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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.
-----------Karla Watson/Portland, Oregon
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, August 02, 2004 6:52 AM
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.

Thanks,

Karen and Mazzie

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Replies
[RC] Dealing w/ a horse that won't pulse down due to excitement, Karen Casemier