Ex Racehorse - Long and Low?

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HollyJ

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Hi - can anyone offer me some advice please on my ex racehorse . He's taken to have a rider really well in the school - however moves in a text book fashion to how ROR advise that they do.

Head in the air, grinding his jaw through stress , not going forward with any kind of impulsion. i know he doesn;t understand any of this but thats fine - i have the time to work with him.

I had a breakthrough moment a few days ago when i totally dropped the rein - his neck lengthened - he came round and stretched into the contact and seemed slowly to relax. I worked him in this way which seems to be going well.

Can anyone offer me any advice on this who;s been in the same situation. What did you do to bring the contact back up. A dressage trainer once told me to literally ask the horse to eat grass - to get them working rounded and low and swinging from the back. This seems to work but i don;t want to bore him by going round and round like this continually through the paces. What sort of variation in exercises can i do to work in this way and gradually bring him back up into a 'normal' level of contact.

Constuctive help most gratefully recevied.
xx
 
It's not very easy to help without being able to see the horse tbh. I would get a good, sympathetic instructor to help you. Having said that, lots of work long and low like you are doing is a good starting point. I do this with my horse for 15 - 20 minutes at the beginning of every session to warm up.

When he is really nicely taking the rein down and working over his back, lighten your seat, think about picking him up in the middle with your legs, sit tall and take up more of a contact. Good luck :)
 
I have two ex-race horses one of which i got straight from the track and have retrained myself. He is a gem, loves to work and really tries. I have always started mine long and low, they need to build up the correct muscles before they can start to work with a higher head carriage and it takes time. Marley who i got straight from the track couldn't even walk round the outside track of the school at first but i gave him time to start to understand what i was asking. I wasn't really too bothered what he did with his head as i knew it would come later. They have to use themselves in a completely different way which feels totally alien to them, normally they just use their front end to plough on but we then ask them to start using their hind quarters and step under and some of them find it quite hard and strange. Marley definitely did, when i asked him to start to bring his head carriage higher and more impulsion from behind he decided because he wasn't sure and that it felt strange that he would just try and plant himself. After a little persuasion that it was ok he decided that he could do it and it was ok. I found that pole work and jumping really helps to bring him off his forehand, he is built slightly downhill anyway so will find it harder. Lots of bending work and yeilding also helps to get the hindquarters underneath and bring the head carriage higher. Also when i first started retraining Marley i did a lot of long reining and this really helped him to understand some of the aids and got him bending better. It takes a lot of time and hard work but it certainly pays off as Marley is great couldn't ask for anything more of him, his flatwork is coming on really nicely, he's jumping (which i didn't think we would because of foot problems) and he's hacking on his own and in company (something else which was a bit hair raising at times). My other one Fred has a naturally higher head carriage and was very well schooled when i got him but he isn't easy to ride as he's very sensitive. I have to ride him with a lot of lift in my posture and control through my core stomach muscles and seat. When he works though he can certainly move! Hope this might help a little.
 
as SF said lot's of circles this works well with my ex racer and when on the circle I sometimes need to bring my leg quite far back to push his hind quarters round but gradually he is getting there. I also find lungeing helps as he hasn't also got to contend with your weight on top of him while he is also trying to do something that will be quite hard for him at first. I work with out side reins but gradually make my circles smaller until I am lungeing him on a 10 meter cirlce and then make it bigger and then smaller again and gradually he starts to drop down of his own accord. It does take time but I do find that ex racers can be really quick learners once it clicks !

Good luck
 
hey, i have an x race horse/ x polo pony that i now use for flatwork/happy hacking/jumping. He doesnt do alot but yes i think most have the same problems of high head carriage and lack of impulsion. i found using a pessoa type training aid really helped him start to work from behind. I started it off very loosely as it is very alien to them and at first it is very difficult for them. Long reining i havent tried but that is such a good idea i will def give it a go with my boy too.

Alot of long low work sounds great, mine wont really drop his head at all so you are doing great i would say! I also do alot of transitional work to get him using his hind quarters, i find to start i do lots of stand-trot walk-trot, walk-canter to get him driving from behind and that seems to help him with the schooling work come up abit on the contact and use his back end.

good luck and let us know how you are getting on!
 
Thankyou both so much for your replies. Thats really helpful. its true about the planting when they have a mental block and don;t know what to do. This is all new to me - so finding ways to communicate all this is a really steep learning curve - though so far really rewarding when you get the tiniest hint that they may be starting to understand. I will try more circling like you say though at the moment its dire - i end up doing a square! All will come with time i think - though at least hes not stargazing anymore.

I haven;t even thoguht about hacking - hes so spooky i dread to think. ..i'm sure this will be the topic of a future thread.

Thanks again
 
pony person said:
Alot of long low work sounds great, mine wont really drop his head at all so you are doing great i would say! I also do alot of transitional work to get him using his hind quarters, i find to start i do lots of stand-trot walk-trot, walk-canter to get him driving from behind and that seems to help him with the schooling work come up abit on the contact and use his back end.

good luck and let us know how you are getting on!
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I used to do a lot of transitional work with my old horse and you are right it can help a lot.

thanks - i will let you know how it goes...
 
hey, i have an x race horse/ x polo pony that i now use for flatwork/happy hacking/jumping. He doesnt do alot but yes i think most have the same problems of high head carriage and lack of impulsion. i found using a pessoa type training aid really helped him start to work from behind. I started it off very loosely as it is very alien to them and at first it is very difficult for them. Long reining i havent tried but that is such a good idea i will def give it a go with my boy too.

Alot of long low work sounds great, mine wont really drop his head at all so you are doing great i would say! I also do alot of transitional work to get him using his hind quarters, i find to start i do lots of stand-trot walk-trot, walk-canter to get him driving from behind and that seems to help him with the schooling work come up abit on the contact and use his back end.

good luck and let us know how you are getting on!
 
I've got 2 ex-racer both of which I've brought on from scratch. One like to have a very short contact and quite a high yet rounded head carriage, while the other resembles a KWPN more than a TB!

However I do find that it is crucial to keep shoulders, elbows and wrists very soft when asking for a nice outline. Holding then too tight or fixing against them increased the stress levels. I do at least one lunging session a week in a pessoa (with the reins between the legs for the higher head carriage horse, and reins to the top with the higher level horse). I also find that hands fairly low and wide help, but making sure you really ride them into the bridle.

Even though my more advanced horse is now at Elem level he still has his 'TB moments' where we have a head like a giraffe and grind to a halt for no apparent reason!

Good luck
 
princess_skills said:
However I do find that it is crucial to keep shoulders, elbows and wrists very soft when asking for a nice outline. Holding then too tight or fixing against them increased the stress levels. I do at least one lunging session a week in a pessoa (with the reins between the legs for the higher head carriage horse, and reins to the top with the higher level horse). I also find that hands fairly low and wide help, but making sure you really ride them into the bridle.
Good luck
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This seems to work for mine too - every day is a learning curve. I now find that if i keep my hands still and tweak him into a long low outline he will start to settle and soften after about 25 minutes!! Was 40 minutes so progress i suppose ha ha! Reins are still pretty long but i hope we will get there. The pessoa work sounds like it could be useful.

Thanks
 
I've always put my OTTB's in a Fulmer and drop noseband. The Fulmer is a lovely quiet bit that encourages the horse to be confident in the contact. The drop is fitted so that he can relax his jaw but not open his mouth wide enough to drop the bit.

The way down is just masses of schooling, circles, turns, loops and serpentines for lateral suppleness, with transitions between and within paces to supple him longitudinally. Keep as soft consistant contact and ride him forward, using your rising trot to regulate the speed. That way you can slow him down without increasing pressure on his mouth and can ride him from your legs at the same time.

Horses really don't get bored with schooling they are creatures of habit so are more than happy to do the same thing every day. Generally it's the rider that gets bored. Put your favourite music on your ipod and get lost in it. Time flies then.
 
princess_skills said:
I've got 2 ex-racer both of which I've brought on from scratch. One like to have a very short contact and quite a high yet rounded head carriage, while the other resembles a KWPN more than a TB!
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That sounds exactly like my two, everyone asks me what breed marley is and when i say full TB they say are you sure! He is more like a warmblood with unusually big bones for a TB and a huge chest! He is also now very well muscled so you really would think he was warmblood, only thing that lets him down is his thoroughbred feet. Where as Fred has fantastic movement like his late half brother woodsides ashby and has a higher rounder head carriage but definitely has his TB moments and can be a giraffe too when he finds something scary!

Fred is always in the school as he is lethal to hack and he always seems pretty happy so don't worry too much about them getting bored, so long as the work in the school is varied they will be fine. With marley i ride two/three times at night in the week, lunge once, jump him one day at the weekend and hack out one day whilst its winter and he will get one or two days off depending. Fred i only work a about 4/5 times a week because he only goes in the school and has taken a back seat as when i got marley i had retired Fred due to health issues but is now able to work again at the age of 16/17!

I used to use a pessoa on fred when i had the use of one (it wasn't mine) and i have to say it is probably one of the only gadgets i would use as if used properly it really can help develop muscles and correct outline. It really helped fred and i would use it again if i had one. Although he works long and low on the lunge with just a head collar on now anyway!
 
I started mine long and low too, and did lots of bending left and right, serpentines, circles, lateral work etc. After you've done this for a good while and can feel him softening and relaxing, pick the contact up a little bit but don't make it a big deal, and carry on asking him to work into it..

It is rather a gradual process, but I think the bending and suppling work was what made mine accept the contact more than anything else
 
steph_fred said:
That sounds exactly like my two, everyone asks me what breed marley is and when i say full TB they say are you sure! He is more like a warmblood with unusually big bones for a TB and a huge chest! He is also now very well muscled so you really would think he was warmblood, only thing that lets him down is his thoroughbred feet. Where as Fred has fantastic movement like his late half brother woodsides ashby and has a higher rounder head carriage but definitely has his TB moments and can be a giraffe too when he finds something scary!
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Mr T doesnt look like a KWPN - as he is very fine. But the power and the paces are definately more KWPN than TB. He has Nijinsky and Northern Dancer bloodlines so that may account for it!
 
steph_fred said:
That sounds exactly like my two, everyone asks me what breed marley is and when i say full TB they say are you sure! He is more like a warmblood with unusually big bones for a TB and a huge chest! He is also now very well muscled so you really would think he was warmblood, only thing that lets him down is his thoroughbred feet. Where as Fred has fantastic movement like his late half brother woodsides ashby and has a higher rounder head carriage but definitely has his TB moments and can be a giraffe too when he finds something scary!

Fred is always in the school as he is lethal to hack and he always seems pretty happy so don't worry too much about them getting bored, so long as the work in the school is varied they will be fine. With marley i ride two/three times at night in the week, lunge once, jump him one day at the weekend and hack out one day whilst its winter and he will get one or two days off depending. Fred i only work a about 4/5 times a week because he only goes in the school and has taken a back seat as when i got marley i had retired Fred due to health issues but is now able to work again at the age of 16/17!

I used to use a pessoa on fred when i had the use of one (it wasn't mine) and i have to say it is probably one of the only gadgets i would use as if used properly it really can help develop muscles and correct outline. It really helped fred and i would use it again if i had one. Although he works long and low on the lunge with just a head collar on now anyway!
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Marley sounds like mine. Nobody thinks mines a TB, but he is!
claude3copy.jpg

unfortunately my lovely lad has some wear and tear related problems, which I believe are because he was racing as a 4 year old, and he's 17.3hh so IMO he would have been too immature being such a big horse at 3 and 4. I've recently retired him from being ridden, but he still lives like a king with me :)
 
Hi,

I think getting the right trainer is the most important thing. I got my ex-racer in April and started having lessons with Sue Edwards (BE accredited trainer) and shes amazing. We spent 3 weeks doing work on a long rein and then she taught me how to pick up the contact without loosing the relaxation, impulsion and rythmn. We've since just kept on progressing and recently came 3rd in the C&T summer dressage champs!

Seriously, Sue travels around the country a lot so shes worth a call.
www.classic-equestrian.co.uk

I'm sure you will make progress on your own, but with a trainer who knows what their doing with an ex-racehorse you make yourself 10 x clearer to your horse, which is 10 x less stressful and easier for them and more rewarding for the rider!
 
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