I will preface this by saying that my OTTBs I get off the track are usually personal projects over resale; I have the resources to keep them at home, and donāt usually flip them even if I buy them for resale (I tend to get too attached! :lol:). I tend to move at a glacial pace, but I like it because it gives me time to inspect all aspects of the training I provide them and it also makes it so I do not develop any gaps or holes in their training.
I find if your goal is to flip the horse, you need to go faster; by the time you have a horse for 90 days, youāve likely already taken a loss in profit - to really make money on a horse, you need to move them pretty quickly.
for 3 year olds, I usually let them hang out the winter. If I work them at all, it is ground work/in hand with maybe an occasional hack. Lots of grooming sessions with extra diligence on manners, manners, manners. Most of the 3 year olds Iāve gotten were also race failures, but needed some time off so the winter is a good enough chunk of time where I see them lose their tightness and race musculature and become horses. Theyāll get their checkups (chiro, teeth, etc) and then theyāre turned out 24/7 for the winter. I take pictures the day they come home and in Feb/March and you always see a huge difference in the way they stand - usually by late winter they are much more āopenā and less under/tight. By spring my only goal with them is to have a respectable horse on the ground that ground-ties, understands āoverā, āoutā, and accepts the lunge line around/on their body, trailers, comes when whistled and backs up with the command ābackā.
In the spring it is back to work - a combination of in-hand work, trail rides, occasional ring work. IMHO hacking is the best thing Iāve found for young TBs, getting them out and moving their feet either by ponying or with a buddy. Maybe an occasional lunge to see them move out. I donāt like to do too many circles with the younger horses so they spend more time hacking than anything else.
After a few months of that it is lunging 1-2x a week with side-reins & surcingle, to teach them contact. Not much more than 15m, and only after a warm slow hack out. Enough that they feel the bit and start to understand contact. IMHO there is no more judicial or fair teacher than sidereins for green horses - their timing is always 100% on time itās very easy for a horse to understand.
Spring is also where we start trailering - hacks, parks, friendās XC schools, etc. This part of their training is simply āexposureā. I donāt worry too much about their skill in the sandbox, itās all about developing their bodies and minds to be strong and confident. Lots and lots of trails, hills, and if I feel safe, I may do an occasional plop over a small X-rail or log.
By fall we continue the 3-5x a week rides, mostly hacking - maybe some ring work but not much. Winter they get off other than hacks at walk and itās back to spring again.
By spring of their second year, Iāll start to show them XC. At this point I have a horse who is very good on the ground and knows how to move out, go over, etc. Their first real XC school is done in hand. I will go out, make them do a circle and pop them over a log - praise, rinse, repeat. For some horses, I will have a helper with grain on the other side ā anything to keep them positive and looking forward. During their first session I usually see it click and they start to look for the next thing. It also lets me see how they use themselves over fences and helps them get a feel of jumping sans rider.
After a few in hand sessions XC, weāll start to do it undersaddle. They usually understand a fence means jump. My biggest goal with them is to get them to halt quietly almost immediately after, but sometimes with green exuberance that doesnāt always happen :lol:
But, after a summer of this, I generally have a BN-N horse on my hands if I am serious and school every weekend. Unfortunately, life does get in the way and sometimes itās not until fall.
I find that my projectās dressage education develops much quicker than their XC education, which is the direct opposite of how it was in my teenage years. Even though we mostly hack, they do start to come along nicely. People are surprised when I admit I really only seriously work on dressage once or twice a week with my projects, but IMHO it keeps them fresher and more willing. Lots of what you work on the trail reinforces dressage, which people donāt realize ā moving sideways to step over a rock, half-halts down steep hills, asking them to turn on the forehand as you close a gate, etc etc.
And then, all of the sudden, it seems I have a capable, real live eventing horse. The pieces fall together and it is really quite thrilling. My current project is going through this now where Iām saying wait a minuteā¦ heās no longer green anymore!
So basically, to sum up that giant post in a few words:
exposure begets experience :winkgrin:
Good luck!
In cool weather, this was a daily occurrence, even when she was six.
