Literally so grateful for everyone in this thread. Thank you so much for every. single. comment.
Truly I feel SO much better and so less alone!
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I know I already replied and mentioned my coming 8yoâs terrible 5âs⊠but I just came back to say I had one of those rides today. 
You are definitely not alone!
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Something must be in the air because I had one of those âI should take up knittingâ âWho told the 19 yr old to behave like a rank 3yr old coltâ this morning. Just when I feel like Iâm getting a hang of things they love to humble me in some way.
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Some of my rides when my old man (ottb) was 5-6 yrs old ended with stopping at Dunkin Doughnuts on the way home. No dinner⊠just doughnuts! 
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I donât consider 6 to be a âbabyâ. But my 21 year old OTTB was a total spaz last night, so I donât think age has a whole lot to do with it. But given that thatâs kind of just semantics, I will just chime in with others to say that it definitely does get better with time. I was just telling my daughter (who now rides my TB a couple of times a week) that I used to lunge him before every single ride from December - March every year. Took me a year or two after he came off of the track to even think to do it, but it helped even him out a little back then. And I canât really remember when I quit, but must have been when he was 7 or 8? So that may just be me agreeing with others that 5/6 can be difficult
I agree with whoever said that the riding schedule could be part of it. Iâve always found my TB to do better the more I ride him, and I mean really ride/condition him. 7 days a week has been his schedule for most of his life. When he was doing the really big stuff we would often do 2 a day rides, and he was his absolute best at that level of regularity and consistency. They come off of the track with such an incredible work ethic, and I think they can mentally and emotionally cope better when some form of that life is adhered to.
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I would join that support group! I got really lucky in that my first lease horse was a seasoned pro and I learned a lot and had a lot of fun with him. But ever since he had to be retired, all I could afford was young horses. And dang are they hard! I mostly enjoy the journey, but there are definitely days that I wish I could just get a been there, done that horse where I could focus on myself and my goals and not always have to be training the horse.
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My TBs would look like garbage if they didnât get grain⊠I think mine at present are getting between 13-14 lbs. per day. The look and ride fantastic. Grain doesnât make horses hot. Nothing is uglier than folks who say âforage only diets!â and have the classic stereotypical skinny flighty TB.
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Thereâs ways to feed a TB properly without throwing oats at them. And for those of you who are feeding like that- youâre probably WORKING them.
The average rider does not have the ability to actually work a Thoroughbred, and thinks that a bucket full of literal oats is âshowing loveâ.
If I had a dollar for every time I was presented with a âproblemâ thoroughbred and the only real âproblemâ it had was way too much LITERAL straight grain and no turnout combined with little to no work âŠ. Iâd be rich.
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Very different scenario than ânever feed TBs grain ever.â
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I have never encountered anyone in the sporthorse disciplines that does this or feels this way. I actually canât think of anyone I know who feeds straight oats, to any type of horse. Your original reply was pretty specific that the OP should take her horse off all grain and feed âhigh quality hay and a cool weight type supplementâ, plus maybe a mineral supplement if she wants. Not just âno oatsâ. I doubt OP even feeds oats.
Your post comes across as though you arenât a big fan of TBs.
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Agreed. I recall 20 plus years ago some sport / pleasure horses that got oats as part of their ration. Certainly not buckets full though and the horses were all pleasant to work with and ride. In more recent times I know of precisely one person that fed whole grains. At the astronomical rate of one measurement cup daily. The horror. /s/
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I feed my OTTB straight oats, a hoof supplement, and pink salt, plus as much hay as he wants. Iâll wait quietly by the door for the ASPCA to come collect me 
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what does this mean? A TB doesnât have to be worked like a racehorse, or upper level-anything, to be worked well. There seems to be a lot misinformation is out there about what TBs are actually like, and because of that, they get handled in ways that actually cause the very behavior theyâre trying to avoid
This is a combination problem, not simply that heâs being fed âtoo much literal straight grainâ.
A ton of HORSES, would be (and are) nuts if over-fed, under-worked, and stalled most of the time.
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In defense of thisâŠ
I donât think itâs just thoroughbreds. This is horses.
Horses need work. Most do better in at LEAST a 3-5 day a week program that involves pretty decent exercise. Too many people now do not provide that to their horses. They expect Pookie to be great when they come out once a week and just walk them around or feed them treats.
Some horses need even more⊠5-7 days in order to stay sane. Turnout doesnât necessarily do it, as horses tend to roam very short distances and especially in winterâŠjust stand around and eat hay in the same space.
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Iâd like to add that for a goodly number of horses that itâs the mental stimulation that helps them. Certainly lots of horses need plenty of exercise, particularly those that see significant stall time!
I was just speaking to someone else the other day about my junior coach that would put some horses on an every day riding schedule. Not necessarily hard work every day, some days might just be a walk hack over the back 40. And it did seem like those horses did do better with daily rides.
We also regularly would school horses in the am and then take shorter walk hacks in the pm. If my memory serves, the concept of the walk hack was that it served in lieu of wrapping / poulticing and an opportunity to verify the horse wasnât stiff / sore / swollen anywhere. Course this was back in the dinosaur age.
ETA: my riding horse is one of those horses that doesnât make a fuss over a once a week walk ride. Thatâs fine by him. Every day rides are also fine. Not every horse is like that though. My guy does think that cookies are a must 
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Beg to differ.
Iâm speaking of a past TB, had him 20yrs (bought as a 6yo).
Never raced, but ponied at the track for 4yrs.
I boarded for the 1st 15yrs & he was fed a commercial mix feed for 12 of those, then oats (50/50 mix rolled & crimped) at a high-end barn for 3yrs, then same for 2yrs when I brought him (& TWH) home. Switched to whole oats for his last 3yrs.
He was 27 when I lost him (trailer accident), so fit a BNT refused to believe his age when we cliniced & I could ride weekly & have the same horse as the last time.
Riding = Dressage 1h lesson, hack around the farm or haul to trails.
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@Blueeyedroan oh no look at me, a very average rider, somehow managing to work my OTTBâŠwho eats grain 
How dooooooes she (and a zillion other people) do it???
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Absolutely. And there are some who do fine without the exercise part and just the mental stimulation and some that need workâŠand quite a bit of it.
Weâve got a range here from the quiet âneeds to be worked at least once a weekâ to the daily intense workout requiring sort. The problems usually start when someone expecting the former ends up with the latter.
Oats arenât that heating by the way, if thatâs what weâre talking about (not youâŠjust general to the thread). But - horses without proper discipline and workâŠdoesnât really matter what you feed them, and they can be nutty!
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agree! It can be downright dangerous in that scenario.
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Little sensitive , are we ?
Judging by your tack, apparel, turnout, position, and looks like youâre at a show in the one photoâŠâŠ youâre not the type of rider Iâm referring to.
Around here we get the people who âwantâ to jump, or maybe hop over a cross rail once a year , or watch dressage on TV. Then decide they need a horse that can âtake them somewhereâ. So they get an OTTB. The horse gets handled maybe once or twice a week, but grained every day. âWorkâ consists of some trot but no canter because âhe still gets really strong in the canterâ. Few months later itâs a bargain priced TB with âbehaviour issuesâ
I feed my OTTBS equi-cal, cool command, and then a mineral supplement or mineral lick. Add to that a HIGH quality second cut hay with some alfalfa. Makes for incredible coats , weight gain, without the added energy of a grain based supplemental diet. Also seems to agree with ulcery types better .
Maybe in your areas thereâs more professional or dedicated riders , but here over-fed and under used TBs end up being a very real thing.
Now of course this does happen in many breeds but I see it becoming an actual issue most often with TBs.
Just my .02. Not personally calling anyone out.
