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| The biggest thing was just driving my gelding forward and not letting him stop and turn. Keep yourself positioned more towards his hip as he's going around, rather than standing in the middle, and walk in circle as he's going around to encourage him to continue moving forward. If this makes sense? Going to right was tough. I would physically start leading him in that direction, then start just kind of drive him forward. Everytime he tries to stop and turn, repeat. It will take sometime for him to get it, along with build the muscles to be able to hold it. I also don't carry a lunge whip with my OTTB. He lunges better without one. And just a side note, a lot of TBs are taught to lunge/long-line as yearlings, so its mostly just refreshing their brains on how to do it and building the appropriate muscles so they are physically able to lunge both directions.
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If you act like you've only got fifteen minutes, it'll take all day. Act like you've got all day and it'll take fifteen minutes.~ Monty Roberts
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Purcocious (8/17/2009)
The biggest thing was just driving my gelding forward and not letting him stop and turn. Keep yourself positioned more towards his hip as he's going around, rather than standing in the middle,and walk in circle as he's going around to encourage him to continue moving forward. If this makes sense?
Yes i understand this. I do this but he will sometimes stop and face me still. I think it might be when i start to get ahead of him a little.
[quote]Purcocious (8/17/2009)
Going to right was tough. I would physically start leading him in that direction, then start just kind of drive him forward. Everytime he tries to stop and turn, repeat. It will take sometime for him to get it, along with build the muscles to be able to hold it.
I also don't carry a lunge whip with my OTTB. He lunges better without one. [/quote]
Yeah i have gotten him to do one lap one day. and half a lap another day. He's slowly getting it.
Purcocious (8/17/2009)
And just a side note, a lot of TBs are taught to lunge/long-line as yearlings, so its mostly just refreshing their brains on how to do it and building the appropriate muscles so they are physically able to lunge both directions.
Yeah i've been patient. Once the barn owner gets a slow part at the track he'll help me. but its been really busy there and he's had tons of races.
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| Yeah, its mostly just something that takes time. It sounds like you're doing fine. My gelding would go to the right fine for around 2-3 laps and then suddenly do an amazing rollback and take off back to the left. It was annoying, but after a while he would go a little further and a little further until he just didn't do it anymore. It was just about letting him know that spinning around mid-lunge was not good . . .
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If you act like you've only got fifteen minutes, it'll take all day. Act like you've got all day and it'll take fifteen minutes.~ Monty Roberts
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Haha, must me an OTTB thing.
Merrill does the exact same thing. What I did to help it was get my Dressage trainer to give me and Merrill a lunging lesson. I myself am inexperienced at lunging, so a trainer REALLY helped. I think that if you are competent at lunging a well-behaved horse in three gaits in both directions, you should be fine. Purcocious (sp? sorry) gave good advice.
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But ask the animals, and they will teach you ~Job 12:7a
"You don't throw a whole life away, just 'cause it's beat up a little" ~ Tom Smith, Seabiscuit's trainer
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yeah. we're working hard. i'll post improvements too.
tips still appreciated. thanks guys!
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| I had almost the exact same issue with my OTTB. It was usually at the canter that he would go fine in the one direction, then the other he would do this wierd figure eight thing and bolt in the other direction. Thats actually how I found out he could do flying changes... Anyway, are you working in a roundpen, or a regular rectangular ring? Its much easier to get ahead of the horse in a rectangular ring, so I prefer a roundpen. If you dont lunge much or dont have a lot of experience with this, then I wouldnt do it with a horse that doesnt know it (like yours)... I dont know if this was just Jaxx, but it really helped not to use a lunge line. When you free lunge you have a much larger range of motion without having to worry about tripping over a line. Its usually a specific turn that a horse will choose to pull something. When I figured out his spot I closed the angle a lot and flicked the lunge whip really hard so it makes that "whoosh" and really pushed him through the turn every time it came around. Now he doesnt give me an issue anymore. That was his "Hmm, I can do this" moment. If only he can have one of those for jumping  Just remember to start slow. Get the walk down first, then move up. And if you are free lunging and he turns towards you, its much easier to get him going again right away. With a line you're, again, tripping over it, and he probably will be too if you have too much slack. My horse would actually turn quick and come right up to me, so I would have to untangle him and recoil the line. It was an ordeal and it took forever to get him back out after he had been standing there. A faster reaction from you = him learning faster. Besides that he wont rip your arm off if he decides to run off. Another plus is that he gets more in tune to your movements and body language. After he starts understanding, and listening to you and your body language is when I would put him on a line. And just as a side-note: While they only race to the left, they are worked in both directions on the track. So he should already be accustomed to working in that direction. Sorry for the insanely long post 
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Many horses coming off the track are often physically stunted on one side of their body, leading them to favor one lead or bend over the other. Not really their fault, either. It's like a human person tying one leg up and hobbling around on the other for a month or more; the muscles accomodate the added strength and pressure put on the ligaments and tendons, while the other side can deteriorate. Then try walking normally. It's uncomfortable, painful even, and it's no doubt why racers need a complete overhaul physically and mentally before they can start lunging normally.
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jaxx123 (8/17/2009)
And just as a side-note: While they only race to the left, they are worked in both directions on the track. So he should already be accustomed to working in that direction.Sorry for the insanely long post They're rarely if ever worked to the right. They usually jog them clockwise for maybe an 1/8th of a mile, but then they are turned to go counterclockwise for the rest of the work. And going the clockwise direction they are on a straightline, not bending. They just use it as a short warm-up before the actual workout begins.
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If you act like you've only got fifteen minutes, it'll take all day. Act like you've got all day and it'll take fifteen minutes.~ Monty Roberts
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Purcocious (sp? sorry): I know it isnt their usual direction on the track, I just wanted to make the point to say it. "The one direction" he preferred that I was talking about in the previous post was the right, so I figured it was worth mentioning.
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