907brlrcr - 2017-10-13 1:44 PM

Update - I had multiple vets, chiropractors and massage therapist come out to work on him a couple times after I posted this. I did have his hocks injected again, even though the vet said that it was not his hocks.

In the end I decided that I was not going to give up on him. I was going to see this through. There is something about him, and I knew it the second he stepped off the trailer. We started playing with cows, going for long runs on the river, we hauled and raced in a different arena and different city for almost 15 weeks straight, we spent time on the trails, we played games with the kids and did things so far out of his comfort zone. All of this seemed to work.

By the end of the season he started not only turning our first can, but we started winning. He was so wicked fast that he was able to clock decent times when we would canter to our first can (if he didn't throw himself on the ground), so as soon as he was able to have a little hustle to the first can he really started clocking. We ended the year winning the local 1D races a handful of times. We even won a buckle at the last race. To top it off, I started running poles with him, to give him another job, and his last pole run was a 22.4. Not too bad for a boy who doesn't do poles. I have been able to take him off of all his calming sups, I took off his tie down, and he is in a normal bit, instead of the mess I had to have him in, in order to have a small amount of control.

Here is the kicker though...... The end of the year is wet and cold here in Alaska, so we run in an indoor arena. The barrels are up against the wall, he doesn't have a lot of option to throw a fit in the indoor. I am a little concerned that next season when I get him out to a big open outdoor arena we might have the same issue. So I believe that he is not in pain, because he would not only be in pain if we were outside and not in pain if we were inside, but there might be too much pressure, or opportunity or something that sets him off when he is in an outdoor pen. Has anyone ever heard of that?

He is out to pasture for the winter. He is out being a horse and just letting his brain rest. I hope 5-6 months of just eating and relaxing will reset his brain and when I start working him next year he will be ready to work. Wouldn't that be wonderful if it worked!!??? Fingers Crossed!

907brlrcr - 2017-10-13 2:44 PM Update - I had multiple vets, chiropractors and massage therapist come out to work on him a couple times after I posted this. I did have his hocks injected again, even though the vet said that it was not his hocks. In the end I decided that I was not going to give up on him. I was going to see this through. There is something about him, and I knew it the second he stepped off the trailer. We started playing with cows, going for long runs on the river, we hauled and raced in a different arena and different city for almost 15 weeks straight, we spent time on the trails, we played games with the kids and did things so far out of his comfort zone. All of this seemed to work. By the end of the season he started not only turning our first can, but we started winning. He was so wicked fast that he was able to clock decent times when we would canter to our first can (if he didn't throw himself on the ground), so as soon as he was able to have a little hustle to the first can he really started clocking. We ended the year winning the local 1D races a handful of times. We even won a buckle at the last race. To top it off, I started running poles with him, to give him another job, and his last pole run was a 22.4. Not too bad for a boy who doesn't do poles. I have been able to take him off of all his calming sups, I took off his tie down, and he is in a normal bit, instead of the mess I had to have him in, in order to have a small amount of control. Here is the kicker though...... The end of the year is wet and cold here in Alaska, so we run in an indoor arena. The barrels are up against the wall, he doesn't have a lot of option to throw a fit in the indoor. I am a little concerned that next season when I get him out to a big open outdoor arena we might have the same issue. So I believe that he is not in pain, because he would not only be in pain if we were outside and not in pain if we were inside, but there might be too much pressure, or opportunity or something that sets him off when he is in an outdoor pen. Has anyone ever heard of that? He is out to pasture for the winter. He is out being a horse and just letting his brain rest. I hope 5-6 months of just eating and relaxing will reset his brain and when I start working him next year he will be ready to work. Wouldn't that be wonderful if it worked!!??? Fingers Crossed!

Ohiobarrelracer - 2017-06-30 7:36 AM

 I've never had this problem but ive had friends that have. At your shows do they offer exhibition before the show starts? if so, can you exhib him a couple times that way you can work that first kink out? treat your exhib run like a real run and see what he does, if he acts up, you have the time to fix it, run again, and go from there and maybe he wont do it in the actual class? that way youve only wasted $4-$5 instead of a $30 entry fee. I know things are different during an actual run, nerves, crowd, and so on. But it may be worth a try.  I also agree with giving him a different job for a couple months, his heart just may not be in it right now. Good luck!