chin up, Jane! You are doing the right thing. Find some people that ride and torment them with long training rides. I am the only endurance rider in Flagstaff and I have a couple of neighbors that have changed their thinking about long distance riding.
Your mare will get over her phobia. Really. You are doing the right thing.
I rode a 20 mile ride with a neighbor yesterday and had to escort her home......My mare was good for another 20, too. And we rode at her pace....
hee hee
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:29:28 -0700 From: jane_rodrigue@xxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] YELLOW JACKETS To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Okay, things are not going well this year. My endurance career is on hold because:
1. I moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi and do not own a horse trailer
2. No one in Vicksburg, Mississippi rides endurance, so I am on my own
3. Just riding my one 8 mile ride down the road to try to keep her in shape (and me sane) we were attacked by yellow jackets. 22 stung my on my legs and I could not count the number on her. She went into semi-shock (pale gums and refusal to move) and I had to call someone to come pick us up and call the vet.
Now she is terrified on rides, spooks at the following: flies around her head, bees on flowers, any type of roadcut with banks, piles of dirt, and piles of manure that look like dirt. She really spooks - runs backward, flings her head in the air, bolts, or she hunkers down in terror snorting and creeping along the ground like a cat. I just stay calm, and if I don't see any sign of a nest, then I gently request that we keep moving forward. I am not punishing her for being frightened (who blames her), but I am not babying her by cooing everything is alright, I am just trying to act like there is nothing to be afraid of.
Will I be able to get her over this? If so, how long will it take? If we get in them again, should I just accept the fact that her endurance/trail career is over?
