Filly refuses to train

[Mood Swings]

A friend of mine has a 3 yr. old Theatrical (need I say more ) filly that is refusing to train. She was stabled at Woodbine with a reputable trainer but began to stop on the track and refuse to go forward. I believe she would rear if reprimanded. She was sent to a very nice facility for a break and then started back into light training. She was progressing nicely and even went out for hacks after her training but she has regressed and is back to refusing to train Everyone is starting to give up on her. Anyone have any experience with this? Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[winds]

Have they tried ponying her? Sometimes that helps.

winds

[soft hearted]

A good buddy to go out with as a mentor, a different rider... sometimes personalities just don't mesh.
A very timid horse with a rider who is quite assertive may feel overwhelmed, yet the same sort of combination will actually give confidence to another timid horse.
I'd try a different rider, then try her with company (not just being ponied - but that's a fab suggestion )
Do they still have "the field" to play in at WO? Or has that gone by the wayside in the many years?
Best of wishes, never a fun thing to deal with.

[ct2346]

i'm going to assume that you've already been through the progression of blinkers, bit changes, rider changes. I know that I've been up to that point before and I know it is not fun. I think a lot depends on her behavior when she is not on the track i.e around the barn, walking on the roads up there etc. Is she jittery, frightened of her own shadow etc.? Or is she just constantly fighting and asserting control? If its the latter I'd try changing trainers. If its the former, Id look into getting some barn pets - cats, etc. to calm her down. Make sure she has a lot of activity to get used to. I'd also contact the farm where she was boarded as a yearling for insights into her social and pasture behavior. You've got a head problem on your hands and they might be able to help.

I've been where you are twice (fillies of course) and its not fun.

[Kelly Kip]

Have they tried going in a western saddle, and gigging her with spurs when she quits? We've had a couple that this has worked on. Rider has to be quick, though.

[griff]

I had a similar problem with a gelding coming back from a turn out.. I seems that most exercise riders will bail as soon as a horse starts misbehaving and as not much in it for them if they get hurt I can understand that motivation.. Anyway, the first time a rider bails off starts to reinforce the horse's bad behavior.

I am lucky in that my trainer is young, strong and determined and we now seem to have the situation under control.. Ponying helps but I think doing works or mock races out of the gate between two stable mates is really what turn the corner for us....

By the way, I recommended a western saddle and roller spurs and my trainer thought the spurs would just make him buck harder. Also, my trainer elected not to use a western saddle after the gelding flipped once and he did not want him fliping over onto a saddle horn.

Lastly, I found a product sold by "Mushroom-Matrix" called "Equine ECP Matrix" that is supose to help with this problem. It costs $75 for a 45 day supply and I though it would be worth a try.

A lot of trainers and most exercise riders will not put a lot of effort into horses like this as the trainer has other horses to train and the riders are concerned about getting hurt and loosing thier ability to work.

By the way, it's also very hard to get a horse race fit that behaves like this.

Good luck

griff

[Crystal]

try going out with company.

[cewright]

A friend of mine has a 3 yr. old Theatrical (need I say more ) filly that is refusing to train. She was stabled at Woodbine with a reputable trainer but began to stop on the track and refuse to go forward. I believe she would rear if reprimanded. She was sent to a very nice facility for a break and then started back into light training. She was progressing nicely and even went out for hacks after her training but she has regressed and is back to refusing to train Everyone is starting to give up on her. Anyone have any experience with this? Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Give her to me! Seriously, the horse is telling you that the training is unpleasant. Why? Does she have a physical problem? Have the teeth been checked? What about sore feet? Has she shin bucked? There are a myriad of physical issues which can make galloping/training painful. These need to be ruled out. Usually, once the physical issues have been identified and resolved the mental issues improve!

Chuck

[ratherrapid]

Agreed! but, some horses do develop into refusers. and, there are degrees of refusing. with some it just get's worse and worse regardless. to me as step one is to take out with one other horse and two experienced riders aboard and just trot around at a fast clip--fast enough to keep her from "thinking". Get her past the boogeyman parts of the race track. over succeeding days the trots turn into short enthusiastic trot-gallops. make her like what she's doing. and go from there.
a bad case might require more company than that and an experienced rider that knows how to discipline. probably the key might be to get her to enjoy something about her training, build on that enjoyment and take it from there. hard to organize (and pay for) every day, unfortunately.

[Tucumcari]

Turn her out. IME horses don't refuse to train without physical turned mental reason.
Sure you could put blinkers on. Drag her around with a pony. Tranq, Spurs a whip a rider that is willing to argue with her till she turns herself upside down. BUT for what. Give her some time. She's asking loudly for it. Listen to her.

[Tucumcari]

I


A lot of trainers and most exercise riders will not put a lot of effort into horses like this as the trainer has other horses to train and the riders are concerned about getting hurt and loosing thier ability to work.



griff

Not even remotely true.
Most exercise riders try their butts off. Not all are capable of dealing with a horse like this.
I have seen a few chicken hearted people and those are certainly not the rider for a horse that doesn't want to train. My ability to earn is never a thought. If I get hurt I still get paid. So I have and will ride whatever is under me. If I go down in a grande wreck, so be it, it's my job. Getting hurt is an occupational hazzard and a reality. It doesn't scare the good riders. Good riders aren't smart enough to be scared. Worker's Comp helps us get over the "lack of earning ability" issue
I never step off unless the horse is turning it's self upside down. And I am a girl.

[Jessi P]

I believe Griff's comment is right on the money. Most exercise riders DONT have workman's comp of their own or through their employers except at the upper level tracks or in California. The smart gallop person simply wont take a chance on a horse like this for fear of getting hurt and consequently not being able to support themselves and/or their family. It was a horse just like this that one of our gallop boys named Orlando at Delaware Park got paralyzed on. It was a youngster of someone else's that no one else could get around - Orlando was persuaded to try and got paralyzed by the rotten POS the first time he got on him. I held his hand while he laid on the training track waiting for the ambulance and he kept saying "Why did I get on that damn thing, I KNEW better.." Sometimes you can get a young cocky gallop person to take on a challenge like this but the older, smarter ones know enough to look out for themselves.

[zinn21]

I think there is truth said by both Tuc and Griff. Jessi you make a good point that workman's comp is not universal. That said there are fair, good and great exercise riders.

If the horse is refusing to train and all physical impairments have been ruled out there is a good chance not even the best exercise rider can fix him. He may require someone expert in the use of spurs to get him back on task.

Good luck with the horse..

[Tucumcari]

I still disagree. If an exercise rider is scared it is time to call it a career. Those are the people who get hurt or get someone else hurt.

I ask incredulously.there are places that don't require a trainer to have comp??

[doublete]

I am an exercise rider anda trainer. I simply CANNOT afford to get hurt. I got hurt badly by someone else's baby that had NEVER done anything wrong, and he flipped on top of me, separated my foot from my leg.

Now.. having been in the position of scrambling to get my horses taken care of from a hospital bed, I watch out for myself a lot more. If I see a horse threatening to flip or do something stupid, darn right I won't go near it.

I have one of my own that was freezing last week. I was on him, I broke him, and I trust him implicitly. He froze and leaped and reared straight up. I walked him home after the last rear. and sent someone else out on him. Then had the vet go over him.

Honestly, most riders will NOT put themselves in a position to get hurt.
and yes, some tracks do not require workmans comp. Responsible exercise riders should also check whether the trainer they are about to get on a horse for does in fact have a policy.