travelling an ex racehorse - Help/sugestions please

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lucygunson

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I have just recently required an ex-racehorse after the loss of my great mare, he is 4 years old and so far has been great he raced 5 times on the flat we have been to a few competitions and has behaved impeccably however the travelling is a different issue he gets so wound up and sweats up digs the ground tries to turn round then tries to chuck himself on the floor a five minute journey seems to take forever but as soon as he is out and I am on him he is completely chilled within 5 minutes, he loads perfectly so I have a feeling it is not that he hates travelling and maybe just anxiety that he may race again which he hated. Any ideas i could try or is it just a case of keep going until he realises he isnt racing?
 
Mine was a pain to travel on his own, until I bought a mirror, he stills stamps a bit on the way home, but usually only when he needs a wee.
You will find the mirrors on ebay I think it was about £30
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This is interesting. My friend too has an ex racehorse who raced for a year. When she first got him and she tacked him up he got very apprehensive and had the squits, obviously anxious. It was only before riding, he was always impeccably behaved whilst being ridden. This behaviour has stopped now. Perhaps he hated racing (he was never any good at it!!)

Maybe your horse will settle down too when he realises that he is only going to have a nice time!
 
How do you know that your horse hated racing ? I would have thought it more likely that hes not used to travelling by himself or in a trailer if thats what you're using. Most racehorses are used to travelling from a young age and are fine with it but they are used to lorries and company.
 
What are you travelling him in and in what position.
It might be worth just playing around with the partitions to see if this has an effect.
Also try with and without company.
 
ours used to sweat like mad any distance, loaded fine but just sweated up regardless of whether alone, with others, big lorry, small lorry, trailer, in the end we just gave him BE KALM by equine america about half an hour before travel, got there dry each time and wore off after an hour or two!

Most racehorses who have only travelled to races and know nothing else, get soooo excited at the prospect of going racing they just cant help themselves and their little heads fall off!
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Its wierd, I know an ex racer who raced until he was about 11 and he is perfect to load and travel, and so is my mare. She is 4, she is a bit iffy into a trailer but goes in. In the box she always behaves impeccibily, loads and then just stands there and munches on her hay. All I could suggest is perseverence, in theory he would eventually settle down.
 
He is travelling on his own in a herringbone lorry, have tried lots of room, hardly any room, haynet no haynet, tacked up not taked up, dont really want to go down the line of travelling with company as he will 90% of the time he will be travelling on his own.
He hated racing as he was last in nearly all his races and on his last race the owner felt so bad as he had to be hit as soon as they left the stalls and was never in contention, when we picked him up he had a 4 hour drive and was absolulety fine in the lorry but he had been out of work for a year and come straight from the field whereas now he is reasonably fit.
He poos a lot in the lorry but not squitty, when i bandage him and get him ready he just stands tied up and does not even get anxious.
I have taken him just out for a hack in the lorry as well as dressage comps and he is the same, did give him an acp for one outing and he was dripping from head to toe when we got there did our walk and trot test and then i think the acp had started to work put him in the lorry to go home and he stood eating his haynet with out getting chewy or white eyed we had the door to the living opened and my dad was stood in the back with him and he wasnt even warm - so whether the acp had worked for the journey home?
 
Can you make the 'destinations' less exciting.

So going somewhere for a hack etc. rather than always to a competition?
 
I have an exracer that also found travelling a bit stressfull at first, he was always with company, but he was also a little difficult to load. We started off by taking him for short journeys, not to competitions or any where too exciting, but to another paddock we rented down the road. This way he went from home to a nice piece of grass. We left him for the weekend and then brought him back. Now he is good in the box where ever we go, although he jumps from the ground to the lorry, never touching the ramp! I have been told he had an accident on a lorry ramp once.

Repetition is the only way me thinks.

evenag114
 
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