OTTB Success Stories

Outflankem enjoys the 24" of snow even if his mom doesn't!

I’m sure you’ve heard the Mid-Atlantic got walloped with a storm Friday into Saturday.  My area got 24″! We’re all hanging in, and the horses don’t seem to be nearly as miserable as I would think they would be.  Here’s a beautiful shot of Bailey, aka Outflankem, from about an hour ago.

Outflankem

13 Photos

 

I was hoping to get some pictures of Fast Commander today at a lesson, but my husband was needing the digital camera for something he was doing. Hopefully I’ll be able to get some soon to send. “Commander” is great and seems to retain everything despite erratic schedules. He has jumped up to 3ft in lessons. He has really become more coordinated & athletic as he has matured, and he has gotten quite good in his lateral work. Anywhere we go, someone asks, “How big is he?” (17HH & still all legs.) He’s a pleasure to ride & I think he has a ton of talent. Of course, we still have lots to learn as he is not truly five yet. We are starting to think about Spring show schedules and wish for the end of a cold Winter.

I hope all is happy & healthy with you guys.
Stephanie

Tru Native and his herd leader Lauren Wittkop.

Hi Elizabeth,

Just a quick email to let you know how SUPER Truman is coming along this last week. He is even now accepting lunging with side-reins (very loose) with some cantering. He is getting stronger, balanced and more confident each day. I will be sending off another success story in the next week or so with new pictures of me riding and trotting.

I haven’t seen the story I sent you early last week up on the website but will keep checking. I love your website and look at it everyday, it is so interesting to look up different horses success stories and read them. It’s addicting and fun…

Have a great day, and I will keep in touch with a new “Tru” story soon. I just love him!

Best,
Lauren

Elizabeth’s Note: OK. OK. Lauren is really applying the lessons on training I shared with her. She is making it difficult for me because I have not gotten her Tru Native Success Stories up on the site! Lauren’s stories really give insight to how easy it is to train an off-the-track Thoroughbred if you understand some basic natural horsemanship concepts. Go back and read Tru Native’s Success Stories from the beginning and see how Lauren has learned to become the herd leader.

Hi Elizabeth,

Happy New Year to you too!  Goldie is well and was going great before all this snow.  He’s got a really good start, though, so Laura’s trainer thinks a break will be fine. The Pony Club is planning on doing some clinics down in Phoenix next month to get everyone started again, if we can get down the mountain by then. Laura is still planning on eventing Beginner Novice on him early June.

Goldie (Gold’s Anatomy) is so funny in the snow. He and his buddy Ice love the cold weather and and play across the fence all the time. I think they’re getting cabin fever and their blankets are getting the worst of it. That part isn’t funny.  Well, only had to snowshoe out to feed twice so I guess it could be worse.

Hope all is well with you guys, thought I heard you had snow.  Didn’t even know it snowed there.  Stay warm!

Leslie

Elizabeth’s Note: When you read about having to put on snowshoes to go feed the horses it makes our Georgia snow and ice seem silly! See our Winter Wonderland photos of winter at Bits & Bytes Farm.

Austin's Wolf is successful at 3'

Hi all!
This weekend Austin’s Wolf and I did our second 3′ show to get more experience under our belts.

We were not as fit as I would have liked – holidays and family visits through off our schedule and we did not have a show in December.

Started with a Friday night schooling in gale force winds with about 15 horses in the ring all jumping every which way…..  took us longer working than I wanted to settle.

Saturday was a nice day and we had a couple good rounds….

Sunday we were both tired and had two flat classes and a couple more over fences.

We placed, but not as well as I would have liked the second day……

Attached are a couple of pictures from my resident photographer Josh.

Hugs to everyone!
Laurie

Austin’s Wolf now has a Photo Gallery with Albums show all his winning pictures.
Be sure to read all of  Austin’s Wolf’s Success Stories.

[View with PicLens]

Hi Elizabeth,

Been a while so I thought I’d check in. “Ping”  (Shelby’s Hill) is now 7, and a full 16 hands.  He has filled out and is beautiful.

After some work his feet are now great, and I hope to start his event training this year.  He is so talented in dressage he could just do that, but that is not all I want to do.  I long-lined him yesterday after not doing it for two years and he was just great.  I still toy with the idea of a bigger horse but he has a big heart.

Hope all is well.

Sarah Farnham

Hi Elizabeth,

I sure hope it was as beautiful in Canton as it was here! It took until about 11:00 for the dense fog to burn off and the sun to bring about a beautiful day. It hasn’t been this nice in forever it seems. I went and picked up some hay this morning and got back around lunch to prepare for my afternoon ride.

Lindy and I took our first of many long trail rides cross country. I’m guessing it may have been a first for her since she looked at everything. We rode up and down the hills, through the fields and on the trails through woods for about two hours. It was wonderful!!! She was very brave and very honest– no silly or thoughtless moves Lindy learned about stepping over logs and by the end of our ride she was a pro.

Our next outing will involve the little creek. Read the rest of this entry »

Hi Elizabeth,

Thank you sooooo much for the phone call consultation two days ago and all the links about training, it has been a great education for me. Here is my story for the website success stories, and what a success it has turned out to be, thanks to you…

These last two weeks have been quite confusing and chaotic for both myself and Tru Native aka “Truman”. I was so busy being a loving and caring Mom to him, wanting him to feel comfortable in his new life, he figured that he needed to keep up his role of the “herd leader”. He could tell from day one immediately that I was not, which turned bad quite quickly as he is extremely intelligent!! Also, which did not help the situation was the training progressing WAY too fast, i.e., lunging with side reins, the lunge-line over the poll (which turned the bit into a gag!! OMG!!), and pushing him to try to canter on a 20 meter circle, all me, unknowingly, and my trainer’s mistakes, lead Truman to become very frustrated, upset and he even started throwing tantrums. So each day became worse and he started pushing me around, rearing on the lunge, getting in my space, and pulling away on the lunge-line, dragging my trainer all across the arena to the aisle door, pushing his way through each and every door or gate he could muster.

Tru Native Learns who is the "Tru Leader".

The one thing that did not change was his dynamic, sweet way he had to be so loving, he even calls out to me when I come into the barn. He never kicked out or was intentionally mean during all of this commotion, a sign that he is really a SUPER, level-headed horse. We definitely love each other tons, but I knew I needed the help of Elizabeth and something had to change. I never once, though, regretted buying this horse through all of this, because I knew I was doing something wrong and it could be corrected efficiently and quickly, if I just knew what it was!!!!

I needed to be the “HERD LEADER”!!!! and get tough and firm about his pushing me around. I had to give right back and even harder, and more swiftly than he gave. You know what, IT WORKED. He is so smart and a quick learner, and most of all wanted and needed a leader, almost seems relieved now. I have taught him to back up from doors and wait while I open them, and claim them as my own. He is to wait until I allow him to make a move, if he doesn’t he gets a HARD whack on the shoulder. It has only taken once or twice and now he is patient at gates and doors. He also stands completely still at the mounting block while I get on. And… waits for my signal to walk off.

Tru Native and his herd leader, Lauren.

In the beginning, before I talked with Elizabeth, when I rode off from the mounting block, he would turn and run back to the door that leads out to the aisle. I tried to turn him the other way, and it did work, but he always wanted to get back to that door and would protest, trying to scare me. After, my phone call with Elizabeth, we don’t have any of that anymore. I followed through with the HARD smack on the shoulder with a stiff crop when he would turn toward the door. Now, he has given that up, because he knows that he made the wrong CHOICE to do that and there is a consequence now. I let him CHOOSE to make the right decision and praise like crazy, or the wrong decision followed with annoying him anyway I can. He has been so much fun to ride, even though we still swerve a bit, but he is getting better everyday!! No cantering yet, just getting him stronger and happy in his work.

I know the road ahead will be filled with new obstacles, but I know have a great support system in Elizabeth and this time won’t hesitate to call for help and not wait until things get so bad. So, Tru is still my baby but a baby with rules, regulations, and limitations. I have learned that every time I go into his stall, I am teaching him something and have to be consistent from the get-go for him to become a good-horse-citizen!! I am so happy with his progress and am so proud of myself. You were right, Elizabeth, I can do this myself. Your encouragement means the world to me!!

Attached are some new photos of us and my first “official” ride as Truman’s boss.

New Herd Leader,
Lauren

Elizabeth’s Note: Wow! I wish everyone could read this Success Story and learn from it. Off-the-track Thoroughbreds are no different than any other horse breed when it comes to training. The natural horsemen trainers all say the same thing. It is most important that you to take charge and be the leader. How you do it will vary from horse to horse, situation to situation but the basic concept is to make it easy for the horse to do what you ask, and difficult for him if he does not choose to cooperate.

More than anything, the horse just wants to get along and be a part of your herd. If you do not take charge and become the leader, he will. In the wild, it can mean life or death to the horse is the herd leader is weak. The second horse in the herd (beta) will always challenge the leader (alpha) to make sure the leader can lead and protect the herd. If you show weakness, don’t be surprised if your horse gets bossy and difficult. If you are afraid of your horse, get help or get another horse.

Tru Native learns to lunge.

Hi Elizabeth,

Today I had my first “official” ride on my beautiful boy Tru Native. Just walking though, or should I say swerving all over the place!! He has been doing quite well in most aspects and I do have some questions and need some advice from you. I figured your the best person to ask for help because of your great expertise!!

Let me explain what has been going on the last eight days. The first few days I just lunged him with the help of my trainer, Jaime. Truman is very “stall sour” so to speak. And I understand why, I think. Let me know if you agree. Since he has lived alone for about a year with no rules, no horses, and no limitations, he is having a harder time dealing with the “new rules and work”. He LOVES his stall and my grooming and constant attention. When we go into the indoor, or out to his paddock for that matter, he seems uneasy and wants to get back to his stall. Do you think this is because he lived outside and he loves his new stall and safe area and is worried that it might go away? When we go to lunge in the indoor, he pulls, sometimes very hard, dragging us to the door which leads to the isle. He is VERY strong. I always bring him back to the lunging spot, calmly, and start over. He is having trouble cantering as well, and we are not pushing this at all. Small steps. He has been getting better each day, but still has that tendency to want to get out that door and pull out of the circle, with front legs stomping on the ground, like a child having a temper-tantrum!! Read the rest of this entry »

My first ride on MY ex-race horse!

I still can’t believe how easy my first ride on Monarch was. I had read lots of other folks’ Thoroughbred Success Stories on the Bits & Bytes Farm Web site, as well as the article “Riding your OTTB for the first time.” I took special note of the line that said, “This is not your horse’s first ride, and it won’t be a rodeo,” but I think I still expected it to be at least a bit challenging. After all, the last time I was on a horse was more than two years ago, so I’m not exactly an expert rider these days!

Plus – and I almost hate to add this, because in retrospect it seems so silly – Monarch’s racing history gave me some reason to doubt my first ride would be a smooth one. After all, he had raced twice in his short career, and he’d lost his jockey BOTH TIMES! Read the rest of this entry »