Category: Pringles

Research

It is important to make sure you do your research before choosing your new OTT partner. Speak to owners, breeders, trainers and track work riders if you can. Take an experienced and knowledgeable person with you to view the horse to make sure they are fit for purpose both with conformation and temperament. I took my good friend and dressage coach Kerrie Swan-Bates with me to view Pringles. I spoke to track riders about what she was like when they dealt with her and I also knew her owner and breeder Rhonda Hall. So with all this information, I was able to make an informed decision if Pringles and I would be a good match.

Veterinary advice

Make sure you have a good vet. OTT horses will often require veterinary treatment. I was fortunate that Pringles retired from racing sound. However, as soon as she came home I got my vets to come and check her over. She was due for a dental examination which showed that she had a retained baby incisor tooth which needed to be removed. She was also started on a course of ulcer treatment.

Shoeing

Have a knowledgeable farrier. Whether you want to go barefoot or shoes, I have found that a high percentage of OTTs come with poor feet and may require corrective shoeing. This can be for a number of reasons, however it is important to understand that it can take a good 12 months to rectify. Make sure you have a trimmer or farrier willing to work with the horse to keep it sound and happy.

Pringles had the typical flat thoroughbred feet with contracted heels and thin soles. I had my vet x-ray all of Pringles feet to check all of her angles so that my farrier had something to work with. My farrier has done a wonderful job with Pringles’ feet and I have found she is going well with just front shoes on at the moment.

Bodywork, bodywork, bodywork!

These horses have essentially been elite athletes and their bodies have been trained to go a certain way. We then get them off the track and expect them to totally change the way they carry themselves. It is important to make sure that the horse is physically able to perform the tasks you are asking. Remember horses don’t do things just to be ‘naughty’.  They may be struggling to physically perform a certain task due to weakness, confusion or something else. Always listen.

Nutrition

As part of the Tasracing Off The Track Tasmania program, we were fortunate to be given a Cavalor pack and also support from Hygain. I highly recommend taking up these opportunities. I have found Gary at Cavalor great to deal with and very knowledgeable about the products. Pringles has been going great on the Cavalor Nutri-Plus. I have also been really happy with the results from the Hygain Microspeed. It can be quite easy to become overwhelmed with feeds and additives as there are so many on the market. However my advice would be to keep it simple. Treat all horses as individuals, as what works for one may not necessarily work for the other. But definitely take advantage of the resources Tasracing offers.

Coaching

Find a coach with whom you can work well, and who understands you and your horse. The Tasracing Off The Track program gives people and their horses access to knowledgeable coaches to assist riders and horses in their transition from race horse to pleasure horse. I am fortunate that I have a wonderful dressage coach who I trust and knows when to push me and the horse and when we may need to back off.

Start off simple

Remember it takes time to build a relationship and trust with your horse. Do the ground work. Start off with short training sessions to build confidence and strength. Cross train with poles and hack outs or try different disciplines. It’s ok to make mistakes – mistakes are how we learn. Never take your anger or frustration out on the horse. Training in the early days is tedious.  It can be frustrating and sometimes you may feel as though you have plateaued. This is ok! Never be afraid to ask for help.

Things don’t need to be perfect straight away, any progress is good progress.

Most importantly please take your time. This is something that I will admit in the past I have not always done well. All horses are different and need to be treated as such. It is very easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing and feel we need to be doing the same.  Patience and consistency is the key.

Long story short

When purchasing an OTT do your research and remember that it is important to understand that rehabbing and training an OTT does cost money and time. Make sure you create a village of people to be there to help and to ask questions along your journey. There is always so much to learn!

I look forward to many more adventures together with Pringles, and I hope our honest updates of our highs and lows of training have helped others.

 

This month marks 12 months since I brought Pringles home.

I am very grateful to Rhonda Hall (ex trainer) for trusting me to take on Pringles and give Pringles a life after racing.

Pringles’ bodywork sessions started whilst she was spelling and are still continuing today. Initially we started off with weekly sessions as her muscles were so tight. We have since gradually moved her sessions out to every 3-4 weeks depending on how she is feeling and what work is being asked of her. These days her bodywork sessions are just to keep on top of any ‘niggles’ that may occur with more physically demanding work. Horses react differently to different bodywork techniques. I have found Pringles responds well to Emmett Therapy, Physio, PEMF and chiropractic work, each of which we alternate accordingly.

The love and trust that these beautiful OTT horses give us is second to none. I am thankful for all the people who have helped and supported Pringles and I so far. I am proud of the progress we have achieved and the connection we are creating. It certainly hasn’t always been smooth sailing and we have had plenty of ups and downs along the way (and I am sure there will be plenty more to come) but I feel like we are well on the way to forming a great partnership.  

Most importantly Pringles has turned into a wonderful family horse.

I look forward to many more adventures together and I hope our honest updates of our highs and lows of training have helped others 😊 I am certainly not saying that the way I have spent the last 12 months with Pringles is the only way to retrain an OTT horse but I found this is what worked best for both Pringles and myself.

Watch a video about Pringles journey over 12 months:

Thankfully with rest and bodywork, Pringles’ back is again feeling great. Overall our training at home has been going well, so this month we were able to attend a few events and training opportunities away from home.

Our first challenge was a show jump freshman’s day. This was such a great training experience and Pringles took this all in her stride, coping very well with the environment and other horses. She was still a bit anxious when I left her at the float or yards by herself.  She did break off the float twice but she is certainly improving.

After a good experience at the freshman’s, our next challenge was an unofficial Dressage Tasmania competition. Things started off well with Pringles being really settled in the yards, with all the horses coming and going past her. We then headed out to the warm-up area where she started off a little tense but I felt I could still ride her and get her brain back with me. I was really proud of how she warmed up before we headed over towards the test arena, where the wheels started to fall off. She became very tense and stressed, and all our ‘buttons’ went out the window. We worked through this and went into our test, however, retired two movements into the test due to poor Pringles not coping at all with the environment. I was disappointed as I really thought she was ready but her brain didn’t cope.  It has given me plenty of things to work on to improve for next time!

After consolidating at home for a little while we then ventured out to our first show jump competition. This was at the same grounds as the previous freshman event, so a good chance to go where she had a good experience. We had a great day!  Still some green horse reactive moments, especially in the warm-up but overall I was very happy with how she handled the day. Pringles is such a lovely and willing horse but she can be very reactive, especially in environments she finds adrenalising or stressful. This just shows me that I need to continue to get her out and about to expose her to different environments and situations.  We will also continue to further her education at home to help us when we are out of her comfort zone.

As well as our outings I have continued to consolidate our training, both at home and with our weekly flat lessons. I have also had both her saddles refitted; her dressage saddle was fitting well however her jump saddle needed adjusting due to her filling out and changing shape.

The end of this month marks the 12-month anniversary since Pringles’ last race.

Pringles competition gallery

For me this month was the reality of the highs and lows of owning and working with horses.

We had some brilliant moments in our training which included attending our first Dressage Association training day. It was great to have wonderful OTT coach Sue McDermott’s expertise for our first training day outing. We worked on slowing down Pringle’s legs and lowering her head and neck to relax in the new environment. I was very pleased with how Pringles coped with the atmosphere.

During the month, we have had some great hack outs through the bush and along the beach where Pringles has felt so confident and happy which is great.  Unfortunately, we also had one terrible trail ride, where she seems to have lost all her training and it was like I was riding a fire-breathing dragon that didn’t know if it wanted to run home backwards at a million miles an hour or throw itself up, down and around! We made it home safely and I took her to the arena straight away to get her brain back, where she was super and we actually did some lovely relaxed work. But that’s horses!

Unfortunately, halfway through this month’s training I was doing the daily cleaning out of Pringle’s paddock and noticed huge skid marks across the paddock. When riding her, she was not happy and felt quite crooked. She also kicked up her hind legs in the canter which is very unlike her. I got off and organised my body worker to come and see her as soon as possible. Pringles was very sore through the muscles over her lumbar spine and ended up needing 2 weeks’ rest and continued body work.   I am so pleased that I know her well enough to understand when she is trying to tell me she isn’t comfortable.

While Pringles was having some time off, we managed a dental check and a booster tetanus injection.  The vet also ran a faecal egg count that came back negative, which is great for my worming regime and paddock rotation.

Unfortunately during this downtime we missed out on being able to ride in our first show jump clinic. However, I decided to still take her along and I held her in hand and practised our ‘park’ in the arena while the other horses in the group participated in the lesson. This was great exposure for Pringles and I’m pleased we were able to do something productive in this time.

Next month I plan to attend a show jumping freshman’s day and our first Dressage Competition, depending on how Pringle’s back is feeling closer to those events. We have now had our first ride after her time off and she is feeling good again, so hopefully there is no more hooning and slipping in the paddock hurting herself! 🤞

This month started off quite slowly for Pringles and myself. I had intended to work Pringles for a couple more weeks and then give her a break but she had other plans!
Pringles managed to lose two shoes in the space of two weeks so she ended up having her two weeks off at the start of this month’s training rather than the end. It actually worked out well though, as she has come back feeling stronger and ready for more work.

I have still been focusing on our flat work with our regular weekly dressage lessons with my coach. I have also been asking more questions of her with some harder gymnastic pole work. I really love pole and gymnastic work, as it is useful for improving balance, control and steering. It also requires precision so as a rider I find it makes me more accountable for my aids and helps me to refine them.

I have attached a small video of our flatwork and also some pole work.
In our flat work, we are still working on consistency in the contact and straightnesses (you may have noticed this is a common statement in my updates) and getting Pringles to stretch through her neck and back. I feel we are improving every time. Our consistency at home is fantastic, however, we are continuing to try to get this more consistent in higher-stress environments away from home. It’s a work in progress but we are chipping away.

The pole video shows us having a go at a little canter bounce grid and also a single cross rail fence with placing poles before and after. I was aiming to work on our rhythm and straightness with these exercises. I would like to note that I have built Pringles up to be able to cope with these grids. I like to slowly build up pole exercises to keep the horse engaged and confident. With young/green horses I like to start off with walking poles, then trotting, and then I start to build them up and incorporate the canter and small jumps. Initially starting with single poles and then building from there when the horse is physically and mentally ready.

We are booked in for our first dressage training day this weekend which I am very excited about. This will be our first proper group training environment and I look forward to letting you know how we go!

 

 

This month I have made time to get Pringles out a bit more which has been great for her. We have been continuing with our flat work lessons – building strength and becoming so much straighter.  I have been really happy with her progress. We have been incorporating a lot more canter work this month as well. She is accepting the contact so much better in the walk and trot and swinging through her back which is great for her muscle development. To help with her suppleness in the canter, we have started to incorporate very shallow loops in the canter which has been working well.

At home, we have been incorporating walk, trot and canter poles as well as some small show jumps. It has been very exciting for me to feel Pringles be confident and powerful over the jumps and know that our flat work is paying off.

We have also been able to get out on cross country a couple of times. I am still keeping things small and simple to build Pringles confidence but so far she is proving to be bold and honest which will hopefully bode well for her Eventing future.

Halfway through this month, Pringles started to feel a bit tired and tight in the back end. I have been continuing her bodywork to keep on top of any ‘niggles’ with her increased workload which has really helped.  Because of this, I decided to give her a ‘lite’ week this month where she had most of the week off apart from two quick lunges to have a stretch. She came back from this feeling refreshed and ready to work again.

Next month I would like to get a few more weeks of training in but will then give her a couple of weeks of full rest just to give her muscles and brain time to reset. Then we can get back into our training again over the winter months.

 

 

I feel Pringles and I have made some good progress this month. She is feeling so much stronger through her back and she is coping well with the increased workload. 

We are having weekly flat lessons with my dressage coach where we have been working really hard to get Pringles straight (this sounds so easy but can be a real challenge for so many horses – especially those transitioning to life off the track!). The lateral work and being able to move her flexion around have really been helping with our straightness.

At home, we have continued to hack out both by ourselves and with the company of other horses which is great and we have been continuing on with our pole work. I have started to incorporate canter bounce poles as well as walk and trot poles.

We went to our first jump club. This was in a new environment for Pringles and she was extremely overwhelmed to start with, however, I was very proud that our training was able to override her anxiety and we were able to trot around a course of poles. To me, this was a very big deal and I was very proud of her and happy our training was paying off.

I had plans of getting her out to a lot more things this month however I have been quite a time poor with trying to run my own business and also be around for my young kids and husband. I am certainly not the only person in this boat and I am trying not to put pressure on myself or Pringles to be out and about too soon. We are happy chipping away at our own pace at the moment and I feel we are building a great partnership because of this.

I have been really happy with the transition from Seedhouse Build to Hygain Micrspeed for Pringles. It hasn’t affected her behaviour and her coat and condition look fantastic. I made sure I transitioned her slowly to the new feed over 2-3 weeks to try to prevent any reactions.

Pringles is changing shape, so I had another saddle fit to check how her saddles fit.  These only needed minor adjustments but this is something I want to check regularly to make sure the saddle isn’t affecting her way of moving or causing any discomfort.

We are still continuing with bodywork.  This month when she was checked by the chiropractor he could not find anything that needed to be worked on, which shows me that her body is feeling stronger! We are continuing with her regular Emmett therapy and PEMF for her muscles as well as a physio appointment for both myself and Pringles. My own bodywork is something that I have started in the last 12 months or so. However, I should have started it years ago! I am very crooked and if I am sitting crooked on the horse I certainly am not giving them the best opportunity to work to their full potential. So this is something that I would definitely recommend to other riders too.

As Pringles is feeling much stronger in her flat work, next month I am hoping to be able to add more jumping into her training and also continue to get her out to different environments when possible.

Training at the start of this last month has been a bit inconsistent due to Christmas, however I feel the little break has done Pringles’ brain and body the world of good as she has come back physically and mentally stronger.

The more cemented and reliable Pringles’ training becomes, the more she is relaxing in new environments and this is definitely showing in how relaxed she is when hacking out. She even coped well when a big friendly Saint Bernard dog came running at us.

After our in-hand visit to the beach last month we are now confidently hacking out along the beach, through the bush and along the road. Watch Pringles’ first ride at the beach:

In our flat work we are working on both our lateral suppleness with some leg yields both on the circle and the straight line, and our longitudinal suppleness with some transitions both within the pace and between the paces.

We even had our first jump this month out at the Huntingfield cross country course.

Pringles had a couple of anxious moments but settled very well in a new group environment for which I was very proud.

I have been researching feeds and I am in the process of transitioning Pringles from Seedhouse build to Hygain Micrspeed. This was the closest feed that I could find to the Build, so far, I have been pleased with the results, but will update more next month.

We are still continuing with her monthly chiropractic work and regular Emmett therapy and PEMF therapy.

I find the use of these three body workers on a regular basis especially in this stage of Pringles’ training helps us pick up any ‘niggles’ before they escalate and help keep her comfortable and able to cope with the increased work load.

Pringles also now loves all sorts of treats. Apples, carrots but her favourite is the Hygain Smoochies.

I’m hoping this next month I will be able to take Pringles to some training days and expose her to more group environments.

 

 

After our ‘park’ button failed a little last month, I have since been focusing on being able to mount in different areas with great success.

Initially, I started moving the mounting block to different areas of the arena, then for me to be able to climb onto different objects to be able to mount.

This may seem like something small but we got to the point where when out on the trails I was able to dismount to adjust my saddle then mount from a large rock on the side of the road. As I mentioned this may not seem like a big deal but for a horse that would get very anxious standing still to be mounted in new situations was a huge win.

I have also been trying to get Pringles out to different environments as she is now so much more confident in the float by herself doing regular, short trips.

We had our first visit to the beautiful Coal Valley Equestrian Centre and to the beach.

Pringles gets very anxious in new environments, however with a calm and patient approach she soon grows in confidence and improves every time she goes out.

The better our training at home, the more confidence Pringles has in me and the more ‘buttons’ I have in new environments.

Under saddle, we have continued to work on straightness and balance.

Pringles’ canter is stronger, and we have progressed to walk, trot and canter poles.

We are also venturing further with our trail rides and are able to hack out by ourselves.

As mentioned in our last post, I am very big on cross-training not only for horses’ brains but also for their bodies.

We are continuing with Pringles PEMF sessions, chiropractic work and Emmett therapy when needed.

Pringles continues to put on muscle and weight with her current feed regime, however, I found out this month that our Seedhouse feed is no longer going to be manufactured, so I will be doing some research to find out a good alternative and will transition Pringles onto the new feed slowly.

Next month I will continue to expose Pringles to as many different environments as possible as well as improve our flat work, continuing to work on our connection and balance.

We now have a jump saddle that fits her, so I am hoping to incorporate some small jumps into her training regime.

Pringles celebrated her 5th birthday this month 🎉 🥳

This month I have been focusing on building Pringles strength under saddle and cementing our basics ready to venture out of the arena and off the property.

I am happy with how she has been going on her feed, so I haven’t changed eating regime.

We are continuing with her bodywork with monthly chiropractic check-ups, weekly to fortnightly PEMF sessions and fortnightly Bowen/Emmett therapy.

As I am changing the way Pringles carries herself from racehorse to ridden horse, I expect her body is going to need regular ‘tune-ups’ with bodywork treatment.

We had a breakthrough this month with Pringles now happy to lift her back legs to be cleaned out and she was also a superstar for the farrier. I have worked hard with this and next shoeing cycle we will also look at shoes for her hind feet.

In training, we continued lunging (I have started using very lightly fitted side reins) but these training sessions are not long, usually 10-15min.

I have continued with lunging as I wanted Pringles to be confident on the lunge in canter before we commenced it under saddle and the side reins also help her start to feel for the contact.

I had my saddle fitter come out to check her saddle which needed to be adjusted (this has been done). This is extremely important as the last thing I want is for an ill-fitting saddle to be affecting the way she works.

Under saddle we have progressed to riding square corners to make sure I am able to move her shoulders and turn on the forehand which then was turned into baby leg yields.

I have started to introduce walk and trot poles to Pringles training which again is great for her balance/strength and good cross training.  We are also now cantering on both leads under saddle.

I’m pleased with the way Pringles is adjusting to the new workload, but I am mindful of the length and intensity of our training sessions, so I can push enough to get improvement without making her sore from the new work.

We also had our first hack-out through the trails around my property. A friend rode my older mare as a companion and Pringles was fantastic.

I have started regular lessons with my dressage coach which has been great to have a set of eyes from such a knowledgeable person to guide me as well.

This month we also had some float rides where my other mare Pandora became Pringles’ buddy.

Our first trip was to a Monmouth Pony Club rally where I was teaching, so Pringles and Pandora stayed in the yard and were able to take in the pony club environment.

Again, I was very pleased with how Pringles was able to take everything in, however as with all that I am doing with her in her initial training, I want to make sure I set things up as best I can for a good experience.

We have also had our first lesson off property with another of my coaches, where we went for a hack-out around the Tasmanian Equestrian Centre and Pandora came with us as Pringles’ buddy.

Once I made a few slight adjustments, Pringles handled the ride out extremely well and was the leader walking around the new environment.

Moving forward, I will move the mounting block out of the arena at home and practice mounting in different areas to help us more when we go out to unfamiliar sites.

Finally, this month we participated in the Tasracing Off the Track media shoot. It was great to catch up with so many of the people who run the fantastic Off the Track program, including the lovely Lily Mithen who is Tasracing’s Off the Track ambassador.

Next month I will be aiming to expose Pringles to different environments.

https://youtube.com/shorts/LELH1AB0