And did they ever get better?

My mare runs from the top of the 1D to top of the 2D (depending on the size of the race) in every bigger pen we've been in, regardless of ground conditions. My issue here is that a lot of bigger races here are indoors/in smaller outdoor pens (low 15's winning) and she runs 2D in the outdoor pens and usually been 3D indoors. And she becomes an absolutely miserable cow after even a single T/O or warming up indoors. Gets gate sour, hot and pulls on my hands. At outdoor races, she'll darn near fall asleep at the gate if I don't keep her walking. 

She's a big free running type, but shuts down to turn way early on smaller patterns and makes me really work to get around 2nd barrel clean. 

What are your experiences/how do you handle horses like this? Do you just enter at races you know are big patterns? Or is there possibly a cure??? 

Interested to see the responses you get as far as remedying this...I have one like this too (minus the attitude part. She's pretty chill either way she just will NOT run hard indoors.)

I second that!  

How many times have you ran her indoors so far?

It seems like most horses get REALLY ratey in the small indoor pens, so your riding becomes very important so that you don't go to the horn too soon, don't sit too soon, basically don't do anything that's going to encourage them to turn too soon.

Does she NEED an exhibition or to see the arena first? If she doesn't, I would try warming her up outside, come inside just before your run, do your run, then get out. If she doesn't enjoy being worked indoors, then minimize it as much as you can.

I think seasoning is very important and comes with hauling. 

She's been ran indoors less than 10 times probably, and made lots of runs in smaller outside patterns. 

I have used a lighter bit indoors on one like that and it seemed to free him up quite a bit.

I have also done this and seems to work!

I am definitely no expert but I have also struggled with indoors and have come to learn it is  my riding. (I am still working on overcoming this.) My horse truly is a reflection of myself and when I was thinking she was cheating and being overly ratey I started to watch my videos more closely. It was pretty clear  that I was the reason she was sitting down too soon and not clocking- I was cuing her with my body and she was simply listening. I feel like breezing my mare the week I am running her has also really helped her clock faster. She can be ratey (due to how I ride) and it has really helped free her up. Good luck! :) 

We are already running in a smooth 3 piece loose ring snaffle... next step rope halter?!? I've tried an s hack before and threw it in the garbage it was so terrible! 

I know my riding isn't wonderful but I have gotten better even on the smaller patterns, it took a lot of work but I'm not setting up as soon as I used to and actually getting her past 2nd. 

I can share a video if that helps?

Here's a video in one if the pens we really struggled with hitting 2nd in this year. This was the only run there where I got her really by 2nd (a little too far). The rest of the year she would try to shut down darn near half way between 1st and 2nd. This run was also the only time in years that she came in on the wrong stinking lead!!

And a video on a bigger pattern for reference... seems like a total different horse!

If she’s been run little in smaller pens, then I would call it a seasoning thing. She’s trying to figure out how to do her job when that second barrel comes up really fast compared to what she’s use to, not to mention the fence.

If it were me, I'd try to seek out some opportunities in the smaller pens, maybe do time onlys and work on keeping her standing up and going straight into the second so she isn't thinking so much about getting down and turning (and slowing down). Or if she's too bad to deal with doing that at a race, see if there's a time one of those arenas is open to go ride in and set barrels up and work on it.