he needed a break. We have had racehorse/ex-racehorses our whole life and 6 months off is sometimes the best thing you can do for the ones that have raced a while. The fracture was so tiny she wasn't concerned in the least. To me, I assumed his leg would probably just fall off! We had a new x-ray taken this spring 2015 (for my own peace of mind) of the knee and vet confirmed it healed and will never bother him (it was not in an area that would cause future issues). Me being me, asked if it was something that was "weaker" or anything preventative I should do and for the 100th time she assured me it was nothing to worry about, no maintenance needed, etc. I think I became that annoying client who worries too much, He has never taken a lame step except for one week he had a bad abscess in the LF foot I had to have dug out, and a few weeks later the rest of it came out his cornary band. Other than that, knock on wood, I have not had any issues.
I had a vet in Ohio who also does chiropractic work look at him in July during a farm visit for some other horses. We noticed that his right shoulder blade actually sits a few inches further back on his body than the left. (When looking at where the point of his shoulder meets up by the mane, the right shoulder "point" is slightly back further than the left side). He has always taken a slightly shorter step on the right side when watching him track up, but I assumed muscle related, which I am glad to know was correct. As most racehorses, going to the right is his stiffer/less balanced way. The vet rule out lameness and said it was just the way he moved and how he is put together. He said the horse is soundest 7 yo racehorse he has worked on, I should be thrilled, which I was. He explained that especially in horses that run for a long time, the front legs/shoulders are held in place with muscles and that overdeveloping of the muscles can cause some racehorses to be uneven. He could have even been bumped at some point while running that caused muscle soreness and since he never got a break in his career, the muscles redeveloped to compensate. Due to years of going around and around to the left, he has just built up so much more muscle on the left side, he just needs a new fitness regime. He recommended doing a lot more work to the right, stretches, cavaletti exercises, and hill work to build up those muscles. I have a BAD habit of always going to the left and all my trainers yell at me so I am the worst person for him at this point. He also said his stifles are a tad weak, probably due to not doing a whole lot this summer, so putting him into a better program with cavaletti's, hill work, etc would help strengthen those up. He has not had any injections since 2014, and is not on any type of maintenance. If he was to start a new career as a hunter etc, perhaps he would need his stifles or hocks done once a year, but that would be up to your own vet's opinion and his work load.
Newest quirk I have found in the past two months while home in Ohio is he has gotten attached to my sister's gelding. If we go trail riding in a group of 15 people, he wants to be with his buddy the whole time. If the group all stops to play in a creek and his buddy leaves and he sees that he is at the front of the group and he is stuck in the back, he gets antsy and wants me to let him go up by his friend. He will just get a little squirly and has tunnel vision on "my friend is up there", so we would trot past everyone and head back to the front. Once he was up there he was back to being half asleep. The times we went out and his friend didn't go, he usually found somebody else to be his friend and just tried to make friends along the way, but not really caring about anyone "leaving him". I also figured out he doesn't like to be overly crowded. If the group of 15 all stop in one spot, he can't be stuck in the middle of everyone. He has never cared before but for some reason in that big group he was not happy being crowded and did think about giving a warning kick to the horse bumping into his butt. It shocked me but was first time he has ever been in a situation like that so I made a mental note and now make sure he is on the "outer edge" of big groups, not squished in the center. He was a little protective over my sister's gelding and if a mare tried to get in between the two of them, he would pin his ears at her and make faces until she left and he could bury his head back in her gelding's tail and follow him on the trail again. Lastly, I had a group lesson one day at the western barn with 10 ladies. This was the first time he had that many horses in a small ring going different directions, some trotting, some cantering, and he got a little nervous at first and wanted to canter in the first 5 minutes (I rode into the ring late, with all the activity going on). After two laps of just letting him quietly canter around, he decided he was ok, and behaved the rest of the lesson. He was never out of control or crazy, he just went into track mode and thought "I should be doing something besides walking!". Didn't mind being passed, he would stand in the middle of ring on loose rein and horses could canter in circles around us, but if we were all cantering and they got really close, he wasn't thrilled. At the farm in PA the most people I rode with were 4-5 people in the ring so 10-12 in a small ring was a bit much for him to jump right into I think. (He did do flat classes at two shows with 10+ people in ring but they were large rings with plenty of room). So he isn't perfect...but he doesn't know a whole lot yet besides racing so he just has to learn these things as he moves forward in a new career.
Thank you for taking the time to read more about "Rio".
Video
New Video Oct 2nd
Hauled over for first lesson with dressage trainer. First time being ridden in 2.5 weeks (I was out of town),it was 46 degrees with 35 mph winds at a farm he had never been to. This is him. A little silly moment here and there is the extent of him being "up". Lesson started with some ground work (trainer uses this foundation for all horses/students), and main focus of lesson that day was going forward forward forward. Unfortunately, the battery died in the camera halfway through the lesson. More video to be made in a few days when weather/rain storm clears up.
Various Clips From All Sorts of Places....
direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpOTJAIPkMU
