My name is Amy Latka and I am passionate about horses. I have ridden horses since I was a youngster. I rode my first off-track Thoroughbred (or OTTB) in college. Little did I know at the time that these horses would become the focus of my life long passion.
I purchased my first OTTB in 2003 thinking that I had plenty of skill to retrain her. After all…how hard could it be? As it turns out, the journey has been a very humbling, yet amazing experience. And thanks to her, I’ve gained the skills to help over a dozen exracers find new homes and careers. My initial reasoning for starting this blog was to chronicle my adventures and thoughts on the process of transitioning horses from the track to new careers. Now, many years after starting that retraining journey, I am married with two kids and my focus has shifted. I’ll definitely be chronicling my adventures with training horses, but also talking about adventures of small farm ownership.
Feel free to comment and I hope you enjoy your time here!
Confessions of a Horse Addict 
I am attempting to do the same thing with an OTTB. Can you recommend any training books that would help me transition my OTTB to Western style riding? Thx
I realize this is REALLY late in responding. But in case anyone else is wondering, no, I don’t have any books to recommend. Mainly because what you need to learn in order to safely and effectively retrain your horse *cannot* be learned from a book. I suggest anyone who is new to OTTBs finds themselves a trainer that has experience working with OTTBs. Get yourself to clinics or private lessons where you can get some hands-on experience with your horse.
Remember, some times you have to back way up in their training. While most won’t buck you off, fresh off-the-track horses are at most green broke. Generally, they don’t understand use of the reins, use of the rider’s legs, or many of the other subtle parts of riding. It is our job as owners and retrainers to help teach them this. Think of it as learning a foreign language. Its your job to find an instructor/trainer that will help you and your horse speak the same language.