I recently took my barrel horse, Cerise, on the GRA-Trailride to support the San Antonio rodeo. Even though I only did one day of the week-long ride I knew it would be a mental challenge for my mare. She has never been around 75 to 100 horses at one time and none of her usual horse buddies would be along. We also needed to spend the night at the trail head in order to get the trailer moved to the evening destination. Luckily, I know my mare, Cerise, very well so I was able to set her up for success.
We arrived about 10 pm Saturday evening and I bedded my stock trailer as a stall. I slept up in the nose of the trailer so I could monitor Cerise. I did not tie her outside the trailer because she can set back if she is very anxious (she is getting better about this and the aussie tie ring has helped). She did some indignant stomping around but seemed pretty content. Cattle call came at 5:45 am and I got Cerise out and fed her breakfast. She took one look around at all the activity and looked at me as if to say, “I don’t know what you have come up with this time but I sure don’t intend to eat.” I was prepared for this and dosed her with rescue remedy and probiotics to relax her and settle her stomach. I also prepared doses of the same to take with me on the ride.
Once saddled and ready to go I had to drive the trailer to the evening destination so instead of tying her and taking a chance of her setting back and hurting herself I asked a friend to hold her. I also left a flake of alfalfa for her to munch on. When I returned she had finished her hay and relaxed quite a bit. I took the few minutes we had before departure to ask Cerise to lower her head and relax her neck. The tightness she gets in her neck when she is worried is one reason I think she is prone to setting back. As we started off with the group she was quite energetic but behaved very well. She stood well as we waited at the intersection for traffic control. Once on the road she became anxious and wanted to jig and move out faster than the rest of the group. I know from experience that she does not settle with more work until I can get her mind to relax. I was able to move her behind one of the horse drawn wagons and told her she could go as fast as she wanted as long as she did not pass the wagon. With this plan I only had to keep her positioned on the back of the wagon and not fight her on her speed. She quickly relaxed. Several times during the morning I allowed her to get over on the road shoulder but each time she became nervous so we moved back behind the wagon.
By lunch time, Cerise was very cool about everything and stood tied quietly while I picked up a sandwich. I let her graze but she still would not eat any of the feed I had brought along for her lunch. She also did not drink well but let me squirt water in her mouth at all the breaks. That Cerise does not drink (even when I bring water from home) is typical for her when we travel but she eventually drinks the water when we stay somewhere for several days.
The rest of the ride was great. I was able to leave the back of the wagon and move her anywhere in the group, and she let me rate her pace with the rest of the horses. She handled horses bumping into her when we had to stop for traffic and everyone got bunched up. If she became worried she looked for the wagon and we would go back to her “safe place” for a while.
When we finished the 23 mile ride it was almost dark and Cerise was not particularly tired or stressed. She was a bit backsore so I gave her a dose of arnica for sore muscles and she ate her alfalfa for dinner and drank some water. We headed home and the next morning she was chipper and looking for her breakfast.
Due to Cerise’s sensitive nature I don’t expect her to ever be totally unaffected by new situations but I was very pleased with how she rose to this challenge. I have spent quite a bit of time in building a relationship where she trusts me and has confidence in my judgment. She also has good self-esteem because I acknowledge her being the best she is capable of being, even if it is not as good as I would like.
When seasoning green horses activities that build trust include:
- Take them, along with your well-behaved, confident horses, to events and let them hang out, be ridden, or be ponied around the grounds without the pressure of actual competition.
- Go to clinics that focus on training horses to be safe and dependable mounts. You can read about one clinic of this type at www.foundation2success.com. Ranch horse versatility and natural horsemanship clinics are other good areas to let horses learn without competition stress.
- Go on trail rides with experienced horses and riders who will let you take your time to help your horse cope with any obstacles you encounter.
It is your job to set your horse up to be successful so you have to have some skills and confidence yourself. My friend Linda Hoover says it well:
“...What do you, as a rider, need to bring to the table? A willingness to have the horse's best interest in mind, an open-mindedness to learn along with your horse, and a commitment to do things that are not always easy.”
About the Author
Madalyn Ward, DVM, owns Bear Creek Veterinary Clinic in Austin, Texas. She is certified in Veterinary Homeopathy and Equine Osteopathy. Memberships include American Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Equine Practitioners, American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, Texas Veterinay Medical Association and the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy. She has authored several books and publishes the monthly newsletter, “Holistic Horsekeeping.”
Contact
Madalyn Ward DVM
11608 FM 1826
Austin, TX 78737
303-575-1170
www.holistichorsekeeping.com
www.horseharmony.com
www.horseharmonytest.com
www.yourhorsebook.com
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