Bandit is heading into his 6th month of retraining and although I try to share regular updates of how he is progressing I figured I would let you all in on how I am creating this progress with him. As of right now this horse has everything to be a top notch dressage horse and it is our plan to show everyone just that come October at the 2017 Retired Racehorse Project.
I'll be honest, when I first got Bandit I had planned on putting some training on him and selling him while waiting to see what the rules would be for this years makeover competition. I was actually in Tryon competing my last years makeover horse, Coordinate, when I saw Bandit posted for sale. That was in August of 2016 and it was the last week of August that he shipped from New York down to me. I gave him the rest he needed, competed Coordinate at the 2016 Retired Racehorse Project and by that time Bandit was cleared to begin work again. It only took 6 rides for me to realize this horse was special and I needed to take him to Kentucky to compete this year. So I gave him a few more intermittent hacks and waited for the 2017 RRP entries to open…
Here we are now 6 months into dressage training and while I had entered two horses this year he will be the only one I take. Call it fate, call it a coincidence, call it what you want but I am ready for the ground to shake like it did when Stellar and I entered at A in Kentucky October 2015! That's how cool this horse is.
Bandit lives out 24/7 in a herd of 12 or so horses on great pasture. (I'm lucky to have a boss whose husband is a fertilizing expert!) While turnout 24/7 can be hard on their feet and coat I truly believe it's the best thing for them. Maybe it's the grass or his girlfriends (HA!) but he's the happiest horse in the world and I can still easily take him out to ride whether it be on the farm or off the property. Trust me, this life doesn't come easily to all of them but with a little patience and perseverance, it
will benefit everyone in the long run if they can learn to love this kind of life. When the grass isn't as
great we feed alfalfa twice a day (5lb per horse per feeding) and yes because he's my “special show
horse" he also comes in to eat his grain twice a day. By come in I mean ties to the tie line, eats his breakfast/dinner, gets turned back out. In all honesty he is a dressage pony living the polo pony life style! Someone asked specifically what I was feeding and to be honest it quite simple; 2lbs of Triple Crown Senior, 1lb of Triple Crown Low starch and 2 scoops of EnviroEquine’s Electrobalance all twice a day. He is probably one of the easiest keepers I have had however I have definitely noticed with an increased work load he needs to be supplemented as such.
Now for the fun stuff….his training! To start I do not usually give down time unless it is completely
necessary, i.e. Injury, weight gain etc. Why? Because I have galloped and broke yearlings at the track
and I know that from an early age these horses have had a job. Therefore most of the time that's what
they seek so unless they are needing that down time I get them in a schedule. In the beginning a lot of times that schedule is only a few days a week and a mixture of lunging, longlining and hacks. While I do appreciate the importance of ground work and lunging/longlining, my primary focus from the start is can they hack? By hack I mean can I take them on a walk on a loose rein on, off and around the farm? Because let's be honest the majority of the clients I will get to look at horses will not be Olympic riders. They will be Adult Amateurs or Young Riders who 9 times out the of 10 will ask if they will hack out alone or in a group and how they are. Not to mention the wonders it does for ANY horse’s brain. From there I determine whether more work from the ground is needed or if we can take riding to the next step, but first and foremost my horses must be able to hack. Lunging and hacking came very quickly to Bandit and actually one of his favorite things to do is hack, well that is until he learned to Dressage!
I bought Bandit off a still picture and a walk video so although my gut said the trot and canter would be nice, I wasn’t sure what to expect. However it has now become pretty evident that this horse has a
trot to die for and well…a canter that is improving everyday! When Bandit first started his flatwork training it was obvious he had a knack for holding his head pretty but in an ineffective way. By that I mean he naturally has a rounded neck which allows him to look like he is “on the bit”. It may have looked pretty however it was a completely false frame and he was not using his body to get there. How did we establish true engagement? Forward. But you must remember that you cannot send them forward to a sloppy rein. You must send them forward to something. Not a rein with slack, not a rein pulling back but a rein that is simply THERE. From forward you find inside leg to outside hand connection, from connection you find bend. Then from there you can achieve true inside hind leg engagement and full suppleness throughout their body. Don't go getting on expecting to have bend, you won't. Don’t go getting on expecting to hold them in a frame, you can't. You MUST go FORWARD first.
From the beginning this horse’s canter has been quick, unbalanced and on the forehand. I attribute all of this to strength. Though he may have a nice round apple bottom for a butt, he had never been asked to sit on it. This is again where your hacking skills come into play especially if you have access to hills. Use them. Hill work on a loose rein at the walk will build more muscle and top line than any
silly supplement someone on the OTTB connect thread suggested. I promise. And if you do not have access to hills a good 40 minute hack at a forward walk on a loose rein will do the same! It might sound boring but I am telling you, it's worth it. Once realizing Bandit’s strength in the trot and weakness in the canter, it became evident that more hacking and hill work was needed. So that's what we did, 3-4 days of hacking/hill work with 2 or so days of flat work.
It has not been until the last month or so that I now get on this horse knowing that he is truly ready for more. He's always had a good work ethic but now that he is physically stronger, he's more mentally ready to take on what is being asked of him and I really believe he thrives off of it. Now we hack maybe twice a week and flat 3-4. Because I know where his strengths and weaknesses are I am better able to access what we are going to work on on a day to day basis. His canter is still the weakest link, however this mornings canter was the BEST. I tend not to work the walk, the trot and the canter equally from day to day. Instead I choose a gait in which to focus on. For example today was canter. Sure we walked out to the field and yes we trotted to get loosened up but majority of this morning’s ride was spend doing canter transitions, canter spiral ins and spiral outs, cantering straight and cantering shallow loops. Yesterday, we hacked and tomorrow we lesson to go through our tests in preparation for next weeks show. Try not to get stuck in a day to day basis trying to conquer the same things. Pick something to focus on, work it and then end it on the best possible note.
