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RE: [RC] Magnesium for spooky horse? Heidi or Dr. Garlinghouse? - Pam DeMerchant
Thanks Jim, Diane, Truman, Kat for the spooking/magnesium advice. I'm already
doing 90% of your suggestions, but I got some ideas from your comments on what
else I can do, for example, being more consistently aggressive in riding out
spooking. Dunno about doing more walking--my horse walks about 2 mph. It
drives me crazy. =) Of course, if I climb off his back and hand-walk him,
he's like "thanks, Mom" and is afraid of nothing (isn't that rewarding spooking
behavior?).
My gelding is calm and behaved 50% of the time (quietly asking my opinion about
the scary objects), medium spooky 40% of the time and breathing fire coming
straight out of the pasture 10% of the time (never any irritability, just
extreme hyperexcitability).
As far as "do horses need magnesium supplementation", the heat index has been
upper 100s here in H-town for weeks. I don't believe
electrolytes/grass/hay/feed can replenish the minerals they're sweating out as
quickly as needed, so I supplement during this time (not year round) with
positive results.
Thanks again,
Pam
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Holland <lanconn@xxxxxxx>
Sent: Aug 31, 2005 9:25 PM
To: 'Jennifer Fleet' <jlthompson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
'Pam DeMerchant' <pam.demerchant@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [RC] Magnesium for spooky horse? Heidi or Dr. Garlinghouse?
Jennifer, it's hard to answer this question or offer solutions without
knowing the horse and spending some time with you and seeing how you
"interact" with Shahtahr. This is like "advice to the lovelorn". Without
"knowing" the horse or the person, I'm flying blind. Here's the best I can
offer. The behavior you are describing on the trail seems fairly normal to
me, particularly for an Arabian. You may have progressed a little fast with
this particular horse.
Horse training is a long term proposition if you want a really good trail
horse. It takes YEARS, sometimes....and some horses will always be more
inclined to spook than others. With horses that spook easily when they are
"surprised", I tend to spend a lot of hours just walking. Magic was that
way. It's a lot easier to ride out a spook at a walk than at a trot. Until
he handles those "surprises" at a walk, then we don't move on to a trot,
however long that takes.
When you first take a young horse out, initially he will tend to be on "high
alert". However, if you stay out long enough, he simply can't maintain that
level, and sooner or later, you will see him noticeably relax. Stay out
until he does. In the beginning, ride alone as much as you can. As you ride
him more and more, he will begin to relax earlier as he sees the birds
flush, the dogs bark, the limbs fall, etc. As he does, expose him to as much
"stuff" as you can in little pieces. Take him to an ORV trail and let him
watch. Every time you walk by his stall, give him a "mini-surprise", but
stay within his comfort zone.
In addition, work on being a "rider", not a "passenger". Teach him lots of
cues from the saddle to force him to concentrate more on you. (Sidepass, leg
aids, head down, gives, etc.) Make your cues subtle so he's always
"listening" to see if you're asking him to do something. Don't let him pick
his own way down the trail. Steer him around puddles, logs, sticks. The
more you "interact", the more he will "listen" instead of look.
It's a difficult concept to explain in words and a lot of it is just
experience.
Jim, Sun of Dimanche+, and Mahada Magic
Richard T. "Jim" Holland
Three Creeks Farm
175 Hells Hollow Drive
Blue Ridge, Ga 30513
(706) 258-2830
www.threecreeksarabians.com
Callsign KI4BEN
-----Original Message-----
From: Jennifer Fleet [mailto:jlthompson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2005 9:35 PM
To: Pam DeMerchant
Cc: Jim Holland; ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [RC] Magnesium for spooky horse? Heidi or Dr. Garlinghouse?
BUT....trotting along and a bird flies out of a bush, or a dog pops his
head over a fence, or something shiny glints in the sun (stuff that
takes him by surprise, in other words) you can forget training, trust,
etc. His first reaction is to spin. I haven't the faintest clue how
to break him of it.
So, if Jim's got some training ideas, I'm all ears too!
Jennifer
Pam DeMerchant wrote:
So Jim, What is your solution for inconsistent behavior? Days when your horse ignores everything you've ever taught him for years, ignores legs, crop, groundwork training? Then on another day, he's falling asleep on you, mellow, confident and sweet? Same rider, same tack, same trail, etc. Lol. I'm all ears! Pam -----Original Message----- From: Jim Holland <lanconn@xxxxxxx> Sent: Aug 31, 2005 5:45 PM To: 'Jennifer Fleet' <jlthompson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: RE: [RC] Magnesium for spooky horse? Heidi or Dr. Garlinghouse? Whoa, Whoa! Time out here! Every time I hear about behavior problems, people want to fix it with feed. Get OVER it! It ain't FEED! Alfafa makes them HOT, grain makes them HOT. Time to vent. My humble apologies in advance for anyone I offend. Folks, it's TRAINING! <sigh> If your horse is "looking" at all that "stuff" out there instead of flicking an ear back to you to see what YOU think, you got a PROBLEM! Spook in place, check with rider, yes. Spook and spin, no, no, no.... Got to a Parelli class, do some dressage, do something, but FORGET about FIXING it with FEED. Ain't gonna happen. If you CAN'T fix it with training, then find another horse. Like people, (New Orleans looting is an example) there are horses who are NOT worth your trouble. JMHO. Jim, Sun of Dimanche+, and Mahada Magic Richard T. "Jim" Holland Three Creeks Farm 175 Hells Hollow Drive Blue Ridge, Ga 30513 (706) 258-2830 www.threecreeksarabians.com Callsign KI4BEN -----Original Message----- From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jennifer Fleet Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2005 5:45 PM To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] Magnesium for spooky horse? Heidi or Dr. Garlinghouse? Okay, I've had it with the spook and spins. After almost three years of riding Shahtahr and managing to sit his huge spooks, he finally dumped me at a CTR this weekend. He was unusually nervous and spooky during the morning of the ride, and did three huge spooks at NOTHING (drop and spins) within an hour. The second one sent me flying. I have heard that supplementing with magnesium can have a calming effect on some horses. I used it on my mare years ago and I recall it helping somewhat. My gelding is on the following feed: morning: 1 flake alfalfa or alfalfa/bermuda mix (depending on what the barn owner buys) evening: 1 1/2 flakes orchard grass hay that I supply (he'd get grass both feedings but I have to pay for it on top of full board and at $15/bale I can't afford it) 2 scoops Platinum Peformance vitamin/mineral supplement 1 cup ground flax seed 2,000 iu vitamin E 5 lbs carrots glucosamine and MSM supplements (MSM is withdrawn before rides) So....given the above, I'm wondering if additional magnesium would help....he already gets alfafa in the morning, which I believe has a high magnesium content, so it might be pointless to try. Platinum Peformance has a producet called Platinum Gentle that is magnesium, calcium, and thianine (sp?) - an amino acid that has a calming affect - it is all legal for competition and is formulated to be fed along with Platinum Performance without causing any imbalances. Could this be of any benefit, seeing's how my horse is already getting alfalfa in the a.m. ? Any other suggestions to try? Valium, Prozac, Xanax, a bullet? LOL Just kidding Shahtahr! Jennifer =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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