Galloping the OTTB

[dontskipthecafe]

My OTTB is a firecracker. She’s a dream with lovely movement and a wonderful temperament, but she is a firecracker.

One of the ways to let that energy out is just to let her go. She still loves to gallop, and sometimes I wonder if just letting her run for a little bit (controlled, of course, and in an otherwise empty ring) would be a bad thing?

I know that if I am ever going to event her, which I’d like to do, galloping in a controlled manner is a thing, but we’re far from eventing at the moment. Right now, she just seems so annoyed if she never gets to go.

I’d like to clarify, the galloping is not for the purpose of tiring her out, and I know that if I do that, she’ll just get fitter and it will take longer to do so. When I have done this, she always seems more relaxed and happier to do other work afterward. Also I would warm her up first so she doesn’t pull anything.

[SnicklefritzG]

Have you thought about getting her out twice a day? That is what Mary King does with some of her event horses. They go for a gallop in the morning or a hack and then do their flat work later in the day.

How much turnout is your horse currently getting?

Another thing you could consider is going for a hack or doing trot sets before you try to do any flat work. That way your horse is getting some wiggles out, but isn’t gallopin flat out or trying to.

[dontskipthecafe]

[QUOTE=SnicklefritzG;8104108]
Have you thought about getting her out twice a day? That is what Mary King does with some of her event horses. They go for a gallop in the morning or a hack and then do their flat work later in the day.

How much turnout is your horse currently getting?

Another thing you could consider is going for a hack or doing trot sets before you try to do any flat work. That way your horse is getting some wiggles out, but isn’t gallopin flat out or trying to.[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately, full-time job does not allow for two rides a day

Horse is getting about 12 hours a day and will be on 24/7 turnout once it’s not so wet and the grass paddocks are available again. Right now she’s in a dirt paddock with a buddy, and because we don’t want to tear up the new grass, another group rotates into their space overnight.

[SnicklefritzG]

Another thing you can try, other than brief trot sets is just keeping her feet moving with lots of figures, lateral work (if she knows it), anything to keep her mind busy.

That way he is working, but not doing the gallops that will just make her get fitter.

[supershorty628]

I let my mare gallop out sometimes. She has a blast doing it… I’ve done it with her in rings and in big fields if you have any of those.

If you have control, and if she knows that getting to gallop is a treat (as opposed to something she automatically gets to do every time), I think it’s a great way to have fun.

[Simbalism]

I have a couple of fields that have long uphill stretches to get in some good gallops. My older mare is 21 and she still loves to move on.

[billiebob]

My TB isn’t really a firecracker but maybe 2-3x a year he needs a good blast under saddle. It’s not for fitness, it’s mental. I pick a nice big hill and grab mane. Endless trot sets and schooling figures only go so far with this horse. Plus there’s nothing like a horse with a really good gallop!

[Alagirl]

Nichol Uphoff used to take Rembrandt out for gallops.

Blowing off steam might be essential to mental health for some horses. When galloping wasn’t in the cards during winter, I let my horse free jump once a week.

A ring might not be big enough to achieve the necessary stretch.
Our home track was 5 furlongs around once, one of the smallest in the country…still quite a lap to work with though.

[Angela_Freda]

I did it too… I let him ‘gallop’ and I would know he was done when he settled a bit and you could tell by the tension [or relaxation really] that he’d gotten it out of his system.
It was actually suggested to me by my Dressage instructor.

[Showbizz]

I gallop my western pleasure performance horses regularly If needed, when I start, I may use a training device or something to ensure I maintain complete control, but they wean off of it easily. I think it’s great for their minds and helps with fitness. I think it also gives horse and rider confidence.

[beowulf]

count me in as a dissenter.

if you are working with a fresh off the track tb, sometimes, it is a struggle enough to teach them their new job no longer entails running. i would think if you are having some flat-work issues with her that i would not go back to her ‘old job’. it can be confusing. some horses didn’t enjoy their time at the track, and for these horses, i do not ask them to gallop right away. of the many ottbs we’ve had, i can say the three we have currently would have shut down during their green stages of training if we had of pushed them to gallop again. they just didn’t enjoy it, though the do enjoy their eventing job.

i do eventing, i am not sure what your discipline is. once i feel my horse can w/t/c nicely, round, with bending and basic lateral work both in and out of a ring and on grass fields, i might start to ask for a medium canter out on pasture.

but if you can’t get your mare to do a 20m circle without tensing up or bolting, or you can’t get her to do a nice trot-to-canter without scooting, i’d strongly advise against it.

[talkofthetown]

Don’t do it. My friend and I NEVER cranked our stirrups up and raced our OTTBs. That would be irresponsible!!! :lol:

As long as you’re both warmed up and safe and [you are] tight in the saddle, then why not?

[NancyM]

If she has not yet fully learned the difference between being a racehorse and being a riding horse, taking her for a gallop can get you a whole lot more horse than you had bargained for. eg she may run off with you, get too strong to hold. It depends on how she was ridden and trained in her racing career, and who rode her there.

If she has learned to carry herself like a riding horse instead of a racehorse, to hold her own balance and be soft in your and rather than balance on your hands towing hard with her front end, then yes, certainly, taking her for a run can be relaxing for her.

You know your horse better than any of us do, and her level of training.

[FineAlready]

Okay, my perspective with OTTBs comes from turning them into hunters, mostly. Although my current horse and I ended up transitioning to dressage.

In my opinion, when the horse is recently off the track, NO, do not gallop it. You are trying to teach the horse a totally new job that doesn’t involve flat out gallops. Work on relaxation, not on high intensity work. In the case of a horse like yours? I’d be walking that horse on the buckle for a half hour at the start of each ride, then doing a little bit of trot work, then building from there. You are not going to work a TB down, and taking a green-to-its-new-job TB for a gallop is only going to amp the situation up, not de-fuse it.

Horses like this are usually worriers. She is probably worried that you’re going to ask her to do something that is too difficult or stressful, or that she doesn’t understand. Asking her to do very simple things that have nothing to do with her old job will help ease that stress. At least that has been my experience.

Once she has come a long way in learning her new job, THEN you can start to introduce controlled gallops that are more appropriate for her new sport. The type of “gallop” you will need with a horse that is new to eventing is a far cry from the gallop she would have produced on the track or at higher levels of eventing.

I think that if you start blasting around on your recently off the track TB, you will be making a mistake. If she wants to gallop in the pasture, she is welcome to do so.

[Flash44]

Can you do ground work in lieu of simply allowing the horse to gallop around the ring? The thing is, you are worried about your horse being annoyed, so you are trying to please her, when it should be the other way around. If she is turned out 12 hours a day, that is plenty of time for her to do whatever she wants. When she is with you, she does not get to do what she wants, she has to wait for your instructions. Then, when the weather improves and you are working on conditioning her, she is respectful of your aids, and when you progress to jumping cross country, you are in control and avoid sticky situations to the best extent possible.

[Foxtrot_s]

I also had a horse like this - the answer was to do the canter work early in the workout, just to let her slip along in the arena. Then she settled into normal work.

[meupatdoes]

[QUOTE=dontskipthecafe;8104101]
When I have done this, she always seems more relaxed and happier to do other work afterward.[/QUOTE]

There’s your answer.

[Clair2014]

I would say try it and see how your horse responds. I had a very hot OTTB mare and she LOVED to gallop. There was no ‘making’ her gallop, she WANTED to do it. Endless arena work frustrated her to no end and just made her more antsy and more difficult to ride. I had her for six years and evented her through Training Level and trained her through Third Level in dressage. When I sold her at 11 years old she still needed a good gallop at least once or twice per week to be able to focus on the rest of her work. She loved it and it didn’t ruin any of her other training. If you feel safe on your horse and think you can safely gallop her and she seems to WANT to do it then try it and see what happens. If it helps, then you have your answer. If not, try something else!

[dontskipthecafe]

[QUOTE=Clair2014;8106153]
If you feel safe on your horse and think you can safely gallop her and she seems to WANT to do it then try it and see what happens. If it helps, then you have your answer. If not, try something else![/QUOTE]

I do feel very safe on this horse. She has excellent brakes, and has never run away with me. In fact, there was a little 1/4-mile track at the first place where I boarded her, and… well, I wanted to play jockey (shush I know this was not very smart). This was about two weeks after her last race, and she went very very fast, but when I asked, she stopped without question. So I’m not too concerned about her taking off and me being unable to stop her.

Thanks for the advice, everyone!

[Clair2014]

[QUOTE=dontskipthecafe;8106174]
she went very very fast[/QUOTE]

Lol! My mare was very fast as well. She just LOVED to run. It was effortless for her. I’ve never ridden another horse that could run like that. Just be careful and use good judgement. If you need help, work with a knowledgeable trainer. Horses usually tell us what works best for them if we listen. Good luck!