Lorien Stable: Trainer's Notes
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Today's topic is Re-training an Ex Racer.
I love off-track Thoroughbreds (OTTB's). Some of them are indeed
hot--but then, some horses in
EVERY breed will be hot. Most of the OTTB's I have worked with were
pretty steady. They're a lot of work at first, but after retraining are,
in feed, handling and keeping, just like other horses: judge by their
needs. One of mine eats half what the other does, and they now both live
out full time.
Getting an OTTB re-trained can be very interesting. Their lives
on the
track are very different from a pleasure riding horse's life, and the
riding style they are used to is also vastly different. Their feeding
regiman is designed to make them over-the-top hot, and their training
designed to get them to do one thing: go from 0 to gallop as fast as
they
can, and keep up the gallop. It is best to assume they know less than
nothing, and begin re-training them as if you are starting a green horse
from scratch--you are. There are a few track concepts you'll need him to
unlearn before he can learn, though.
When you get an OTTB the first thing you do is cut his feed and turn him
out for a while. Let him wind down and get used to the concept of
turnout. The world will be very strange (turnout? what's that?), so
he'll be a little jumpy at first, particularly until he gets off the
grain
high. Do handle him, but don't expect him to be able to work, or focus,
for a while.
While you're waiting for him to calm down, you can occasionally put your
saddle on him. The racing saddles he's used to wearing are very light;
an
English or Western saddle will come as a shock, particularly when
followed
immediately by a more-than-jockey-weight person hopping on! So let him
get used to the saddle before you go to ride him.
Remember that, to him, being ridden means: You get on, you go to the
gate,
you gallop gallop gallop, then he's done. He's never been taught to walk
or trot, and convincing him that it's okay to do so will be a tough job,
requiring lots of patience :) (You'll probably also need to put work
into
getting him to strike off on a right-lead canter.)
Your best bet may be
to
first teach him the voice commands in-hand or on the lunge, then
eventually transfer the idea to under saddle. He'll probably need to
know
whoa, walk, trot, canter, gallop, back, and over (move sideways).
Getting
him used to having you touch him on his side to accentuate the command
will come in handy later; for instance, when you want him to move over
to
the left, touch him on his barrel on the right side (where your leg
would
be) and say, "Over" (or whatever word you want to use).
I have an additional page on
teaching voice commands; it may be helpful.
You want very, very clear commands. I use a clipped, clear "walk," a two
syllable "ter-rot," and a "can-TER"--and a deep "HOA!" By accentuating
the syllables of the words differently and making them sound very
different, he learns the sounds of the words much more easily. You will
probably want to make a distinction between a gallop and a canter--this
will help when you want to canter under saddle, and you want a CANTER,
not
a flat-out run. I usually use "GOGOGO" to ask for a gallop ;)
When you go to ride, you may wish to use very, very different tack from
what he wore on the track--he probably had a light bridle and D snaffle;
a
heavy bridle, different bit, may be the ticket. This can help him to
understand that what you want is different from what he already knows. I
rode my Kat bareback in a halter and lead rope for months, because any
time I got out a saddle or bridle she got too excited. Riding her
without
*any* recognizable tack helped her to realize that she wasn't going to
race just because she was going to work.
Because jockeys sit above the horse, not around the horse, he won't be
at
all used to leg aids. Be prepared for him to be jumpy when they are
applied and give him time to just get used to the legs being there,
before
you use them. DO NOT just pull your legs off his sides--you'll end up
accidentally knocking him occasionally, and it'll be a real shock when
you
do go to use your legs--he could spook. Let your legs lie softly along
his sides, and just let him get used to them being there. You will
eventually teach him to associate leg aids with the verbal commands he
already knows.
The jockey also braces against the horse's mouth as he rides.
When using your reins, if you pull back solidly, the
OTTB will simply speed up. The harder you pull, the faster he'll
go. Therefore, it's very important to use a pull-release-pull-release
when using rein aids.
Recall that his job was to gallop in a left circle. The first
few times
you ask him to canter left you may be in for a surprise, as he tries to
give you what he's been taught riders want. Be careful, be prepared, but
ask him for *canter* as he was taught on the ground; try to be very
clear.
Oh yes--ex-racers can be interesting to show, also. Even if you've
gotten
them calm and steady at home, the first time they go somewhere with an
announcer/intercom you may be in for a jumpy ride. It's best to take
your
OTTB to several shows just to walk around (in hand, then ridden) before
competing. This will help them get used to the idea that busy, loud
places
with announcers are not necessarily racetracks.
All in all, re-training a racer is not a job for a novice or a timid
rider; there are too many places where hesitance will lead to the horse
reverting to his previous training, and just taking off. He's
been taught that's what his rider wants; in the absence of other
commands, it's usually his first impulse.
