Teaching the OTTB to trot! Update - breakthrough today!

[Obsidian_Fire]

I could use some help from folks familiar with re-starting OTTB’s.

My mare isn’t very interested in learning to trot like a proper pony! Yes I know that sounds funny. What horse can’t/doesn’t trot? It’s not that she can’t, she can, but it takes effort to do it right and I’m not sure at this point that I’m doing the right things to help her.

She wants to trot like a racehorse, which is something between a jig and I-don’t-know-what. You can’t post it, you can only 2-point. I’ve tried going faster, going slower, sometimes I can get a nice, post-able trot.
This is also on the lunge line, not just under saddle.

I am thinking to use poles. We have been addressing all the “normal” OTTB things such as chiro and massage and she’s healthy and sound.
When I bought her, she’d been off track for 2 years, had a foal, and was being restarted. Her trot looked fine then, I had no inkling there’d be anything difficult with it.

Thoughts anyone??

[joliemom_again]

Forgive me if I’m repeating what you probably do, but a few suggestions from someone who’s OTTB’s trot was all over the place for the first year. Poles help as long as you ask for the trot a few strides out, then don’t touch her while she moves through. Leave her alone, put your hands on her withers, and say a few Hail Marys. Rinse, repeat, until she understands this is just a simple exercise.

Make sure you are absolutely relaxed, especially your seat, shoulders, arms, and hands. This starts as soon as you mount and continues as you warm up at the walk. When you ask for the trot, ask as quietly possible, like a whisper. Keep your upper body still and loose (think “I’ve just had a martini, and this is how my shoulders through to my hands feel”). Post quietly and at the temp you want. Keep your butt relaxed. Hold with your core to help maintain tempo, and oddly enough, keep your leg on her, quietly. When she gets it, praise her, pat her, stop and give her a peppermint. Then walk her for a bit. Try it again.

It takes time for them to learn a new skill. The best way we can help is by keeping the rides quiet, relaxed, and positive. If it takes a martini pre-ride…

[Texarkana]

Race horses trot nicely for miles a day in their regular training. That jiggy/crooked shuffling gate you see in post parades is a combination of race day nerves and adrenaline.

She knows how to do it. What she probably doesn’t know is how to adapt to her new life and do the things you are asking of her.

I’ve been out of the restarting racehorses biz for awhile, but if it were me, I’d probably go completely back to basics and treat her like she is an unbroke animal. Lunge line is OK, but a round pen would be even better because past lunge line experience may add to the anxiety. Teach her the word “trot” on the ground. When she’s showing you the gait you want on the ground, then get back on her. When you ask her to trot under saddle again, treat her like a baby doing it for the first time. Ask her to go forward on a loose rein with the “trot” voice command, praise her lavishly when she does it, even if it’s not perfect at first. Begin with it in short spurts-- like once around the round pen, or down the long side of the arena. Don’t try to trot round and round the ring until she understands the gait you want when you ask.

I’m sorry if I’m repeating what you already know or have tried. I’m just conveying what I’d do based on your description.

[eventer215]

Restarting OTTBs is what I do, and while most do have a nice trot under saddle right away, some can be more tricky. I had one stunning gelding that had all the right conformation to have a beautiful trot, but would only do a tiny “pony trot” under saddle. I worked with a dressage trainer w TB experience a few times, and she had me trot in a circle that had two or three random poles placed around it. She asked me to get to the pole “wrong” like the wrong distance to a jump (too short, too long, etc) and after getting to the pole “too long” several times, the horse learned to extend his leg. We worked on that a bit and then I was able to translate that to working around the ring without poles. He ended up having a stunning trot with a great extension.

I also use several trot poles in a row in a fan shape on a circle, to teach them to collect and extend (Jimmy has these exercises in his gymnastics book I believe)

Another mare I had, I actually posted on here about and got some great ideas. She would also pony trot despite having a beautiful trot out in the field. Difference with her is she just wanted to Canter all the time, and would do a pony trot/Canter trantor. So I resolved to only Trot, and do tons of suppling exercises, to get her to bend her rib cage. So, serpentines, shoulder in, leg yield, tiny circles and figure 8’s. She was not allowed to canter. I kept my leg on, and kept the posting rhythm that I wanted, not what she was giving me. It took about 20 minutes of her having a hissy fit, then she yielded and gave me the most round, lovely, supple big trot!

So, to sum up, keep your leg quietly on, no matter what the horse does. Don’t let them fool you into taking it off! Suppling exercises to get bend through the body, and some randomly placed poles may be a big help. I also like to work my horses in a round pen with either a neck stretcher or Pessoa rig to encourage them to use their backs before riding.

Good luck! The Trot is in there, you just have to find it

[Obsidian_Fire]

@eventer215 you are describing pretty much what’s happened - you could be describing my mare. We were working diligently on only W/T and things were coming. The trot was starting to swing and she was reaching. Then we decided to go ahead and let her have some canter. And it all came undone. So we have gone backwards in that we nixed the canter even on the lunge and are working on trot and walk only and staying soft and relaxed while doing it. I keep my legs on. She has to accept that. I have a little nursery rhyme I sing that helps me stay on tempo during trot. And I’ve had days where it’s been 20-30 mins of pissy fit before she settles and goes nicely.

@Texarkana, I agree with you… this is how I started out, but am going back there to sort out what I missed the first time around!

Thanks all…keep 'em coming. Something will be just the thing for this mare.

[Foxtail]

I used to lease a failed barrel horse who had a similar kind of trot, due to nervousness stemming from prior poor riding, and what helped get the trot under control (not nice, but under control) was to trot him on the buckle, and make small circles every time I felt him starting to lose it. I didn’t care if he broke into a walk, just so long as he slowed down. It only took a week or two before he realized that he was allowed to trot regularly and that I wasn’t going to amp up the situation.

[Obsidian_Fire]

@Foxtail I like that idea and to an extent am already using it. Yesterday what worked really well was 10m circles within the 20m circle. She fussed about it but gave up the idea that she could just take off any which way she wanted, and it didn’t take long.

She’s a quick study and wants to please but she also wants her own way, LOL. I am/have been very patient in reminding her over and over that “I am here to support you, let me help you, and it will go better and easier for you.” When she lets me help her, the trot is fantastic. I can swing thru my hips instead of up and down like I’m on a pogo-stick.

It helps to hear from others with similar issues that have worked thru it. This is the first track horse I’ve done, but I’ve done babies before and this was never an issue. Trot? Sure no problem! So doing a horse with “history” of a sort, has presented me a different set of things to work thru.
It’s never a dull moment, for sure!

[subk]

The only way a horse can trot like that is to be inverted. Teach them not to be inverted and the trot will fix itself.

When I get fresh off the track TBs I start with a ton of walking and teaching the horse to reach forward and down for the bit, so to stretch over their topline. Think of it like a specific cue–you ask, they perform. Hold the outside rein, quietly massage the inside rein to “invite” them to reach for the connection and give as soon as they hint at pushing the neck and head forward. Build on it until you can reliable ask and get them to put their neck and head down at the walk.

When your are definitely and reliable getting the head and neck forward and down and thus getting the horse to lift his back (the opposite of inverted) introduce the same concept at the trot and repeat the sequence.

I am very specifically including the word “neck.” This is not asking them to go “on the bit” it’s more like asking for the stretchy circle. And yes, I teach a horse to stretch, especially TBs, before I ask them to go in any type of dressage “frame.” If you do it in this order it will save a bunch a time down the road and will be a tremendous aid in helping or preventing the tension so often seen in TBs doing dressage.

[Obsidian_Fire]

@subk this makes perfect sense to me and is also something I’ve been working towards. In fact it is ALL we did today. Drop your neck, walk thru your back, relax. Rinse, repeat.

I’ll keep knocking away at it.

[tbchick84]

Is there any chance her hocks are sore? I strongly doubt it since this sounds purely to be a training thing, but just throwing it out there. I leased a TB once who refused to trot again once we cantered. He would do that jiggy thing you describe and just keep jumping back into canter. He was much older and his hocks were a known point of soreness. Agian, I don’t think it holds any water. She sounds like she just needs to learn how to relax.

[Obsidian_Fire]

@tbchick84

Is there any chance her hocks are sore? I strongly doubt it since this sounds purely to be a training thing, but just throwing it out there. I leased a TB once who refused to trot again once we cantered. He would do that jiggy thing you describe and just keep jumping back into canter. He was much older and his hocks were a known point of soreness. Agian, I don’t think it holds any water. She sounds like she just needs to learn how to relax.

No, you might be right. I PPE’d her pretty thoroughly and she did have some changes in her hocks. However, she flexed pretty darn good. She has one leg she tends to drag her toe, and the chiro (dvm) commented that it was up higher in the hip - one side tends to be higher than the other, and I’ve had it adjusted twice - so it might be up high, might be down lower.
Anyway, I have her on a bute trial to see if it makes any difference (so far, no) and am also addressing tack fit too. My plan is to take her up to Dr Revenaugh hopefully next month.

I’ve only had the mare 4 mos. She came underweight and no muscles (foal pulled her down) and a lot of body tension (hold her breath, couldn’t open her jaw wide enough to really yawn) which I have addressed and has gotten a lot better. I didn’t see this trot stuff when I looked at her. I took my own videos. She was being ridden in an exercise saddle by one of the gals, and in a typical D-ring bridle. She was also barefoot, and she’s been shod since (in front).

So that’s where I’m at. We are going thru the tack room trying on different saddles. A friend of mine (very experienced with TB’s) has been helping me and riding her herself - same thing so I don’t think it’s “all me”. Today we’re borrowing someone else’s saddle we shall see if it makes any difference.

[GraceLikeRain]

@Obsidian Fire

She was being ridden in an exercise saddle by one of the gals, and in a typical D-ring bridle. She was also barefoot, and she’s been shod since (in front).

I’d be very inclined to look at saddle fit, do front feet x-rays, and perhaps back x-rays. If she was fine before and now is a hissy fest when you ask for a normal trot, that sounds like pain to me.

[Obsidian_Fire]

@GraceLikeRain

I’d be very inclined to look at saddle fit, do front feet x-rays, and perhaps back x-rays. If she was fine before and now is a hissy fest when you ask for a normal trot, that sounds like pain to me.

I had xrays of darn near every bone in her body when I bought her. Her back is fine, her feet are fine. I am pretty sure this is a combination of saddle fit and “I don’t understand”.

However, today we had a major breakthrough. As I posted above, I am searching for a different saddle. Somebody has an old Schumacher that seems to fit her very well. I’ve been using that this past week.
FWIW, today she finally seemed to “get it”. First on the lunge, then under rider. @subk, advice is what we’ve been doing - or gone back to doing. Anyway, walking quietly on the lunge, getting warmed up, I gently asked for a trot and she stepped into it exactly the way I’ve been wanting her to do from day one. Believe me when I treated her as tho she’d hung the moon!! :yes::yes::yes: Switching directions, it is harder for her to the left, it took a bit longer but I found that gently clucking and praising every time her walk speed increased until she sort of fell into a trot step - without raising her neck - well that worked.
Then with rider up, we continued on with a variety of walking/stretching/suppling exercises and today she actually lifted, fully lifted, her back. I’ve never had her do quite that. I’ve gotten her ‘through’, in front of my leg, up in the shoulders, but actually lifting her back to this degree, no. With her neck in neutral. I felt very much like I was sitting on a ball!
Anyway, as we continued on, I gently encouraged with my voice mostly, for her to step into trot. She did, and while she only took maybe 3 tiny steps, they were great steps with her neck in neutral. She was a bit tentative about it, dropped back to walk on her own, but I told her she was the best pony ever (which she eats up). We did it both directions then I called it a day.

No fuss, no muss. Not even a sweaty hair. Go figure. But I am doing backflips I am so thrilled with her.

[Foxtrot_s]

My TB could not trot, either - gallop being his preferred gait. Until I saw him free in the field and he did trot - and WOW - that proved it to me. Just took time to get the message across and he was excellent.

[SuzieQNutter]

I can see your smile from here.

[Obsidian_Fire]

@Foxtrot's

My TB could not trot, either - gallop being his preferred gait. Until I saw him free in the field and he did trot - and WOW - that proved it to me. Just took time to get the message across and he was excellent.

:lol::lol: OH YES. This is EXACTLY the situation!! I know it’s in there!

Yesterday she was all about showing off her “new big idea”. Mares, gotta love 'em. Or rather, this is why I love them. All she wanted to do was trot. And when she did it with her neck up, she’d literally stop herself and then start over. OMG I spent the majority of my ride laughing.

[Lkramer]

It’s something you just have to keep chipping away at. Make sure you settle I to a rhythm. Keep posting even when they jig or break. Working on a line with a rope halter can be really good too. Let them trot moving away from you on a small circle. If they jig, bring them back to the walk and caress them with the lunge whip. After a few days, they relax quite a bit.