# High Strung OTTB!!



## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

You can't keep a horse cooped up all day, stuff her full of high fat, high calorie food, and expect her to behave when the only exercise she gets is when you ride her.

She needs to be turned out with the other horses, and only brought in to be fed. Once she's eaten, turn her back out again.


----------



## gothicangel69 (Aug 2, 2011)

I agree. That would be like locking a kid up in a closet every day, while feeding him chocolate bars, then expect him not to go crazy when you let him out. . 
Turn him out, cut back his grain(its the hay that puts weight on best, and provide free choice hay(which you are already doing). Should solve all your problems.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

Any chance of her being drugged before you bought her? And the drugs have wore out of her system?

Have your vet check for ulcers. TBs are prone to them. Her being in a new place, stuck in a stall, and given high amount of grain isnt a great combination and will often lead to major amounts of stress and ulcers.


And i definitely would look into allowing her turnout for at least a few hours a day.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

This is what my TB looks like with 24/7 turnout with his buddies :wink::


----------



## LikeIke17 (Mar 18, 2011)

Sounds like you would prefer to not put her on pasture. Solution? Arena time! She needs to go out two or three times a day to go play in the arena or area where she can stretch her legs. Being on a feed schedule like that and being cooped up is a recipe for a very stressed out horse and therefore, not very good riding experiences!


----------



## Ashsunnyeventer (Aug 17, 2012)

The only things my barn offers are stall board and Feild board. With Stall board the horses are in durning the day and then go in the feild over night (during the summer). With Feild board, she is always outside; even for feedings. She isn't dominant, so she wouldn't fight for her food. 
It's possible that she was drugged, but we got her from a person with a great reputation and at the vet check the took blood and she came back negative for drugs. This was a week after my last ride on her though...
We are going to cut down on grain and try alfalfa cubes instead. My older OTTB (he's 15) had ulcers in the past, so I know what to look for. Vet was out last week and didn't think anything was wrong with her, but when she comes back out to do vaccines I'll ask her. Thanks for all your help


----------



## MelissaAnn (Aug 26, 2011)

Good luck, OTTBs just have that "sparkle"! I would suggest more turn out time to get the craziest out. Also the kind of grain she is feeding her has a HUGE impact on her behavior. I've heard of a lot of people having good outcomes feeding senior feed to OTTBs of all ages, when they tend to be "hot" on other grain. But I am sure you will find all kinds of talk about what to feed OTTBs on this message board from knowledgeable poeple!


----------



## Ashsunnyeventer (Aug 17, 2012)

I love OTTB's, but they can be very stubborn sometimes  She is currently getting COB and Rice Bran with Senior Feed as a supplement


----------



## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

I would go for a decent quality grass hay instead of alfalfa cubes, also. And, how skinny is skinny? She may never be chunky/fluffy.


----------



## Ashsunnyeventer (Aug 17, 2012)

Ribs and hips are showing still- racing skinny. I don't expect her to bulk up like and irish sport horse, but she needs weight and we would like to do it before winter. My other TB doesn't keep much weight either...


----------



## Ashsunnyeventer (Aug 17, 2012)

This is what she looks like


----------



## MelissaAnn (Aug 26, 2011)

She is very pretty and has a nice shiny coat! I agree I would like to see some more weight on her. Everyone who's had an OTTB can all relate to the difficulty of keeping weight on them. Good luck with her!!


----------



## Ashsunnyeventer (Aug 17, 2012)

Another pic- I know she CAN be good, but we've kind of hit a wall recently. And I know I need to put my heels down


----------



## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

What kind of hay is she getting? We have 5 OTTBs in work right now, and they tend to be a bit more difficult when on alfalfa or bermuda, so we use a 2/3 timothy 1/3 alfalfa ratio of hay and give them all day access to it. Also for weight gain, have you tried corn oil? We add it to all of our OTTB's diets and they do well on it.


----------



## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

I`ve have had two OTTBs in my life so far -- loved them both. They key to our mutual happiness was full time pasture and minimal oats. When I needed to put weight on one of them, I used soaked beet pulp and vegetable oil (sometimes canola, sometimes corn) but still kept the oats to a minimum. 

I think the other posters have offered some good insights and suggestions so no need for me to add the same. She`s a smart looking mare -- good luck with her.


----------



## Ashsunnyeventer (Aug 17, 2012)

She is getting a Timothy mix, but I don't know what it's mixed with. I didn;t know that corn oil was for weight- maybe we'll try that  And the reason our vet suggested Senior feed was because it had beet pulp, and it was easier to feed than soaking it. We called our vet and she said that the grain we were giving Sunny was fairly low in sugar. The vet thought maybe she was coming into heat??
This is the first mare I've owned and I haven't even had her for a month so this could possibly be the issue


----------



## BoldComic (Feb 26, 2012)

I'd still try to cut out the grain. Low sugar or not. It's like drinking a diet soda that still has caffeine. Also I agree with getting her out as much as possible. If you can't ride that day then lunge her for sure. This will also help teach her you are in charge. She is a very pretty girl. Good luck. With mares, IMO, it's all about sticking with it and reminding them (a lot sometimes) that you are the new head mare.


----------



## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

She is being fed enough grain to keep her as a fit racehorse yet you expect her to behave as she was the first week she was with you!

Being enclosed all the time, fed to much and you wonder why she is acting like a lunatic?

You can cut back on her grain, plenty of good quality hay and about 4 lb of low energy pellets + a cup of corn oil and she will gain weight. 

Preferably she needs to worked from grass so her excess energy can be expended in the field not when you ride her. 

It is no wonder she is stir crazy and whoever is in charge of her feed regime would get a boot up the jacksy from me for being so ignorant of the rules of feeding a horse - one of which is 'Feed according to work, weight and temperament' 

Feed her like a racehorse and she will act like one.


----------



## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

You are trying to get weight on her too quickly. See about putting the hay in a small mesh hay net. The same amount of hay will last much longer and the nibbling improves digestion. Many people have found their horses get too fat and have had to cut back a little. The nets are cheap, about $10.


----------



## hrsrdr (Jul 12, 2008)

My TB is long off the track, but he still has incredibly hot days, especially in the spring. Try lounging her, every day, before you ride her. It especially helps with OtTBs as they were trained that way. Canter especially. What type of grain are you feeding her? Many grains and alfalfa hays make TBs hot, such as Omelene, sweet feed, and sometimes plain oats. Try feeding her Doybean meal or rice bran. It keeps weight on the hard keepers beautifully without making them hot, except I had one TB who got bad diarrhea from soybean meal. When you ride her, and she feels like bucking, get into two point and just let her canter forward for awhile...this more than anything will calm a TB down, as it allows them to settle into a rhythm. With greenies, though, don't let her go TOO fast or she will likely start running away with you or get too excited. Just do lots of
Canter work and lounging and transitions, and put her out to pasture or at least let her run free in an arena for an
Hour or so every day
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

10 quarts of grain is A LOT! Unless she is going into some hardcore training program she doesn't need that. Cut back on the grain and free her more hay. Grain doesn't put that much weight on them, hay will. A TWH I was working with was VERY skinny. The moron at the place she was board at bumped her up to 8 quarts of senior grain. Even 200 pounds under weight she was a MONSTER to ride or handle. Your horse does NOT look very skinny, but she could use a few pounds. There is no reason to be feeding her like crazy. 

She also needs room to move around, get her out in some kind of paddock/pasture. Tell the BO that's what you want, if not maybe its time to find a new barn. After all you are the customer! I would never except anything less then half day turn out in an area where they can move comfortably, even if its in a 200x200 paddock.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Ashsunnyeventer (Aug 17, 2012)

She has one of those hay nets because she was spreading her hay around her stall and making a mess. I think some people misunderstood what I meant when I said stall board. She isn't always in a stall, just during the hot hours of the day. I rode her again today and she was much better, but she is in heat. I rode her for an hour and she still had lots of energy afterwards, but she controlled herself  soon I'm going back to school and I can't ride her everyday. That should be fun...


----------



## LikeIke17 (Mar 18, 2011)

You may benefit from either paying someone to go out and lunge her the days you can't be there or part leasing her to someone who is there more than you.


----------



## Ashsunnyeventer (Aug 17, 2012)

Problem is that I'm the person who comes out to my barn the most apart from the owner. We would be charged for the owner to lunge her and my dad is done spending money on horses apart from board and farrier etc.. 
My mom might be able to go out to the barn when I can't and she would just be able to walk her on a lead rope and this probably won't help. As soon as winter is over she will be field boarded, but untill then-- Do you think it would be best to just let her get her energy out by cantering for a while and then get on with the rest of the ride?


----------



## BoldComic (Feb 26, 2012)

I think you may be looking for a magic solution for your problem. By taking on an OTTB there are certain things you need to expect. Like having to lunge or turn her out every day so she doesn't get stir crazy. Also, figuring out what diet works to keep weight on but still keeping high energy foods out. Looks like you should just plan on heading to the barn once or twice a day, every day. Get up early before school and lunge her then ride her when you get home. Or lunge her again if you can't ride. An OTTB is a great horse but right off the track they usually need a little extra attention than if you went out and bought a QH. 

I hope this doesn't sound too harsh but the reality is she will only improve with work every day. There is no short cut here.


----------



## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

For pasture board, do you get to supply your own feed for her? Is it a dry lot or is there actual grazing for her? If so, I'd say just pasture board her for a few months and see how she does. You might even find that she'll gain weight even when getting less food because her metabolism will regulate itself better with constant access to exercise AND food. I know that our TBs do tremendousely better when they can move around whever they want to. They also keep their condition better and are much easier to handle. 

You might also look at trying to find another boarding stable that can accomodate her better. One with pasture board that has maybe 2 or three other pasture mates and you can bring your own feed/she gets fed seperately. There really is no quick fix for this and letting her canter from the start when you ride her is a very bad idea because you won't get anywhere with your training. Actually, IMO, you shouldnt eve be letting her canter AT ALL yet if you've only had her for a month. We gave our OTTBs ATLEAST a 3 month let down from the track where we did only ground work and let them be horses in the pasture, and I didnt start cantering them until the 5th or 6th month of owning them...and only if they walked and trotted quietly first. Besides that you wil be teaching her that running when she wants to is ok and that she can get away with crazy behavior. Thats the last thing that you need to have in her head. 

Whether it be finding someone to lunge her or let her play in the arena every day, finding a place where she can be turned out at least half of the day, or better yet- 24/7 pasture boarded- you do need to deal with the situation, not just her behavior under saddle. ANY horse will go stir crazy when living in a stall and only coming out to be ridden because it just isnt natural for them, but a young race-fit, race-fed OTTB will be even worse. You need to think about her mental wellbeing, not just how to get her to behave.

our 'Crazy' OTTB gelding, two and a half years off of the track. 24/7 pasture with 8 other horses, only getting rice bran, free choice hay, and corn oil, low man on the totem pole (dispite being 17.3hh) and as you can see- happy, healthy, and absolutely too high energy for us to deal with  in fact I think he's about to eat that little mini and bolt on that little girl!


----------



## smguidotti (Jul 31, 2012)

Ashsunnyeventer said:


> The vet thought maybe she was coming into heat??
> This is the first mare I've owned and I haven't even had her for a month so this could possibly be the issue


That certainly could be it! A 4 year-old OTTB in heat sounds like hell on four legs! 
Gosh, I remember when I owned a half-arab filly who I NEVER wanted to be around when she was in heat. Also, they cramp up like human women do so I wouldn't doubt that she is in pain a little


----------



## hrsrdr (Jul 12, 2008)

BoldComic said:


> I think you may be looking for a magic solution for your problem. By taking on an OTTB there are certain things you need to expect. Like having to lunge or turn her out every day so she doesn't get stir crazy. Also, figuring out what diet works to keep weight on but still keeping high energy foods out. Looks like you should just plan on heading to the barn once or twice a day, every day. Get up early before school and lunge her then ride her when you get home. Or lunge her again if you can't ride. An OTTB is a great horse but right off the track they usually need a little extra attention than if you went out and bought a QH.
> 
> I hope this doesn't sound too harsh but the reality is she will only improve with work every day. There is no short cut here.


I very strongly agree. If you don't have time to give her exercise during the school year, seriously the best option for her safety and health might be to sell her to someone who can. You really need to be at least lounging her at least 3-4 times a week if you expect her to be manageable. And yes, after a 5-10 minute walk warmup, if you haven't lounged, the best thing might be to canter for awhile. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Ashsunnyeventer (Aug 17, 2012)

I didn't get her right off the track. She had about 4 months of let down just being a horse in a field before they started her again. She has been off the track for about 10 months now. Today I lunged her because I didn't have time to ride and found out she doesn't lunge to the right. Just something else to work on I guess...


----------



## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

She doesn't look the least bit skinny to me, she looks racing fit. I'd turn her out to pasture, and reduce her grain to a normal amount. Even trying to put weight on, you can't feed that kind of quantity without having issues - and stalling just compounds that. 

The more you continue to feed excessively and keep her cooped up, the worse your problems are going to get.


----------



## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

I have a lot to do with racehorses out of training. They come here fit from racing and people will think them thin when they are fit. 
I never have any problem getting horses to put on weight unless there is a metabolic disorder.

I will let the horses have plenty of turn out time. A relaxed horse is a happy horse and even if it is winter when there is not much and little or no goodness in the grass, they will soon start to gain weight with good quality hay and small feeds.

When in work they still get turn out time, mentally they are relaxed so there is less tizziness about them. I tell them that when they are here they are riding school ponies, not racehorses.

A horse that is stabled for majority of the time needs regular work, not just in an arena which can get boring for them, but taken out for long rides of at least two hours. Walk trot and cantering. 

If a horse gets 'portly' then it gets a little less hay and more work. Relaxation is the way to go.


----------



## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

OP what have you decided to feed her ?

i dont think she looks under weight at all. i used to have a qh off that track and i could usually see a few ribs on him, but that was just the kind of weight he carried.


----------



## Ashsunnyeventer (Aug 17, 2012)

When she was let down when she came off the track, she did gain weight and there were no ribs or pointy hip bones. Then she was put out in a field where she got picked on and lost a lot of weight, so I know she can hold more weight. She is still getting the same amount of food because or vet said to wait until she is out of heat and see if her behavior changes. I have been riding/lunging her every day and when she gets worked up, I just talk to her to calm her down. This usually works, but if it doesn't we go in the indoor arena where there are no distractions and just walk for a while. Some where I read that you shouldn't do small circles with horses off the track because it reminds them of the start of a race and they just get more worked up. Does any one know if this is true?


----------



## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

When she gets worked up do not pull back on the reins but guide her into a circle and just let her go around. It might be a bit fast but as you guide onto a smaller circle with your inside rein so she will slow down. Sit heavy making it uncomfortable for her then when she is trotting do the same until she is working at a decent trot on a small circle and then got around the arena. 
Racehorses look for a pull on the reins so it is vital you do not do so to get her back to you. 
Let her learn that fast is not the way to go - the pull does not happen and so it is no good looking for it.

Sorry but the vet is wrong in saying to keep her on the same feed. Vets know very very little on what to feed a horse. Not many have actually worked with horses to see what effect different a ratio of feed to work makes on them. 

Less feed and add a cup of corn oil to help her gain weight. Personally I think she looks fine - just fit.


----------



## Ashsunnyeventer (Aug 17, 2012)

Thanks Foxhunter, your tips about what to do when she gets worked up worked great today. I went on a group trail ride with 3 other horses just to show her around and she hated being in the back. She was antsy and trotting sideways for a while and then she backed a bit. Once she realized we weren't running she was fine


----------

