"Come down" after hunting

[Vicki1986]

my horse is pretty highly strung so normally takes a little while to 'come down' when i get her home (she'd happily get back on the lorry and go again!), maybe 15-20 mins to settle normally.
Yesterday she took an hour which is unusually long for her - her whole back end was shaking (she'd had quite an exciting day with lots of jumping) I quickly washed her legs off (this stresses her out anyway) and put leg wraps on and plenty of rugs to warm her up as she felt cold, left her to settle for a bit after she stopped shaking and mellowed gave her a little warm chaff with a little bran in it and put her to bed so she could rest til tea time.

what should / shouldnt i do when i get home in future to help her relax back down?

 

[kick_On]

you sound as tho you have a good plan, the only extra thing you could do is once home and before washing down, is take for a cool off walk in hand.... and do you have to wash off???, could you not just brush off??? and brush again in morning???

 

[Vicki1986]

To be honest i normally just give her a good brush when shes dry but i have read so much that everyone washes down i thought that was best?? maybe thats what wound her up/made her cold.

 

[kick_On]

if washing stress out i would avoid unless you need to see cuts etc....
you can do just as well this good old fashion straw wisp and then nice soft danny brush. If your's hates cold water on the bits you need to wash, put kettle on and wash in warm water. Nicer on human hand aswell!

 

[Weezy]

I never wash off more than legs - the rest gets brushed off when dry.

 

[DollyDolls]

Do you have the option of turn out for an hour or two? Perhaps the stable makes her feel a little clostrophobic.

I used to hunt one that never calmed down til the next day & when I got fed up with him & stuck him in the field because he was being suck an @rse, he settled straight away.

 

[star]

i use really nice warm water to do a quick sponge of the saddle patch, neck and face and then i do the legs if they're really wet and dirty, but otherwise leave and brush off later. mine shakes in the trailer and is still a bit shaky when we get home sometimes. he just gets chucked straight out in the field and that seems to settle him down.

 

[Inchy]

mine is super excitable after hunting....if i try and wash him off he kicks up a right fuss! So i put him out in the field for two hours then bring him back in to wash off legs etc once he's got his head screwed back on!

 

[ceva]

Hi,
I agree with dollydolls, I hunt from the field anyway and have no access to a stable, so before I load for home i wash my mare's back and girth area with warm water (water container and flask of hot water so not too cold) then bandage all four legs, then when i get back on with warm dry rug and back out in the field, and she has never been better although doesnt eat her hard food for a couple of days after hunting but always tucks into hay, I brush her clean and wash her tail the following day as she always gets a couple of days off before i ride again.

 

[JenHunt]

I would try turning her out for an hour or so when you get home, and use the time to do stable chores etc!!

also - try to avoid using bran - I know its traditional etc, but modern bran has next to no goodness in it, and the horse digests it all quite quickly which can result in constipation.

if you want to give her something warm, try soaking pony nuts in hot water until its warm and porridgy, or soak speedibeet in hot water. also try adding electrolytes to rule out the shakes because of dehydration. (doesn't sound like it to me, but worth the check IMO)