7 YR OLD EX RACE HORSE

Question
HI, i RECENTLY ( A WEEK AGO) purchased a 7 YEAR OLD 16.2 GELDING OUT OF sPECIAL eFFORT & Dash for Cash. I was so impressed because being off the track for the last three years the owner only used him for pleasure and had 90 days of professional reining. I thought to myself what an opportunity to make this gentle gelding into a nice barrel horse. I have now been riding him for a week . Keep in mind she has not done anything with him for over a year. I have started all the usual lunging, feeding him in the trailer to get him to load, lots of brushing and actually even hauled him today to a barrel race to get him into that atmoshere and let him stay tied to a trailer.
Up until this evening he was doing fine. I rode him a little and after about 30 minutes he started throwing his head si I got off and lunged him some more. Then I tied him to the fence and got out a rope and thought I would handle it around him and see what he would do. After such a long day my head said I should not try and do this today because he really did have a long day but I did it anyway. Wellneedless to say he blew up. He started kicking his back feet really hard on the ground so my better instincts told me that I should tie him to the trailer and leave the rope hanging there so he could smell it and see that it was not going to hurt him. Wrong thing to do. He sat back on the lead rope and actually fell over and broke the hook. I immediately tried to go up yo him and clam him but he started kicking his back feet real hard again and would not let me get up to him. Finally with lots of patience I was able to catch him and re tie him to the trailer. I let him stand there for another 20 minutes or so and then un saddled him and put him up. HE WOULD NOT LET ME GO UP TO HIM IN THE STALL AND I FELT AS THOUGH HE WAS AFRAID OF ME> Seems to me he may have been  mistreated with a rope a time or two. ANyway I went a head and fed and just went back out to the stall and was able to get in the pen with him after about 20 minutes. My question is do you think I will beable to get him used to a rope being that I also am a team roper or do you think with him being 7 this is not a good possiblity. Also the lady who had hiom said she used a shadow role on him> I had noticed before the rope incident that he seemed to be a little spooky. Not being arounf race horses ever I do not even knoe the purpose of a shadoe roll. I have alot of questions I REALLY NEED ANSWERED> I did have a pre purchase vet check and all checked out well. HELP>  

Answer
Hi Pam;

I really think he's been mentally and emotionally over-stimulated in the past week and while he may have rope issues, that was just likely the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak.

Horses generally go through what I call the 'honeymoon' period after purchase.  The average honeymoon lasts 2 weeks, sometimes less, sometimes more.  During this period the horse behaves essentially 'perfect' and then things quickly deteriorate.

Horses are herd animals and depend on that herd for survival.  When you purchase one, you take it away from the herd it knows (whether that's a person, or other horses).  Imagine yourself what it would be like to be dependant on a herd for your very life and then have someone come and take you away one day.  Drive you miles away, feed you strange food, no known companionship, strange smells etc...  You'd be scared, confused, anxious, unsure et al...

Some horses handle this kind of stress better than others.  Here you've got a horse that hasn't known work in a year and then only had 90 days (which is a spit in the bucket), then you come along and buy him and immediately start riding him, taking him to shows, tying him up etc...

You are going to have back up several steps now and take the time to establish a trusting and respectful relationship with him.   

Typically, when I buy a horse, I turn them out and give them as much time as they need to get to know their new surroundings, get to know me, get to know pasturemates they might have, get used to the new food and the new routine.  This can be a few weeks, a few months, whatever.  When the horse begins to look forward to seeing me everyday and comes to greet me and is interested in knowing me, then I start to work with it and I take the time to really understand that horse's personality and temperment.  I always start from scratch as well because I've never met a horse that didn't have holes in it's training, or some sort of an issue (for your horse it may be the rope).

Given enough time, mutual respect and trust, you can overcome just about anything with this horse, but it isn't going to happen overnight.  You have to be willing to start over and go slow.  

I don't think that you should tie him when you begin rope work.  He'll feel trapped and will decide to either try and get alway at all costs (flight instinct), or turn and fight.

I don't know what your background is with training horses, but if this is something new you're having to deal with, then you might seek out some professional help.

Shadow rolls are often used on racehorses so they don't 'jump' shadows on the racetrack.

Best wishes and much luck and success with your new boy!

Sincerely,

Lana Reinhardt