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The best way to start, if possible, is to have one or two horses join you in a ring ride (even better would be taking a group lesson with your regular instructor). Make sure the horses that are joining you are of a quiet character-you don't want to have your horse get antsy, then set off the others, and pretty soon you are all pinging around in the ring like a pinball game. If your horse has shown himself to be pretty calm in general, you may be able to start out mounted, but if you have a more nervous horse, you may want to start out with your horse in-hand. Either way, the goal is to make the horse focus on you, and ignore the distractions going on around him. If you are starting unmounted, make sure the horse is focusing on you. Start with hand walking, and halting, and then work up to lunging, with the other horses going around you (first the same direction as your horse is traveling, then in the opposite). Do lots of transitions to make the horse focus on his work, not the new things going on in the ring. Finally, it should be stated that this should not be attempted unless you and your horse are very proficient at lunging, and you may want to consider wearing your hard hat in case the horse gets worked up. If you are starting mounted (or have worked through the unmounted steps), start with all horses walking the same direction. If that doesn't cause any alarm, have the people halt on the rail, and you walk towards and past them, on the inside, as close as you feel comfortable. If that goes well, then have your helpers walk forwards, and you can then walk past each other-again, it is important that you are on the inside, not against the rail, so if your horse wigs out, you aren't pinned between a horse and the rail. As you ride, concentrate on making the attitude, "business as usual"-ride in a calm, focused manner, and don't make a big deal out of the experience. If your horse is being quiet, be sure to praise lavishly. As things go well, and the horse becomes comfortable, you can move-up to the trot and canter, and start passing with the other horse(s) on the inside. If your horse is handling all this easily, you can build up to experiences with more and more horses. Eventually, you may want to take your horse to a local schooling show, not to compete, but to check out the atmosphere. Go with the idea that you may not ride-perhaps you will just spend some time hand walking and grazing your horse-teaching him that going places doesn't mean stress or challenge. If your horse gets off the trailer and is relaxed and comfortable, take him for a walk around, and if all is well, tack him up and go for a ride. Walk around all the grounds, in and out of the warm-up ring(s). If at anytime the horse becomes anxious, step him back to an area/activity that he was comfortable with. When it comes to this phase of the game your motto should be "less is more"-if you feel you might be approaching an edge, back off. It's better to do less and have a positive experience, than push it and have a negative one. The more things you can expose your horse to, the easier a time you will have getting a competitive performance out of him later-in addition to lessons, clinics, and schooling shows, you should strongly consider taking your horse on trail rides-small ones first, and then building up to a larger groups and longer distances. In addition to the challenges of a new place and new horses, trail rides can present additional challenges to the ex-racehorse. On the track, racehorses generally encounter prepared, flat footing with no changes in type or elevation. Out on the trail, the ground can be dirt, grass, sand, mulch, and it can be filled with swales, changes, hills, trees, and other obstacles, such as streams. This can be confusing and unnerving to your horse, so patience, and a good trail buddy (a quiet experienced horse and rider to serve as a leader), are essential. Your horse will not know how to walk down steep hills, and going uphill will be slow and awkward. Water will be a disconcerting obstacle. Be prepared at any time to dismount, and lead your horse down, over, or through whatever might be making him uncomfortable. Once you've shown him he can live through it, remount, and try it again until the horse is calm and comfortable. I started with Lion working him alone here in our ring. When I was ready to introduce another horse, I had my husband come down with his gelding, and we worked through the same exercises I've outlined here. He adapted very well, though the first time my husband came cantering at us, he stopped and propped a little, not sure if we were safe. When Merlin went past us, I could feel him take a big breath, as if to say, "phew, OK, we made it." The second time he came past Lion craned his neck a little to check him out, but didn't otherwise react. A few weeks later I took him for a lesson with my instructor, who has a large indoor ring. In the more confined atmosphere of the indoor, he became a little more insecure about horses going past him, but after a few minutes he settled in to work. The first time I took Lion on a trail ride, it was at the farm of a friend of mine. I had ridden him through the pastures here at our place, but that was the extent of his experience. My friend's farm is in smack in the middle of a hunt territory, so there is an extensive network of trails easily accessible from the farm. We went out with Lion, my husband and his gelding Merlin, my friend on her horse, and one of her borders. Lion was very relaxed and seemed very interested in his surroundings. He wanted to be at or near the front, and was handling the ground fairly well. At the first big down hill, he balked a bit, but was willing to follow another horse, though there was a lot of stopping, stumbling and general awkwardness. Similarly at the first big uphill, we had a bit of lurching, and dragging himself up with his front end until he learned to push with the hindquarters. All in all though, it was a pleasant afternoon stroll. Then, we came to our first challenge-a large stream crossing. Though not deep, it was wide, and Lion had his first big NO moment. He was quite certain the stream was filled with horse-eating alligators, and he wanted no part of it, even with all of his buddies on the other side. I hopped off, ran up my stirrups, and slipped the reins over his head. I waded in, and he hemmed and hawed on the bank for a minute before gingerly walking in, one shaky, snorting step at a time. I made him stand in the water with me for a bit, then led him back out, remounted, and tried again. He balked again, and tried to back up the trail. When he failed to respond to my leg, I reached back and gave him a tap with my crop (behind the leg, to enforce the leg aid, not to punish), and he shot forward, hung at the bank for a second, and then gave a HUGE leap in to the stream. I praised lavishly, told him he was brave and brilliant and gave him big pats, then walked out of the stream. We then crossed back and went back and forth a few times until he was walking easily and calmly across the water. It can take quite a while to have your horse be totally comfortable with traveling around and working and trail riding. The key is patience and kindness, and not allowing you to be frustrated by what can seem like tiny progress. Also expect that there will be backwards steps along with the forwards steps. Lion still tends to take a big look at stream crossings, and at times it seems as though he's never seen such a thing before. Then he'll go out, and cross the stream as though he's done it his whole life. So, you must endeavor not to become discouraged, though at times it's harder than others. The time put in will pay great dividends down the road, when you have a focused and calm partner for all your riding endeavors.
Read Part I.
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