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Location: Alaska | I recently purchased a 7yo gelding from Arizona. He was refusing the first can for his previous owner and it was not a secret. She was very honest with me. When I went to try him he was perfect. He is wicked fast and would be one of the greats if we can get through this barrel issue. I need to note that every thing under the sun has been checked (twice) on this gelding for pain. He has had x-rays (multiple sets), teeth have been done twice and checked again, chiropractor, massage therapy, bone scans, blood tests, injections to try to eliminate problems, hocks and stifles checked repeatedly, He has been treated for ulcers (even though he was not testing positive for them), he is on magnesium (to include magnesium baths), and clay, and adiquan, two separate farriers, multiple vet checks (flexion tests on and on) a full thermal body scan, he has been scoped to check for bleeding, and yes even an animal communicator. I have tried to bute him and or give him previcox to see if he was in pain maybe he would run better on a pain killer, we have ran to the left barrel first, we have used every bit under the sun, different saddle pads, you name it I/we have tried it. Nothing is working. I am desperate. Please send suggestions.
In the practice pen he runs like a million bucks. Turns beautifully, never hesitates, or refuses the barrel. He rides like a dream. He has been given entire seasons off (6-7 months at a time). He has not had his legs ran off. IF I take him into the first can at a very very slow canter, and stay right in the middle of him, and use two hands he will turn the first can and then take off like a rocket and finish the rest of the pattern. If I let him pick his own speed to the first can, he blows up.
Here is my thought. It seems to me he has learned that if he throws a fit at the first can he gets immediate relief (with his previous owner they were running (attempting) in rodeos that would fine you if you schooled your horse during a race), so she had to get out of the arena immediately after his temper tantrum. It seems to me that he knows when it is competition and he has learned that if he has a fit, he gets to leave the arena and sit at the trailer. All pressure is taken off of him as soon as he misbehaves. He is smart enough to know that in the practice pen he can not get away with it, only during a competitive run. Like a kid in the grocery store, they know they can misbehave because there is an audience and mom wont spank them in front of people (unless you had my mom). :)
How do I fix this, if I can not school on him in the practice pen? He is an angel in the practice pen. This also shows that he is not in pain. He turns all three cans tight and snappy during practice. Also - I do need to add that I do give him omeprazole paste before we run (just to make sure he does not have an upset stomach and to calm him).
Has anyone else had this issue, and fixed it? I am obviously willing to do anything to try and fix this issue. I am a barrel racer and I do not have the ability to keep horses that are not productive. I board in a facility and for one horse it is a $550.00 bill just for board alone. I want to fix this and give him his forever home. He is amazing, and beautiful and so very talented, I just have to fix this first barrel. Thank you in advance for any helpful ideas you might have.
Edited by 907brlrcr 2017-06-29 5:18 PM
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 Saint Stacey
  
| Have you tried going to the other barrel first? |
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Member
Posts: 25
Location: Alaska | Yes I have taken him to the left barrel. Same situation. |
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 Hog Tie My Mojo
Posts: 4847
Location: Opelousas, LA | If he was mine and I was certain that your take on the situation was accurate, I would give him a very hard job for the rest of the summer that had nothing to do with the arena or barrel racing. In my case he would get to be a pony horse during the TB meet, in the south Louisiana heat and humidity, til the meet was over in September. I may even pony some in the morning just for good measure. Could you find someone that works cattle for a living? Being saddled at 5AM and having to work all day 5-6 days a week can work wonders on a horse.
?Honestly though, do you really want a horse that doesn't want to work for you? We spend so much money, time and effort on these horses, to have one that pulls crap like this for what ever reason just sucks all the joy out of it. Maybe finding him a different job and/or zip code would be the best for your sanity in the long run. |
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Member
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Location: Alaska | Barnmom - I am in Alaska, so there are no race tracks, not a lot of cattle farms either. I could send him out on a pack string for hunting, and give him a much different perception of his life, and that might be my next move.
Life is too short to do this for long, I totally agree with you. I am almost at that point, for sure. I just thought I would reach out as a last ditch effort and see if maybe someone out there had a magic trick for me to try...... |
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Hog Tie My Mojo
Posts: 4847
Location: Opelousas, LA | Yep, not many options in Alaska and too far to send him somewhere that does. I would imagine that he gets plenty of downtime up there also with the winters you have. I had one like yours, I finally cut my losses and sold him cheap for a trail horse. I rarely get to go to a barrel race and when I do, I want a partner, not a horse that grudgingly kinda sorta does as I ask or worse, throws a fit. I am just riding two colts now and much happier even if they aren't ready to run yet. |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| We have a gelding that we spent $1000 on trying to find a physical issue because he would not go in the pen, refused the alley, ended up sending him to a trainer who he did great for. When my daughter got back on him he pulled the same stunt, trainer told her next time when he balks hit him one time as hard as you can and tell him no. That dolbed the problem and he's never hesitated a step, he was just taking advantage .
The same trainer also took in a young one on a trade that was blown up. He was a local horse and she knew his issues but saw something in him. He was not overrun just too much pressure for him to handle, it took her over a year but she brought him back and he went on to win everything, she turned down 6 figures for him several times. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 695
Location: Windoming | just wanted to say I owned one that was awesome in practice, but would run up the fence in a competition. He'd make perfect runs in practice, which makes it hard to understand why not in competition. In his case, it was his hocks. |
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Member
Posts: 25
Location: Alaska | Why would he run in practice and not in competition? How could it only hurt in a competitive run? That is very confusing.
I have (another) vet appointment to have his hocks x-rayed again..... I will also try to inject them again and see if maybe we missed something the first two times...
It really does seem like hock problems, I just don't know why nothing is showing up on x-rays or during a chiropractic exam, and why the first set of injections did not help the issue.
Thank you for sending your reply - I was on the fence about going through the hock issue again, but I think one more time might put my mind at ease.... Maybe?
Edited by 907brlrcr 2017-06-29 5:49 PM
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Expert
Posts: 3514
| Have you checked into kissing spine? |
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Hog Tie My Mojo
Posts: 4847
Location: Opelousas, LA | Are they injecting both the lower and middle joints in the hocks? I know some vets feel that it is not neccessary to do both because most horses have joints that communicate. I have found that is not the case and middle joints can still be very painful even after the lowers have been injected. |
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 No Name Nancy
Posts: 2715
Location: never in the right place | is there a local competition that they will let you be last and since you are the last person you could school him at that 1st barrel and not have to leave the arena.
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Member
Posts: 25
Location: Alaska | Barnmom - Both joints were injected. I am going to do it again though. It has been a year so maybe it is time to try it again.
ctdrumrunner - Yes, there is a local race that I can school on him at, and I have. After he throws a fit we will start over and he will run it perfect. He just HAS to throw that initial tantrum. The second you make him do it again, he is perfect.... SO FRUSTRATING!
Edited by 907brlrcr 2017-06-29 6:46 PM
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 966
Location: Loco,Ok | Called Rodeo Smart. Believe they know the difference. And when you put your money up. Everyone rides harder. |
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Member
Posts: 25
Location: Alaska | Can you fix "Rodeo Smart"? 
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12841
| 907brlrcr - 2017-06-29 6:42 PM
Barnmom - Both joints were injected. I am going to do it again though. It has been a year so maybe it is time to try it again.
ctdrumrunner - Yes, there is a local race that I can school on him at, and I have. After he throws a fit we will start over and he will run it perfect. He just HAS to throw that initial tantrum. The second you make him do it again, he is perfect.... SO FRUSTRATING!
The horse in my avatar needed his hocks injected and started running up the fence. Got the hock situation fixed and he still ran up the fence. I sent mine to a trainer to tune on him. He is wonderful now. I do have his hocks injected every 4 months. As a matter of fact, they were injected yesterday. They way I look at it, he takes care of me so I have to take care of him. |
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 Expert
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Location: Southeast Louisiana | ctdrumrunr - 2017-06-29 6:39 PM
is there a local competition that they will let you be last and since you are the last person you could school him at that 1st barrel and not have to leave the arena.
This is what I was going to say.
Just a thought, but maybe you could start by taking him to the first like you described (under control) then, after he turns it right, pull him up and give him a pat on the neck, dismount and walk him out.
Since he only acts up in competition, you'd end up donating a lot of entry fees at first, but it's something I'd be willing to try.
Obviously, you can't do this every time, but you could just walk the pattern the next time after a good first, etc. Just make him look forward to stopping if he turns it right. Add some speed back after you have his attention again. Maybe you could catch a weekend of three local (less expensive) barrel races in one weekend and just see if it works.
Edited by Nita 2017-06-29 10:08 PM
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 Scooters Savior
Location: "Si Fi" Ville | I was reading this and had a flashback. This is a long shot for what it's worth. I had a horse act similar,no tantrum but would duck or run smooth off. I worked on him for 2 years. He was the most talented horse I ever rode. At home... no problem. Show... it happened every time. I sold him. I could not do it anymore. A year later I read something that made me stop and think. By this time I saw this horse at shows go thru owner after owner. But I suspected now I knew almost for certain what the problem was all along. By this time we are 3 years "divorced" lol, I see he is for sale. He's 16 and some ropers are looking to buy him from current owner. I felt sorry for him, I knew he wouldn't work out and would end up at a sale barn. I paid a big price,brought him home and as soon as he put his head down to graze sure enough after much time had passed I finally heard the sound of his airway being compromised. That was his problem all along and I can't count the number of vets he's been to. BUT in their defense it wouldn't be caught unless someone had used the kind of scopes that you hook a horse up to while exercising. When he got "on the muscle" at a show he would get a blocked and couldn't get enough air. He's still in my pasture and I didn't get it fixed since he is 17 years old. It's a long shot but thought I might say something, who knows. I just wish I had caught it in his earlier yrs |
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Expert
Posts: 1718
Location: Southeast Louisiana | treasurehunter - 2017-06-30 12:20 AM
I was reading this and had a flashback. This is a long shot for what it's worth. I had a horse act similar,no tantrum but would duck or run smooth off. I worked on him for 2 years. He was the most talented horse I ever rode. At home... no problem. Show... it happened every time. I sold him. I could not do it anymore. A year later I read something that made me stop and think. By this time I saw this horse at shows go thru owner after owner. But I suspected now I knew almost for certain what the problem was all along. By this time we are 3 years "divorced" lol, I see he is for sale. He's 16 and some ropers are looking to buy him from current owner. I felt sorry for him, I knew he wouldn't work out and would end up at a sale barn. I paid a big price,brought him home and as soon as he put his head down to graze sure enough after much time had passed I finally heard the sound of his airway being compromised. That was his problem all along and I can't count the number of vets he's been to. BUT in their defense it wouldn't be caught unless someone had used the kind of scopes that you hook a horse up to while exercising. When he got "on the muscle" at a show he would get a blocked and couldn't get enough air. He's still in my pasture and I didn't get it fixed since he is 17 years old. It's a long shot but thought I might say something, who knows. I just wish I had caught it in his earlier yrs
Wow! ...you are that horse's guardian angel. |
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Member
Posts: 25
Location: Alaska | I very much appreciate everyone's thoughts, ideas, stories and suggestions. I am going to try all of this. I am going to re-do x-rays, injections, try to check his airway during a competitive situation, give him EXTRA positive reinforcement when he turns the barrel and try to work him more (more wet saddle blankets).
I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to try and help us. |
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