River Shannon and I have been together since December 2023, and we’ve had quite the journey so far! “River” is my first off-track Thoroughbred (OTTB), and I adopted him from the Secretariat Center in Lexington, Ky. I explained to Shelley Mann, Director of the Secretariat Center at the time I adopted him, that I had recently retired my heart horse from competition, so my new project horse would have pretty big shoes to fill.

Red, my retired Danish Warmblood, although the love of my life, has been a high-maintenance wild man for the 14 years that I’ve had him — even at the ripe age of 26 — so I knew I could handle Thoroughbred eccentricities. I sought out a Thoroughbred as my next horse because I wanted a horse that would challenge me to be the best horsewoman that I could possibly be. I wanted a horse that was smart, agile, fast, and who would fight for me out on the cross-country course. Shelley knew just the horse for me, and as soon as I met River, I fell in love.

Love at first sight. (Courtesy of Ellen Barth)

He is a cuddle bug, a goofball, and he will test you every chance he gets. And he will certainly give you his opinions if you do something even just slightly off! On the day that I met him, I groomed him and went to pick his feet only for him to bite me in the butt and refuse to pick up his hoof. When he finally did, he threw his foot forwards and backwards, trying to intimidate me to let go. As the staff watched and probably thought I had no idea what I was doing, I could see River giving me the side eye and almost smirking to himself. The class clown that he is demands that respect be earned, and he will keep you humble every step of the way. That one moment foreshadowed our journey for the next year! Just as River doesn’t give up easily, neither do I, and I was determined to unlock all the potential that I saw and felt from that first meeting and that first ride.

Some people have a very specific pedigree and type of horse they look for when horse shopping, but I kept myself open minded. When I sat on River, he took me by surprise on how elegant he felt under saddle. Completely opposite from the other horse I had tried at the Secretariat Center. His gaits were effortless and flowed with beautiful cadence. I was blown away by the maturity he showed as a 4-year-old, but he also showed his cheeky side when he tried to roll in the puddles in the ring with me on him. He had all of us belly-laughing! He had not been started over jumps yet, but I was willing to take a chance on him since he checked off so many boxes. The staff told me how curious and brave he was, so I had a hunch he might like to jump. He had no obvious conformation flaws, just some old racetrack injuries (bowed tendons and a popped splint). I had him vetted to make sure those injuries could withstand the demands of an event horse. With the vet’s seal of approval, I adopted River the next day. I was so excited to welcome him home to Massachusetts, but I knew there would be a steep learning curve to try to figure out what works for him.

We’re still getting to know each other, but I’ve learned that he always loves his ears being rubbed. He’s like a shark that goes into tonic immobility when you rub his ears! This has helped me on so many occasions when he’s stressed - it really relaxes him. Sometimes he likes his neck, shoulders, withers, and belly being scratched. He’s very particular, and expressive with his opinions, so he’ll certainly let you know if he wants them or not!

Ellen Barth aboard River Shannon. (Courtesy of Ellen Barth)

A quirky horse like River requires many accommodations to keep him happy and healthy. I have learned through trial and error, and expert advice, what works and what doesn’t work for him. First and foremost, I’ve learned River needs to be out all day, if not 24/7. I found out the hard way that keeping him in a stall too long made him very upset and caused him to get nasty ulcers. To mitigate that, in addition to staying outside for at least a whole day, he is on Purina Outlast and alfalfa pellets, free choice hay, and his grain is divided into 3 smaller meals instead of 2 larger meals (per vet recommendation). As an excitable horse, it was challenging finding a nutrition plan that would put on weight without lighting him up further. After consulting with my vet and nutritionist, we found that keeping his grain (Purina Impact Professional Performance) lower while adding in a fat supplement (Purina Amplify) worked well.

Next on the Thoroughbred checklist was finding good insurance for River. I unfortunately had to use it a lot this year, because being the inquisitive critter that he is, got himself into trouble, with one incident sending him to the hospital. Fortunately, it only took us two months to recover from the laceration (paddock accident). It happened so close to the Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) Thoroughbred Makeover, and we didn’t think we would be ready in time. I’m lucky that he’s so intelligent and we picked right back up on our dressage.

With a proper feeding regimen, proper shoeing, ample turnout, well-fitting tack, good insurance, and good veterinary care, the last piece of the puzzle was the expert guidance from my trainers.

I have one trainer that helped me with groundwork and teaching natural horsemanship, another trainer to teach me how to get River to use his body under saddle, and another trainer to help teach him about jumping. Many friends along the way have also lent their horses to be babysitters for River when we would go on adventures. It takes a whole village to bring up a young Thoroughbred and I’m eternally grateful to my supportive family, and each and every person (and horse) who has helped us along the way! We especially wouldn’t be here today without the expert and caring staff of the Secretariat Center, Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, and River’s wonderful breeder. I look forward to mine and River’s future together and making many more memories!—Ellen Barth

The Jockey Club supports many aftercare initiatives including the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, the only accrediting body in aftercare, and Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.), which encourages the retraining of Thoroughbreds into other disciplines upon completion of careers. View all of the initiatives supported by The Jockey Club.