I'll try to keep it short. I got an OTTB a few months ago, not right off the track, he had to be off for years, don't know what he was doing since, and no history is available for him. He was rode through at the auction w/t/c and went over small jump. Very skinny. He had very nice ground manners, didn't ride him right away as he needed more weight and just to settle in.
When he had enough weight, I rode him, just walk at first, then asked for trot, okay for awhile then he fought hard to just run, but was able to be stopped and slowed down. Found myself a good trainer to work with him and me at this point, and we started from the ground up and are making progress, I'm in no big rush, slow and steady is fine with me, I want him to be right and I want to trust him and have him trust me. I thought the riding aspect would be the hardest part but,
Now that he's almost at perfect weight, his ground manners are getting worse. He has become an expert at pulling off cross-ties and after behaving for the farrier on previous visits, was a real pain in the neck this last time. He gets front shoes only, back just trimmed. (I tried him without shoes when I first got him but he was not comfortable, so they are back on). I should note that he doesn't do any aggressive moves towards anyone. He is more of a backer away (fast) to get out of things.
Anyway, my question is, do TB's dislike cross-ties in general, and is he just showing it now because he's feeling better, and should I continue to keep cross-tieing him or just use lead rope with slip knot to tie him?
Also, if anyone has any suggestions and have dealt with a similar situation with a horse going from poor health to good health and behavior changing, please feel free to offer suggestions and advice. I'm glad he's feeling better, but he is different now then when I got him. (Sorry I didn't keep it short).
When he had enough weight, I rode him, just walk at first, then asked for trot, okay for awhile then he fought hard to just run, but was able to be stopped and slowed down. Found myself a good trainer to work with him and me at this point, and we started from the ground up and are making progress, I'm in no big rush, slow and steady is fine with me, I want him to be right and I want to trust him and have him trust me. I thought the riding aspect would be the hardest part but,
Now that he's almost at perfect weight, his ground manners are getting worse. He has become an expert at pulling off cross-ties and after behaving for the farrier on previous visits, was a real pain in the neck this last time. He gets front shoes only, back just trimmed. (I tried him without shoes when I first got him but he was not comfortable, so they are back on). I should note that he doesn't do any aggressive moves towards anyone. He is more of a backer away (fast) to get out of things.
Anyway, my question is, do TB's dislike cross-ties in general, and is he just showing it now because he's feeling better, and should I continue to keep cross-tieing him or just use lead rope with slip knot to tie him?
Also, if anyone has any suggestions and have dealt with a similar situation with a horse going from poor health to good health and behavior changing, please feel free to offer suggestions and advice. I'm glad he's feeling better, but he is different now then when I got him. (Sorry I didn't keep it short).