Claw Barrel
How do you UNDO a conditioned response?
He's 11 & ran barrels when he was young. I ride a racetrack. I prefer to lope, but he wants to gallop, so I let him. He'll go just so far, take a sharp left (unexpected) turn, circle & return to the racetrack without ever slowing up. A little farther & he'll repeat. A little farther & he'll repeat. I'm on a damn Merry-go-round! He's running barrels in spite of the fact that there ARE NO BARRELS. He neck reins very well except here, with this. I've neck reined him with all of my strength & have spurred him HARD on the left to keep him from turning. Nothing works! My cues are being completely ignored & I'm left feeling like I have no control over him. What else can I try? It's obviously a VERY STRONG conditioned response. Blinkers? A claw? Help! Dizzy in Louisiana.
Well, I have to ask, why are you loping a race track? Can you take him elsewhere, out on trails, riding in an open field, etc? And slow everything down?
If he does this every time you ask for a canter and speeds up and runs a barrel pattern, I would suggest taking him back to basics.
What bit are you using? Can you switch to a D-ring or O-ring or full cheek snaffle and go back to direct reining only. If his neck reining cues are being ignored, you have to take charge with direct reining. Don't do this with a leverage bit, you have to switch back to a snaffle type bit for direct reining.
When you ask for a canter, pull him into a circle (preferably to the right for awhile, since his inclination is to turn left, then switch things up so he doesn't develop another habit). Make him turn, he will have to slow down or even stop. (Read up on what a one-rein stop is, so you can stop him in the middle of his run-off habit.) Work on stopping whenever you ask (if he won't, turn him tightly in a circle with the direct/inside rein and pull his head around almost to your knee.) You need to work on getting him flexible and obeying your cues.
Stay in the direct reining mode, never run a barrel pattern on him, practice getting him to respond and do exactly as you ask every time, no other options. If you ask for a canter and he speeds up, bring him back down by circling. Don't let him run full-out.
If you cannot get results and obedience, this horse is too much for you and you are likely to get frustrated or injure yourself or the horse. I would suggest selling him, either as a barrel horse, or as a horse that needs more training. Because the bottom line is he isn't obeying you. Either get his obedience, or don't ride him because it isn't safe, and you are allowing him to control the entire ride, which is encouraging him to keep up his disobedient habits.
Good luck with this horse, I hope you can get him past his obsession, but I think a lot of arena horses are kind of hot and crazy for doing what they've been taught to do, and you have to re-train them just like taking an off-the-track-Thoroughbred. Change your bit (back to snaffle, not more severe), and work on the basics as if he were a colt. If you need a trainer's help, hire one, but that's the only thing to be done with this horse unless you're going to run barrels, and even then you want his attention and obedience.
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