What are people saying about Race-2-Ride?

Was buying a 6-year-old OTT a big mistake?

Yes, initially thought I really made the wrong decision when I bought “Calvin”- a 6-year-old OTT that had a dismal racing career (despite being an offspring of Seattle Slew) and ended up a school horse. I know this poor guy had some health issues that went unmanaged, undiagnosed, or covered up with a medication.  Initially, it was thought to be a kissing spine. His feet (that’s a very long story) were also an issue.  But he was often sour. Tail swishing at tack up. Would fight to not move forward at the trot. Head tossing and crow hopping when asked to canter. He would jump at his own shadow - just not a happy, sound horse or one that wanted to learn. I am absolutely no trainer or accomplished equestrian - I ride for fun, and I’m sure it shows. And I’m thinking this guy was way above my pay grade.  I don’t have the know-how to do this. Half the things some horse people do I’ve never heard of, so I felt silly.

After a terrible ride with my trainer that ended with him throwing her she lunged him outside. He was feral. He was shaking and his eyes were the size of dinner plates. He broke loose and bolted. It was hard to watch and broke my heart. She was about to get back on him and I said no, please don’t. He is lost for today.

This couldn’t be right. Why is someone else training my horse?? But I don’t have the experience or knowledge. Then very late one night I clicked on your website. Right then, I decided to stop it all. Work out every stressful thing. Took him out of her training schedule. He is so soft and quiet on cross ties or when being led. The little kids love him. He’s a ham. There’s a decent partner in there, and I owed it to him to try.

Then I found Race-2-Ride.

So we started on the lead rope at literally square one. And we walked.

And walked. And we had long talks. I was the talk of the barn. What is she doing??

And I joined your group of horse lovers. 

We started slow and easy. I’d watch a video and would head to the barn the next day. When he did what was asked, I “gave him the reins” and THAT was scary and seemed counterintuitive! But his response was immediate and impressive. I totally loosened the crazy tight noseband. Got a saddle that fits. And a new farrier - god send. And oh my gosh, the praise. Every time we had a good session together or I was on his back and he listened and did well he got scratches and love. 

It was slow at first because we were both learning a different way. We had to trust each other. I’m sure my tense riding at first did not help! It took a year but at the barn he’s now Kim’s “western pleasure pony” and I don’t ride western! He will often lope softly with the slightest contact and his head low and quiet, or jog so slowly it’s like he’s sleepwalking, and I love it. I’m now not afraid to ride him - I love him to pieces. He’s still an OTT and has his moments, and he still reverts to old responses occasionally, but I understand that now and know how to deal with it.

We have a long way to go until he believes that leaves won’t kill him on the trail. We are walking by scary things indoors, and I am loose, deep in the saddle and confident. When the frightening thing is over, and he did a fantastic job, he gets praise and scratches. If it’s too scary, we may quit it and save it for another time. 

I am also an OBR - an Old Broad that Rides! I have all the time in the world to work with him. I set a goal, and if he’s perfect, I hop off. I don’t do the same thing 10 times. Sometimes our sessions are 10 minutes. Now, if he decides he’s done, he still tries it! - Back out to the rail he goes! He is very smart! And from your videos, I watched, I got the same message every time. It wasn’t about dominating or proving I knew the lingo or the techniques. Many still make me shrug. It was for the love and respect of my horse.

I love that you love the OTTs, and they will have their own place in your training!

Calvin thanks you too!! 

Kim, USA

I felt lost and confused with my 4-year-old OTT

My OTT, Magpie, has been with me for about seven months now, and our journey has been anything but linear — which is partly why your call for real stories resonated so strongly!

Within weeks of purchasing Magpie, I abruptly lost both my agistment and my coaching support. Considering I'd only bought this 4yo OTT because I thought I had guidance, I found myself the very lost and confused owner of the sort of young, green horse that would not be anyone's recommendation for a first horse as a 40-something getting back into horses after three decades away!

One of the first things I did was sign up for the Race-2-Ride program, because evidence-based training is important to me. 

Despite finding a body-worker, Magpie's behaviour was getting progressively worse. When we first moved agistment facilities in mid-winter he reverted to the calm horse I'd purchased, and I continued to train according to the Equitation Science "Setting Good Ground Rules", as well as reviewing your how-to-videos. One of the proudest moments I had in the early months was teaching him to long-line, the first thing I'd trained him to do entirely on my own. But as the spring grass emerged and the sugar highs kicked in, he became much more elevated and increasingly spooky. He also showed reluctance to leave his herd when being taken out of the paddock.

He was almost constantly tense, and a couple of times he took off after a seemingly minor thing startled him - a car driving past, or a dog barking. I recognised this was a result of trigger stacking, but what I didn't realise was that physical discomfort was a major contributor. 

The real turning point came in November, after watching a webinar on behaviour vs soundness and I understood why in Race-2-Ride you always address physical causes first, particularly with OTT horses that have often had a hard start in life. That reframing finally allowed me to see what Magpie had been communicating through his behaviour. What I (and others) had initially framed as training or emotional inconsistency turns out to be discomfort and pain. While I knew intellectually that behaviour is communication, this whole saga has made me realise that I had still internalised the assumptions that my horse was being "naughty", rather than considering his physical welfare. 

After one vet diagnosed a muscle tear that didn't quite fit his behaviour, another practitioner found his pain was primarily in his feet and recommended he be shod. While we are still waiting for this to happen, the vital part of the story is that, even before the vet assessments, as soon as I realised he was telling me he was in pain and I stopped asking him to work through discomfort, my horse CALMED DOWN. In fact, he started approaching me when I entered his paddock, and will now walk with me all the way to the gate without a halter and lead rope! This shift has honestly been ground-breaking. He now trusts me to listen to him.

So for the last 6 weeks, all we've been doing is going for hand-walks. Magpie has become noticeably calmer, more curious, and more trusting. He has been able to cope with things that 2 months ago would have pushed him over the edge (a newly netted fruit tree; a dog lunging at him). While our journey is far from over, I finally feel like I am starting to understand my horse, and the rewards of this have been a genuine relationship, which, ironically, I'd always thought was a bit of a myth!

Thanks so much for creating space for honest conversations about OTT journeys — they’re so needed.

Isa, Ireland