try lots of upward and downward transitions, and don't train her just ride her. if she gets chargey try not to make a big deal about it, just keep breaking things up, and keep it as smooth as possible. if you learn to do one rein stops properly it will settle the horse mentally and physically. no one rein stops aren't barrel racing but like one person all ready mentioned, you probably ought to start back at the halter rope. i'm guessing those race horses probably don't get a real good foundation because of the schedule they are on. lots of time.

Im not a trainer/expert either, I do own TB's and most of them have been raced. Several questions that need to be answered. How long ago was the horse on the track, and did she have any time of being just a horse to allow her brain to clear before you started any new training. Another thing, is how much time has been spent just bonding with the horse. Getting the TB in her to trust you and respect you is the first step in getting one to do what you want of them. Once you have that she will do anything for you. Sold a TB gelding that could out run anything in his prime and I watched him do this when he was so sick he passed out after the race, this was before I owned him. My ex bought him after that race. Took me two years to get him well and his mind clear. The people tried to make a pony horse out of him and he would just panic, yet they could do anything else with him they wanted. He is now running barrels and the people just love him. Kath

I am no expert/trainer, but when you said she was neurotic on the ground I thought "do they think she would be different while riding?" You don't have her mind yet even on the ground. Being in the saddle will not change that. There is no foundation. Making her a barrel horse right now is not in her best interest. I use to break and exercise race horses and with a sensitive horse that can not take the pressure, it can get pretty ugly. Other horses that can take the pressure usually stay at the race track because they can stay consistent and make money. It will take quite a bit of patience and time to change the early training patterns she knows. A pro trainer will not give her that. A horse begins like a book with empty pages. Whatever is written down is what you are going to get. There are no do overs cause you are not going to re-write over those pages. You can only go forward in that book and try to make it better, but you will not get rid of the early training that is imbedded in her mind. At times of stress, the old ways will show up again. She probably was not in control at the race track either and is why she was culled. Even though a race horse is trained to run fast, they have to be in control mentally which translate into physical control. If they are expending any time being out of control they expend a lot of potential race energy and never win consistently. Getting her to not charge at the lope is the least of the problems right now. If you what to make a change in that horse, go to some horsemanship clinics. The most recent one I know of in my area is March 21, Liberty MO (Rick Quinn-excellent horseman). Rick will be working with problem horses. He will be in California in April. www.laurelmountainfarms.com/RickyQuinn.html Or go to web site www.brannaman.com for clinic schedule of Buck Brannaman (excellent horseman - Rick's mentor). Buck is scheduled to be in California throughout May. They are the only ones I know can really help you and the horse. God Bless to you too and the horse. Pbear (Melanie)

Hey all, A friend of mine has a 6 year old Appendix QH mare off the racetrack that is her young barrel prospect (some basic and barrel training from the lady she bought her from.) I've been out to the barn with her the past 2 weeks to help with riding, because my friend hasn't had time to work with her since she's been getting her main barrel horse back into shape. I honestly enjoy riding her, and she can be very sweet at times. She can be neurotic on the ground sometimes, but I am very comfortable in the saddle with her. One thing that she does is charge the lope. She'll go along trotting just fine, but as soon as she's asked to go into a lope it's extremely difficult to get her to collect and not "charge" it. She's slightly long-backed (but doesn't look unbalanced), off the track, and my friend has sent her to three different pro trainers who didn't help. We've tried just about everything we could think of. Anyone have any suggestions or dealt with this type of situation before? Thanks for your time, I'm pretty new to the training scene ;-) God bless, MEL