Training Off-the-Track-Thoroughbreds

Tacked Phil up only today I used a haltermore. A haltermore is a rope halter made into a bridle only there is no bit. It does not use poll pressure like the bitless bridles that can create dangerous habits such as rearing in uneducated hands. The noseband is wrapped so it doesn’t have the “bite” of the rope halter. I had this custom made with a 22 foot mecate. I use this to start the colts, so there isn’t any worry about a bit in the mouth. I also like the mecate available so I can dismount and do ground work if I need to work through a situation from the ground. Phil has a hard mouth, so I hope to soften him by creating a trust that I’m going to stay out of his mouth. I can easily see OTTBs developing hard mouths since the horse balances himself on his jockey’s hands. A horse with a soft mouth is very important to me. He has done fairly well with my soft hands, but I wanted to see if I could get more relaxation, a lowered head, and rounded back without the worry of the bit. Since Phil has had 30 days of ground work he is familiar with pressure/release, so the haltermore will not be that difficult for him to figure out. Many clients always ask “Aren’t you worried your horse is going to run away from you without a bit?” The answer is no. If I have done my homework correctly my horse has enough respect for me that running away is not an option. I have also built in “spook in place” and I have the ability to disengage the hindquarters at any time. Any horse can be ridden without a bit or bridle if you have put in the time on the ground properly. I did some ground work and worked Phil through his transitions in the round pen. When I felt he was focused I mounted and started with flexion.

More colt behavior. I am asking Phil to flex further and further. I am now asking him to flex to my toe. He still is only flexing at the neck and hasn’t given me his shoulder yet. This will come as he becomes conditioned. Phil took this as an invitation to grab my toe with his lips. I returned with a quick jab of my toe to his mouth. I did not hurt him, I just made him uncomfortable. Many people think this game is cute until their horse takes the game a little too far and bites their foot. It is best to discourage this behavior on the first attempt. Make sure you do hit your target or it does become a game to your horse if you miss his nose. He will be quicker and smarter than you next time. It only took one discouraging jab on each side and Phil got back to business.

I navigated Phil in figure eights again. This time the turns had to be tighter since we were in the round pen. I also had loose horses around the pen which is a good test to see if Phil was going to focus on me or the other horses. Phil stayed focused on me which shows I have made great progress developing myself as Phil’s Alpha. No impulsion issues, no focus issues…..time to stop. I dismounted, loosened the cinch and let Phil relax in the shade as he was ground tied.

Morning feeding: Even though Phil stood out of my way to pour feed, his posture was very upright and braced. He came within my 16ft feeding space. I asked him with two fingers of pressure to get out of my space; he ignored me. I told him with a stern “BACK” and a wave; he half-heartedly made an effort to back. I immediately promised by up-righting my posture, squealing, and kicking dirt at him. He moved off and knew the drill. He would try to circle in at every opportunity, but I kept the pressure on him until I saw a submissive body posture. I circled the pen and he kept “two eyes” on me (a sign of respect). I asked for a back and turn on haunches with just a suggestion from my finger. I moved him in and out of his feeding dish just to reinforce I am Alpha. You must be on your game at all times. Phil must have sensed I wasn’t completely focused on him and he let me know it….Lesson on me this morning.

After breakfast Paige, my 10 yr. old daughter, and I tacked up for a morning ride. Phil was a little snotty about bridling this morning. I insisted on head down and would not remove the bridle from his face until he lowered his head. A mistake many people make when a horse is acting rude about bridling is they take away the bridle to reposition themselves each time the horse moves his head. This rewards the horse and teaches him that as long as head his is moving he is going to get a release. I held the bit in position and held the crownpiece with some mane so the bridle would not slip. It didn’t take Phil long at all to comply and he was rewarded with gentle bridling.

I did a little ground work and Phil said he was “ok.” I warmed up in the arena with asking for softness through flexion. Paige and I had set up barrels. I love using the barrels to teach bending. The barrel acts as a visual for me to gage how Phil is bending. It also gives Phil an incentive not to drop a shoulder into the barrel. The barrels are also a fun way to teach softness, bending, and circling. Paige and I like to play follow the leader and race against each other by weaving around the barrels at a trot. I asked Phil for a left lead canter departure from a trot. He gave me the right lead. This is ok. I just circled tighter and tighter on the incorrect lead to see if he would be willing to change. Phil said “no thank you”. I asked for another canter departure while circling to the left and he let out several sissy bucks. Phil was telling me he emotionally isn’t ready to learn lead changes. Since I started the left lead request I wanted to him to at least give it a try. He finally did give me a left lead and after 3 strides I dropped the reins for a reward and dismounted.

I will sometimes spend up to 30 days just walking and trotting. I will not move on to the canter or correct lead departures until I have complete control over the feet at a walk/trot. I have found that if a solid foundation is made at the walk and trot gaits, the canter seems to just fall in place. I also spend a lot of time working on leads in the round pen un-mounted teaching the “kiss” pre-cue. This means less work for me in the saddle.

First trail ride. Paige and I headed out for a short trail ride. The dogs were with us. Phil was ok with the dogs running up on us and jumping in and out of the woods. When we returned we spent a few more minutes in the arena. I asked Phil to step over the 18” jumps set up. He was hesitant about stepping over the oxer. I dropped the reins and gave him his head. I only kept a supporting leg on him and took my leg off immediately every time he thought about stepping over. I do want to mention with the young horses if you keep constant pressure on them either physical or mental they will find their own release by rearing and this can easily lead to habit. As soon as Phil stepped over the oxer I jumped off him and loosened the cinch. This was a good time to stop.

Catching your horse. Since Phil comes in to eat he comes to me and I halter, lead, and release him a minimum of twice daily. When I catch Phil I have actually taught him to catch me. The last thing I want to do is walk to the end of a 5 acre pasture to catch a horse. Through ground work for respect I have taught Phil to catch me.

First Ride.
Pre-ride checks. I have had 27 days to establish my relationship with Phil. The time spent on the ground will reflect how well we work together under saddle. I tacked Phil up using my roping saddle. I want as much leather under me as possible with the young horses. I did use the snaffle bridle instead of the training headstall with the distracting tassels (chose not to fight that battle). I did some ground work to see where Phil’s mental attitude was before I even attempted to mount. I was prepared to scratch my plan if Phil’s focus wasn’t on me and go back to ground work. Phil passed all “pre ride” checks. One thing I’ve noticed about horse owners is that they catch their horse, groom, tack and ride off without asking their horses “how do you feel today?’ Many “accidents” can be prevented if humans would just take the time to do a little ground work before mounting. If you have established ground work for respect with your horse, like I have with Phil, this may only be a pass to the left and right and maybe a back up from the ground. If Phil was distracted, spooky, or silly, etc. I would postpone my ride and chose to do something else constructive. Unfortunately, humans are so schedule/agenda conscious if they have made the trip to the barn, then by golly they are going to ride.

Mounting: I always use a mounting block no matter how tall the horse. Mounting blocks are the polite way to mount your horse. Now with that said you should be able to easily mount from the ground in case you are in a situation where you cannot stand on a block or tree stump. Phil stood politely as I mounted. I returned the politeness by not jabbing my toe into his side, by swinging my leg over his back gracefully and gently sitting my weight in the saddle. It is very rude to grab the saddle to pull yourself up, haul yourself onto your horse, kick him instead of lifting your leg, and plopping all of your weight into the saddle. We expect our horses to be physically fit enough to carry us, so we owe it to them to be physically able to gently mount and dismount. I purposely fiddled with the stirrups and reins. Phil stood still. Please, do not ever mount a horse that is moving. This is very unsafe. With that said, our OTTBs have to be taught to stand still for mounting. On the track the jockeys are hoisted onto a moving horse’s back; this is what our OTTBs know.

Flexion. I started by picking up one rein and asked for a soft flex. Phil, like all young horses, took this cue to move his feet. This is ok. He can turn in circles. To make the lesson correct I disengaged his hindquarters and asked him to step over until he makes an effort to give to me. As soon as Phil gives me a hint of his nose, I immediately dropped the reins. I mean I dropped them out of my hands to reward. Phil stopped turning. I continued to ask, Phil stopped turning and starting flexing without moving his feet. When he was doing this consistently I asked him to walk and flex. To reward him quicker as soon as he softened I let him change direction. An observer would accuse Phil of being drunk because we were swerving all over the arena. I was even able to pick up his foot through the feel of the rein and place it several times; this is an advanced move.

Circles. Circles, circles, circles. Since Phil is unbalanced and tends to dip his shoulder into a bend I have to really keep him between my legs. This means at all times I am supporting or directing with legs and/or hands. I make sure I am only supporting with my legs and hands and not nagging. I like to ride along the rail and turn into the rail and then turn back into the middle of the arena. Essentially I am doing figure eights along the rail. I make sure I plan, look where I am going, slightly shift my weight and support with legs/reins. I did have to modify my requests for Phil to accommodate his body build and conditioning. He cannot get under his hocks like my Quarter Horses and roll back, so I execute a little larger circle along the rail.

Test Ride: Once Phil was warmed up and fairly soft I tried out all gears. I was really surprised at how easy it was to post his trot. I didn’t have to work very hard since his trot provided the momentum. I would rate (1 being the worst and 10 the best) his canter a 10 and his hand gallop a 10+. He made an effort to turn on forehand, turn on haunches, and side pass. He even reached for the bit several times and was rewarded by a complete release.
Impulsion. Phil’s previous owner wrote Elizabeth several times about Phil’s lack of impulsion. I was even told that Phil was stubborn because he didn’t have impulsion. I want to take the time to discuss this since it is so easy to label a horse as uncooperative or stubborn. If you can’t get impulsion from your horse it is because your horse is emotionally out of control because he does not respect you. Remember, when I first met Phil I felt he was unstable. This is one of the most frustrating problems humans have with their horses. Plain and simple; Impulsion comes from respect. Respect is something you get on the ground or you don’t. You achieve impulsion by balancing your horse’s mental and physical needs. Many people will stick a band aid on a sucking chest wound and use crops, whips, or spurs to bully their horses. (NOTE: I use training spurs on some of my young prospects so I can communicate a “promise” clearly. One tap from the spur equals 100 exhausting leg kicks which only teach your horse to ignore you. I have developed a very independent leg and seat so the spur will only make contact if the ask and tell have been completely ignored). This will create dangerous habits such as rearing, bolting, ducking, bucking, as your horse will start to out think you to get away from the pressure and find a way to rid you off his back. The first time he tosses you or scares you enough to dismount you have just given him the release he was searching for and he will find his release quicker and quicker each time. Our horses are recreation for us, can we be recreation for them? As I mentioned in an earlier entry I am bored riding in circles in the arena. I try to entertain myself by trying out new things such as instead of riding along the rail going forward, I back my horse around the ring or I look at my surroundings and ask “Can I ride through, under, over, or around it”? Use your imagination.

Please feel free to ask questions!

Morning feeding: uneventful.

Releasing your horse: This is a lesson I learned quite well when I was younger. First let me tackle the basics and then I’ll tell the story. Using the correct haltering and leading techniques I led Phil to his new pasture to meet his new friends. They have been nose to nose for 2 weeks now, so I have been able to get a good idea of personality matches. When Phil and I walked through the gate my horses stood far back; they have been taught not to crowd me. I asked Phil to turn on his forehand to face the gate, asked for head down and took off his halter. He has been taught to stay with me (ground tie) until I give him the signal he can leave. I build this into all my horses so I can always exit safely. When I am a safe distance I wave him off. Phil runs to join his new friends. It is a good match. I have chosen to keep Phil in a smaller pasture near the barn, so I can continue to interact with him throughout the day. Also, I can correct unwanted behavior more efficiently in a smaller area. He can still run from me in a 2 acre pasture, but it is easier than the 5-6 acre pastures. He can always catch me (notice he is going to catch me; I’m not going to catch him) and I can put him in the round pen for some thought provoking foot work.

My story. On Christmas Eve 1988, in Chicago, I let my horse, Ptarmigan (Phil looks a lot like him only think Appendix QH not TB), out on a crisp, snowy eve. He was excited to play in the snow. I opened the gate, took off the lead, and just let him take off. Of course he let out a huge rodeo broncing buck and he kicked me in the arm with a shod hind foot. I was wearing several heavy layers of clothing, thank goodness. I stood there watching him play and felt warmness down my right arm. I went back to the barn and peeled off the layers of clothing to see blood soaking everything. I felt ok, so I thought maybe he just broke the skin. I ended up putting Ptarmigan away and driving home. I had no idea I was in shock. When I got home I felt sick and had to confess to my Mother what had happened. I was rushed to the ER and had fractured my humorous and required a cast and many, many stitches. If I had known how to properly release Ptarmigan and have his respect I would not have been injured. The ER physicians said it was my heavy clothing that prevented me from going to surgery. Can you imagine if his kick was just 1 foot higher?

Releasing Summary: Face your horse towards the gate. In this position he has to turn around to run or let out a kick. This will give you a window to go to safe distance. Keep other horses away from you. It is dangerous to have your horse’s buddies on top of you wanting to initiate play with your horse. Don’t be afraid to carry a whip to shoo his anxious buddies off. Use head down cue for proper de-haltering technique and to relax your horse. If your horse is rude take him back out of his pasture and ask him to work for you….that means move his feet like he has a purpose. Try again. Repeat until he is polite and you feel safe.

It is our responsibility to teach our horses to be safe around us.