Queenbee
Well-Known Member
Hi all,
I'm competing on Monday, and it's our first outdoor show of the season, he's only been to three other outdoor shows and around other horses he can get a bit sticky - refusing to walk on or walk into a ring. On the flip side, when faced with a jump he can get a bit over excited. I'm very much in two minds. We are doing sj, followed by WH in the morning and coloured in the afternoon. I am really undecided as to how to play it with a calmer. When he becomes grumpy and sticky it's normally because of horses that are misbehaving, but the working hunter will be our first ever ridden class, I can envisage him being sticky in the line up and a bit excitable as we are going around with the others, the only calmer that I have found to work is defuse, which has magnesium and l-tryptophan in it, The problem is that when I last gave him a syringe of it (less than the reccomended dose for ben if I recall correctly) the LT hit him noticeably straight away. This was at home so at a show he may be more alert, but I want to make sure that using it won't impede his ability to jump. Before the WH class he has a substantial course to jump. I am thinking, that I have a 3/4hr ride over (not at all tiring for the beast, then a 14 jump course over the unaffiliated part of the affiliated course, if I feel he needs it, 1/2 a syringe just before the WH, which should take any edge away but leave him sparkly enough to jump competently over a small (6 x 2ft 3 max) course and shine in the ring without his nerves affecting him in the showing section. What are people's thoughts and experiences? Do any of you jump on defuse?
I'm competing on Monday, and it's our first outdoor show of the season, he's only been to three other outdoor shows and around other horses he can get a bit sticky - refusing to walk on or walk into a ring. On the flip side, when faced with a jump he can get a bit over excited. I'm very much in two minds. We are doing sj, followed by WH in the morning and coloured in the afternoon. I am really undecided as to how to play it with a calmer. When he becomes grumpy and sticky it's normally because of horses that are misbehaving, but the working hunter will be our first ever ridden class, I can envisage him being sticky in the line up and a bit excitable as we are going around with the others, the only calmer that I have found to work is defuse, which has magnesium and l-tryptophan in it, The problem is that when I last gave him a syringe of it (less than the reccomended dose for ben if I recall correctly) the LT hit him noticeably straight away. This was at home so at a show he may be more alert, but I want to make sure that using it won't impede his ability to jump. Before the WH class he has a substantial course to jump. I am thinking, that I have a 3/4hr ride over (not at all tiring for the beast, then a 14 jump course over the unaffiliated part of the affiliated course, if I feel he needs it, 1/2 a syringe just before the WH, which should take any edge away but leave him sparkly enough to jump competently over a small (6 x 2ft 3 max) course and shine in the ring without his nerves affecting him in the showing section. What are people's thoughts and experiences? Do any of you jump on defuse?