Karen, another thing to consider. When riding
under UMECRA rules one is not allowed to have a buddy horse at the vet
checks. If the horses are buddies and riding together, then it is
okay. So make sure of your rules before bringing a horse up. Most of
the time MI folks don't care if a buddy horse is brought up. Better for
all to be safe than get hurt. I really got yelled at one year in Iowa
because my mare was being a dink with her buddy back at the trailer. My
hubby brought the other horse over as this is how we handled this problem in
MI. What a can of worms got started! I was accused of cheating and
was not going to be allowed to complete the ride. After all was said and
done, I was allowed to compete and place since it was the first time anyone had
ever come that far to do a ride in Iowa! I really didn't care as long as I
could get my miles. I certainly did not do it on purpose (would I be so
obvious?), I only did what we all had done in MI for years. I learned some
pretty important things after that. Biggest one was to make sure that one
did whatever was done in that area and not what I was use to doing at
home.
After that as I rode again the next day, my hubby
took his horse out of camp and out of sight whenever he knew I would be coming
in for a vet check. That way the two horses would not start screaming at
each other. Larry and I use to ride different distances at rides
too. It was pretty interesting to see all the antics that we went thru so
the horses wouldn't realize that they were passing each other. We made it
work, parked far enough away from the vet check that each one of us could sneak
in, get the check done, before the other horse even knew that the buddy was back
in camp. On trail we would pass each other and wave but not speak!!
Sometimes one of us would hide so the horses wouldn't see each other. So
there are plenty of things that one can do to get the job done.
As for the B-1. I used a powdered form but I
used it on my nervous nelly arab Bay. It calmed him down enough that I
really had a pleasant ride that was not full of yanks, rears, head shaking, and
any other obnoxious things that gelding could think of. I never injected
anything, just used the stuff that I could put in his feed. It is kinda
like you taking Stress B so you don't get so upset. It is just a vitamin,
nothing else, but it does have a calming effect on some horses.
Your best bet is to keep your hubby's horse out of
sight so they don't start yelling for each other when you get back into
camp. And I know you don't have that loud voice that I do but if hubby's
horse hears you at all, it will start screaming for your mare. So you have
to be sneaky too.
And if you go again to a ride that is not a 25 mile
loop and has all checks in camp, then never go back to your trailer. Do
everything that you need to do at the vet check. If your mare will start
yelling if she sees your hubby, then he will have to stay out of sight
too! It will get better though, the more you ride your mare, the more she
will figure out, and the more relaxed she will become.
Jeanie
