Tips?

Hi there,
I got an off the track 16.3hh standardbred a month ago. I was wondering who here has owned an ottstb or ottb? What exercises did you do to help them gain there balance for being a riding horse? What did you do to help them be less nervous? (My guy is pretty nervous around new people) And any other advice on them would help My other horse was off the track, tho she had no under saddle training when I had gotten her its just been 4 years now since that time so I've forgotten so much

Thank you for any advice!

Walking, lots of walking. Work on simple things like turning left and right, stopping (with a small amount of pressure), but keep his mind engaged. A lot of ex-racers automatically have that instinct to go-go-go, and that is why going slow is so important. Work on "fixing" his mouth. Use a simple snaffle, and get him responding to it easily before moving on to more advanced exercises.... work in circles and serpentines. This will help his balance. Your goal is to have him walking on a loose rein with his topline extended (so he stretches down over the bit).

If you feel him speeding up, don't lean on the reins to slow him down. You want him to walk slowly with minimal contact, so when he speeds up, change directions quickly (but not aggressively). Make sure you work in an area where there aren't a lot of distractions, if possible.