ArabiansandOtherAliens wrote:
This is aliens' mother. Who wins on a sedated horse at a show? Are you just wrapped up in winning something? If you have to sedate your horse, the drug is in control, not you. Thus, you've lost the contest before you begin. I have seen well trained horses that lost because of poor handling. I greatly respected the owner and rider of the horse, but it was the girl too young to drive that told me she had to walk _____ around because he would freak with all the people at the show. I disagreed and the horse did most of his dressage test on his hind legs. The girl cried through the entire test as we watched. The rider and I gave her the horse to cool down and groom, and watched them walk away shaking our heads. She walked him around with her all day, fed him icecream and things no horse should have while they walked under bleachers , over gullies and befriended any animal they came across. So it was that when this same nervy son of Abdul was saddled up and ready to run cross country, he could hardly wait and nothing stopped him. He shattered the competition, looking like a flying Pegasus. In the stadium, where every horse was nervy from wind and cold and crowds, he strolled out from under the bleachers - having gotten use to the thundering noise overhead from the child leading him there to graze - and burst into his contained arena with an energy that had the people standing in awe of his abilities. I was wrong to expect the horse to go from stall to dressage. The young stable hand knew he needed his people close through out the show to keep him grounded - literally. It didn't take drugs to keep him calm. It took courage and conviction and a lot of time just introducing the animal to all the boogie men around. Regardless of what others thought, she spent the entire time at the show with the animal. That's what its about. You and your horse - one entity.

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I agree it's much better if you can work the fear & excitement out of the horse by exposing it to every detail at the show. This works many times & I have took young horses to a show at day break & got them used to the arena & it's surroundings when the show didn't start till 11:00. It does do wonders. It's what we call seasoning.

But when a healthy horse has a physical problem (nearsighted) & it causes mental problems (extreme fear) & just needs a little relaxation before an event. I see no difference than when I gave my ADS child his medicine to make him relax so he could learn in school & not be labeled as unsocial & unruly with his peers & teachers. Handled & administered correctly & in experienced hands under the direction of a doctor or Vet, many drugs can be a chance in life for one to excel & lead a normal life for people & for animals. Like a child with ADS, training or punishment will never help & most need medication. Same when using it on a horse, as medication should never be used to replace quality training, but to aid a problem that no amount of training or seasoning will fix.

BTW, my son graduated as an A-Honor roll student & I considered my mare at the time an A-winning student as well...as like my youngest son, she was the only horse I ever had to do this to & it was not an easy decision to make for either...