Coffee Chat - Why is it important to retrain an Ottb? And where do you start?

[@kellythyben3984]

I love OTTB, they teach you so much and I learned to be a better rider and equestrian with these wonderful animals.

[@offthetrackthoroughbredsuc9987]

Ottbs are very special horses! I am happy to hear they have contributed to your growth in your horsemanship journey❤

[@writewithme-24]

Love this style of chat so much. Thanks for sharing ☺️

[@offthetrackthoroughbredsuc9987]

Hi Kate, yay, I am glad to hear you love it, I love chatting like this!

[@kellythyben3984]

Well said. I just obtained a 3 1/2 year old OTTB back end of July and I had to address any physical issues horrible feet soft soles sore feet…. So it is now October and here in Florida wet weather getting dry doing only ground work and he is coming along. Explosive moments but getting better at working through them with safety in mind. I think all too often people rush a OTTB want to ride them and overlook the most important aspects of restarting a OTTB.

[@offthetrackthoroughbredsuc9987]

Well done for taking your time with your Ottb. People do rush them. A lot of the time it is because they are not aware of the importance of rehabilitation and re education ,after coming out of the highly demanding racing environment.

[@kellythyben3984]

It has been a challenge with getting in a good feeding program he lost a little weight doesn’t like Timothy hay at all trying low sugar and low carb so adding fat like rice bran oil and succeed to address gastric ulcers. Had teeth done and he had ulcers in his mouth so I can only imagine his gut.

[@offthetrackthoroughbredsuc9987]

It does take time for their gut to heal. Flaxseeds are an excellent source of protein, fat and fibre that also help heal gastric ulceration. They may be worth incorporating into his feeding programme.

[@kellythyben3984]

My OTTB is forward in hand but no whoa…

[@offthetrackthoroughbredsuc9987]

Hi Kelly, having no whoa is very common with Ottbs! In racing the horses habituate and lean into lead and bit pressure. This means they do not respond to the Whoa aid and instead can lean into it and go faster. When we take them off the track the first step in the retraining process is to teach them to give to pressure and stop to lead rein pressure. This is done with In Hand training first. It takes some patience and time to get them to stop and slow down as all they have known is racing, but thoroughbred horses are smart and learn quickly. I have a KZbin video on working with one of my Ottbs Tommy demonstrating training the stop. I also put training up in my facebook group. You can find the link to the group in the description of this video😊x

[@kellythyben3984]

How do you do grain free without them losing weight?

[@offthetrackthoroughbredsuc9987]

Hi Kelly , My apologies for the delayed reply, I am not sure how I missed your comment. to answer your question, there is some very food alternatives to grain that are much more beneficial for gut health, these include linseeds. beet pulp, soybean meal, and added oils and lupins if you are in Australia. Horses aren't designed to eat grain and high starch feeds, they are meant to eat long stem forage. My latest video upload yesterday goes into detail about this. I think you will find it very helpful.

[@kellythyben3984]

@@offthetrackthoroughbredsuc9987 Thank you for your insight! I agree high grains are are a recipe for disaster. I had a OTTB he was 19 and what you call a easy keeper and he ended up with cushings and foundered sadly had to euthanize him in 2019. My new OTTB he is 3 I had trouble getting weight on him and so I have him on a low NSC grain, only gets about 2 lbs daily with a ration balancer, gets flaxseed oil and alfalfa and alfalfa Timothy hay. I had to address gut ulcers so I have him in succeed. All in all I will not feed a high grain diet ever again. Alfalfa has high calcium which helps buffer the acid in the stomach but has a lot of calories so have to be careful with alfalfa. My 3 year old is doing well on alfalfa. The grass hats tend to be higher in starch and sugar I have found. Thanks again and love your videos!

[@offthetrackthoroughbredsuc9987]

@@kellythyben3984 , I can totally relate to you. I used to feed my first 2 horses a grain diet, I also lost one of them to cushings and liver failure. My other boy got sever laminitis, we. got through it but it was a huge learning curve for me and hence my grain free approach now. I am so happy to hear you love my videos😊❤x

[@kellythyben3984]

@@offthetrackthoroughbredsuc9987 ❤️🐎

[@annewaltz7708]

Hi. I love your channel🐎 I just purchased an OTTB mare this September. She only had 10 races and the girl I bought her from had her 7 months and rode her once a week. I am at an eventing barn and working with my trainer. She feels it necessary to do training rides with the mare 3 days a week. In between I am doing ground work with her and very very light rides if at all. Just walking stretching and working on halting and other cues. Does this sound good to you or is it too much? Thank you

[@offthetrackthoroughbredsuc9987]

Hi Anne, I am so glad to hear you love my channel😃. What you are doing with your Ottb doesn't sound too much at all, as long as when she is ridden the 3 days a week it is conducive to where she currently is in her fitness level. It actually sounds like a good programme you have set up with her. It is good to have a variety of training days and breaks between in hand work. Doing the same type of work daily when horses are learning something new can fatigue their brain and impair learning. So I think what you are doing is good! You are welcome to join my facebook group if you are on facebook? I put up regular posts in the facebook group on training , equine nutrition and other topics that relate to Ottb retraining. If you were interested you will find the link in the description😊🐎 Karin x