Sedating and riding

[moorhillhorses]

My friend has an ex race horse . Who freaks out at country shows. Possibly thinking hes at a point to point. Hes the same when he sees a course of jumps so shes gave up show jumping. Hes fine cross country . Shes had him a year now and tried everything . Not even riding him a shows taking him for a spin, then riding him in walk and trot no cantering but when hes going towards the gate hes flat out cantering side ways. This horse is a dream to ride at home. Hes had his back checked every 4 months , teeth checked every 6. Owns 3 fitted saddles! Hes everything he needs. Hes out full time during the summer and on no feed hes in beautiful condition . Its heart breaking that she cant do the race horse showing classes. Someone suggested giving him a little sedline gel ( i think its how its spelt) to take the edge off. No relaxers work on him. Shes happy to take him to shows all summer and not enter just to ride him around in walk and trot to settle his head. Hes done this all last summer and is still galloping side ways. Shes a really experienced rider, hes beautifully schooled too. But at shows hes on his toes. Last week he was lunged at home before he went, a gentle lunge at the show,rode for half an hour before the class and in his class after ten mins she left. He was crashing into horses cantering sideways Its a waste of a beautiful horse! Can a horse be gave a little of the gel and rode? If so how much? Shes not going to enter or ride him for long its just to settle him no jumping either. Shes going to give up! Any suggestions?

 

[Patterdale]

People do do it but I wouldn't.

On the off chance it actually worked past the adrenaline, I certainly wouldn't like to ride a horse whose legs and brain weren't properly connected....

 

[Happytohack]

Absolutely not. Far too dangerous.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Riding a sedated horse is just plain stupid to be honest.

What does your friend do when he starts acting up? If she is shortening her reins and getting herself braced and tense then she basically telling the horse it's time to race. Maybe give the rider some calming stuff like rescue remedy and tell her to kick back and relax. The more relaxed you are, the longer your reins will be, the deeper the seat, longer and looser the legs and a generally calmer horse as it's not expecting to get to go galloping.

What does the horse do when ridden in company at home? What happens if you try and get everyone in the school/ field at the same time to do a mock showing class?

 

[DabDab]

I know of people who have done it but it is so unpredictable that I really wouldn't

 

[moorhillhorses]

Riding a sedated horse is just plain stupid to be honest.

What does your friend do when he starts acting up? If she is shortening her reins and getting herself braced and tense then she basically telling the horse it's time to race. Maybe give the rider some calming stuff like rescue remedy and tell her to kick back and relax. The more relaxed you are, the longer your reins will be, the deeper the seat, longer and looser the legs and a generally calmer horse as it's not expecting to get to go galloping.

What does the horse do when ridden in company at home? What happens if you try and get everyone in the school/ field at the same time to do a mock showing class?

She loosens the reins and stays very calm, pats him, talks to him, hes is a different horse doesnt listen at all. Shes very good but he will not relax at all. She rides him in the field at home hes fine. hes been at about 20 shows and is the same. :/ hes ridden in and out of company at home.I wouldnt sedate but the amount of people who have suggested it is crazy! They said they all do :/

 

[moorhillhorses]

I know of people who have done it but it is so unpredictable that I really wouldn't

Yeah I would be afraid to be on a horses back incase he gets sleepy . People have suggested a tiny bit takes the edge off

 

[mandwhy]

Lordy I wouldn't do that either, has she tried valerian? There is a calmer that is recommended in competition riders quite a lot, I think it is the one by science supplements.

How old is he? Has he been taken to lessons away from home or anything like that?

 

[Kiribati_uk]

Please listen.........sedating horses then riding is the most stupid and idiotic thing you can do!!!!!!!
I have worked for olympic eventers and went and worked on top SJ yard for a change for a winter few years back.....Im not the bravest but quite good with the sensitive sharp ones so was riding a stallion who was very good at bucking.....boss sedated him before I got on one day(I didn't know) and horse was dope on a rope then exploding for no reason(Horrible feeling).....doping horses is unpredictable, that's why its sooooo dangerous. Needless to say I told the boss to stick his job where the sun don't shine!!!
If you LIKE your friend PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT sedate the horse!!!!!!!

 

[frozzy]

No no and more no. It can in fact have the opposite effect if the horse tries to fight the feeling. Think bolting and not stopping at fences but running through them and possibly killing both of them. Does she really want a rosette that bad?
If this is her forever horse she would do better to accept his limitations and just enjoy what he does enjoy.

 

[Goldenstar]

If she has not tried it it worth trying liquid valerian .

 

[starryeyed]

Combining exercise & sedation is a very, very bad idea!

 

[zaminda]

I know many yards that do this on a regular basis, the yard I currently ride out for being one of them. We give them about a 1/4 of a mil up to 2mil depending. It might be worth taking him sedated, then just leading him around for a few times, to see if this calms him down.

 

[HeresHoping]

Having seen what happens to a horse given sedalin that has kicked in muscle-wise, but not yet affected its brain (yes, a TB, mine, now playing with the unicorns), I would certainly not condone this.

Has she spoken to the chaps at Equifeast? They have some very good calmers that are not magnesium-based (Mg also sent my TB potty; blood tests revealed that it was already at a good level in his blood), one of which is called bomb-proofing with L-tryptophan in it. I found it to be really quite magic. And they are very helpful at working with you to find the right combination of ingredients.

 

[Happytohack]

Science supplements and other companies do some good calmers that your friend can "double dose" if necessary. There are also the magnesium syringes which might help. Feedmark do one I think. All of them are "competition legal" valerian and Sedalin most definitely are not.

 

[Pigeon]

Been through this with mine, though not quite to the same extent. The answer is just time and persistence. Can she try taking him to tiny little shows for a while, and also schooling on grass away from home? Might be worth doing some dressage, as they seem to behave better when they have something to concentrate on.

 

[Nightmare before Christmas]

Have ridden mildly sedated horses many times for my own safety!!

 

[hollyandivy123]

hi how about coming back a level and try mixed schooling flat lessons with a riding club or something similar, i am afraid it is a game of repetition until the penny drops

 

[paulineh]

No one has asked what she is feeding him. Most important to cut all sugars totally.

I would NOT ride a horse that is sedated it is very dangerous to do so.

 

[MagicMelon]

Lordy I wouldn't do that either, has she tried valerian? There is a calmer that is recommended in competition riders quite a lot, I think it is the one by science supplements.

How old is he? Has he been taken to lessons away from home or anything like that?

Personally, I think its crazy even thinking about sedating a horse to compete it. As well as highly illegal by competing rules! I thought valerian was also illegal (it definately is for BSJA / BE I believe?). Its extremely unfair to be frank, basically cheating. Has she tried normal "legal" calmers? Has she also made sure his feed isn't sending him loopy (even down to not feeding haylage which sent one of mine a bit nuts)?

OP, can't she take him to little local shows and literally just walk him about ALL day until he settles, surely he would settle eventually (or just be plain knackered!)?

 

[paulineh]

MagicMelon you are right Valerian is on the FEI band Substance list and should not be used in competition.

 

[Nightmare before Christmas]

When I say ridden I have never competed a sedated horse!

 

[Goldenstar]

MagicMelon you are right Valerian is on the FEI band Substance list and should not be used in competition.

But OPs friend could use it at unaffiliated competion to try to accustomn the horse to the atmosphere of stuff going on , I have used it with a horse that lost it at meets a few days with valerian then weaned off problem solved .

 

[L&M]

A lady I know took her ex racer hunting - within 5 mins off leaving the meet it toppled over into a ditch! Turns out she had given it acp (same as sedalin) as was worried it would take off with her....

If this was my horse I would give up on any competitive ambitions, or go and buy a more suitable horse and sell this one it to a non competitive home.

 

[charlie76]

If your friend really wants to crack this then she needs to be committed .
Firstly, she needs to take the horse out as much as possible but not ride him, just let him soak in the atmosphere, eat grass, chill and remain calm, she might have to take him out several times like this. Have him in a bridle and lunge line and let him walk round and mooch about.
Once he is fine with this and relaxed on EVERY outing she can then progress to quietly lunging him, in correctly fitting side reins and well out of the way of other competitors, again intersperse this with walking and grazing.
Again, this may take many many outings.
Only when he is calm every time out like this start introducing ridden work, again walk in hand, graze and lunge before riding him.
If you can stay all day at each show and keep getting him out throughout the day.
When she first rides him on the first few outings just quietly hack him IN WALK round the lorry park. Have some one on hand with a lunge line and if he gets silly pop him back on the lunge until quiet.
Once he can cope with all this then slowly introduce him to the bustle of the show itself, again , walking and standing, letting him relax and watch.
Only when all this is quiet and calm should you progress to more than a walk. Again, introduce trotting and cantering well away from the show ground and always be prepared to get off and lunge. Try and get him out several times during the day.
All of this will take months and many trips but he will settle.

With regards to sedating him, I have ridden many horses with a small amount of sedalin under vets instructions however in this case I think the above will be far more beneficial.

 

[asmp]

Is it the tannoy at shows that sets him off? Friend had an ex race horse who thought he was at the races if he heard one. If so, what about cotton wool in ears with a crochet fly mask over?