Thoroughbred Logic, Presented by Kentucky Performance Products: Challenging TBs and Going Beyond the Checked Box
Not all horses are simple. Here are five things to consider if you’ve got a problematic horse that you’re trying to figure out.
Welcome to the next installment of Thoroughbred Logic. In this weekly series, Anthropologist and trainer Aubrey Graham, of Kivu Sport Horses, offers insight and training experience when it comes to working with Thoroughbreds (although much will apply to all breeds). This week ride along as Aubrey shares her logic on continuing to figure out problematic horses.
As I wrote last week, a lot of life and horses is an act of “figure it out.” Some weeks it looks like you’re throwing spaghetti at a wall and hoping something sticks. Sometimes it feels like you can actually put things together and start to work toward a sustainable fix.
But ‘figure it out’ doesn’t just happen. There’s all that experience and preparation and then a bit of a tool kit that helps get a rider/trainer/owner from “I have no idea” to “Hey, that looks like progress.” And part of each aspect of that toolkit is not just checking the box, but realizing that each aspect of this “fix it kit” is (annoyingly) complex. It is as much a process of doing one’s due diligence as it is understanding and prioritizing detail, nuance, and equine preference.
Neil (Lute’s Angel) exploring New England this weekend and feeling way better with new shoes (after always having a good farrier, but apparently needing a different expert to help get him not just right, but more right). Photo by author.
With that said, here’s a quick list of five things that make a really (like really, really) big difference when trying to both figure it out and fix it.
1. The talented sack of potatoes
First rides are literally the most fun things that I get to do. I love the process of trying to read the cues, assess the horse, and figure out how to get them going well in a way that also makes sense to them.
But sometimes things don’t go to plan and you have to be able to figure out how to stay safe without further upsetting the horse. And being able to read the room (or the horse) means that you can figure out when you need to say, “No, that’s really not how things are done” and when you need to simply wait and let them know through your body that you’re not going to do anything regardless of what they do. And that, folks, is called being a somewhat-talented sack of potatoes.
There were moments early in Shorty’s (Corrected Pedigree) restart that required a sack of potatoes approach, especially when asking for a walk. Thankfully, he’s outgrown the frantic jig. Photo by Lily Drew.
There are a lot of riders with good seats and the stubborn will to stay on and train out bad behavior. But it takes more skill to sit softly and balanced while a horse reacts (gets “up,” spooks sideways, gets “stuck” and wants to stand up, or simply loses it and broncs around for a second) than it does to respond. See, the components of a sack of potatoes are lowering your weight, balance and patience (and a lack of fear). You just stay in the center and suspend reaction. The hardest part of that is not to touch the reins (or not change your contact) and not add leg or shift left or right.
The sack of potatoes technique allows a horse to react, and then to stop reacting without adding in your reactions. It provides a moment of “weighted” pause without escalation. And then once settled, off you go again, but gently.
So many of these guys learn to expect a big reaction from their riders and, therefore, a confirmation that they don’t need to trust them or work with them. So not reacting, just staying still and out of their way can often earn you the confidence points that allows a horse to pause, think and go, “Huh… ok. This might not be so bad.” And if you’re dealing with a fractious horse and you personally can’t be that sack o’ spuds, it might be worth finding a calm, quiet, effective trainer who can.
2. The magic saddle
Nearly everyone I talk to who has a Thoroughbred has a saddle fitter they love. And that’s great. Most have had their saddles fitted to their horse or at least have had someone with some authority eye-ball them and say, “Yep, that fits fine.” That’s all good.
This handsome goofball (Zeke – JC Analyzethisandthat) added another win for the magic saddle. He is now super happy to jump around without complaint. Photo ny Lily Drew.
Well, it’s good unless the horse still doesn’t like it. Then you need not just a saddle that fits, but one that your specific horse actually likes. And importantly, they have to like it right now. It doesn’t matter if your saddle fit your last horse, or if every other Thoroughbred in the barn likes it, or if it fit well last winter. It matters if the horse in it appreciates how it sits on their back with a rider in it today.
Zeke hacking around the field with a great attitude. Photo by Lily Drew.
One of my working students (Izzy Gritsavage) has one of my former sales horses (Tetris, JC Not A Game), and she was riding him in one of my former saddles that was professionally fitted and flocked to his back by our excellent County Saddlery Rep, Lily Drew. For all intents and purposes, it fit and we did our due diligence. I’d sit in what I call my “magic saddle” (my really well-worn County xcelerater) on him and he’d pack along like a good boy, put his “flocked-to-him” saddle on and he’d prop and hop and generally feel like a stuck-behind-the-leg barrel of TNT. Swap the saddle again and back to happy plodding.
Izzy Gritsavage and Tetris (Not A Game) after the saddle Tetris chose was fitted to him. Photo courtesy of Izzy Gritsavage.
So sometimes, it’s the preference, not just the fit. Izzy went out and picked up another version of a County with similar specs, Lily flocked it to him and Tetris has been a super content horse since. So, if your horse isn’t happy under saddle, don’t just check saddle fit and consider the box checked. Also check preference. Toss another appropriate tree-size saddle on their back by a different brand, see if they need a wider channel, or less flocking, longer tree points… play around with options and note not just what looks great, but what makes them feel safe and comfortable.
3. The willing vet with the diagnostics
I trust my gut when it comes to these horses. I may not always be right, but often I’m not too terribly far off. If behavior changes or we can’t quite get where we need to go, maybe it’s time to bring the vet in for a conversation. And as I have written before, get the diagnostics.
If you suspect ulcers, it is better to scope, plan the treatment accordingly, treat and rescope. Rinse repeat. The diagnostics allow you to know not only what meds you need, but also if your treatment worked.
Remember how I thought Magic likely had ulcers? YEP… sure does. Scope by Finger Lakes Equine Practice. Photo by author.
Similarly, with a horse who flexes to the hocks, often basic injections help. BUT, it rarely hurts to get radiographs of the joint first to see where you need to inject.
Hennessy (Johnny Bootleggs) has been a little funky behind. So we flexed and he was indeed sore to upper hind limb flexions. We could have just injected his hocks at that point. But, suspecting this might be more complex than simple hock injections, my vet and I agreed that we should take a few radiographs to verify.
The rads showed a partially fused hock and arthritis equally impacting the TMT and the DIT (the lower two joints of the hock). Singular “usual” hock injections would likely have improved his situation a touch, but not the full amount needed. Basic lower-joint injections and X-ray guided injections for the distal inter tarsal joint made an enormous difference. Is he perfectly sound yet? No. But this horse is actually happy under saddle. Finally!
Diagnostic abilities are key. But in addition to that, a vet who is willing to take your input seriously is essential. When something feels “not right” but they’re not baseline lame, some vets will encourage you to leave it alone. But this is where I love vets who will chat, think things through, and don’t write off the ‘feel’ aspect where I am pretty certain there is still something amiss.
4. A truly skilled farrier
There is no horse without a hoof. I’m being harshly reminded of this as we scramble this week and last to get horses shod by appropriately skilled individuals.
An average farrier often does a really good job and gets shoes averagely appropriate on average feet. But if you feel like there is still behavior, still a gait abnormality, still something challenging and not quite right, it also never hurt to get rads, and ask vet and farrier to collaborate — or maybe even haul to a known great farrier to shoe to spec.
Both of these Midnight Lute kiddos have tricky, thin soled feet. Neil (Lute’s Angel – left) and Enzo (Midnight Trouble) are getting special treatment from Cornell for the toes. Photo by author.
Neil has been tricky his whole life. It was clear he had concussion issues (owing to thin soles) and needed pads. When I took him to Cornell to be shod by their resident expert farrier (Steve Kraus), the amount of analysis and small tweaks that he received were outstanding and my horse has never felt so sound or relaxed under saddle. Wild as it sounds, our dressage improved by eight points. His whole demeanor is more relaxed under saddle and my exceptionally sensitive creature is finally feeling like one who is able to not just do the job, but truly enjoy it.
So again, if your horse is shod, and the “put them in shoes” box is checked, maybe it’s time to take a second look at that box and see what might be missing. Do they need pads? Different packing under the pads? More heel support? A better angle?
This lovely creature, William (Moro Drama) has been improving by the week, but certainly needs a shoeing update. I can’t wait to see how well he does once we get him in all four and on the right track. Photo by Amelia Purser.
5. The will to continue
This is critical.
I have just made the case four separate times that sometimes checking the box is not enough. Sometimes, the box needs to be checked differently, more completely, with more nuance, or by someone different who maybe has a different eye, different ability, different set of diagnostics. It often means repeating the things you think you may have done. Sometimes it means just taking time and having enormous patience and faith that something will work.
Usually, to put it nicely, the whole process is frustrating as all hell.
That will to push on, though… that desire to continue to try to figure it out… that ability to invest (emotionally and financially) more and keep trying… that is perhaps the underlying key to working with the challenging Thoroughbred. You have to still want it — want them, want the ride, want their health and happiness, even when they’re seeming to do everything in their power to frustrate you into throwing in the towel.
And throwing in the towel is OK too. But I guess I’m writing to say that, even if you do, depending on their issues, the horse might still be able to be figured out.
And I say this because often when folks don’t know what else to do, these Thoroughbreds come in for training or consignment. A mix of great vet work, a skilled sack of potatoes (unreactive) ride, a magic saddle, and a good farrier tend to get these horses back on their feet and back to work the vast majority of the time.
Despite Magic being wild at the last two shows (shown tense and frustrated here), I’m still super excited to see how he does once we fully treat for his ulcers and get him back on the right track. Photo by Lily Drew.
So anyway, folks, whether dealing with a horse you’re struggling to figure out, or the one with whom you have already put the pieces together, pat your pony and enjoy the process. I’m excited to write more in the next weeks/months about dealing with Neil’s feet, Magic’s ulcers and Henny’s hind end.
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