Hello everyone, I have a few issues with Charmer my rescued racehorse.
1) He will not stand still while being tacked. And He walks off when mounting.
2) It is hard to get him to stop. I have to really pull on him mouth to stop.
3) When stopped I have to keep pulling on him to get him to stand still.
4) Once I am stopped it is very hard to get him to start walking. I have to really kick or slap him pretty hard with my giddy-up rope.
On the ground he walks and stops very easy when asked. However once I start to cinch up he start to get fidgety and want to walk off. I need some help
This is where you need your dually halter to teach him to stand still. It's very effective with the first 3 problems listed. Short, quick bursts whenever he moves to back him up and then bring him forward to the place he needs to stand. Race horses are trained to be mounted while moving, you will have to undo this training. It's not very difficult and only takes a few sessions when working with the dually. When in the saddle the dually is very effective at teaching a horse to stop and you don't have to pull on his mouth. Long lining ultimately is what you will need to do to soften up his mouth. I had this problem with one of my geldings and long lining did the trick. The side reins are the key to successfully softening a hard mouth. Also, when in the saddle if he won't stand still, short quick bursts first with the dually to back him up and then instant release of the pressure so he learns that if he moves there are instant negative consequences. But remember, horses learn on the release, not on the pressure. So if you release and he moves again or keeps moving then short, quick bursts again to back him up and then release again. Give him a chance to understand if he stands still he is rewarded. As for getting him to move forward, again the long lining will help with this also. It will help him to understand how to properly move forward and be more sensitive to you so you're not having to kick and kick to get anything out of him. His abuse has made him very dull and it's your job to show him how to be sensitive to you.
Good luck, I hope this helps.
Kleinne
Hi Christena
As Kleinne says, racehorses are taught to stand still for mounting so need to teach him from scratch. Also, (1) Racehorses are taught other things differently too; their weight is more to the front when racing so they don't work from'behind' so often need help to rebalance for conventional riding etc. (2) The are (usually) used to carrying much lighter riders than the average rider (not suggesting you are heavy at all!!!) just a point :-) (3) Pulling on the reins means go faster in race horse language. Have a look at Montys video about teaching horses to stop bu using a fence/channel. Maybe helpful to imagine that you have a new youngster and start from the beginning as if she knows nothing. Longlining is also good for retraining (good for everything!) Good luck!
Sorry that should read NOT taught to stand still ---typo!
Hallo! Please check the horseandcountrytv.co.uk with Kelly Marks and Monty working on the ex racehorse - you get a great understanding for your horse!
Best of luck!
Ci Ann Lindberg
Thank you call so much. One thing that I do like about charmer is that he does not want to run.. witch is good. due to him not wanting to stop right now. He almost asks like he is "broke" But when I lead him he can get him to trot he is such a pretty boy, his tail goes u and head held high. I will watch the videos on horse and country. I will post a video later of me riding so you can see everything.