Help. Ex-show horse, previously successful on trails has meltdown

[Serigraph]

I posted months ago about how wonderful my OTTB-whole life in ring-show horse was on a solo trail ride down the road to a public trail. Since then, I have not made it back to that trail, but I have tried to take him to this large open field to hack around in. The first time I tried, I hand walked him some of the way and he was OK, but not as good as other trails I have taken him. All of these have been on the road at some point - the road is quiet, but still a road. Once we made it into the field he basically lost it. I could not even mount and had to turn home.

Tried again today and took my husband for safety. We made it to a certain point then before the big field he lost it again over a pony and some goats many feet away. I tried to let him calm down and realize the pony was not going to hurt him, the longer he stood watching him, the worse he got, but he also would not move forward either. He ended up just about knocking me over and we headed for home. All the way back it was literally like I had a sideways racehorse ready to go into the start box.

Once we are back home, he is fine. I know this is his comfort zone, but I am trying to get him slowly out of it. I mean I made it once and he was SO good. Granted he is much hotter in the colder weather, but I'm wondering if I should attempt this again or not. He is definitely more comfortable on wooded, narrow paths, then big open spaces. And he will trail ride very nicely on the trails he knows.

Any other ideas? I've tried what works for him in the past, but it does not seem to work on this particular path, but so far, just this one. Do I just forget about this particular path? I don't have another horse to go with. I've gone slow, let him eat grass, talk to him, pet him, etc, but if he's gonna lose it he loses it period.

[Huntertwo]

I do not know anything about OTTBs, but could the wide open field possibly make him feel like his old racing days? I just grasping at straws here.
Or maybe he feels more vunerable in the wide open field? Is it more windy?

It is a great that he is still good on the trails, so not all is lost. He obviously must like it and feel comfortable.

Hopefully someone who has an OTTB can chime in and help.

[Here Comes Luther]

I have an OTTB, and the best thing that worked (And still works when he's riled up!) is to have a friend along. Last weekend, I was on my OTTB, who's pretty fresh off the track, and he got upset because a couple of the other horses were cantering, and as he cantered forward, my friend's 3 y/o Friesan Sport Horse stuck his big butt out and let Luke run into him.

Anyway. Its good to have a trail safe buddy horse along for moral support. My guy doesn't spook often, but when he does, he flies away. Definitely go with a friend for a little bit if you need to. I also sing. Sometimes I'll get off and walk for a few hundred yards and then get back on.

Hope that helps! :)

[carp]

I'm sure the cold weather has something to do with his antics. It simply feels good to be running on a brisk day, and I'm sure a big field to run in is pretty enticing. Also, I imagine that his instincts are telling him that this is the kind of weather when the predators are a little hungrier and trying to bulk up for winter. I wouldn't push the matter until warmer weather if you really feel nervous. It's much less fun for him to be a dork when he has to get hot and sweaty in the process.

If he locks up on you again, see if you can spin him in a circle, back, sidepass, or do something to keep his feet moving even if they aren't moving forward. Stopping gives him a chance to channel all the nervous energy to his brain, and you don't want that. You are the one who should be thinking, not him. Give him a job so that he has to worry about what he's doing with his feet and leave thinking to you.

[Bank of Dad]

Years and years ago when I had an OTTB, he went nuts in open fields. My old book, "Reschooling the THoroughbred", warned against open fields in the beginning as they stimulated the urge to run, likewise wide dirt trails as opposed to narrow ones. I also could not pass another horse that we encountered, nor could he follow behind any other horses. Our relationship lasted 2 years. The best I can say is that I never came off of him.

[beth heffelfinger]

Maybe you should try a Long Hard lounge and workout in the ring before you try to go out again. It may be better to walk on the ground till you get to the trails..Also go with a calm quiet friend. I am no sure they remember the race days they Like this time of the year because the weather feals great to them it is finaly not hot to them.
Just some ideas... Hope you get somwhere and most of all are safe..

[Serigraph]

That is interesting Bank of Dad. I barely even think of him as off the track since it has literally been years and years since he was on it and he never raced.

He definitely does get weird in large fields, not like he's gonna run away, but nervous. Like someone else said, he must feel more vunerable. Also strange when referring to retraining the racehorse book, that he gets antsy when we pass or come upon strange horses.

I just thought of some of these things as his quirkiness. I never really associated it with the track since it has been SO many years. Come to think of it though, he does not spook at non natural things like machinery, cars, plastic bags, etc., but natural things like a rock...that is a whole different story.

[Calamber]

Can you get someone to pony him in fields so that he does not have to put a rider at risk and can learn to handle this whole situation with a calm leader? It is a very good thing to do if you have someone skilled enough and a horse who is experienced.

[jazzrider]

I rode my now retired OTTB for years on battlefields near our boarding barn. He was 9 when I got him, so well beyond his racing years. We rode there for 6 years, and he always got hot in open fields. In fields where we rode the perimeter it helped to keep him flexed towards the wooded edge. But in fields where we rode across, it was never fun. I found that it was easiest to plant him behind an understanding friend and horse, and always use a full cheek bit to be sure I could turn him if need be. :no: He could also not be trotted or cantered through environmental transitions (woods to field, field to road, through a gate, etc.) without melting down.

No amount of schooling helped. He was sent away for training (twice), I worked with trainers, and often asked other, stronger, more confident riders to ride him for me to help school him. In the end he threw all of us at one time or another (mainly with spooks or tantrums, not field issues). My hubby said sell him or retire him -- Now he's a beautiful lawn mower at our home. He's just lucky that while he's a butt in the saddle, he's a dream on the ground. Loving and easy to handle, and a wonderful, kind herd leader.

Looking back, my error was letting him shake my confidence and undermine my desire to ride, without getting the right kind of training help at the right time. He was always a bit too much horse for me, but I think if I had worked with a good, strong trainer and let myself recover from bad rides more sensibly -- we might have been able to work it out. So my advice to you -- don't push him beyond what you can handle. Take things slow, ride with understanding, good riders who will help you school him, and work with a trainer who knows the OTTB mind. And if, in the end, he still melts down in open fields, go another way. :winkgrin: :yes:

[Auventera Two]

Personally, I would NEVER take a "questionable" horse out into an open field. Something about open fields make them go psycho. To this day, I won't ride my Arab out in an open field unless she has been well worked before hand, and she's having a "good" day. And she trail rides several times a week, and does endurance rides! :eek: She leads other horses on the trail and has acted as baby sitter to a couple of less experienced horses!

The trail gives them boundaries. It is narrow, there are trees on both sides, there are hills, and things to be concerned with. With an open field it's just pure, raw F-R-E-E-D-O-M, weeeeeeeeeeeeee! :lol:

If it were my situation, I would stick to the trails and not even attempt the fields for now.

[Serigraph]

Thanks guys for the good advice. I think I will forgo the open fields for now. I can ride him in the pasture which is about 8 acres open and hilly and he is OK, but the barn is well within sight.

He's been so good and brave for the most part on wooded trails that I don't want to ruin that with him melting down during other rides that he or I are not comfortable with. I thought with my husband there, he'd be better, but nope.

I don't really have someone else to hack with unfortunately. I wonder what it is that makes some horses lose it in open fields...clearly is it not just a TB thing.

[Sdhaurmsmom]

Karl Mikolka had a funny story on his website about being run away with in an open field...and this is a former SRS obereiter - so don't you feel too bad! I believe he tried the one-rein stop, but the horse just kept running with his head to the side...toward the edge of the field and something big and dangerous like a truck or train (details are fuzzy!?) And this wasn't any OTTB either. So yeah, the open field can make fools of the best of them.:eek:

[rainechyldes]

stupid question here, but are you sure he's just not barn sour?
works fine in open field (pasture) within sight of home but refuses to move forward out of sight of home in field.. hmm..
sounds like he's yanking your chain to me. especially since if he acts up, he gets led home.
just my take. *shrug*

OTTB ? I tend to wonder why a horse that might have been at the track a zillion years ago is still classified as this?:) Personally I've had a few TBs from the track, and they aren't really a different life form like people tend to think they are. a bit cranked up maybe, but usually settle quickly enough. horse is a horse.

[Serigraph]

He is a little bit barn sour, yes. It always takes some coaxing at first, but once we are past the barn he is fine. I have taken him on a 2 hr trail ride away from the barn, alone, passing lots of scary things and he was just fine then, but again it was not in an open field. It was along the road some then on a narrower public trail.

I don't think it's just barn sourness.

[Bank of Dad]

One thing I do with my Arabs in open fields is lots of 20m circles, and lots of serpentines, figure 8's, bending a lot, so they don't get the idea of going off crazy. We might go thru the whole field this way. The trainer also has a mowed area in an open field that they have graduated to.

[risky business]

I have a TB that never made it to the track but is a confirmed ring show horse. When I bought him a little over 3 yrs. ago the tree line next to the ring was full of horse-eating dragons and an open field set off panic, so a trail ride was not even an option, then.
However, last Sunday I was so proud of him for our best solo trail ride ever. He went places he wouldn't go last week as calm as could be. We see the cows, get cut-off by deer and have rabbits scoot out at our feet without turning a hair. We even get to trot the wide grassy strip between the corn fields beautifully.
I started little by little asking him very nicely to try going for a walk. Some days he would, some days, no way in h*** but my theory was this was supposed to be fun. He stops and looks around a few times while we are out there but I just take a deep breathe to let him I know I am relaxed and wait.
His main job is still a show hunter but I love the fact we can get out of the ring and work on things like forward and trust and just plain fun!

Hang in there! It may take a while but when it all comes together it's a great feeling!

[Huntertwo]

OTTB ? I tend to wonder why a horse that might have been at the track a zillion years ago is still classified as this?:) Personally I've had a few TBs from the track, and they aren't really a different life form like people tend to think they are. a bit cranked up maybe, but usually settle quickly enough. horse is a horse.

:) I once boarded with a Gal who had an OTTB. The horse was around 12 yrs., so obviously not raced for a long long time.

She could ride him anywhere on the trail and he was a perfect gentleman when the deer jumped out etc.

Take him in the ring:dead: and it was a different story. This poor girl was dumped sooo many times. As soon as another horse passed, this guy took off like a bucking bronco.. He seemed to still know that he should be in the lead. :)

[mishmash]

I have a 10 year old Percheron who finds large, open areas on the trail Very Exciting. You can literally feel the tension building up under you-he wants to RUN! Something about all that open space......
Good advice about taking a steady buddy, and keeping him busy with leg yields, changes of direction, gaits, etc.