Re: [RC] Dealing w/ a horse that won't pulse down due to excitement - Karla Watson
She just needs more rides and more
experiences with big groups of horses. I
wouldn't give up on her just yet. It was just her first ride. Expose her to
places where there are lots of horses and tons of activity. Attend some local
poker rides or organized trail rides. Keep going to endurance rides and try to
stay as calm as you can be. She'll get better with more exposure. It just takes
time, miles and patience.
Subject: [RC] Dealing w/ a horse that
won't pulse down due to excitement
I did the 25 LD at Wolverine (Michigan) this weekend - my first
ride ever with my Morgan mare. The ride itself went wonderfully well,
better than I ever could have expected. She drank like a champ, which she
rarely does on training rides, my pace was really good (I wanted to get to
the vet check in 2 hours and made it in almost exactly 2 hours), and
considering she was riding without her regular buddy, did remarkably well,
calming down and getting to business after the first few miles. I was so
thrilled with her.
However, when we got to the finish back at camp, I
could not get her to calm down. She became a different horse. She was
trotting circles around me, bucking on the end of the lead line, etc. This
was not a metabolic problem, but a mental one - she was so overstimulated
by all the other horses and being back at camp (and probably hearing her
buddy call to her) that she wouldn't drop below 70. I'm sure you can
understand how frustrating it was to have such a great ride for my first
time, on a tough trail no less, and then not get a completion not because
of lameness or metabolic issues, but simply because she was too wired to
reach the pulse critieria. (She did pulse down fine at the vet check in
the middle of the ride - it took me about 10 minutes, but she was at 55
when they took her pulse, and I thought that was pretty good for her first
time)
Note that we also had an issue at the vet-in. She wouldn't settle
down for that either, so we had to bring her buddy down to keep her
manageable. In theory, we could have brought her buddy down for the final
check, but to me, that would have just been a band-aid - I would still
have the exact same problem the next time. I don't want to have to bring
her buddy to every ride just to get her through the vet checks.
I
also believe this issue is deeper than simply being attached to a buddy.
I've only had her act this way one other time before - when I was acting
as an outrider at a combined training event. Exact same thing - bucking,
rearing, wouldn't settle down, etc. It has something to do obviously with
all the other strange horses (although again, she did pulse down fine at
the check outside of camp).
The only thing I can think of doing, is
to start round pen work with her. I've been hesitant to do this in the
past, because this is very *complicated* mare. Methods that work with
other horses often don't work with her. However, as great as she is on the
trail, she will NEVER be an endurance horse if she can't settle down for
the vet checks. And that would break my heart, because it was clear to me
that she is capable of a lot more than I originally thought as I rode her
on Sunday. I'm thinking if I do some basic "herd dynamics" type of round
pen work that I can hopefully get her to focus in on ME when she gets
stressed, instead of completely tuning me out (which she was very
obviously doing - you could see in her eyes that she was totally "off"
mentally).
If you have any suggestions, especially if you've been
through this with a horse, please let me know. Except for that final vet
check, I was absolutely thrilled with how my little mare did (she was a
bucking bronc at the start of the ride, but I expected that and I do
believe that will get better simply with experience). This mare and I have
been through a lot together, and as much as I want to do this sport, it is
just as important that I do it with HER.
