Is It Training, Pain, Fear… or Something Else?

One of the biggest challenges with retraining an off-the-track Thoroughbred or Standardbred is uncertainty.

You have a horse in front of you doing something you don’t quite understand.

They freeze. They rush. They become anxious when another horse leaves. They don’t want to go forward. They struggle with something you think should be easy. They feel great one day and completely different the next.

And you are left wondering why.

Is this a training problem? Is the horse frightened? Is it something they learned at the track? Are they weak or unbalanced? Is something hurting? Is this simply who they are?

This uncertainty is where I see a lot of people get stuck.

Not because they don't care. Not because they aren't trying. Usually, they are trying very hard.

The problem is that when you don't understand what is sitting behind an issue, it is very difficult to know what to do next.

If you have an off-the-track Thoroughbred or Standardbred and this sounds familiar, you can join Isabelle Chandler and me for our LIVE Project Racehorse Reboot Q&A Sunday 6 September 2026 8pm (Sydney, Australia time). Bring your horse, your problem and your questions.

Register to join the LIVE Q&A here:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/4RY7GpwbQUq5yDUKXWA7PA

When managing the problem becomes the solution

When we aren't sure what is going on, we often start managing.

We avoid the arena where they become difficult. We don't ask for the transition they struggle with. We make sure another horse comes along. We change the tack. We try another exercise. We give them more time.

Sometimes those are perfectly sensible decisions.

But managing a problem isn't necessarily the same thing as understanding it.

And understanding what you are dealing with can completely change the pathway forward.

This is what Project Racehorse Reboot is about

In our LIVE Q&As, Isabelle and I work through real cases with people experiencing problems with their off-the-track horses.

What I think is particularly useful about these conversations is that you get to hear how we see these horses.

We help people make sense of what they are experiencing, identify things that may be significant, and consider what might be sitting behind the behaviour they are seeing.

And very often, the picture starts to look different.

Something that initially appears to be a training problem may warrant looking at physically.

A horse that seems difficult may actually be struggling with the task.

Something that has simply become accepted as "that's just what he's like" may have an explanation worth investigating.

And sometimes what looks like one problem is actually several things interacting.

That clarity matters.

Because once you have a better understanding of what you might be dealing with, you can make much better decisions about what to do next.

In this Q&A we explore:

• Freezing and resistance: What might sit behind a horse that suddenly plants or won't go forward?

• Rushing and reactivity: Why some racehorses struggle to slow down and regulate their responses.

• Separation anxiety: What might contribute to distress when another horse leaves.

• Behaviour or soundness: When behaviour may be a clue that something physical is going on.

• Managing versus solving problems: Are we addressing the issue or becoming very good at working around it?

• Stifles and rehabilitation: Why common strengthening exercises aren't necessarily appropriate for every horse.

• Joint injections: Where they may fit within rehabilitation and strengthening.

• Hoof balance and shoeing: How changing the feet can influence what happens elsewhere in the body.

• Recurring hoof abscesses: When repeated abscesses might warrant looking beyond the hoof.

• Veterinary investigation: When subtle signs may justify looking more closely.

WATCH REPLAY HERE

From uncertainty to clarity

You don't need to know everything to retrain a racehorse well.

But you do need to become better at recognising what you are seeing and knowing when something deserves a closer look.

That is a big part of what we teach in Project Racehorse Reboot.

We want people to move away from constantly wondering:

"Am I doing the right thing?"

"Is this normal?"

"Should I push through this or stop?"

"Is this behavioural or could something else be going on?"

And towards having much more clarity about the horse in front of them and confidence in the decisions they make.

Because uncertainty will always be part of working with horses.

The difference is having a way forward when you encounter it.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR UPCOMING INTENSIVE - PROJECT RACEHORSE REBOOT

Project Racehorse Reboot 12-Week Challenge runs from 19 September to 19 December 2026.

Find out more about Project Racehorse Reboot here:

https://www.racehorsetoridinghorse.com.au/blog-2/3sqn2he2ps6cy9ggdfjm1tjd39qjx9