Why does my horse do this?!

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Frances28

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Second post of the day.....

I have an ex race TB (16yr old) she's fabulous in the school until after we canter. She refuses to trot again and pulls and pulls to try and go faster. I am in a constant fight with her - to the point she is trotting so fast and her head is in the air.

She also chews allot on the bit and pulls her down down.

She has an egg butt (TBH no idea what that is) - should I invest in stronger bit? if so what?
 
Woah woah woah!! First and foremost get her teeth checked. If she's chewing a lot, perhaps she is uncomfortable in her mouth.

I would definitely do that first before even considering any other bit.
 
Lessons I have had (and still having) The instructor has the same problem with her (as have others) but the idea of changing her bit is not something I have brought up.
 
has she alsways done this? is it just in the school or out hacking? have you had her back checked (she may well be in pain somewhere if she is running with her head up) if you have had that checked too, go back to basics and dont canter for a while, just establish good basic groundwork before progressing, get the help of an experienced instructor, do not just change the bit, it could make your situation worse especially if she is in pain! (she could be suffering a bit as she is an ex racer and would more than likely have had a tough first few years)
 
Seems to me like a typical ex racer! If its what she has always done then she is always going to expect to do it.
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Maybe think about getting some lessons with a very good flat work instructor.
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Oh and remember not every horse that is strong needs a stronger bit to control it!
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I would go back to basics & work alot on transitions & softness. Maybe try some lunge work - would be interesting to see if she does this on the lunge.
Has saddle been checked? And back.
I dont ever have this problem with my ex racer - he finds cantering/galloping teh least exciting bits - obviously boring after doing it so much! Other than when there are several horses involved, that of course is more exciting.
If your instructor is not able to make any difference then maybe try a different one?
One who is experienced with ex racers - they can be a league of their own & some teaching styles just don't suit them.
 
How long have you had her, or at least been schooling her? don't think you mentioned it on your original post...sorry if you did. It can take anything between 8 weeks to 8 months to re-school an exracer...or even longer if you've had other problems to deal with. Can take a long time to change the way they think, they way they have always responded/acted upon the bit and hands so it might just be a matter of time and patience if you can whittle your way through any other possible reasons like what others have already mentioned.
 
I have had her for 1 year (she was retrained 18 months prior) and she has always done this. She doesn't do this on the lunge at all so I know its me!
 
Sounds just like my horse was and what I did was this:-

1. forget cantering and walk and trot for a few weeks, practise getting her to respond to your seat and using minimal rein aids during downwards transitions.

2. introduce canter at the end of a schooling session, do a lap or 2 then immediately back to walk and walk off on a long rein. i needed a dutch gag on the bottom hole to be able to do this - obv. don't just stick a harsh bit in her mouth straight away, but play around with something stronger and make sure you have brakes.

3. eventually you should find it easier to bring her back to you, so canter a few mins into the session, then bring her straight back to walk and school in walk for a few mins, do some serpentines, figures of eights, and get her listening to very light aids again.

4. gradually you can build up to the point where she will come back to trot much more easily - ATM i still tend to bring my mare right back to walk for literally 2 steps then trot on as a find it re-balances her. I'm now back to schooling in a french link loose ring snaffle.

To sum up......
-school her to respond to your seat rather than strong rein aids
-use a stronger bit to enable you to pull up sharply - this is probably contraversial but I think its a waste of time battling a horse in a snaffle - you need a bit she respects
- introduce canter at the end, so she knows it means 'session over' and she can relax as soon as she stops


Its taken about 6 months to get my horse out of this habit - she still gets a bit lit up after a canter but its much easier to settle her again now. mine is not an ex racer but she is a TB and to some extent they all think the same way.
 
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Woah woah woah!! First and foremost get her teeth checked. If she's chewing a lot, perhaps she is uncomfortable in her mouth.

I would definitely do that first before even considering any other bit.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto this - check teeth/back/saddle to ensure that the horse is not rushing away from pain.

Also, if you are tensing up and anticipating this behaviour you could accidently be exacerbating it. Every horse is different but if I feel my boy speeding up and rushing and I can't slow my own movement (as hard as I do try) I just drop the contact and he quickly comes back as there is nothing to fight against anymore.

Kx
 
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