From: Barbara
Dear Jessica,
From Germany I follow your letters and I would like to thank you for this useful resource of advice, in this case on retraining ex-racehorses. My question concerns a horse which is not mine, for I do ride in a riding school where they keep horses which are then allocated for lessons. I know this is not ideal for the horses, but the owners work towards consistancy to reduce the stress for the horses.
I am considering a half-lease of one of the horses, a seven-year-old former racing horse, now physically sound. However he is problematic in several ways. He came to this place two years ago from a forclosure, probably maltreated (certainly underfed). He is constantly pretending to bite (he never does, but few students dare to enter his box) and is extremely sensitive to touch. He will stand for me and the owners when he is tied, but will act up with most other people. You can use only soft brushes and long strokes/slow movements. I wondered if the pressure point system could help (I read a book about it by Chris Olson).
In riding he is well behaved with small children and beginners who do not ask much of him. When I work him in lessons he sweats profusely after five minutes. He has difficulties bending and stretching towards the bit (no long and low). He does not pull on the bit, rather chews energetically or grinds his teeth. Recently I got him to snort, which I had thought a sign of releasing inner tension, but he doesn't feel that far yet. Sometimes he will "block" (spin, go backwards or sideways) instead of going forward. Canter is often interrupted by jumps landed on all fours. My feeling is that he is trying, but sometimes does not know how to comply, and that he is lacking self-confidence. He does not run anymore, but it feels like he has lost his rhythm in the process of slowing down. He does this not just with me but with anybody asking him to work. Correction through the riding instructor is impossible due to his weight.
Now I am considering a half lease, allowing them to still use him in the afternoon for children and for longe-lessons. Do you have any advice how I can sort the symptoms and maybe get him to be a happier horse?
"Vielen Dank", which is German for many thanks, Barbara
In the box and for tacking-up, you've already discovered that long, slow strokes/movements are correct, as they are indeed for most horses. I would suggest that you do some of the TTouch work with him: if you look for Linda's earliest book, you'll find that when you take away the "cute" names for what the handler does, what is involved is simply massage, and it can be very helpful indeed.
Bending and stretching toward the bit aren't skills that racehorses are taught. ;-) You'll have to teach him, from the very beginning. This means riding him forward and encouraging him to reach, and praising him when he reaches forward even a little. Longitudinal suppling is the basis for all of his future work, so it's well worth the effort to help him develop this! Make rhythm and relaxation your two absolute priorities, as he will be physically and mentally unable to relax, reach forward with his hindlegs, and stretch his topline unless he has BOTH.
Your job will be to offer him a definite but flexible, stretchy contact, and to keep riding him forward in that rhythm and relaxation. Working on straight lines is not always the best choice for an ex-racehorse; you may find that you are both more at ease if you will keep him constantly changing direction. Soft changes, not sudden ones, are what you want; shallow serpentines around the arena and large ring figures inside it will both help. Leg-yielding is also essential, as you need to help him develop some lateral suppleness too; this will actually help him with the longitudinal suppling. Leg-yielding on a large circle, to enlarge and decrease the size of the circle, will help supple him laterally AND encourage him to reach down and forward into your hand.
With any unfamiliar horse, it's always best to assume that the horse knows nothing at all, treat him accordingly, and take him the entire training process from the ground up. If the horse is, in fact, well-trained, this entire process may take no longer than a few days. But it's likely to take longer, because you are almost guaranteed (with this horse, you ARE guaranteed) to find gaps in his training. Finding them in this way enables you to recognize them and deal with them appropriately by teaching him what he doesn't know, and enabling him to do what he can't yet do. It's a much better and more peaceful method than the all-too-common method of making the assumption that the horse "should" know how to do certain things, and then fighting with the horse or punishing when it doesn't do those things. Find out what he does NOT know, and then teach it to him. ;-)
It sounds as if this horse is willing to do what he CAN do, and finds it very difficult to do the things that he doesn't know how to do and hasn't been trained to do. That is all entirely normal. If you like him, a half-lease will certainly give you the opportunity to improve his life by improving his training and his comfort level -- and it will give you the opportunity to improve your training skills and sensitivity to the horse, which is always useful. ;-)
Jessica
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