ex-racehorse behavior issues

Question
Hi,

I have been riding and leasing a 6 yr old ex racehorse for the past year.  He
had his tail caught in the starting gate and was retired to a field for a good
year, and then his current owner bought him.  She now wants to get rid of
him because she's scared to ride him- he's thrown her many times.

I've been working with him- starting with a lot of ground work and just longe
line, and he's usually pretty good on the longe.  I was unemployed for 6
months and had a lot of time with him- he's okay in the smaller ring either
when i was riding him by himself or with one other horse.  but even then,
he'd randomly spook and bolt and buck. But we did make a lot of progress-
he learned leg yields and became a lot quieter and more relaxed- we even
went over some small jumps (never above 2'6") with no problems.

I try to keep his attention by keeping his head straight and doing a lot of
walk-trot transitions to prevent him from bolting/bucking/rearing.  Its hard
for me to discipline him because he gets so wired and bugged out in the
bigger ring or when there's more than one other horse in any ring- and
sometimes i really believe he forgets that Im on his back.

Im employed now and can only ride in the evenings when most everyone else
gets off of work, too.  The horse has been picking up some bad habits and im
not sure where they come from- he's just started spinning and rearing in
addition to his usual bolting/bucking-im always sending him forward with a
strong leg when this happens (and making a large circle if i can catch him
fast enough when he bolts before he gets into a full-speed out-of-control
gallop.  His bucks are getting bigger and bigger and harder to sit and he's
acting more and more like a green racehorse again- but i do notice that his
ears are never pinned back- but im just always fighting for his attention.

I love this horse and he has amazing potential, but it just seems like
everything is a game to him- he's extremely playful and spirited- although its
becoming really dangerous behavior.  Everyone at the farm thinks im crazy
for sticking with the horse, but i really want to see him improve and go to a
good home.

He's been vetted recently and is UTD on all his shots, shoes, teeth, etc. and
gets 1 scoop hot feed 2x/day.  He's always bucking and gallopping around his
field with his friends- so he gets plenty of exercise during the day. I don't
wear spurs and usually never ride with a crop (he freaks out).

If you have any suggestions, I would gladly take them! Thanks for your time!

Sara

Answer
Hi Sara!

I cannot give training advice to non-owners of the horse in question.  While a nonowner may have the best intentions, their involvement could lead to hard feelings or worse a lawsuit.

The training of a horse is solely the owner's responsibility.

I can say though, that OTTB's tend to be the hardest to retrain and can take many years and allot of money to correctly train to a new job.  The health and correct training of a horse is a main concern of mine but, the safety of the rider must always be a concern too.  We choose to get in the saddle, so we humans are responsible for ourselves.  But, the horse has no choice in this matter and are often forced to do what they mentally or physically cannot.  A square peg cannot be forced into a round hole.  No matter how much we love them or want it for them.

Sometimes a new job for a horse can be nothing more strenuous than being a never-ridden pasture buddy for a backyard horse.

Good luck and remember to always wear an ASTM/SEI approved helmet!

Solange