Review of Standardbred by ralf-rulz

Thanks. How hard is it to re-educate / train an off-track, pleasure Standardbred to do "normal" gaits instead of the high-stepping pace? Is it even possible?

Hi.
Where I live (NZ) the racing Standardbreds are either pacers or trotters. Pacing is a gait in which a horse moves both legs on one side of his body in the same direction at the same time. Im not sure whether this is the same where you live? I have heard that the gaits of Standardbreds are different in America.
But anyway, if you are re-training a trotter or pacer I have found that the pacers are easier to break out of pacing than trying to get a trotter to slow down their trot (its so fast!). I did not break my SB to saddle, one of my friends did, but it was really easy and took about 2 days to go from 'never had a saddle on' to accepting a saddle and being ridden.
As for training them not to pace and to actually canter....its a matter of time and patience. They have been taught at the racetrack to never canter while in the cart so they usually won't canter while ridden at the beginning. Praise them when they trot and if they pace, put them back to a walk and try again. It takes time and at the beginning it will not look very co-ordinated but will eventually they seem to forget that they are pacers and just trot like a normal horse. During this you can try for a canter and sometimes you just have to squeeze and squeeze but they can and will canter! My SB was a pacer but now she doesn't pace at all and will trot, canter and jump.
As for the trotters, it is pretty much just a case of trying to get them to slow down their trot. I had a trotter that could trot infront of a galloping horse! Not nice to sit to. Do lots of flatwork and circles at a trot and post slowly...the slower you post, the slower they trot. I am thinking it would be the same for the high-stepping pace...probably the more flatwork you do, working on slowing down the gait will help with the high-stepping. But you have to make it fun for the horse too. Take them out on trail rides, road rides, treks....basically expose them to everything. This will make them quiet (they are usually naturally very quiet anyway) and safe.
It is very possible to turn a fast, high-stepping racehorse into a quiet pleasure horse. I wouldn't say it is hard, it just takes time and patience. With this you will have a horse that is quiet, safe and nice to ride.

This is fascinating - and it sounds like you've really figured out a successful method of transitioning these horses from the track to being wonderful pleasure horse companions.

As with Thoroughbreds, does it sometimes take time for Standardbreds to get used to more personal attention than they got at the track? I'm wondering if some can be "hard' because they were raised as work animals instead of companion animals?

Hmmm it depends on where the horse has be kept, really. Some never see the track until raceday and are kept at the breeder/trainers house/stables. These horses will generally get more personal interaction everyday and therefore they could potentially be more freindly and easy going than the race horses kept at the track.  When my SB first came off the track, she was a stinker to catch -she would just run away when she saw you coming. I'm not entirely sure of she was kept at the track or somewhere else. Now she is fine to catch, she actually walks up to you and comes over when she sees me arrive at her paddock.
I suppose that some could say that it would be harder to tain a horse that has been kept at the racetrack and raced and is used to that way of life but I don't think that is entirely true. Yes, it may contribute somewhat but I think that the horses personality is a bigger factor. Even horses that have never seen a racetrack in their lives can be hard to catch and train.
Most horses like attention so its like one big treat for them coming off the track and getting nice rungs and food and being brushed. Some might be a bit wary of people because they are so young (2 or 3 years old) and haven't really had much attention but they will soon come round to it!