highly strung racehorse

[Posts: 1Joined: 29 May 2012, 14:13]

hi, can anyone with proven results tell me the best product for a extremely highly strung racehorse, before i go on he is a 4 year old gelding by (one cool cat) known for producing highly strung horses.

this horse is used for flapping, racing on the flat just not recognised by the BHA

he is cold backed tacking up, sweats up really badly losing energy before he runs, sweats that bad in the trailer you would think someone has put a bucket of water over him. at home he is quiet as a mouse

i have tried ear plugs
nupafeed MAH calming syringes
hosing him down before put into the trailer
washing him down 4/5 times before he runs

there must be a product or something trainers use that does work

please note i am not afraid of horses or inexperienced i just want an answer to try solve this as he has bundles of ability infact he won a few weeks ago. feel free to mail me or private message me. would love to know andrew baldings remedy as Bonfire is a bit the same way but come out at his last race quiet.

[Posts: 3975Joined: 03 Feb 2006, 11:39Location: Sacramento,CA.]

Dear 1koolkat,I know nothing about horse health but should you not be replacing the lost fluids orally rather than on the skin surface?Will the fluids penetrate his skin? I know that is how athletes do it.The bottle they spray themselves with is normally to cool them down,not to replace lost fluids.Do you have plenty of drinking water available? Incidentally this is not a smart ass question.

[Posts: 3688Joined: 19 Nov 2002, 14:40Location: Fife]

onecoolcat

Have you tried short round trips in the box and then returnung the gelding to his home stable/field? This could take out the factor of getting worked up about going to the races. I don't know how far you are away from where you race, but try gradually lengthening these trips to get him settled with travelling.

He might get worked up at first, but after a while the routine would kick in.

Rob

[Posts: 131Joined: 24 Jan 2005, 14:20]

have tried to pm you but not sure if it got through!

[Posts: 433Joined: 02 May 2011, 22:29]

Rob North is right, I would recommend taking the horse for outings in the box, but not just round-trips. Take him somewhere, like somebody's gallops or the beach or some hills with another horse and canter him and then put him back in the trailer and take him home. He's probably getting stage fright from the stress of being around lots of other horses/people and all the goings-on at races. It should help to take him out to places regularly and get him a accustomed to it so it becomes leess of an issue.

On the sweating issue, the most important thing for this type of horse is that you get fluids into them in the days/hours before. Put some electrolytes or rock salt in his feed every single morning and this will not only replace the salts lost through sweating but it also encourages them to drink more.

Could you tell me a little more about the symptoms caused by being col-backed?

[Posts: 1Joined: 08 Jul 2009, 08:04]

Would it help to try some other activities with him, such as dressage, show jumping or one day eventing? Intersperse those with racing to keep him guessing.