Just picked one up and want to slowly build him up to be my next low/mid level eventing partner.
He’s been off the track for 6+months and lightly restarted already by someone else, but he’s now at my home living out with my 2 retirees.
It’s been a while since I’ve had such a young one and would love to hear what you would focus on at this stage. How often would you ride? Ground work? Hacks around the property? Ground drive? Etc. I have had horrible luck with horses (freak injuries) and really want to do my best to develop this one to hopefully be an amazing partner for me. We’ve already bonded quite a bit after just a week and I want to keep building on our connection and his confidence. I can be kind of timid so I’m really focusing on keeping my nervous system in check to keep his confidence up. I hope to raise him to be confident and happy in his work.
Any advice is appreciated.
Less is more at that age.
Work on the ground with him, perhaps hack him out. Great that he has been on the track and somewhat restarted, but your best bet is to work him like he was a complete babe (which he is) and start from square one.
If he has come off the track, he isn’t a complete baby but rather a horse who has been trained to do one type of work. Now you are training him to do another type of work. Don’t “baby” him too much.
TBs are highly intelligent horses: they need to keep their busy brain engaged. Work consistently but build in plenty of variety too. Don’t do endless circuits looking for the perfect head carriage but rather work with gymnastics, using shapes and poles and cones to keep both of you interested, from the ground and under saddle. The changes in body and balance then comes quietly and naturally. Avoid boredom: a TB is not the same as a WB, who tolerates and usually needs repetition. Ask a TB once they try, ask a second time and they do it right, ask a third time and they say “Why? We’ve already done that!”.
Also don’t assume that he is a frightened baby outside the ring. He has been living in an environment that is full of busy routine with people and machines, noise and movement all around him for hours each day. One advantage of an OTTB is this wide experience.
Watch his feed. He has been on high performance high energy foods but you need some steady calm energy. Incorrect feeding is often the root of behavioral and health issues with TBs.
They are kind, willing, human-focused people when they are given the opportunity. Enjoy him and I hope you have fun together.
I second ground work and hacks. He has been handled a particular way, and both of you need to learn where his holes and strengths are. You may want to change some skills and keep some.
Hacking is great too, gives him a chance to rebuild his physiology and carry a rider. Don’t discount long slow distances as a good workout.
And FYI, many urban bridle paths are near cycling paths. Cyclists look a LOT like jockeys zooming by, so be ready for a reaction.
If you consider yourself “timid,” find someone to help you feel really confident in what you are doing. Your horse needs you to be a leader that he can always trust. He will know if you are “focusing on keeping your nervous system in check” rather than being there for him.
Meanwhile, set yourself up to be a winner. Stick to activities that you know you can lead with assurance and clarity.
Surely you must have photos for the COTH Aunties?
Congrats on your new boy. He is set up for success being at home with your two retirees. If you can keep him out 24/7, he will be very happy.
At 3 and an OTTB, he likely has been exposed to more than a 3 y/o in a riding program would. Machinery and traveling should be no problem. He will have a basic concept of W/T/C and likely a lead change from the track.
Do you have a trainer and a ring? I like to hack them a few times a week but there’s nothing wrong with letting them decompress a little, too. I made a bridle path around our property with a bunch of different loops. They spend 20 minutes on the bridle path each ride, and then I finish up in the ring. A quick W/T/C is enough to keep them sharp and accomplished. You can introduce walking or trotting over poles if you want.
Expect him to grow a little more, all my 3 y/os I’ve gotten off track have grown another hand.
Ground driving is a wonderful tool but if you have not done it before, it’s helpful to have a trainer introduce you to the basics first.
Keep ups posted and congratulations on your new boy.
I also brought home a 3 yo TB this spring. She was lean and under muscled and quite growthy, so I’ve just been focusing on feeding her and getting her into the routine. We do hand walks and in hand work and very mini little longeing sessions. I may sit on her toward the end of the summer, we’ll see. She was working at the track last fall but never started, and then had a “restart” ride or two very early this spring.
3 yo TBs can range from babies to precocious phenoms, both in mental maturity and physical maturity. Some are going to be a lot more ready than others for a job. Some are going to need a job because they’re used to their working routine at the track, but others are going to benefit from a big step back & some time to mature.
Thanks for the insights.
He now lives out 24/7, is transitioning to a mostly forage based diet and is becoming the alpha in the herd. He is now giving off a lot of confidence and has the typical TB curiosity and love of learning new things. So smart. All of the traits that make me love TBs!
I am going to disagree with this. To much repitition is not ideal for any horse but I have not found thoroughbreds to have any more issues with boredom than warmbloods.
As a three year old, look at the horse infront of you. We have had thoroughbreds from the same age come off the track and jumping small courses a month later and others needing more down time. Yours being already 6 months off the track, I would treat him like any other three year old you get:
-don’t assume training, some horses learn just basic steering and other learn seat/leg more fine tuning, all depending on what that person did starting the colt.
-some horses get lanky and off balance as they grow, some are pretty much done growing, some grow gracefully.
-some are more fit than others or more used to terrain than others so start slow on the hacks…see how many times your horse trips (small missteps, not hard trips), that will tell you how used to uneven terrain they are, which will tell you how fast to start trotting on the trails - some need extra time getting used to non-groomed surfaces.
-remember to have fun
This is so true. We’ve brought some home from the track who went trail riding the first week. So much depends on how they were started, as you said.
The breadth of knowledge and experience that can produce useful ideas and helpful tools in this forum: just what makes it interesting!
@Ajierene In my experience, riding both TB and WB, there is a different brain at work. The TB is quicker, with a busy mind. The WBs I’ve ridden need a lot more work to get their head into the game. They evolved for different jobs. Of course, the previous history and life experience is very important with an OTTB. But they are more educated than many people give them credit for, just for a different job. On the other hand, many trainer are putting some good basics onto the youngsters because it helps them both in their racing career and in their post-racing life.
You and I have had different experiences with thoroughrbeds and warmbloods - let’s leave it at that. This is my point, every horse is different.
While it is true that some thoroughbreds are more educated than people give them credit for, I have found some have just learned how to not toss their rider off and rudementary steering.
I remember having that debate with an assistant trainer when I was on a new thoroughbred off the track. I forget what started it but I mentioned I was doing what I was doing because I wasn’t sure what the horse knew. She retorted that they start all their horses with great education. I replied in the affirmative that yes THEY do that but not everyone does and THEY did not start this particular horse. That being said, having ridden a variety of horses started with different goals in mind, I am always checking to see what kind of buttons are installd and where they are.
Just like with people, statistics are great for academic interests, they should not be used when working at the entity infront of you.
Yep. And modern WBs often have significant percentages of TB blood. One of mine (bred in the EU from parents in a German WB registry, i.e. not a US cross of a WB stallion on a TB mare) is 64% TB.
There are pockets of breeders in Germany who bred ‘cross bred’ WB for generations (but their
prime was in the 70s and 80s) that had the brand and some WB mare in the dark recesses of the pedigree, the rest was TB blood.
However, to expand on my short initial remark:
The horse is 3. He needs to grow up. No matter the willingness of the brain, the skeletal structure has to mature for a durable foundation.
traditionally, WB are started their 3rd year. I know, back in the day I did the same.
These days if I were to venture into that aspect of ownership I might consider starting them and then putting them back out to grow.
However, this summer could be used well by establishing a routine different from the track.
His major plus point, he has already been extensively handled and ‘flagged out’ as well as backed. That is not to say that he won’t get the sillies in the near future with ‘weight on’ (most show horses are simply too fat IMHO) and more maturity.
I remember listening to Bruce Davidson talking about the value of tb foals and yearlings that were not given that all over smooth look. His thoughts are that once fat gets around the organs you don’t really lose it even when the horse becomes fit.
Don’t anybody knock me on the head for that, I’m repeating what I heard at an eventer forum. I have always wondered if it’s true.
Interesting thought.
However, fat is not all bad. It is a valuable component of the body.
That would be a question to ask a University vet school though, I am sure.
Thanks for the input and discussion.
So far he is just the sweetest and most willing guy I could have asked for. I’m only riding him a couple of times a week, mostly after doing a little bit of long lining. None of our sessions are more that 20ish minutes. I put him in the cross ties to groom daily and do some ground work mostly just to get him to move his body around off of pressure. We’ve been long lining around the property to see all of the sights and he spends the rest of his day doing horsey things. He lives out 24/7. I am in no rush and believe that the connection we are making now will translate when we start doing more serious work. Here’s a pic of how he spends most of the day. He’s the on on the left.
Bruce doesn’t like fat around the organs because it adds useless weight and even if it’s not much fat, it is still taking up room in the body. He was pretty direct about fat, on horses and riders.
well, fat between the organ tissue does have another use: It cushions and reduces friction - from what I remember reading a lifetime ago regarding human athletes. being totally lean is not that good either.
However, we do tend to overfeed our animals, way more than they actually need for the amount of work we ask of them.
