NAF magic & travelling conundrum.... some guidance needed

Angua2

Angua2

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OK, This is possibly going to be a bit long with all the back ground so please bear with me.


Ru is having some issues travelling, so I decided that for our outing yesterday to use a calmer. I had read some good reports on NAF instant magic so gave one of those a bash.

I gave it about an hour before we were due to leave (11am) as was suggested on the pack. I saw absolutely no difference, she still banged and clattered her way throught the journey (mostly on any bends) and arrived dripping in sweat.

Since the warm up is also not a favourite of Ru's I had hoped that the calmer would help that... Nope we proceeded to be a tense and nervous lama. I abandonded any thought of warm up when she started bronking into canter. ( I did wonder at one point if she was making me suffer for the sharer viewing on Friday night as she had already sulked at me after that and all through Saturday!)


Her test was one of her worst as she spooked her way through the test.

So home time (3.30pm)..... she loaded with the usual assistance from some very nice people there, and then proceeded to have one of the best journeys I have had with her in some time, with the minimum of bangs and clatters and arrived home dry as a bone.


The question is.... do you think that the good journey home was the effect of the calmer finally kicking in?


I don't know what to do... I am tempted to get another syringe and give it 4 hours before we are due to leave


What would you all suggest?
 
I honestly wouldn't bother. I've tried the lot with my unpredictable chap. If it comes in a tub or a tube, I've used it.

Traveling is the only thing I din't have a problem with :)

Do you tow a trailer or have a lorry. Either way, give your driving a once over - a plastic beaker on the dashboard with water in is a good way to find out if you are cornering a tad too fast or sharply.

Try lots of small journeys, 10, 15 minuites, always coming home to tea and hay.

Perhaps the association of travel = party and fun, has become established, you need to break the cycle.

Unfortunately, I have had to learn to ride more positively and discovered Sit - Tite!

Paddy
 
Yeh i agree with Paddy. I've tried instant calmed when my boy had a thing about clipping.. biggest waste of money!

And i agree about short journeys and come home. We did that to get my TB's confidence.. just walked him through the trailer the first few times until he'd happily load. Then another day stood him in there. Then shut everything another day. Then took him out for 10 mins. Came back. Then slowly increasing.

I had a stressed out horse that refused to load and now he runs in!
 
I agree with the others, it was probably tiredness and lowered adrenaline/anticipation rather than the calmer. I wouldnt waste your money on another one

The banging about, particularly on bends sounds like loss of balance. Have you tried giving her more room so she can spead her legs and balance better? And drive even slower?
 
I found that NAF Magic instant calmer is only any good if you feed a syringe the night before and one the morning of your comp/outing. Sends my horse to sleep!

Your horse sounds like a really bad traveller so for now I'd stop going to competitions and just get her used to the trailer. Does she refuse to go on the trailer? I found a Dually headcollar really useful for loading my boy. If she refuses to go on, keep calm and turn her in tight circles at the bottom of the ramp (almost a turn on the forehand), then ask again. If she says no, turn in circles then ask again...and so on. This works (*touches wood*!!) with mine..it gives him the option of either going in circles, which is hard work, or going in a straight line and into the trailer. He worked out pretty quickly that going in to the trailer is a far easier option than going in circles.

Do some short journeys. Start off at home, load and unload a few times. Then progress to shutting the doors, feed her in there, open the doors and unload again, reload again. Once she's started to settle, start the engine and move off to another part of your yard. Give her a bit of feed, lots of fuss, unload and then reload immediately. There is some really good info on this on Richard Maxwell's forum. Then find somewhere maybe 5 or 10 mins away, travel there, unload, reload and come home. Build up the length of the journeys until she's happier.

As someone else said, check your driving too. It might also be worth taking your partitions out and travelling with full length breach bars. Mine is much happier now he has the whole trailer. He is more able to balance himself and puts himself in a herringbone position.
 
teddyt said:
I agree with the others, it was probably tiredness and lowered adrenaline/anticipation rather than the calmer. I wouldnt waste your money on another one

The banging about, particularly on bends sounds like loss of balance. Have you tried giving her more room so she can spead her legs and balance better? And drive even slower?
Click to expand...



She also does it when we set off, if the camber of the roads isn't 100%. The Journey home yesterday was pretty much text book and when I opened the trailer up she had her legs arranged correctly for a change...almost if she remembered how she used to do it all.


I have tried her in a lorry (more room) and she was actually worse, and I have to admit I am loth to give her the whole trailer as we do/did occasionally go places with other people (Which she does/did enjoy) until she started crossing her legs it is weird she was the perfect traveller now she just can't seem to sort her legs out!

One thing that was suggested was to lunge her before we consider loading
 
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