horses, horses for sale, horse floats, horse saddles, horse deals, horse forums, horse news.
Horses for sale, horse deals, horse floats, horse saddles, horse rugs, horse riding, horse forums & horse news. Over 50,000 horse people use HorseYard every month!
It is so much fun to be involved in the re-education process of the incredible
racehorse Bentley Biscuit. Since leaving the racetrack his owners George and Jill Mooratoff
have wanted to provide him with a great life after racing.
Ultimately Jill wants to be able to take Bentley out on trail rides with friends and enjoy
riding the great horse in a more leisurely fashion than before.
“I don’t want to be going 0-60 in 5 seconds! I don’t think I’ll be competing on him, I don’t
really want to put more pressure on him. I just want him to enjoy life… so we can enjoy life
together”.
So far we have covered the post racing checks; vet, farrier, mental and reactivity checks on
the ground. By doing this you will become more aware of the ex-racehorse’s physical and
mental needs. In Bentley Biscuit’s case we discovered that he requires close hoof management
and that he was quite reactive to plastic. We then started a basic groundwork program with
him, developing a basic communication and desensitizing him to unfamiliar objects in the
human world, especially plastic. This phase has gone really well with Bentley and he is now
ready for some ridden work. At this point I would like to emphasise that you can take as
long as you and your horse requires on groundwork. It is no race and can really help your
relationship with your horse and build your confidence.
The first parts of my ridden work are done from the ground, preferably in a safe environment
like a round yard. Here I want to put my saddle on and see that the horse is happy moving
around with this particular saddle. Most probably they will be fine, however it is always
good to check as they have mainly had small exercise pads on during their racing career. In
the round yard I put my saddle on, let the horse loose, stand well away from them and then
ask them to move around the yard. I will ask for different gaits; walk, trot and canter.
Canter is typically the gait that tickles the most so make sure you ask for a decent canter
and let them feel your saddle in motion on their back. Bentley did not have an issue at all
with my saddle even with all the straps hanging off it.
Advertisement
Once this is done put the bridle on and test their flexion laterally. This is
where you pick up a rein and ask them to tip their nose in towards where your knee would be
in the saddle. You want to get this really soft and light on the ground as it will become
your basis of control and safety in the saddle. This flexion will allow you to control both
the speed and direction of their hindquarter and gives you an emergency stop if you need it.
With this preparation solid we can now confidently get up and into the saddle.
When getting up on your horse, you want to test that they will stand still. It can be very
dangerous when a horse moving off while you are getting on. Racehorses have had plenty of
jockeys and track riders legged up while moving and it has become part of their life. So
jump up and down beside your horse and make sure they stand still while doing so. Then go
up and down in the stirrup making sure your horse is standing still willingly. If your horse
does go to move off ask him to back up (the exercises we covered in Part 1). If they move
forward three steps back them up four, if they move off two steps back them up three. These
are just examples of what you can do, you don’t have to follow them exactly just as long as
you understand the principle of what you are trying to achieve.
When your horse is standing still for you it’s time to get on, when on top I first want to
stand still and do nothing. Then, just like on the ground, I want to stand still and flex my
horse laterally both left and right. Make sure you can tip your horse’s nose in towards you
with a light feel and not a forceful pull. Make sure you start doing all this in a space you
feel comfortable in, this may be an arena, roundyard etc, the important thing is that it is
a comfortable and safe environment for you to begin riding your ex-racehorse.
You can now ask your horse to walk off and making sure you can guide them around
in the walk. Make sure you can guide your horse’s front end and also redirect the
hindquarter, look up and take your rein out to guide the front end. Make sure you look right
up and over-exaggerate what you are doing. This will make it easier initially for you to get
the hang of and will also provide your horse with sufficient information to carry out the
request.
To redirect the hindquarter, take the rein towards your belly button and look down
towards your horse’s inside hind leg. This will put your horse in position to move their
hindquarter around and allow you to redirect the motion of your horse’s engine.
Once you can softly do these simple guidance techniques, you can start combining the front
end and hindquarter movements. You may start guiding the front end then move into a
redirection of the hindquarter the move out of the turn with a front end turn. Make sure
your horse maintains forward motion through this and becomes fluent in the exercise. To
stop, take all the energy and life out of your body and use your lateral flexion to bend
them to a stop. Your horse may walk circles for a while when working out what to do, just
stay consistent applying a gentle feel until your horse relaxes and comes to a stop. This is
the start of teaching your horse to bend to a stop in all gaits and in all situations. This
is such an important tool as it will allow you to stop your horse when they feel out of
control or get a fright while riding.
I always like to finish up this session making sure my horse will give me one or
two steps backwards. To do this I hold a certain amount of pressure on the reins and release
when in horse takes a step backwards. Don’t pull on the reins to do this just hold and wait
for your horse to take the step backwards. Work on this until they will lightly step
backwards off the pressure of the bit.
This is a great starting point for you and your new ex-racehorse when first having a ride.
In a safe environment we are establishing a basic communication in the saddle. Like on the
ground we also need to be effective in our communication on top, this is a great starting
point. These basics will help build the respect and trust your horse needs to have a relaxed
fun time at their new home.
(0 vote)
