Tell me about successes with your anxious/anticipating horses

[Natalie]

Hi all–just looking for a bit of commiseration and any tips from anyone else who’s been there. I’ve started feeling a bit frustrated and would love to hear success stories, ha.

My current horse is a 6 year old (this year) TB. Not off the track…he was a bit of a “rescue” (not actually from a rescue, but from a local $hithole barn with a bad reputation that has since been shut down by the authorities after many, many years of complaints) a year ago in pretty poor condition–I would say somewhere between a 1 and 2 body score. At the time he was wormed, teeth done, and put on a high calorie diet. Weight came on slowly but surely, he grew probably around a hand in height, personality came out (he’s cuddly and a really cute horse), etc.

It was obvious pretty quickly that he had been backed and gotten the basics in, but had no extensive training. He understood forward, stop (sort of), and steering. No concept of rhythm, balance, or relaxation under saddle. Seemed to have been exposed to little stimuli…walking through a puddle in the ring was a hard “no” until he got to see the people walk through it, things like that. He also has, since the beginning, seen “forward” as the answer to basically any question.

He’s now had about 10 months of consistent, quiet work with me (a competent but very much ammy adult) as his primary rider. We spent several months just working on the walk and trot, getting an understanding of connection, building strength and balance, and so on. He’s a smart and sensitive horse that wants to please–which is a double edged sword, because he very much wants to have the correct answer to whatever you’re asking, and he’s pretty sure that the correct answer might involve cantering, or perhaps trotting (too) fast.

My trainer and I have basically worked around this by keeping him guessing–he spends a lot of time on circles, gets trot poles to work over, transitions, and a lot of low-key “puttering” around. I’ve had multiple people (including a local dressage pro I took a clinic with) tell me to give him a pattern to work on so he can understand what the job is and relax since he knows what’s coming. That sounds good in theory, but in reality, he just figures out what the pattern or repetitive task at hand is and just takes over trying his best to do it before you can ask, getting increasingly tense and anxious as you put pressure on him to wait and listen.

He’s a pretty horse with a cute expression, a good mover, is developing a nice soft canter, very game to jump what little bit he’s been pointed at–so in other words, there’s a lot of potential to be a great little horse in him. He’s quiet and agreeable on the ground. Did I mention that I’ve started calling him “puppy” as a pet name because he’s got such a cute doggy personality?

But also, there are days when I don’t feel like I’ll ever get a relaxed, obedient horse. He has trouble walking with rein contact (unless you redirect him with circles or poles or something else) without constantly trying to run through your hands up into the trot. Shortening your reins at the trot results in him trying to pop up into a canter. Too many trot/canter transitions and he turns into a tense, bouncy mess clacking his teeth. He’ll walk around on the buckle super chill or just hang in the middle of the ring to chat basically forever…but as soon as he senses more might be happening, the little hamster in his brain starts running on its wheel.

He is being treated for ulcers now since he started showing uncharacteristic grumpiness about grooming and moving off the leg (Nexium protocol outlined on this forum), getting teeth re-checked soon, saddle fit checked again. I also realize it hasn’t been at all long in the grand scheme of horse training…he’s a neglected baby TB tossed into a new environment and asked to learn about a lot of new things in a pretty short time period. But, has anyone had a similar situation and can offer any insight? Tips I haven’t thought of to relay some relaxation? Or just reassurance that he’ll eventually figure it out?

[endlessclimb]

If he were mine: Wait till summer, lots of hacking out, work on this stuff little by little out on the trails. He will figure it out.

Make sure your seat is giving him crystal clear “this is the gait I want” signals, with no pinching and no avoiding putting your leg on. Put your leg on and let him work it out that it isn’t going anywhere. Contact stays the same. He sucks behind? Put your leg on and send him back into your hands. Nothing abrupt or rushy, just “this is where you need to be, friend”.

My late mare would also anticipate something coming when I would pick up the contact in the walk… so I started doing it probably a hundred times in a ride so she got tired of trying to anticipate and just took the contact and waited for what came next.

[Natalie]

Thank you, that’s good advice. I do my best to sit with a quiet seat, “nothing is happening” seat and keep leg on. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve also just started doing halt transitions from time to time after I pick up the reins at the walk to try to relay that we don’t always trot. Right now he just tenses his neck and tries to avoid halting until I very firmly insist. I am interested to see what his teeth are like when they’re looked at again.

[NancyM]

Well it’s hard to say from far away. And you sound like you have some knowledge with this. But the only thing I can say is: Step ONE of the training scale, and NOTHING else… Free forward relaxed motion. And that’s all, no other “contact” with the mouth, no other “asks”. Just that. Sounds like you have some “forward”, but not the “relaxed” you need. So it’s not right, the first step of the training scale is not installed and complete, because there is not truly and correctly attained FFRM. So don’t ask for anything else, other than just THAT. Ask for “forward” from the leg. Don’t pick up the reins, other than just for the most basic “navigation”, then let go again. Instead of taking a feel on the reins to slow him down, use your body, and voice. He should do this on the lunge, w/t/c/whoa, just from your voice- so it’s not a lot to ask him to do the same under saddle. And yes, for sure, check everything else… teeth, back, feet, anything that could be causing him to be tense or uncomfortable.

Though we like to think that all horses respond to training the “same”, they don’t- every horse is an individual. He may never accept contact that well, and you may have to change your riding style to suit him. I’ve had one like this recently- I really thought that no one else could ride him, because he’s so “ODD”. I put one person on him once, and it was a disaster- because… well… he just gets tense. But not for me, relaxed and happy. Controlled by “braille and intuition”. And the most obedient horse in the world, with a heart as big as a house and a lovely jump. Just don’t treat him like any other horse, and don’t touch the reins.

So this advice is a bit different from above, take it or leave it as you wish. YMMV.

[Small_Change]

My hot horses have always done best when they have a slight connection with the leg and hand at all times. Aids then become something on a continuum, rather than on/off, which gets them rattled and anticipating. I don’t try to micromanage them, but just always have a soft contact with my leg and hand, never dropping them entirely. I leave it there until they take a deep breath, then tell them that they are the smartest thing on four legs. Eventually, they find reassurance in that bit of constant, soft contact. It’s a long road, but worth the effort to build the solid foundation.

[lenapesadie]

I agree. Ask him for the gait you want and ride on the buckle until he’s staying in the gait you put him in consistently. Let him make mistakes like transitioning up then just bring him back down quietly to the gait you requested.

[2bayboys]

Just a remark on the ulcer angle. My baby TB showed ulcery symptoms and I started her on Nexium, but she showed an immediate and dramatic difference when I added sucralfate to the protocol. She went from being “hot” under saddle to literally kick along quiet. Just a thought.

[TXnGA]

I have a tb very similar. Hates to have the wrong “answer” and then starts to anticipate. He is also highly reactive to outside stimuli. Tried him on a daily calming supplement and it’s been a game changer to help him focus and take a breath during work. I give it to him about 45 minutes to 1 hour before I ride and seen a huge difference in his demeanor without making him sluggish or changing his personality. Doesn’t hurt that he also thinks it tastes great ( picky eater).

I also will second what others have said about repetition in the movements he was anticipating. But I will add, that I wasn’t able to do it until I started the calming supplement ( stressless horse supplement ), that was when I could start the repetition work and he wouldn’t get flustered and antsy anymore if we had to repeat a movement. Prior, he would just shut down or rear because of his overactive mind .

[MadTrotter]

I have one like that and not sure if this is helpful, but he just finally figured out that if he relaxes and brings his head down, he feels better. It was literally just about staying out of his way and letting him string himself out (I mean, within reason, if I felt him panic I would firmly half halthalf halt half halt or go onto a 10m circle until things were in control)

In addition to ground poles and circles, we did serpentines, spirals, lateral work. Lunging was good to get him into a relaxed trance state, and teach voice commands. He is SO sensitive.

I didn’t add canter immediately because he would rush around and wasn’t strong enough to hold himself up with his core. He would counter balance by throwing his head up. Be honest with yourself about your horse’s strength and balance. There is no shame in just W/T until the horse can self-carry in the canter.

It took about a year before he got to where he is now, stretching down into a nice long frame where I can ease him up into light supple contact.

Good luck!

[Libby2563]

Sounds like my TB! I spent months after I first bought him repeatedly shortening and lengthening the reins at the walk. It did help but his desire to trot off is still in there and unfortunately he’s smart enough to know that at horse trials, the end of the free walk does always mean the trot is coming. Repeated transitions make him hotter and hotter. The only transitions with a net positive effect are trot-halt-trot. Patterns also lead to anticipation because he’s too darn smart and he wants to get the right answer.

We’ve made some progress though! When I bought him 3 years ago I couldn’t jump him in a snaffle because he’d get so strong. Halting repeatedly in the lines or before jumps just made it worse. One BNT told me he was “a bit of a jerk” and suggested a cherry roller bit. Now we are jumping happily in a snaffle and those days seem very distant. I still can’t loop the reins at him or he will GO, but I can manage the pace and keep him from totally taking over (even though he usually knows better than me anyway haha). One thing that helps me a lot while cantering to the jumps is thinking “up and give” every stride, so I’m rebalancing him and regulating the pace without hanging on.

So, I don’t know if I have good advice. My guy is 13 and much more experienced so I don’t think he’s going to magically grow out of it. Mostly I’ve just decided to appreciate his many good qualities (he is a super athletic and safe jumper, among other things) and not try to turn him into something he’s not. Like your guy, he can stand and chill or hack on the buckle no problem. He isn’t spooky at all. Those qualities are worth a lot!

[PNWSunnyDay]

@Natalie

Right now he just tenses his neck and tries to avoid halting until I very firmly insist

I’m riding a little quarter pony who’s neck is as wide as it is long and this is her favorite. My instructor has us treat every halt like a led yeild. So I press the horse into my outside rein to stop. This has decreased the pulling match and loosened up her body and allowed her to come to a halt with less hand.

[StormyDay]

I would trot around the arena on a long and low contact until it becomes so boring his brain can just shut off for a bit. Once he is in the zone, do one thing; a trot pole or a bit of canter. Then immediately back to long and low around the arena until he calms down again. Then do that thing again. Repeat until he no longer reacts to the new stimuli.

If you feel you need further help, I’d see about finding a really good WP trainer in your area. Ask for recommendations on ones who do well with hotter horses. I have seen them work magic with OTTB’s that couldn’t settle into work after coming off the track. They will probably want him to come to them for 30 days or so.

[Bristol_Bay]

No training tips to add, but my amateur’s dream OTTB is a hot, anxious mess on too much alfalfa. So I would just review what your feed protocol is to see if changing his feed makes a difference.

[DarkHorse1]

Curious: what does his turnout regimen look like?

[awaywego]

Cannot offer advice, only commiseration. I have a TB mare who is very similar. She is out 12-16 hours a day. She has been on training board with two different hunter trainers. She spent one winter down south hacking out for months. Another winter when it was too frozen for anything else, we walked and walked and then walked some more while shortening and loosening the reins. We have turned a tight circle every time she breaks into a trot. We have hacked out a lot. We have ridden in the ring a lot. We mix it up a lot. We have tried patterns and no patterns. I have tried riding in the morning. In the evening. Under lights. She has been scoped. She has been on regumate. She has been off regumate. We have done 3 different calming supplements. She gets magnesium.

It has been five years of trying to find the right combination, but none of it has changed her. I’m kind of at the point where I have to accept that this is who she is and either I learn to live with it or she finds an owner who loves how “forward thinking” she is. Some days I think I can do it; yesterday was not one of those days.

She is absolutely stunning to look at so everyone who sees her gets googly eyes and thinks she just needs…something. I would be happy if she doesn’t want to do the hunters but I tell her all the time she needs to pick something to be good at. She has told me that she has good manners and is great at eating grass.

[Natalie]

Thanks for noting that. I addressed the feed situation last summer–once he’d put some weight on I cut everything back dramatically. Now he’s on 3 lbs of Triple Crown Senior twice a day, lots of hay (pretty close to all he can eat). No alfalfa, no high-test grain.

[Natalie]

He’s out a decent amount. Winter sucks so they get about 8-10 hours a day now, but in the summer they’re out for 12-14 (overnight). He doesn’t even play particularly hard outside for the most part–he’s the oldest horse in his field and seems very content to chill with the middle-aged and senior gentlemen he’s turned out with. At one point he was out with a few other youngsters and seemed overwhelmed by their aggressive playing and galloping around. Clearly wasn’t his scene.

[Natalie]

I have ZERO shame about just doing W/T work, ha. I could tell others in the barn thought I was being a weenie only trotting him for months. I just tuned them out. I still have plenty W/T-only days when he’s getting in his head and, as my trainer puts it, hasn’t earned the privilege of cantering that day.

His canter is getting stronger, however, despite all of this. Last night I put him on his comfortable lead and had the most lovely canter on several interlocking 20m circles. Soft, balanced, and hunter-land slow. It took some half halting here and there, but I really needed it to remember that the potential to do the right things is in him.

[Natalie]

I’ve tried variations of this with varying success but will certainly try again. I ride with a very light hand naturally…I’ve had to “learn” to take a bit more contact on him to really convey those half halts, but realistically, if he could accept feather-light contact from me with a little leg to back it up I’d be thrilled. Right now if I loop the reins at him, he’ll poke along for 5-10 steps, then start speeding up until he’s rushing on the forehand, and then eventually he’ll pop into the canter. Voice and body aids to slow down have minimal effect once he’s in that mode. But it is certainly worth a try again!!

I also ordered an Equicore system to see if helping him use his body correctly will help some of this. I wonder if some of his anxiety comes from not being strong enough to hold himself up correctly for long periods of time…then he gets into “pedaling the bike faster so you don’t tip over down the hill” mode and winds himself up.

[LSBC]

Years (and I truly do mean YEARS) ago I had a little OTTB who could do nothing but bounce. It was almost like he didn’t even have a canter he would just get so revved up. I don’t know what sparked it, but I started riding him like an old fashioned hunter man. I kept my seat super light and my reins a little bit on the longer side and all of my aids extra relaxed. I leaned more forward than backwards and for some reason it worked? Once we got that relaxation part down (took a few months) then I started to ride him like a regular equitation rider and he accepted it. I have found that the lighter I can be on a lot of these horses, the more they are willing to relax. Once they learn that the possibilities are really endless.