Drugging horse for riding

From: Maureen Hi Jessica. As a new horse owner, you are a godsend to me. It is so hard to find reliable, trustworthy advice with all of the information floating around out there! I am the first one to admit to being a novice, and owning a horse made me realize how much I don't know!

My question is kind of a complicated one. I just recently acquired my first horse, a 10 yr. old Quarter Horse. Willie, the horse, is wonderful, but a little spirited, especially with the cold weather here in NYS. I use him for jumping. I have been really enjoying him and now with the cold weather he has a little more spunk - not too bad, but to add to this mix, I have Multiple Sclerosis. I have some weakness on my right side and sometimes I lack a good sense of balance. I have never felt unsafe on him. On the flat he is good, once he loosens up and slows down! Going to the jumps, he has started doing a little "charge" at the base. He is responsive and listens, but sometimes when I am having a flair up of my MS, I don't have the strength to keep him going smoothly.

So the trainer I have been riding with (the owner of the barn), has suggested putting him on Resurpin for the winter to "keep him even". I am very uncomfortable with this. I feel that if he is too spunky, he should be exercised more (turned out more during the day, etc.). He is only turned out on average 2-3 times a week. For a horse with his energy level, I feel guilty putting him on a drug because maybe I am not feeling up to snuff. I have never felt uncomfortable on him and i trust him over the fences. But I am not familiar with this drug. I do know it is not legal in recognized shows. The trainer had mentioned taking him off it after the winter, when we would be doing unrecognized shows.

I have been asking people and getting mixed answers. She has suggested ACE before a lesson. Is all of this drugging normal? Our barn does have a reputation for using drugs quite a bit.

I hope you can help me!

Thanks for everything!

Maureen

Hi Maureen! Thanks for the kind words -- now stand by for a jolt. I'm answering this privately and on HORSE-SENSE, because I think it's an urgent matter. My best suggestion to you would be to get yourself and your horse out of that barn RIGHT NOW, and get into a better barn with a good instructor.

It's utterly idiotic and irresponsible for anyone to suggest putting a horse on Reserpine for any such reason. I realize that this isn't an uncommon practice at badly-run hunter/jumper barns, but you should know that this is not only completely unethical, it's medically unsound. Talk to your veterinarian -- I think he'll agree. And while you're chatting with him, ask about the connection between reserpine and pneumonia. A lot of show horses disappear at the end of the show season, and this is one of the reasons.

It's also irresponsible and dangerous to give a horse acepromazine (a tranquillizer) before riding it. I realize that this, too, is common at bad barns, but it's very, very wrong. A tranquillized horse is not necessarily a calm horse, and rather than responsive and reliable, he'll simply be unsteady.

Chemical "shortcuts" like this are counterproductive and absolutely the antithesis of horsemanship. Your horse needs to live somewhere else, in an environment where horsemanship matters and horses are managed properly. You are putting your horse and yourself in danger. GET AWAY.

If you will take your horse to a barn where he can have daily turnout, he'll be able to keep himself exercised, healthy, and sane. You also won't have to be worried that he'll go ballistic when you finally have time to ride, even if you don't have time during a given week or even a month or more. ;-) Twenty-four-hour turnout would be ideal, but even if you can't find a facility that offers this, you should be able to find one that will provide 12-hour turnout at least.

I don't think that it will be enough to confront the barn owner and say "I don't want MY horse drugged, and I do want MY horse turned out." People rarely have a single specific "hole" in their ethical behaviour; they tend to be much more consistent than that. I wouldn't trust this person to take out my trash. I seriously doubt whether this is a person who can teach you anything about riding -- riding is not just a matter of physical skills, it's a matter of attitude and consideration for the horse. You need to learn horsemanship, and you won't learn it at this barn, because there is nobody teaching it. What you CAN learn there is all wrong. You do not need to khow to deprive horses of exercise and then try to "calm" them with dangerous drugs. As for drugging a horse that's being ridden by someone with any sort of disability, and drugging a horse that's going to be jumped -- both of these things scream "RUN AWAY!"

This may not be the answer you wanted, but it's the only one I can give you. You're not safe where you are, and neither is your horse. Before one of you sustains serious damage, which WILL happen if you stay there, get out.

If the best place for your horse proves to be less conveniently-located and you can get there to ride only once a week or less, it's still worth going there. Wherever your horse lives is where he spends 24 hours a day of his time -- make it a good place where he can have a good life. Wherever your horse lives is where you will be spending most of your riding time -- make it a good place where you can have real lessons and learn horsemanship along with your riding skills.

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but I'm very worried about you and your horse. I'm glad you wrote, and I hope that you'll let me know what you do and where you go.

Jessica

Back to top.