Scout is working in the arena more often now, usually three to four times per week. We first hack around the farm at the walk, warming him up with a goal of relaxation, both mentally and physically, before each session in the arena. One or two times per week we trot up and down the hills on the farm rather than work in the arena. The undulating ground loosens his body as he builds muscle on his topline. It also requires him to focus on keeping his balance.

Long walks on undulating ground with Scout. (Courtesy of Kimberly Godwin Clark)

In the arena, some days we simply lunge. Our mounted work includes shallow leg yields to loosen up his shoulders — most Thoroughbreds are tight in their shoulders. We then do large circles at the walk before transitioning to trot work. As his trot develops strength, we are adding more circles, sometimes repeating a circle several times before moving back to a straight line for a break. 

Scout is naturally balanced, meaning he keeps his body over his feet instead of leaning forward. When horses lean forward, they are pulling themselves along with their front legs instead of pushing from behind. That is how racehorses train and race; it’s called going on the forehand. All horses naturally carry themselves on the forehand. They must be trained to push from behind. For Scout to be a good performance or riding horse, we must train him to shift his weight back and push from behind. This allows him to use his back to carry a rider. He is a natural athlete and with correct training he is taking to this new way of going.

To prepare Scout for the large and busy venue of the Thoroughbred Makeover competition, we have started to get him off the farm. He has an easygoing temperament and a healthy sense of well-being. This comes from his personality and his early handling as a racehorse. It’s clear he had great horsemen develop and handle him during his early years as a racehorse. But we can’t expect him to thrive at the makeover unless we prepare him for the environment he will encounter.

The goal of our initial outings is to show Scout that trips off the farm are nothing to worry about. We want him to expect these trips to be easy and free of excitement. His ability to achieve relaxation will dictate how much we do on each outing. The first outings consist of a trailer trip of less than five minutes to a nearby farm. This farm is quiet and has the best grass a horse could want. They have an indoor arena, which likely is a new experience for Scout. You never know for sure if they’ve been in one or not, but it’s safe to act like they’ve never been in one.

I sent another horse, Fellow, with Scout. Fellow is an experienced Prix St. George dressage competitor and is used to travelling. He also loves to go on road trips. Horses put a lot of stock in what other horses in their “herd” think when they are unsure. I knew Scout would be unsure because it is his first trip off my farm since he arrived in April 2023. He loaded well, as most racehorses do.

Upon arrival, Fellow confidently walked out of the trailer and headed for the grass just outside the loading area. I was careful to keep him in Scout’s sight. Scout was uncertain as he emerged from the trailer but soon realized the grass was too good to ignore. As he grazed, he began to relax. We then put both horses in stalls and tacked them up.

Kristen on Scout in stadium jumping arena. (Courtesy of Kimberly Godwin Clark)

Scout followed Fellow to the indoor and we hand-walked them around. Scout wasn’t sure what to think, but he followed Fellow and kept his cool. My working student, Kristen, held Scout in the middle of the arena while I rode Fellow for about 40 minutes. Scout gradually relaxed, signaling we could do a little more with him. Kristen mounted him and we took a short walk around the indoor together. I decided to quit while we were ahead and end on a good note, so we dismounted and headed home. We repeated the process two days later, but this time I rode Scout for about 10 minutes because he was much more comfortable and relaxed.

After those successful outings, I needed to take Scout’s best friend, Maxwell, to school at a large three-day eventing venue roughly two hours away. I knew it would be quiet there because we were going on a weekday so I decided to take Scout. This would be a longer trip and a much bigger atmosphere, but I felt that being with his best friend would help, especially since Maxwell is easygoing off the farm. 

Kristen and I used the same system. We tacked up both horses and headed to the arena – this time a stadium jumping arena. Kristen held Scout in hand while I warmed up and then schooled Maxwell over the jumps. Then Kristen got on Scout and we walked together around the arena as Maxwell cooled down. Scout was so relaxed that I dismounted and took some pictures and a short video of him and Kristen walking and trotting around the arena solo. 

I don’t yet know if he will be ready for the Thoroughbred Makeover competition in Kentucky this fall. It’s up to him. We will continue to allow him to dictate the pace of his training because that’s the only way I know to produce a relaxed and confident horse. My priority is to give him the skills and development he needs for a successful life and if the Thoroughbred Makeover can be a part of that, we’ll be there. At this point, I’m very encouraged by his progress and I look forward to our next update here on ABR.

The Jockey Club supports many aftercare initiatives including the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, the only accrediting body in aftercare, and Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.), which encourages the retraining of Thoroughbreds into other disciplines upon completion of careers. View all of the initiatives supported by The Jockey Club.