Snorting Horse and Short Attention Span

by Debby
(Minnesota)

I am adopting an OTTB that has been off the track for 30 days and taken off the racehorse diet by a nutritionist.

I have had 3 visits with him. He is full of energy with a short attention span.

The first I simply took him for a walk by the rope, not holding the halter. He was bouncing off the walls and snorting with an abundance of energy. The second visit we walked also and he did not snort as much. I led him through a few circles and short back up in the arena and he responded well. At the end I rubbed his face and he sucked it up for over 10 minutes. Today I walked him once again and worked a little on a few small circled and a short back in the arena. He snorted all during the visit. I have read this is a sign he does not trust me as well as a warning. I have never hit him and have respected his space and treated him with calmness and kindness.

At the same time, he has not tried to hurt me in any way.

Is this one of those things that will take time and patience or does he maybe not like me period?



Hi Debbie,

Thirty days off the track is a very short time compared to the lifespan of experiences a horse is exposed to in the race track environment.

I would say this horse is lucky to have you and he tried to show that in the moment you stopped and rub his face. Your quote: "He sucked it up!", tells us he yearns for more praise in his life.

The life of a race horse is full of stress, unnatural lifestyle and force full demands that is why we refer to them with their very own label of Off The Track Thoroughbred and the need for their own "retraining" methods. They are only used for making more money and no one is trying to build a caring/trusting relationship with them. Thus when their so called racing career is over, the horses want little do to with humans! And I don't blame them.

The snorting is anxious anticipation of the events to follow, the things he was asked of before. Assuming you are doing this in an environment he is familiar with. If the environment is new then he is just anxious about that. He doesn't know yet, you are planning something much different and different is exactly what you will do. These horses need new experiences, less demanding tasks at first that will give them a reason to want to be with a person again. Plus they benefit from getting the chance to just be a horse again too, meaning living outdoors with other herd mates, access to hay 24/7 and a calm environment with routines. They sort of need a vacation from stress!


Sure there is a lack of trust here, but don't take it personally, after all you have only met a few times and we rarely trust everyone we meet in 3 visits. Trust is built upon time. And in this horse's case, he has no reason to think you are any different than all the others who have handled him. Notice the second visit was already different from the first. But he is going to quickly react to old events until new experiences are made.

The snorting (under these conditions) is about anxiousness/anxiety and the short attention span is about safety. When a horse cannot focus their attention upon us then we know he is concerned about his safety. So in the beginning I would do simple tasks always measuring and learning what the horse understands and see how long his focus can stay upon me with tons and tons of praise. Since you seem to have noticed he enjoys your touch then I would set up 3 consecutive sessions in a place he feels most comfortable and just spend time grooming where he can get used to your body language, voice and disposition. The change in his diet plays a big role here too.

These horses especially benefit from Clicker Training because it’s so different and completely based upon positive reinforcement which is the opposite of their life experiences so far. I encourage you to check it out.

Some time and patience is all you need and you will have this horse’s trust!

Wishing you all the best,
Elaine Polny