Really need help with ex racehorse. - Western Training & Behavior - Western Training & Behavior - Horse Community, Horse Pictures, Horse Forum and Information

Posted : 4/24/2011 10:39:43 AM

A couple of days ago i purchased a 16hh 9 year old gelding, ex race horse. He is my first horse in a few years. When i picked him up i was told he had been ridden recently but after todays events im very nervous to ride him.
On the first day i spent alot of bonding time with im walking around paddocks taking him to visit the other animals & talking to him etc & he was happy enough.
Today i tryed grooming him & this is where the problems start!! After a few mintues he started nudging me, not lightly, so hard i was finding it really hard to stand. His ears were forward & it didnt seem aggressive but even when i moved back he would follow me and keep doing it. I stopped brushing him thinking it might be anoying him and he continued to nudge me for a good 15 mintues after so much that i couldnt undo his rope without being pushed over. So thats issue number one. I would like to know why he is doing it & how i can stop it.
Issue number 2.. lol... When im feeding him oats or apples (he doesnt do it with hay) he bobs his head up and down & digs at the ground with his front foot. Why is he doing this? Ive never seen it before.
Issue number 3...I had a spare pair of hands to help put his saddle on because his previous owners said he was abit jittery getting it on but once it was on he was fine (they lied!) We finally got his saddle on it was a very very slow process & at first he was fine then he bucked wildly and sprinted down the paddock at a stupidly fast speed. I finally found him (the paddock is 100's of acres lol) and he was calm with the saddle still on but i still took it off him straight away. Why would he do this? & How can i make it easier for him, considering he has been ridden recently??
He also licks my shoulder when im walking him.. not sure why
I am prepared to put alot of time into him & also prepared not to ride him for a while even though we were told he has been ridden there is obviously somthing spooking him. Can any one offer any advice on these issues? Or is there some steps i need to take because he has been a race horse?

face

Posted : 4/24/2011 10:58:52 AM

Sadly, in my opinion, an ex racehorse is not the best horse for the casual owner. They tend to know one thing, how to run. They can be very difficult to train. It ca be done, but it will take a lot of time.

When buying a horse do not trust what you are being told. Ideally, the current owner should tack them up and THEY should ride the horse first. After that, then you test ride them. Bring friends to test ride them as well. We use to board with a lady that would take us horse shopping and 3-4 of us would test out horses because she wanted to know the how the horse was going to act when the 4th person got on him.

The nudging and licking is lack of respect. I would be concerned about the licking as it could turn into a bite. I would not even think of putting a saddle on him until he learns respect and ground manners.

Look for TRAINER101's post here as she has GREAT post and will probably be along shorty with some great advice for you!!!

Tam87

Posted : 4/24/2011 11:14:25 AM

[quote=face]

Sadly, in my opinion, an ex racehorse is not the best horse for the casual owner. They tend to know one thing, how to run. They can be very difficult to train. It ca be done, but it will take a lot of time.

When buying a horse do not trust what you are being told. Ideally, the current owner should tack them up and THEY should ride the horse first. After that, then you test ride them. Bring friends to test ride them as well. We use to board with a lady that would take us horse shopping and 3-4 of us would test out horses because she wanted to know the how the horse was going to act when the 4th person got on him.

The nudging and licking is lack of respect. I would be concerned about the licking as it could turn into a bite. I would not even think of putting a saddle on him until he learns respect and ground manners.

Look for TRAINER101's post here as she has GREAT post and will probably be along shorty with some great advice for you!!!

I had a feeling the nudging and licking was a respect issue. The previous owners said he was a 'sook' they may have thought the nudging was a sign he wanted cuddles. I'm not sure why i didn't get her to ride him first, didn't think of it at the time :-|

Connie

Posted : 4/24/2011 11:42:47 AM

What kind of race horse? T'bred or Standardbred?

A lot of horses get anxious for 'treats' (and consider grain a treat) and will paw and shake their head 'yes'. It can be corrected, just depends on how annoying it is.

The pushing with the head is an issue I would discourage. It is pretty much disrespectful, and you need to be the one in charge, not the horse.

I agree with 'face' concerning all he said, including that Trainer101 is qualified to answer your questions. Knowing what breed this horse is helps, too. There is a lot of difference between a harness horse and a flat racer.

WELCOME to our forum!!!

Tam87

Posted : 4/24/2011 11:49:22 AM

Thanks for the welcome ':)'

He is a T'bred & a beautiful one at that. The head 'nodding' isn't anoying at all it's actually pretty cute. I just wanted to be sure it wasn't a sign of aggression.

Tam87

Posted : 4/24/2011 11:51:17 AM

Also how would i discourage the head nudging? He is ALOT bigger than me i can push him away without falling over. What else can i do?

hunterseat

Posted : 4/24/2011 11:56:41 AM

I have former harness racers but you must have a t'bred, right? There's such a huge difference in the breeds, although Stbds come in a variety of shapes and sizes from Morgan-ish to t'bred-ish. (I like 'em big! [ ':D'

] )
You've got this guy and you intend to try to make it work, right? Do you have access to a round pen? 100 acres is a bit large of an area to run him in unless you have a friend w/a 4-wheeler! [ ':)'

]
So first, get him in a smaller area. I'd take the grooming tools and a training stick w/ a string out there and start with some manners.
For safety sake, you MUST teach that boy to back when you tell him. Backing up is the same as submitting and as soon as you make him do it when he's naughty, you win. But take the butt of the training stick and nudge him in the chest when you teach him or tap him on the chest. Make yourself big and use whatever hand gesture you choose to signal "back up". Once he gives you a couple of steps, pretend nothing ever happened and go back to whatever you were doing. That's more if he's in your space.
I like to groom with them freestanding. So I get my grooming stuff and begin. He steps away and you say "you wanna move? Okay.... " point your hand/arm in the direction you want him to go - at first it will be his decision until he figures out what your arm out means. Get him to move with pressure from your body position, eyes, training stick...etc. then drop the pressure and gesture him in. It may take some steam blowing until he wants to stop. As a wise man once said "that's okay, let him run as long as he wants then, when he wants to stop, make him run a few more circles until stopping it YOUR idea, not his".
To bring him back to the center you may have to gesture and lead him at first but he will quickly get the idea to come in when you gesture.
There are two things you can try. Seriously, though, back him up and FAST when he's in your space. BE SAFE. Try to stay relaxed.
face is right, trainer101 is awsome for specific issues and real training.

hunterseat

Posted : 4/24/2011 12:00:03 PM

I was writing slow.
Head nudging? BACK THAT BOY UP!!!
Never smack them in the face as some will suggest. Horses don't do that to each other.

Tam87

Posted : 4/24/2011 12:26:04 PM

The 4 wheeler did get a very good work out today!!
Unfourtanly all of our paddocks are that size ':('

We breed angus cattle so there are no small paddocks. There is a small stable area where the old horse used to stay but this boy wont have a bar of it. He hates the small area and runs around frantically trying to get out. The first time he was let out onto our paddock he galloped neighing with his tail up in the air for a good 5 minutes. There is a round area that i could use that was used for the old horse.
Great advice!! I will defiently be telling him to back up when i see him tomorrow ':)'

hunterseat

Posted : 4/24/2011 3:11:44 PM

Why not feed him in the small area some. Get him used to it. That would really come in handy for some ground handling! He's just being a fruity t'bred. [ ':D'

]
I forgot to say, depending on how long they've been off the track, they need a good deal of time to de-program. It varies by horse. Being 9 he's probably been off a while. My Master Miles raced until he was 12 and his leg was destroyed. [:@]

danastark

Posted : 4/24/2011 7:04:35 PM

For the head butting behavior I usually educate them that I have sharp elbows...... I just keep my elbow ready so that when the horse goes for the head butt they encounter the point of your elbow which is not pleasant and after a couple times, they decide you are not a scratching post, etc. He probably needs some time to settle in too. Does he have any sort of companion? Maybe he'd bond with an older cow?

Sounds like he has some issues that the previous owner made light of to fool you..... Poor guy obviously has a history of saddling being unpleasant so you'll have to work through that.

Goodluck to you ':)'

Tam87

Posted : 4/25/2011 10:16:00 AM

[quote=danastark]

For the head butting behavior I usually educate them that I have sharp elbows...... I just keep my elbow ready so that when the horse goes for the head butt they encounter the point of your elbow which is not pleasant and after a couple times, they decide you are not a scratching post, etc. He probably needs some time to settle in too. Does he have any sort of companion? Maybe he'd bond with an older cow?

Sounds like he has some issues that the previous owner made light of to fool you..... Poor guy obviously has a history of saddling being unpleasant so you'll have to work through that.

Goodluck to you ':)'

The elbows worked a treat today, someone else had mentioned that to me too. I only had to do it twice before he stopped nudging all together ':)'

He does have a companion, we have about 50 cows in the large paddock he is in over night & he now thinks he is one of them lol. Makes it easy to find him though, he doesn't seem to know his name either ':('

I've decided to get professional help before i attempt to saddle him again.

danastark

Posted : 4/25/2011 1:33:36 PM

Glad to hear you had some success and aren't getting knocked over by his bony head ':)'

Good for you for getting some prof. help. Keep us updated on what they think and do!