[QUOTE=2boys;4165205]
“Certifiedgirl”, don’t rub it in. :lol:[/QUOTE]
Sorry, I was just so surprised today that I couldn’t help but brag on my mare a little. Just wanted you to know that there is hope! OTTBs can do it. 
It’s okay to brag once in a while. Just don’t make a habit of it. :lol::lol: Seriously, it’s nice to hear good things about OTTB’s. I’ve enjoyed those that I have worked with, one or two excepted.
[QUOTE=TBCollector;4165417]
The worst part about trying to do it yourself: Thoroughbreds, especially green ones, can be very unforgiving. And if you’re nervous, believe me, he’s going to feel it…times 100! If you aren’t confident when you’re riding him, he’s going to know it. You just can’t fake it with a thoroughbred.
Be safe![/QUOTE]
Oh, don’t I know it! Being a more tentative rider, the transition to him was veery enlightening! I have worked really hard to overcome many tendencies, in order to be a good leader for him. I guess I look at it as our latest speedbump. As I mentioned, I am absolutely considering sending him off to someone. However money is very tight, and he really needs to go to the right person. I have yet to find anyone fitting that bill.
Exactly.
Most of our guys, though, really are very quiet on their first couple trail rides. But I think a lot of that is also how much time off they’ve had and the environment we put them in before they start getting ridden.
How long has this horse been off the track, and what was his letdown scenario? Ours get several months in some giant fields, full field board with a herd. Then, generally speaking, their first trail rides go like clockwork.
Usually we go in a pair or small group, and if someone does happen to get nervous, forward is generally the answer. If they’re working, they have less time to think about what’s going on around them or focus on it. Additionally, and more importantly, is the rider staying fully relaxed and not worrying about stuff. If you get tense or choke on them to try and keep them together, they’ll start to think there is a reason to be concerned.
[QUOTE=2boys;4165833]
Oh, don’t I know it! Being a more tentative rider, the transition to him was veery enlightening! I have worked really hard to overcome many tendencies, in order to be a good leader for him. I guess I look at it as our latest speedbump. As I mentioned, I am absolutely considering sending him off to someone. However money is very tight, and he really needs to go to the right person. I have yet to find anyone fitting that bill.[/QUOTE]
Where exactly are you? If you do decide to call someone in to help with him I can ask one of the guys I’ve used (and respect) who they would recommend.
I will offer up some advice and also be a voice of dissent. I have had a ton of ottb’s and some truly never enjoy the trails and never become a “fun” ride out there for a rider that wants to enjoy themselves. That doesn’t mean you stop trying but at some point in time you have to look at the horse and see the whole picture. I have had horses that are just lovely by themselves but put them in a group and then turn themselves inside out. On the other hand, I have horses who are relaxed in a group but ask them to go alone and you better strap yourself to the saddle.
I start trail riding my Tb’s within the first week of their retraining if possible. I get somebody to go with me on a really brave and safe horse who will stay calm if everything gets nuts. You just never know what will happen. Start on the easiest trail you can find with no major distractions. Put your horse really close on the other horse and just putz along. Maybe just walk but if they are really hot then trot…trot and trot some more until they take a deep breathe and relax and then pat them and try the walk again.
I find the worst thing you can do and what many people make the mistake of doing is pissing off the horse who is already scared. You want to pick at them and make them walk because the rider is scared. Nope, you can not do that. Put on a neck strap, a martingale and make sure your girth is tight when you are on and then just get on and go. For the really silly horses keeping their feet moving is the key to staying on. I might do some lateral work and move them all over the trails but just keep their brain on you. Takes some practice and some guts from the rider but it can be done. I stay as relaxed as possible and I am confident in my routine so that allows me to stay on task when things go bad. If they start rearing, jumping around or getting stuck just go forward! Forward is your friend;)
Make sure you lead person knows their job which is not to leave you stranded. I make my hubby do the first rides with me because he knows the drill. Stay with me and do not get in front of me nor behind me. Most of the time we trot side by side. A rider who can not control their horse while riding with you can make for a bad experience. One bad experience i the beginning can take some time to fix.
Once you have done some group trail rides then you can approach the solo trail rides. I sometimes go out alone with those who don’t like to do the group rides but it all depends.
The majority of the horses are great on the trails but some better than others. The current CANTER horse that is with me for retraining was quiet and brave on the trails from ride #1. He has also foxhunted and anybody could ride him out. He is more comfortable out of the ring than in it. He trained for racing off the farm so I am sure he was ridden out in the open a lot. That makes a difference.
I have had some horses who never improve. I can MAKE them trail ride but boy oh boy it is not fun. My older horse is 23 yrs old this year and I am sure he could still buck me off on the trail and I rarely fall off. He was always so difficult and just found things to spook at so he could do some airs above ground combined with the spin and drop the shoulder move. Made me a good rider but trail riding wasn’t fun!
Is it worth spending the money to get the horse miles with someone experienced? Yes!!! The horse has to learn their job first and then the rider will feel more comfortable knowing the horse has already done it. What I try to do is ride the horse out first a few times and then take their owner out on the horse in a relaxed environment. It really does help. I can also evaluate the horse and give an opinion. At times I have told someone I didn’t think their horse was going to be suitable for what they wanted to do if they wanted to trail ride alone or in groups or go hunting. Some horses just don’t have the mentality for it.
[QUOTE=TBCollector;4165916]
Where exactly are you? If you do decide to call someone in to help with him I can ask one of the guys I’ve used (and respect) who they would recommend.[/QUOTE]
I am in SE MA.
Jleegriffith reminded me of something. When I took my more excitable OTTB to a dog trial (dogs, guns, numerous gaited horses), he was upset by the gaited horses. I think they must have sounded wrong to him. We were with another horse whom he looked to for support. Whenever a group of gaited horses would come flying along (we were sticking to a walk at this point just gettting to the hunt field), I’d take him to the pony position with the other horse, and he settled down. This means I kept his head at about the other horse’s shoulder on the right side. We hit upon this solution by accident: Butch just naturally did it for support when about 10 horses came up on us suddenly.
So, if you are considering going out on the trail again with him, you might want to try riding him in that postion with a steady buddy first. The other horse has to be cooperative. It wasn’t something we planned, but it worked beautifully for my guy. Once he got used to the gaited horses, he was fine.
He was also fine with the gunshot. However, one of the young entries forgot herself and chased the quail straight at us, so we had the dog run practically between our legs. He stood for that just fine, but I was embarrassed because I think I should have gotten out of the way quicker. I was just happy we didn’t hurt anybody with some of the antics he went through when he first tried to follow the dogs instead of docilely staying with the field.
This rather cracks me up since I am ponying my 2 year old TB off my 17 year old show horse who is an OTTB. Hard bitten endurance riders and regular trail riders at our state forest are regularly in awe that I would do such a thing, never mind the whole TB aspect.
Yes this is the view from the middle of the river while, riding a krazee OTTB and holding a wild unbroken 2 year old AND juggling a camera… :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24594726@N04/3567103662/sizes/l/in/set-72157615756010070/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24594726@N04/3567098872/sizes/m/in/set-72157615756010070/
It’s their “breeding” don’cha know" :lol:
You know, “bat shit crazy” and fast rarely wins races. Good race horses do have excellent temperaments. They have to. Racing requires too much discipline and willingness to listen to a human at a moment when a horse’s natural drive is least likely to “want” to listen. Nutcases don’t make it and go on to other careers, just like every other nutcase in equine sports - it is a distinction without a breed bias. The only edge I will give an OTTB is that perhaps his “flight” response has been finely honed … as much as any other horse who relies on speed (see polo pony, barrel racer and first flight fox hunter as well) A horse without the discipline to be a good show jumper will also go on down the road. The trick is not to buy one of those horses regardless of whether he came from the a) track or b) some random sporthorse trainer.
Like everyone said, you need to ride the horse like he’s a good horse. If you ride him like you expect him to freak out, chances are he won’t disappoint you. But JLee is right - not every horse wants to be a trail horse, just like not every horse wants to jump xc or be a show jumper or a dressage horse and not every rider is the right person for that horse’s needs. BUt after that, TBs, OT or otherwise are generally pretty good eggs about the whole thing.
It has been my experience that some of the most successful racehorses in terms of earnings and races ran are the easiest to retrain. They are smart, willing and generally have seen more things in their time on the track than many show horses ever will. You would think because these horses know how to “run fast” they would want to go all the time. Ha, it is actually quite the opposite and they get home and take a deep breathe and running is pretty far from their mind.
I just sold a 12 yr that made over $100k and ran over 60 races and his new owner says he is so slow!
These guys are smart enough to know when they are supposed to be racing and when they are just allowed to relax. I wish more people got to work with them to see that a lot of these statements are pure misconceptions.
I think we could fill up a whole BB bandwidth with tales of lazy OTTB’s who thinking hacking out is divine once they get the hang of it. I hacked my friend’s TB on the buckle through big pastures this weekend- unknowingly, he had not been ridden all week. When my friend cantered off on his friend, (another OTTB who finds hacking out divine) he barely even looked up, much less charge off.
All horses have the ability to pitch a good fit. I used to board with the hottest little QH mare and you bet your ass I preferred being on steady 5 yo OTTB Niki vs silly Rose. So much is in how you handle it- Rose’s owner shrugged off the issues and went on. Rose will always be hot, but is well matched. I would have probably made Rose a basket case. There was another QH there that did stupid stuff- his owner would stop, panic, put him away, freak out- he did develop issues. And he was a quiet, somewhat dull horse.
[QUOTE=DMK;4166872]
This rather cracks me up since I am ponying my 2 year old TB off my 17 year old show horse who is an OTTB. Hard bitten endurance riders and regular trail riders at our state forest are regularly in awe that I would do such a thing, never mind the whole TB aspect.
Yes this is the view from the middle of the river while, riding a krazee OTTB and holding a wild unbroken 2 year old AND juggling a camera… :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24594726@N04/3567103662/sizes/l/in/set-72157615756010070/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24594726@N04/3567098872/sizes/m/in/set-72157615756010070/
It’s their “breeding” don’cha know" :lol:
You know, “bat shit crazy” and fast rarely wins races. Good race horses do have excellent temperaments. They have to. Racing requires too much discipline and willingness to listen to a human at a moment when a horse’s natural drive is least likely to “want” to listen. Nutcases don’t make it and go on to other careers, just like every other nutcase in equine sports - it is a distinction without a breed bias. The only edge I will give an OTTB is that perhaps his “flight” response has been finely honed … as much as any other horse who relies on speed (see polo pony, barrel racer and first flight fox hunter as well) A horse without the discipline to be a good show jumper will also go on down the road. The trick is not to buy one of those horses regardless of whether he came from the a) track or b) some random sporthorse trainer.
Like everyone said, you need to ride the horse like he’s a good horse. If you ride him like you expect him to freak out, chances are he won’t disappoint you. But JLee is right - not every horse wants to be a trail horse, just like not every horse wants to jump xc or be a show jumper or a dressage horse and not every rider is the right person for that horse’s needs. BUt after that, TBs, OT or otherwise are generally pretty good eggs about the whole thing.[/QUOTE]
Exactly. :yes:
OP, find a buddy to go with, you’ll be fine. It’ll be safer and more fun that way anyway.
I think part of the point here is that the OP’s horse has not been proven one way or the other yet. From her work at home, it sounds like the horse is sane. He may or may not like the trail, but she has to get him going on the trail first before she knows this. It sounds like he is sane, therefore the only problem is figuring out how best to get him on the trail. We are trying to come up with some inexpensive ideas.
I’m guessing the OP is going to be a much better rider by the time she gets him going. 
More confident, too, if all goes well.
I just took my snorty, look-y OTTB out on his first trail ride this last weekend. IT wasn’t perfect but he was pretty good - due, no doubt, to the fact that we were in the company of two very, very experienced horses and riders. I could almost see his thoughts forming as we watched the other two horses go down a steep, slippery slope in front of us - as we started down, he was not happy, but the other horses stopped for us, and he saw them, and somewhere in his pony brain he figured out that the reasonable thing to do was to follow. So, ditto others on this board who suggest finding quiet, experienced buddies for those first few rides. Good luck!
what a lot of people fail to realize is that racehorses are almost never alone. They are ponied together, they train together, they race together, they train together. they ALWAYS have company. It is absolutely unfair to take a herd animal away from what they know–being with buddies–and expect them to be great.
Have I done it without prepping them for it? Absolutely! But only because I have enough experience to know what horses will handle it and which ones will not.
You can equate it to jumping. Just because you’ve asked them to do it, doesn’t mean they should automatically do it–you have to take time to teach the skills to jump, just like you have to take time to take the skills to ride an OTTB on the trail alone.
Count me among those who disagree with Guilherme’s assertion that a “huge number” of OTTBs “fail” on temperament. In my experience, very many turn out to be great at a surprising variety of other jobs, from showing and eventing to foxhunting and, yes, trail horses. It certainly is true that some don’t pan out, some are hotter than others, and some horses just don’t seem suited for a particular job, as can happen with any breed. But I find that it’s more common that riders aren’t suited for doing the initial retraining, not that the horse doesn’t have the temperament to be retrained (I’m not saying that’s the case in the OP’s situation, as I don’t know the OP at all).
There are plenty of riders, including some very good riders, who don’t have the experience retraining an OTTB or just don’t want the hassle of dealing with a greenie. For the most part, that’s what these OTTBs are: green to the non-racing sports and often young to boot. But the young ones also have an upside: they offer great prospects for retraining before they’re set in their ways. I know of some OTTBs that truly were unsuitable by temperament, and those were pretty much nuts at the track, too, making them unsuitable for racing, as well, as someone pointed out earlier.
It is true that OTTBs have a particular “language” from their racetrack lives, and it helps to understand that context if you’re restarting one yourself (a good example of that language is the ponyig example someone mentioned, and a similar one is the need to be in company, because they’re rarely out of company at the track).
But to say that many fail the temperament test? Nah. I know many an ex-racehorse that won’t bat an eye at things many made horses in other breeds and jobs would look askance at, like big rattling vehicles and traffic. But an OTTB might well spook at a cow because he’s never seen one. And when they do spook, they’re quicker and more athletic about it than many other breeds would be. None of which is an indication of temperamental “failure.”
I DID NOT TAKE HIM OUT ALONE.
Not sure who you were directing that to, but I wasn’t implying that you took him out alone. I used the rarely-alone thing simply as an example of how having the context of a horse’s racetrack life can make a difference in how the rider perceives them and handles their new-life training. My post was less a response to you than to Guilherme. Sorry if that wasn’t clear!
Have you ridden many Arabs? They teleport out from under the rider. I find TB spooks much easier to ride out, since thy aren’t quite as agile as some of the other types of horses I’ve ridden.
I’ve had no problems taking OTTB’s out alone…or no more than any other type of horse. When you think about it, few horses spend any time alone unless they are the only horse on a farm. They all have to adjust to being taken out alone. But OTTB’s have a reputation, whether well earned or not, of being nuts. This hasn’t been helped by the unethical practice of tranquilizing horses to make them appear calm, and the rider gets them home to find the horse is not what they thought. I’ve heard many such stories over the years.
Add to their reputation the idea of how fast they are once they get going, and you have a recipe for a nervous rider. One thing I noticed is that my OTTB’s rarely wanted to run uncontrollably–it only happened at an endurance ride with many cantering horses and one galloping up behind us. Otherwise, they hit their working pace and hold to it. It is cool. They are trained to run at a good clip, stay in control, and to ease off after a while.
One suggestion I have is never to pull back on both reins at once. Jockeys bridge the reins, the horse leans on the bit, and they run holes in the wind. To keep them from becoming runaways, provide support but don’t allow them to lean. To slow down or stop, use one rein at a time. If they do get too fast for comfort, it is important to get them off their forehand. My preferred method is to alternate reins until they give to me.
yeah, matroyshka, I’ve had some QHs drop and spin on a dime so fast that they did leave the proverbial nine cents change behind (and me), and ayrabs… well I have ridden them and suffice to say I respect them and know enough to know they aren’t my cup of tea, but they too can leave the scene of the(ir) crime pretty damn fast.
The one thing I think most former racers have is a sense of power and speed and how to engage that engine from a standstill. It may not be a faster start gear than an arab or QH (who didn’t race), but once it is engaged they know how to use the tools, so to speak. I think that undercurrent of a powerful engine overwhelms a lot of less experienced riders or even more experienced riders who have never really ridden a horse with a powerful “idle” speed.
