Hunting and calmers

[123flynn]

Hi. We have an awesome hunting pony but two seasons in and he is finding it really hard to switch off when it’s time to go home and gets himself in a real state travelling home. He will switch off as soon as is back home on the yard but the journey home is never fun! Any advice on how to help him calm down after hunting please so he travels home as quietly as he travels to the meet. We walked him around untacked for an hour on his own the other week and he still wouldn’t calm down. Tried cool it paste yesterday but that had no effect. Put him on top spec calmer two weeks ago but hasn’t done anything. He is awesome to hunt it’s just after. Doesn’t seem to make a difference if he hacks back to the lorry on his own or in company. Any ideas welcome please!

 

[spacefaer]

It'll be the adrenaline from the day still coursing through the veins. Not sure you can get rid of it while he's still out at the party - the parking area obviously still counts as an exciting place by association, while he's calm when he gets home because it's "not hunting".
No calmer will work to overcome adrenaline - it's such a strong hormone.
Thankfully ours have always switched off once loaded, even if they've been nightmares to untack.

I'll be fascinated to discover if anyone has any useful suggestions as I can't think of any - sorry!

 

[The Xmas Furry]

Have you tried moving your transport further away and hacking him to it at the end of the day?
Obs not ideal if in dark, but if not, its worth considering a 2 to 3 mile walk, grabbing hi vis from someone as you leave.
At one point I used to park away from the meet, then hack there and back which helped the bonkers one and cooled off everyone.

 

[123flynn]

Have you tried moving your transport further away and hacking him to it at the end of the day?
Obs not ideal if in dark, but if not, its worth considering a 2 to 3 mile walk, grabbing hi vis from someone as you leave.
At one point I used to park away from the meet, then hack there and back which helped the bonkers one and cooled off everyone.

Yeah we always do this now but unfortunately doesn’t seem to help. He refuses to switch off till he is home x

 

[123flynn]

It'll be the adrenaline from the day still coursing through the veins. Not sure you can get rid of it while he's still out at the party - the parking area obviously still counts as an exciting place by association, while he's calm when he gets home because it's "not hunting".
No calmer will work to overcome adrenaline - it's such a strong hormone.
Thankfully ours have always switched off once loaded, even if they've been nightmares to untack.

I'll be fascinated to discover if anyone has any useful suggestions as I can't think of any - sorry!

thanks for replying. It is definitely pure adrenaline it’s just a shame he can’t switch off when he knows it’s home time. If I find anything that works I will let you know. Thanks

 

[SpeedyPony]

Is he boxed on his own? If so, it might be worth trying him with another (calm) horse, to see if a settled companion might chill him out a bit?

 

[123flynn]

Yes he is on his own. I have thought about trying that but no one lives out our direction. Will definitely try it if I do find someone. Thank you

 

[spotty_pony]

Are there any meets close enough to hack to and from to eradicate the need to use transport to see if that makes a difference?

 

[123flynn]

Are there any meets close enough to hack to and from to eradicate the need to use transport to see if that makes a difference?

Yes that’s the ideal as it’s only travelling home that’s the problem.

 

[spotty_pony]

Yes that’s the ideal as it’s only travelling home that’s the problem.

would be interesting to see how he is when he arrives back from hunting when hacking back.

 

[123flynn]

He is absolutely fine. He always switches off the minute he gets back to the yard whether hacking back or getting off the lorry. He is the same hacking home as he is hacking back to the lorry. He just refuses to switch off until he is actually home making the travelling home part not very fun! He is always fine when ridden just full of beans but fun excitable beans!