From Lauren:
Your Weekly “Why Does My OTTB (insert weird quirk here)?” Q&A
Where did the year go!? I am absolutely stunned to be sitting here on DECEMBER FREAKING THIRD. We are only five months away from Rolex! The Kentucky Derby winner is out there somewhere with only six months until his (or maybe even her) big day. Christmas, assuming the Mayan’s weren’t correct all along about that whole December 21st thing, is only twenty-two days away. In the spirit of the year coming to a close, I have finally caught up on my email answering this week and all of the questions from this this column that found their way to my inbox have finally been answered. Thank you for your patience, keep those inquiries a-coming, and enjoy the latest reader quandaries over a tall glass of Eggnog, or Peppermint Schnapps, or whatever it is you drink on Monday mornings.
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Chompers likes to put everything in his mouth, including people (working on that problem) when he is bored, and I’m looking for ideas to keep him entertained in his stall at night this winter! He lives out spring/summer/fall but I’m in Canada and once the weather gets bad here he’ll be staying in at night since it just can get too cold and miserable to have him out at night. Any suggestions on keeping his boredom at bay would be great! (contributed by EN reader Jackie Bradshaw)
Stall toys are very common at the track and serve many purposes from curtailing boredom to discouraging cribbing, to providing an outlet for frustration and aggression. Sometimes they are hung on the outside of the stall, sometimes in the center or back of the stall, and sometimes they are thrown on the floor. Their location seems to vary most based upon the structure of the stall. Some stalls at training barns have solid metal screen doors and do not allow for the horses to stick their heads out, thus negating a front-of-the-stall placement. I have found that jolly balls thrown on the floor often get trampled upon and ultimately deflated so it is my suggestion that they be hung somewhere in the stall if at all possible. Some other variations of stall toys include milk jugs with holes cut in them strung upon a stall chain, one of Uncle Jimmy’s Hangin’ Balls hung in the middle of the stall as rafters allow, knotted ropes similar to dog toys attached firmly to the wall, used jugs with treats in them and holes just barely big enough for one treat to escape occasionally, and even items like the Likit Tongue Twister. Good luck in busting your pony’s boredom this winter and for the sake of your boredom, I hope the NHL gets things worked out!!
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Dirt Squirrel just adores getting dirty! The quirkiest part about his dirt obsession is that whenever you put him in a new stall–whether it be at a show or a new stall ‘at home’–he must roll in it. This is doubly true if put in a stall after getting off the trailer. Neck slinkies and sheets have saved me a lot of time grooming before shows but it’s still hard getting the shavings out of his ears at times! (contributed by EN reader Danielle Heidt)
It sounds as though Mr. Dirt Squirrel may be sort of ‘marking his territory’ but rolling to ensure that his scent is plastered on every stall surface available. Stallions will often immediately roll when turned out or brought in and can even been observed rubbing their sides against walls in the stalls and gates and fences in the field to mark their territory via scent. We have all seen our horses blow into each other’s nostrils like fire breathing dragons even if they have known each other for years and the role that smell plays in a horses environment is often downplayed and nearly forgotten. It is not surprising that your pony is even more compelled to spread his scent around when arriving at a new location. He just has to make sure that any resident horses know that His Royal Highness has entered the building. Good luck keeping Mr. Dirt Squirrel clean and keeping those ears shavings free!
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Thing One and Thing Two have both always been nuts about taking the bit in a good way! As soon as you pick up the bridle, both horses are hunting for the bit with their mouths wide open. It’s great because you never have to get your finger slimy begging them to take the bit, but they can be slightly hazardous in their enthusiasm. They came from different barns, so I don’t think it was a barn specific training. Is there something track wide that would cause this behavior? (contributed by EN reader Melinda Sadler)
There are certainly worse problems to have with OTTB’s! Some readers write in complaining that their horses are so staunchly opposed to taking the bit that they have had to take up yoga to master the contortions necessary to achieve bit placement. While most racing barns don’t do anything special to encourage horses to take the bits, there are a couple of practices that could have encourage your critters to be so enthusiastic with their bit acceptance. Firstly, most tack is kept in a climate-controlled tack room. Warm bits in the winter make ALL the difference when is comes to how much resistance a horse will put up before being bridled. I swear I have seen bits get so cold that horses tongues have stuck to them before. It reminds me of that kid in A Christmas Story only with a bridle hanging out of the horse’s mouth by the bit! Also, as silly as it seems, some barns will cleanse their bits with those anti-bacterial, peppermint-flavored wipes that they make like these Horse Amour Bit Wipes or they will dip the bit in Chlorahexidine solution to cleanse it and then wipe it with the inside paper of an empty feed bag giving it sort of a molasses flavor. Beyond flavoring the bit, it is possible that once upon a time you horses were both a bit resistant to taking the bit and that fed-up grooms used whatever tactics necessary to discourage your ponies from wasting their precious time at 4 or 5 am. Both positive and negative reinforcement are commonplace on the race track and both seem to be equally as effective in encouraging recalcitrant horses to accept bits NOW not later. I hope this helps and maybe put some of those wipes on your Christmas List!
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I do hope that some of my answers to the questions above been enlightening and even a little laughter-inducing. I encourage you (PLEASE! Even if you think they are stupid questions!) to send any further, horse-specific or general-knowledge questions to me via email ([email protected]) for more in-depth and on-point answer. The EN response has been great and I look forward to fielding more thought-provoking questions each week! Go Eventing and go gallop a former racehorse.
