Horse wont calmn down after hunting- had to be sedated - help! please!

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kombikids

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I took my 14yr old year absolute plod hunting yesterday morning for an hour and a half, she was very well behaved but shook when stood still. She has been before when much younger. When i got her back she was still shaking, more from excitement rather than coldness. I walked her off, hosed her, bran mashed and put out.She relaxed as soon as was out. Tried to bring her in last night but as soon as shes in she goes ballistic, sweats up and starts shaking. Its like she wants to go again. So got vet out last night who said that i should have taken her for longer and given her a good run and that her body was fine and it was a mental issue - she enjoyed it so much she is anxious to go again. He sedated her and turned her out and she settled again. Tried to bring her in this morning she goes ballistic again so turn her out - brought her in tonight - shes worked up again within 5 minutes - rang vet again he said to turn her out and leave her out for a few days and possibily try stables mirrors when in. - dont want to get into routine of her thinking she can kick the door and then gets let out but at a total loss- my old pony has disappeared and i dont know why!

has anyone any experience of this? and what to do? is strange as she is normally so settled.

Thanks!
 
We have a livery that is a nutcase for around 3/4 days after hunting. The only way to stop him doing the same as your horse is not to take him hunting.
 
This happened to my share horse. Don't want to be gloomy but he got such a bee in his bonnet about it that he would shake and sweat whenever he was got ready to work and became impossible to travel. In fact we had to re-educate him that his travel boots didn't mean he was going hunting. He doesn't go hunting anymore, needless to say. He had also been hunting when younger (in previous ownership) - though in his case he'd been hired out to allcomers, and was often lunged for an hour and a half before going
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He seemed to enjoy himself actually hunting, but I'm not sure whether he loved it too much or was reliving unpleasantness from his past.
ETS: He's fine now! The craziness wears off in time.
 
I am afraid I had exactly the same problem with my horse, and it's not good news!

He became a total nightmare for WEEKS after hunting - and was worse the second time. If the sheep baa'd next door, he would think it was the hounds (he's not overly bright) and he would canter round the stable, eyes and ears popping. If a friend rode by, he would throw himself at the door to try to get out. He would come in to the stable from the field, then whip round and try to get back to the field.

He stopped eating, took to darting from his side window to his front and back again, with a permanently startled look on his face, and on hacks he would passage and piaffe all the way home. If someone was riding out in the distance, he would pratt about for the whole hack. Nightmare.

I tried acp, which helped briefly, but in the end I turned him away for a month then only schooled for another month, because I couldn't hack him. I also spent a fortune on physio because his antics did my back in.

I have never taken him hunting since, for obvious reasons
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thanks for the reply! i dont mindnot hunting again - just want my pony back! am thinking about leaving her out for a few days and going from there.
 
We had several hunter liveries like this over the years. They're a pain but we found to keep to your usual routine and the more you take them hunting, the better they settled down as they realised it was their job. If it keeps sweating up, bung on a Thermatex, make sure it has a good bed and ample hay to keep it amused and let it get on with it, the more you pander to it and let it out each time the worse it will get from my experience. One hunter couldn't cope with being only a one day hunting a week type and the boss had to take him for half a day midweek to keep him sweet but it never affected him being worked that much and he finished the season as fit as a fiddle but was quite happy once his summer holiday started again.
 
thanks - its hard to know which way to turn - to keep her out and happy or keep her in so she cant learn to be let out when she wants - just worry she might stress herself out and tie up or something - does that happen?

thats very useful to know tho thanks
 
Yes

My cob is exactly the same. When there is a drastic change in his routine he will panic and tremble in his stable and drip with sweat and foam almost instantly (to the point where the floor is wet). Last year it started when I brought him in for the winter at nights and he desperately wanted to go out (despite being out during the day). I have never had a problem before (had him 15 years) and vet said it was mental but had to come 8 times over 2 months to sedate him over the door as too dangerous to go in the stable with him.

Vet booked him for a CT scan of brain at AHT but I put him on NAF magic and since then he has never done it again (touch wood). Vet is gobsmacked that magic worked! CT scan cancelled
 
I think leaving her out perhaps the best thing but maybe with a companion if she is not normally out on her own at night - or you may make things worse.
She may wind down more that way, - its the adrenaline high in her body still I would imagine, and horse muscle is super sensitive to adrenaline in the bloodstream, Also depending on breeding ( racehorses have fast twitch muscle fibres - coldbloods, (natives) have slow twitch muscle fibres (flight response is primeval and switched on in these situations for both types but more activity in TB/ Arab
types)
Its amazing what hunting can do to them, my eternally lazy old mare was TURBO charged for about 2 months after hunting her.
If only I could have taken her again as it solved all the laziness issues overnight!
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Took my pony hunting for the first time last year and he has been much less quiet since... he used to be quite lazy but he's so speedy and strong now! Doesnt bother me really but i think hunting does make everything a bit sharper... dont know why yours is going crazy though!

Try leaving her out for a few days and see if she settles down.... hope she gets back to normal soon!
 
Hunting used to blow my gelding's brains. Afterwards it took him a week to stop racing round his box sweating, a couple of months to be back to normal, and absolutely ages to not get himself in a state about going out in the lorry. I only took him a couple of times and decided it wasn't worth screwing up my otherwise ace horse. I think he would have been better had I kept going week after week without fail, but I never wanted to hunt that regularly.

I think, either stick it out until he views it as just another day's work or chuck it completely, going occasionally just freaks them out too much if they're that way inclined.
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I agree with above, don't pander to her needs if you put her in (and there is company in etc no excuse to race around box) then let her get on with it! She will calm down- maybe if you were out of her sight aswell. If not just leave her out for a few days then start again in your normal routine.
 
Hunting is in a league of its own compared to other equestrian sports.The physical exertion over ,even an hour and a half,can be far greater than a one day event.In addition there is the mental factor which is at least as important. I have hunted for the best part of fourty years and have introduced many young and not so young horses to hunting.If I were to give one piece of advice,it is avoid getting the horse overtired and overexcited. It is common to see horses become more excited as they tire.And this can easily be mistaken for being still full of go.What I usually do to avoid this is "loose hounds" for half an hour or so.I drop back and go off in another direction and turn it into a hack for half an hour.I then bring the horse back into contact with what is going on. It is very important to show the horse that you are still in comand and that he can relax and trust you.Avoid the nose to tail stampeed that passes for hunting.Most of the charging about, people do out hunting is quite pointless and just burns the horse out.The only time to get into top gear is when hounds are running. The rest of the time spare your horse as much as possible.I hope this gives you food for thought, Its not just the jumping and galloping that makes hunting such a test of horsemanship.It is as much about knowing when not to, and how to spare your horse as much as possible. Your horse will be fine and back to normal in a few days. Dont stop Hunting, just have a gameplan ready for when he starts to get a bit too worked up.
 
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how did you handle him when he was racing round his box? was he any better when out?

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We just ignored him.
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He was on edge even in the field for a few days, just totally wired. There was no getting any sense out of him when he was like that, you just had to wait for him to chill. Turning him out, etc, you just had to hang on while he pranced and leapt about with his eyes on stalks, he just went back to normal eventually.
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