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Veteran
Posts: 264
 
| I'm stuck on where to go from here! I have a free running, roll back style, off the track 6 year old who is starting to drive me crazy.
I am always always always working on suppling and keeping him soft. Walk/trot/lope he feels fantastic. He's soft in all body parts and really listening. The moment he gets any faster you would think I'm on a different horse. He gets very stiff and chargey through turn. Those who I have asked for help locally say to just let him cruise through it, he's young and will "just get it." I attended a barrel clinic as well as a reining clinic to get help and pick up some more exercises, but he excels in slow work so it's hard to explain to the trainer when he isn't doing anything wrong.
Is this an off the track behavior? What are some good exercises for him? Would off pattern work be more beneficial when working with speed?
Please let me pick your brain! :-) |
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
  
Location: Phoenix | Have you tried loping him through and just circling the barrel until he lopes a nice, relaxed circle around the barrel? Then let him sit and relax once he does? I would start with that. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2097
Location: Deep South | Everytime my 3yo tries to stiffen up or charges out of a barrel before he's completed a turn, no matter what speed we are going, we double wrap them. It has helped tremendously, he stays soft and fluid through the turn now. This is the Sherry Cervi video that inspired me to try it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8ruRzdGP-U&feature=plcp |
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| All the above. Also have checked for hocks fusing. That condition is excruciating and causes weird behaviors. My 5 yr old off the track never indicated typical hock pain symptoms, just seemed super I nconsistent. Checked his hocks as a last thought, sure enough, there it was. |
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 Lady Di
Posts: 21556
Location: Oklahoma | How old is he? Have you had his hocks checked? His teeth? Usually when one starts stiffening and bracing, I've found it's caused in a large part by physical issues, and if they're not corrected, it will produce a long standing bad habit. Just my experience. |
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boon
Posts: 2
| I have one like that. She's been that way for 3 yrs. I have had her checked head to toe. All people tell me is slow work her and keep her soft and flexing around the barrels. Then I make a run at a show, and she slows WAY DOWN before very quickly turning the barrel. Never blows off or not turns, just rates so hard that it takes time off of our run. So I'm curious to hear what people have to say to you. I feel your pain. |
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Veteran
Posts: 264
| I haven't done the multiple circles around the barrel, I will give that a try. Thank you!
He is 6 years old, he had his hocks checked beginning of the year and was fine, but it definitely wouldn't be a bad idea to get them checked again. I didn't think about fusing.
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Expert
Posts: 4766
Location: Bandera, TX | Great advice from all of the above! I've found in race horses that more often it is the stifles. To see if that is so can you inject with a steroid? If the horse goes better then get a full HA injection in the joints. Most of the time I've found the horse to get 3-6 mo relief from a steroid before I give a combo injection. I will try to get a full work up of the joint if the injection tells you this is the spot causing the problems. |
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 Sexy Bee Yacht
Posts: 5849
Location: WA | Interesting question.... I have an OTTB, she is 9, basically sat a lot after the track, had some babies, got broke to ride and now I have her. She has a nice soft circle walk/jog/trot/lope. Super soft around the barrel to the left (we are only at a lope around the barrels), but we get to the backside of first (right barrel), she pulls and stiffens right up. Healthy. Just doesn't like to stay soft all around that turn. What helped late in summer before she got an unplanned break was half rounds. A big relaxed circle around the barrel, then go in for a normal barrel turn, then back out to relaxed circle. Start at a trot, go to lope when going well. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1218
Location: South MS | Teeth
Hocks
Stifles
Make sure nothing is pinching
I would do alot of spiral circles and make sure to keep the noise tipped in - once you get small instead of breaking into a trot -drive him loping and get him as tight as possible and lope out of it
Do this both directions - teaches him even when turning tight to hold position and kept nose tipped to inside
Once he does perfectly off the barrels - he should work the barrels alot better |
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  Keeper of the King Snake
Posts: 7622
Location: Dubach, LA | Hmmm. A video might help. Rollback horses are stiff. You've had good advice on here, but it may just be his style. |
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 I keep my butt inside
Posts: 3281
Location: Weatherford, Texas | REMEMBER- track horses are taught to push through the bit to run and brace against it. If you are loose in his mouth and then pull at the turn, that means to speed up and brace against you. Just breaking an OTT horse slow doesn't change that training when they go fast. Work on one barrel or a few in a random pattern, work imaginary barrels, E-patterns, etc going faster. Training and running pole bending is great for teaching a handle in a faster speed.
I would bet he is just reverting to his old training. |
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 Own It and Move On
Location: The edge of no where | Make sure you aren't using any outside leg on him, just inside.
Might try pushing your hand further up his neck in the turns and make sure you aren't dropping contact part way around. |
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 Crazy Chicken Chick
Posts: 36132
| CanCan - 2014-01-01 7:49 PM Hmmm. A video might help. Rollback horses are stiff. You've had good advice on here, but it may just be his style.
This. My mother's horse that I run used to be a rope horse. Not sure if that has anything to do with it, but he is very stiff. Loping circles, it feels like I'm riding a 2x4. But I don't notice it a lot when we run. It's just his style, and he's 17 I think so I'm not going to try to change him.
But I HATE warming him up!!! He feels awful, but as long as he runs good I will leave him be. He doesn't knock, so that's what counts. |
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Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | This new horse of ours that runs barrels sounds like your horse. He comes in really round and soft, and it feels like you will be doing a perfect "C" circle around the barrel. But instead, he rolls back about halfway thru the turn so it ends up being more of a "D". WrapSnap suggested I keep the bend at the beginning, but lose all contact with his mouth for the last half (put hand on neck) and keep inside leg on him. I basically just need to push more into the pocket and let him work the last half. Just some insight. |
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Veteran
Posts: 264
| Thank you all so much for your advice! I tried doing the spirals and really pushing him into the turn. He looked like a fish out of water for a while and kept adding speed, but eventually he realized he couldn't physically turn if he didn't shorten up, relax and drive.
When I got on the pattern I made him circle each one until he was relaxed. It took quite a while but by the end of the ride he was feeling TONS better on his first and second. I think the third will take quite a bit more time and patience, he is over anticipating the run home and really gets bracey.
Some one mentioned it above....the D shaped barrel turn. It could not describe him better.
Thank you all so much. |
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