Off the Track: Ethical Re-Training

From the original article by: Jody Harstone & Nicole Barrett

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If you are aiming to successfully turn a racehorse into a calm and obedient competition mount, you need to understand exactly why ex-racehorses are often stereotyped as ‘hot-headed’ and ‘hard-to-handle’. 

A bit of science can help us understand why these horses often end up this way, as well as help us plan an ethical and sustainable way in which to re-train them into calm and obedient sport horses with a bright future as pleasure or show horses, be it hacking, dressage, eventing or showjumping.

Bred To Run

There is a genetic predisposition for some breeds of horses to be hard-wired for flight. These horses are often referred to as "hot-blooded" and the thoroughbred falls into this category. The breed itself has been selected genetically for speed/flight for many generations, and attributes such as long term soundness, temperament and rideability have not been a high priority in the breeding programs of thoroughbreds for the racing game. Genetically, many ex-racehorses are not going to be as "quiet" as those breeds of horse that have been selected for generations to perform in sport, and to be rideable.

The inherited factor however, should not be entirely to blame. Just as the upbringing of a child has a huge significance on their behaviour, so it does on the horse.

Looking at the initial training that most racehorses receive, often these horses are well handled at an early stage. Many go through the yearling sales and at least one race prep. They are then broken in, often en-masse, with perhaps not the foundations that may have been laid, had they been destined for a Sporthorse future.

Early Training

Generally the thoroughbred is backed before its second birthday and is sent straight to the track where it will be predominantly cantered one way. It won’t have seen much of the ‘real’ world.

The signals installed on a racehorse ‘breaker’ are often fairly minimal, with steering and stopping perhaps not being given a high priority, when the future is to gallop on an oval track. Often the breaking in period is short and sweet, covering habituation to the rider and a vague ability to stop and steer.

Compare this to a sporthorse who has a six to eight or twelve week period of breaking in, where he will be taught how to walk, trot and canter in the arena, turn and circle well, stop on command and even spend time hacking out over hills (we hope!)

At the end of a racing career (which may be as short as a single trial or as long as many years of racing around the country, and the world) many racehorses are ‘recycled’ into a Sporthorse career – often with not so successful results.

Behaviour such as pawing, excessive sweating, neighing (separation anxiety), high head carriage, jig jogging, leaning on the bit and crookedness are seen more often than not when a racehorse is put into a riding career.

Experience

It is important to note here that these behaviours are not just the result of their genetic predisposition and early foundation training, they are also influenced by their experience on the track.

To explain this further, lets look at some of the principles that underpin Equitation Science:

To produce a calm and obedient horse, the pressure-release signals (that is reins for stop, and legs/whip for go) must be installed correctly.

What does the OTT horse know about the reins?

One of the first problems we encounter when re-schooling a racehorse is that they don’t appear to understand the meaning of the reins.

A great deal of a horse’s learning takes place via negative reinforcement - the removal of pressure. In the ideal world, you should ride in self-carriage (with a very light contact) and any backward pressure on the reins should always mean ‘stop’, ‘slow down’ or ‘back’.

In contrast, track riders bridge their reins and encourage the horse to lean on the bit and habituate to heavy rein pressures. This is why we see so many tied down tongues, open mouths, and horses that are hard to stop.

If we also look at how the rein signals are used on the track – more often than not the horse is ‘held’ at a speed with a strong contact on the reins (no self-carriage) and the signal used to accelerate is not the legs but rather the loosening of that strong rein pressure. Then at the end of the race the reins are used to pull up, or the horse is merely allowed to slow when he is not being urged anymore with hands and heels and/or the whip.

Think about how challenging it is for the horse when he encounters a new training environment where we change the rules and expect him to be respond like a sporthorse.

One of the biggest challenges facing any horse is learning how to get rid of the mouth pain/pressure that the bit inevitably causes.

If changes in rein pressure sometimes mean ‘slow down’, often mean ‘do nothing’, and at other times mean ‘speed up’, the horse is left with three possible responses to the same question.

One signal for one response

One of the biggest rules of learning theory is that there must be only one possible answer for the horse to any one question/signal (a bit like 2+2 always equals 4 in maths!) If this rule is not followed the horse will most definitely show signs of flight and tension as he tries to escape such a confusing situation. When this is prolonged, the horse may suffer severe stress, and related ailments such as stomach ulcers become the norm.

From a human perspective we can experience the same in our lives when we do not have a concrete answer to everyday issues such as "Will I have enough money to get through the week?" or "Will I get to the airport on time for my flight?" If we knew we had left in plenty of time for the journey, or we had a money tree in the backyard neither of these problems would cause any stress whatsoever.

It is the predictability of our environment which keeps us calm.

What does the OTT horse know about the rider’s legs?

Lets also look at what the racehorse knows about the ‘go’ button – the whip. The whip is used to get the horse to accelerate, but it is often used in the home straight when the horse is at top speed and fatigue is in fact forcing him to slow down, so the horse is learning to slow down from the whip.

The whip is also used as a punisher; often for shying, not turning or displaying ‘naughty’ behaviour such as rearing or reefing. This confuses the horse even more, as punishing a horse for showing flight only leads to more fear and flight.

Many top jockeys will not use the whip in the last stages of the race, preferring to use "heels and hands" to urge the horse on. These jockeys will tell you of horses that have learnt to go slower the more you use the whip.

All in all, the racehorse has several large holes in his training - he has had to contend with the incorrect use of pressure-release, from the reins and from the whip. Both of these signals have had several opposing responses attached to them i.e. the same signal sometimes means slow down and sometimes it means speed up. There is habituation to constant rein pressures and a lack of self-carriage to contend with.

Racehorses are also not used to long legs hanging around their barrels, so getting them habituated to this can be another challenge when their time on the track is up.

One of the first things many riders discover is that their newly acquired thoroughbred lacks the ability to stand still. As a racehorse, standing still is never really a priority in his training. He is nearly always in cross-ties, left free in his stall or on the walker.

As a sporthorse, however, we require him to stand tied to hitching rails, trucks/floats and yards, so for safety and ease of handling, he should be re-trained to stand still or ‘park’.

Being a flight animal, any movement of the legs, especially frantic or quick ones, cause the horse to become worried and display even more anxious behaviour.

By gaining control of his legs and training the horse not to move his legs until asked, we can effectively calm the horse and make him obedient.

Before teaching ’park’, one must install ‘stop’ and ‘go’ buttons on the ground; this is so that, when your horse does go to move, you can put him back in ‘park’.

Teaching ‘stop’

Using a bridle and a long whip, carefully check the horse is not overly reactive to the whip by just laying it on his body until it elicits no response. This is called habituation to the whip. Once this is achieved, train him to step back from light taps on the front of his cannon – only ask for a step, then release.

Once he is comfortable with this, move this signal on to the bit; apply light backward pressure to the bit, then tap the cannon (if he is at all heavy to the rein signal) to gain the step back, then release.

This is doubly beneficial, as not only are you training ‘park’, but you are teaching him to ‘stop’ from light backwards rein pressure.

Teaching ‘go’

Now that your horse can step back, check you can lead him forward - ‘go’. Do this by laying the whip on his side (around where your legs will lie when you are on him) and if this does not cause a reaction, tap lightly until a forward step is achieved, and release.

Do this facing the horse, standing on the ‘third track’ i.e. not right in front of him.

You can then put this on to lead forward from the rein signal, through applying the lead forward pressure, then tapping with the whip until the horse steps forward. When your horse is responding to both the whip taps only and the light rein pressures, you are ready to begin ‘park’ training.

Teaching ‘park’

‘Park’ ensures that the horse only moves if you ask him to; he becomes under stimulus control.
‘Park’ your horse in the middle of the arena, and then step away from him. If he moves to follow you, use the whip to step him back. If he takes two steps forwards, you put him two steps back, so he maintains the same position he was in when you started. Keep practicing until you are able to walk all around your horse without him moving; you will notice him becoming very relaxed, almost asleep, once he learns not to follow. This is because he no longer has to anticipate; he knows that the only time he can move is when you apply a signal, and so he becomes relaxed.

Head Down

The next beneficial tool to have in your tool box is the ‘head-down’ signal and response. A horse that is worried/anxious and often about to flee has a high, alert head carriage. To combat this, teach your horse to lower his head from downward pressure. In ‘park’ apply downward poll pressure by holding the reins under his chin and slightly rock your hand from side to side, as soon as your horse lowers his head evenly, slightly release; repeat until he becomes obedient.

In the saddle

Now that you have gained control of his legs on the ground it is time to get in the saddle! Once on, practice ‘park’, being very careful that you are not holding him in halt with the reins. Quietly ask the horse to stand still by applying a ‘stop’ signal, then check for self carriage, i.e. give both hands forward so there is a loop in the reins. As in ‘park’ keep putting him back where you started – you’ll be surprised how quickly he will stand and wait.

Teaching rhythm

Once this is established, and he is walking, become aware of what speed your horse is walking at, as one of the most common things missing from a racehorse’s repertoire is rhythm. As a racehorse, he has been taught to "go-go-go" everywhere, with very little regard for slowing/shortening/waiting. The best place to start to train rhythm is through long walk; give a nudge every third stride, seeking longer and more relaxed steps. Do not be perturbed if he jogs/trots/quickens; just slow, using your reins, and repeat the nudge, rewarding/releasing for any longer step, even if it is only one. Eventually the horse begins to lengthen his neck, drop his poll, and finally snorts, demonstrating relaxation.

Check for self-carriage

The most important thing throughout this retraining is to check for self-carriage, a concept almost totally foreign to a racehorse. It must become habitual for the rider to keep on checking so that relaxation is constantly achieved, creating a calm and obedient sporthorse. Long walk will become your ‘relax button’; once installed it can be used in any new or tense environment to relax the horse.

Adjusting the stride

Once the long walk button is regular, practice slowing and shortening the walk. Do so by apply a brief ‘whoa’ on the reins, then release and repeat every stride till he shortens. Check that he stays in short strides when you let go of the reins. Do not worry if he speeds up immediately post release, as the most important point here is that you do not hold on to him in the short walk; allow him to make to make the mistake, and correct him so the horse learns to keep his legs slow himself.

Benchmark relaxation

It is the rider’s job to rid the horse of tension and re-programme the reins to mean decelerate. It is common for riders with off-the-track racehorses to use band-aids such as draw-reins and side-reins to "teach the horse roundness", but this is last thing a racehorse needs. Roundness, as discussed in previous articles, comes from rhythm and straightness. It is imperative that the horse be taught to decelerate its legs from rein pressure, not to bring his nose in without slowing his legs.

Another issue you may come up against is that ex-racehorses can be very sensitive to the rider’s legs hanging down much lower than he is used to. He may shoot off whenever the smallest amount of leg contact is applied to his sides. The rider then often takes the leg away, thus rewarding this hyper-sensitive behaviour.

The best way to habituate him to your legs is to gently rub them on his sides, while stepping him backwards from the reins to ‘overshadow’ your legs. This prevents him from showing any tension or flight, and he will habituate much faster to your legs.

Straightness

A further issue you will most definitely face is that most racehorses will have a very crooked neck, with a bulge at the base of his neck that is not only uncomfortable but also makes it impossible to be round if the crookedness is maintained. This is where straightening his neck using an indirect rein aid becomes the next tool to be taught. Instead of trying to pull their heads down to create roundness, establish where the bulge is – often if the horse’s ears and poll are to the left the bulge will be on the right and vice versa. If this is the case, move both your reins to follow his ears (to the left) so that the right rein becomes flat on the bulging side, effectively ‘squashing’ the neck straight; release when the neck becomes straight. Remember self carriage! Do not hold them there; keep correcting and releasing until the horse holds his neck straight for himself. You will notice that once his neck is straight he will offer roundness – it is at this moment you can push him forward.

By using learning theory to re-train the off-the-track thoroughbred there is no reason why a calm and obedient mount cannot be created. However, bear in mind that thoroughbreds are a ‘hot-blooded’ animal and will require lots of patience, especially if they have had a less than favourable experience at the track. Good luck!

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