OTTB laziness and feed?

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judmolnirleo

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Good morning :)

I have recently (28/01/2016) acquired an ex racehorse, he last raced on 17/01/16 - so very recently. He had some time off due to footsoreness after his shoes came off and is now back being lunged. I've had endless comments about what fantastic condition he is in and how shiny his coat is - however he doesn't seem to be rapidly gaining weight? I do believe he has put some condition on but not an awful lot. However he is healthy, which is the main thing. He is currently fed on Emerald Green Alfalfa Pellets and Grass Pellets, soaked. He gets 1/2 carrots every feed which is twice a day. He has unlimited hay and some haylage everyday with 10.5 hours turn out (there is grass and I put hay in his field) every day, sleeps in at night. My main problem isn't his slow weight gain, as it is slowly but surely. My problem is, on bringing him back into work, he is gradually understanding the concept of lungeing and even had a look at a pole! but he is very lazy. I ask for a trot he wants to walk, he simply cannot be bothered. Even in his field he isn't very active at all when there are other horses around him.

He is rising 9 and an absolute angel to own, just a little bit too placid (not something you often hear about ex racers).

My dilemma is - he is gaining weight, looking incredible all shiny and well put together, so he is getting all of the nutrients he needs - where on earth is his energy at?
 
Maybe hes having a chill out after all the stresses of racing? And hes not used to lunging so its not lighting a fire under him like a trip up a grassy slope could. Which all sounds like a good thing!
 
I got my exracer last June time. He sounds the same as your boy!! Laid back in field, laid back on lunge, laid back in the school. Took him to stressage at the weekend and nearly hyperventilated trying to get him going! Like yours he looks in show ring condition. The only time he gets a wriggle on is on the way home on a hack which we are working on! I actually like his laid back temperament. Good luck with yours x
 
Charlie007 I LOVE his laid back temperament, hes a really genuine boy and is incredibly affectionate, its just baffling me that for a horse that is still very much race fit, hes so unbelievably slow! I dont mind at all, and I dont want to send him fizzy with competition mixes and what not when he is very clearly not lacking health wise. I let him off in our big menage yesterday after no success with lungeing just to see what he would do as its only his 4th time in there, he did 3 laps in walk (i was just sitting in there, not encouraging him) and then did a small trot when a horse across the way whinnied at him. I'm just trying to get him to associate work with fun - and I am unsure of how to do this when hes so uninterested
 
Maybe he's sore? Has he been seen by physio/body worker since coming out of racing?

What equipment is he lunged in?

Perhaps he's never been taught the concept of "go" in the manner that you require it. He might never have had the basic "pressure/release" ground work training.

Lunging is hard work; maybe after his time off he's simply not fit enough for what is being asked. Can you long rein instead?

If shoes have recently been pulled he might still be feeling his feet. It's common for horses to appear ok the first couple of weeks and then sensation seems to come back and they start to feel their feet. Are you working with a trimmer? Would hoof boots be an option to ensure his comfort for now?

He is retired now but my current OTTB was/is the most laid back horse ever. The only time he was sharp was hacking alone when, due to lack of confidence, he'd get nappy and have a wee spin and small rears. Doing any sort of work you could have put anyone on him and he'd just amble about. It also didn't matter how much time he had off or when he was last ridden, he'd come back into work the same every time.
 
TPO he has been looked over briefly by a touch therapist that was recently at our yard, he is lunged in nothing but a head collar at the moment.

He hasn't had an awful lot of time off, and is still very muscular - but that may be a possibility, although I like to keep sessions as short as possible so as not to bore him to death.
He had his shoes off just over 6 weeks ago, became foot sore around 4 weeks ago and has been bought back into very light 'work' this last week. He is due to have shoes glued on this friday as he has very little foot at the moment - not painful on the soft surface and has not been suffering for around 2 weeks on hard surface either.

I am not convinced of the recent fitting of his saddle, hence not getting on him until I have a second fitting from another fitter as I do not want to cause any problems, pain or anything.
 
He might just be sour after racing. I bought a young ex racer straight off the track a few years ago & although being incredibly fit & muscular he was so slow & ploddy,wouldn't even trot in hand,never played in the field in fact I rarely saw him out of a very slow walk in the field! He was very quiet around the yard & seemed to have zero personality. I had decided to give him a good long rest anyway & over the next few months he totally changed,in fact the more unfit he got physically the livelier he was & became like a different horse. Sadly I lost him after an injury while he was still having time off so I never did discover what he was like in work.
 
It is why he is an EX racehorse!!! LOL!! I have had a couple of racing fit pointers, we were actually racing them and if you stopped kicking they would stop!! Of course if you really are concerned get the vet but you don't really know him yet and from what you have said he seems very well in himself. Further down the line, once you know him better you could feed him for more umph!! He sounds lovely x
 
Whizzer - hes a very happy chappy around the yard, doesnt matter whether he stays in or out hes just so happy just being - but maybe he is sour. in which case i will monitor this and see if some non working 'games' might be something for us both to do with eachother in the meantime. So sorry to hear about your boy x
 
FWIW, mine was slow-ish when I got him & then got even slower - had KS & ulcers - treated for both - looks in absolutely fantastic condition - still slow. Not sure if there's an answer...

T x
 
I had one like it once, in fact I still have his aluminum race plates outside. He was tied in the yard one day and knocked a long handled hay fork so it hit him as it fell. He sniffed and said ' figures' and fell asleep again. He was a dope on a rope to ride, waaay too quiet for me so I sold him as soon as I'd made sure he was safe to ride and taught him to jump.
 
judmolnirleo said:
Whizzer - hes a very happy chappy around the yard, doesnt matter whether he stays in or out hes just so happy just being - but maybe he is sour. in which case i will monitor this and see if some non working 'games' might be something for us both to do with eachother in the meantime. So sorry to hear about your boy x
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Thanks,was such a shame he was stunning to look at & a lovely person as well,his movement & attitude improved tremendously as he lost his racing muscle & I was so looking forward to re starting him.
 
Could be anything. Could be in pain, might be bored or just lazy.

If he hasn't been checked by a physio and osteo I'd be getting that done first along with dentist.
 
judmolnirleo said:
It just seems incredibly odd, and I was posting hoping for some insight as to why and how to boost him. thank you
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I would let him down completely and turn him away for at least a couple of months, to give him time to get used to not being racehorse in his new home/life. You may well find that when you bring him back into work he has more enthusiasm/energy
 
I would have a guess that his feet are sore, nothing makes a horse go slowly like sore feet and who can blame them ? It's not been long since he had shoes on, maybe consider putting them back on and see if that makes a difference ?
 
I would either turn him away for a bit and just let him chill out or put shoes back on and find someone to hack with and just gave a bit of fun just mooching around.
 
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