Training

Training a horse entails taking into account various factors:

• Age
• Breed
• Conformation
• Temperament
• Physical issues
• Whether the training required is that of re-schooling or furthering training to date
• Specific equine sport already trained to do i.e. racing

Be prepared that it could be a long process, longer than that of starting a horse from scratch because you have to erase what the horse has already been taught and put in place the new; your horse is now reliant on you to teach it everything but remember it thinks it does know what you want of it - to gallop!

Although accustomed to a rider on their backs ex-racehorses do not have the concept of carrying weight in the same way nor do they understand the working of the bit - contact - or the aids as also applicable to the general riding horse.

Equipment

Everyone has their preferred equipment for lunging whether it be a lunging cavesson, a dually, etc. However do not attach the lunge line directly to just one bit ring as this does not afford you enough control and does nothing to help the horse understand the action of the bit.

Common difficulties

The most common difficulties encountered are that of the horse either tearing around as if on the “wall-of-death ride” at a funfair, turning in onto the circle or turning his quarters in. The second and third scenarios are entirely down to the handler not giving clear signals and adopting the right position in relation to the horse and what he is trying to do or not do i.e. evade. So if either of these scenarios relate to you, then practice with a more experienced horse before embarking further with your ex-racehorse otherwise you will just end up confusing him too much.

In the first scenario pulling on the lunge line and shouting are definite no-no’s. Most horses do settle down after a few circuits when they realise they are not achieving anything. Some do overdo it and risk hurting themselves so you must stop the horse as soon as you can, then section off a much smaller area in the school to reduce the space in which you work the horse. By restricting the space your horse will be less inclined to try and whiz around.

Initial Lunging

Assume your horse knows nothing and walk around with him as you would a young horse that hasn’t got a clue about going around his handler. Then gradually take a few steps away from the horse so he gets the idea of maintaining movement but he still has the security of the handler close by. If at any point the horse tries to speed up, then go back close to him.

Keep repeating the exercise until the horse responds correctly. When you are suitably confident, you can increase the size of your working area all the time with the option of reducing it again if things start to liven up too much!

Work wants to be restricted to walk and trot with plenty of transitions; canter on not much more than a 20m circle is too difficult to begin with for the horse that is used to cantering at speed - and in a straight line. To attempt canter work too soon just leads to a return or the possible onset of the “wall-of-death” manoeuvre!

You are not in a race against time to achieve results so don’t rush. It takes as long as it takes with much depending on just how long your horse was in training and how many times he ran in that time.

Lunging

Once your horse will lunge with a degree of decorum, then its times to look at what his head is doing. A skilled handler on the lunge in most instances will be able to work a horse’s head down so that he is stretching the muscles along the top of his neck and along his back.

However, there are those horses that despite the best of efforts, just do not respond and retain their overly high head carriage. This is the time to use side reins or another form of training aid to encourage a lowering of the head. Whatever you elect to use, you MUST NOT force the head down. The aid you use is there to encourage. If using side reins, these should only be sufficiently tight enough to prevent the horse carrying his head too high - and not attached to too high a ring on the roller. You are NOT attempting to draw the head up or in. As the horse naturally responds over a period of time they can be shortened and attached to a higher ring.

1. This is a typical scene head up in the clouds and holding the neck rigid. However this horse is nonetheless remarkably active with his legs! The difference will come when he is asked to work in a different outline.

2. This mare is also typical of many horses, not just the ex-racehorse – she uses the underside of her neck to prop herself, hence the muscles are more developed underneath than along the top. Looking at her hind legs, she gives the impression that she is stepping under her body well. However she is actually crossing the leg too far sideways under her body to compensate for injury. This will correct over time with the right exercises combined with chiropractic treatment.

3. We elect to long rein Bobbie initially as she has had a back injury and has been out at grass for 3 years. Here it can be seen that the mare has readily accepted the lines; however she now needs to learn to work on them!

4. Yes the mare is on long lines but nothing whatsoever is happening and she is deriving no benefit from being on them. The horse has to respond positively and work otherwise there is no point in pursuing the exercise. If you cannot do this, then don’t attempt to long rein.

5. The mare is responding very well to the lines and adopting a lovely lowered, stretched outline.This is what you are aiming for in the early days. From here progress is towards encouraging more engagement and rounding thus bringing Bobbie off the forehand.

6. To illustrate the application of side reins for the first time ‘ note the low setting - below the saddle flap. Feeling what to him is an unnatural “restriction” Hero has drawn himself up and in and he has stopped moving forward.

In between lunging work you will want to ride your horse and although a hack out is really appealing it is better to ensure you have some control before embarking on this. So go into the school and experiment.

You will need to be patient, consistent and very understanding. If hacking out, go with a sensible companion, keep to a walk and trot, avoid open grass and canter tracks until much later. Introduce work such as circling or any collection slowly and carefully and initially in short (few minutes) sessions. Some racehorses will never have been out on their own or asked to lead ‘the string’ so gradually build your horse’s confidence up to be more independent.

Remember – racehorses are taught to go faster when you tighten the reins! The more you move your hands to tighten your grip the faster you are signalling your horse to go! Racehorses have been taught to lean into the pressure of the jockey’s hands when they run.

They are never asked to stop promptly from a canter (it could damage their legs apart from sending the jockey standing in his stirrups straight over his head) they just steady up gradually with their weight concentrated to the front of their body (none of this ‘hocks underneath’) until they’re at a slower canter, then a trot then a walk. Don’t be tempted to go into severe bits at the early stage as this is likely to cause more problems than it solves. If your horse doesn’t understand your rein aids it’s back to the drawing board with lots more slow work and schooling to help him understand.

1. Bobbie’s Mum, Lyn, has her first ride on her own horse since last November when the experience was not such a happy one.

When Lyn first got on she was understandably apprehensive and so was Bobbie; Bobbie has stiffened in the neck in response to Lyn’s tenseness and also how she is sat - she is very “down” on the saddle. However Lyn has a good leg position and a nice bend in her elbow.

2. By encouraging Lyn to initially lighten her seat (therefore giving her something else to think about too) Bobbie has relaxed her neck and adopted a softer outline. We now have to up the stakes and teach Bobbie about softening laterally.

3. Meanwhile Hero has a much more robust temperament than Bobbie in that he will readily try all the tricks just to see exactly what you are going to “make” him do. So here, Hero is typically setting himself against the hand and has adopted a stilted stride. Note whilst I have adopted a light seat, I have brought my lower leg back too far back, drawn up the heel and am stiff through the elbows - all of which are not helping Hero here - but are typical “faults” in many riders especially when a horse is not responding as they would like.

4. By encouraging forwardness - and with my legs more down the girth - Hero becomes more accepting of the hand and combined with the forward aids has begun to soften his neck with the result that his stride pattern has once again improved.

With both Bobbie and Hero their work will involve loads of exercises to continue to improve musculature and responsiveness to the aids. At times it will seem as if no progress is being made and that you have hit a brick wall. Your horse will feel to you as if it has stiffened up, is no longer going forward, etc. This is really a result of you, the rider, becoming that bit more demanding in what you will accept.

There is likely to be other glitches along the way too. One very typical situation is where a horse favours one rein more than another - usually the result of an injury or just because whilst in training riders tend to hang on to one rein more than the other. This means that the rider has to work that bit harder on the stiffer rein with their [relative] inside leg and inside rein working in co-ordination in order to soften the muscle.

Hero is one such horse favouring his right rein and even on the left rein, attempting to flex right.