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RE: [RC] Magnesium for spooky horse? Heidi or Dr. Garlinghouse? - Jim HollandJennifer, 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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