Thanks Kim. ?I agree with both you and Laney. ?I really don't think his race brain is a physical thing. ?I did the Tejon Fandango ride with him (days 1 & 2 .. the 25). ?The first day, he was pulled at Vet check 1 simply because he was too excited ( I know him well enough to know there was nothing wrong with him ). ?So -- Day 2, we started out 20 minutes behind everyone. ?He was fine until we overtook the last-place people, then got progressively stronger until we came to Vet Check 1. ?This time, he calmed right down - probably thought he was done :) ?Coming out of the vet check, we were all by ourselves, and I had my horse back: ?nice and quiet, went on a loose rein, slowed down on voice commands. ?We stayed that way until some folks passed us about 5 miles from the finish, and then the "race brain" kicked in again...
So with him, it is pure competitiveness. ?I hope that he will get better with time, but I hear you - there is a chance that he won't. ?I guess time will tell.
I agree with what Laney writes and will add only one comment.? I believe that some horses never figure it out.? I have been riding a horse that I have owned for 7 years and he still wants to just flat out run at rides.?Over the years, I have tried?many?suggestions with him (other then to let him flat out run) and he really is not all that much different from when I first started riding him.? But,?I like the horse, feel he is very talented, so I have found ways to manage him so it is safe for both me and the horse.? Two years ago, I decided that I would only enter him in 100 mile rides and perhaps he would "learn" not to waste so much energy.? Most of the rides I take him in I start on foot because I don't want him to be a danger to me or other riders.?Over the past couple years?with this kind of management, I see a little improvement here and there.??But overall he has just gotten more fit so he can pull on me longer then when he was just fit for 25s or 50s?:)?I have come to the conclusion he is who he is.?The last 100 I took him in I rode by myself for almost 65 miles and saw very few horses on the trail.?even alone,?I had to ride him on a very tight rein because he just wanted to gallop.? This went on for most of that 65 miles and he even broke his martingale at around 50 miles.??I know?he wasted a ton of energy.? The way I felt at about that point is I would have paid someone to take him off my hands.? But, for the last 35 miles of the ride he??settled in?and I had a great ride on a forward moving horse that wasn't the least bit tired or stressed.?So in the end, for me, it is all worth it. Although, I now realize after all these years he probably will never become the horse I know he could be if he didn't waste so much energy and have a race brain, I like him. I like the challenge of trying to find the best ways to manage him in endurance.?
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?? So my advice is to keep trying to eliminate all the physical problems that the horse might be experiencing like teeth and back problems.? Once those are eliminated,?try all/many of the suggestions riders give you to teach the horse that it is not in his best interest to waste so much energy.? Those techniques work for 95% of the horses out there.? Just realize, there is the possibility that this is who your horse is and instead of eliminating those behaviors you may have to find ways to manage them.?Endurance riding?is suppose to be fun and the "fun factor" has to come close to equaling the effort, conditioning,?money, etc. that you put into this sport.? Some horses are just not suited for this sport and it does you and the horse no good trying to make something work if you are not enjoying the process.
