It’s also very common for trainers to sedate horses coming back to work after an injury. I see it in the hunter/jumper world all the time. Horse has been on stall rest for a long time and gets sedation for turnout and riding until it is no longer explosive. A sad stand in for proper care and training. Heart breaking to see these big athletes kept in tiny stalls all day and then when returning to work, they are drugged to stay compliant.
Really? That's very sad to hear. Like you say, it's a band-aid, a stand in for proper management. Of course horses on stall rest will show post-inhibitory rebound of movement, but there are other methods and approaches you can use to ease them into training. I would say if it's a matter of controlled rehabilitation (say, going from stall rest to 20 minutes of in-hand walking/day and rearing/bucking can risk worsening the injury) then I can understand why light sedation may be used, provided that it's at the discretion of the treating vet, but if the horse is pronounced sound and it's just a matter of convenienve for the handlers and riders, I strongly disagree with the practice.
Yes I understand light sedation to keep them from injuring themselves in turnout coming off stall rest. Some of the horse keeping and handling contributes to their explosiveness, when they only go out for and hour or two in good health, coming off a month of stall rest means that short time in the paddock is the only time they can really move their bodies. Riding them sedated after injury seems a very dangerous practice, essentially turning off the ability of the horse to say no when they may be resistant due to pain or discomfort even when proclaimed sound
Yes I completely agree, limiting their turnout time is the culprit and the solution is of course to let them stay out for longer, not to sedate them... And same for riding a sedated horse, that's absolutely unethical and dangerous any way we look at it. You make a good point about the fact that sedating them takes away their ability to express pain/discomfort/stress! That's another great reason to NOT sedate a horse before riding it.
It’s also very common for trainers to sedate horses coming back to work after an injury. I see it in the hunter/jumper world all the time. Horse has been on stall rest for a long time and gets sedation for turnout and riding until it is no longer explosive. A sad stand in for proper care and training. Heart breaking to see these big athletes kept in tiny stalls all day and then when returning to work, they are drugged to stay compliant.
Really? That's very sad to hear. Like you say, it's a band-aid, a stand in for proper management. Of course horses on stall rest will show post-inhibitory rebound of movement, but there are other methods and approaches you can use to ease them into training. I would say if it's a matter of controlled rehabilitation (say, going from stall rest to 20 minutes of in-hand walking/day and rearing/bucking can risk worsening the injury) then I can understand why light sedation may be used, provided that it's at the discretion of the treating vet, but if the horse is pronounced sound and it's just a matter of convenienve for the handlers and riders, I strongly disagree with the practice.
Yes I understand light sedation to keep them from injuring themselves in turnout coming off stall rest. Some of the horse keeping and handling contributes to their explosiveness, when they only go out for and hour or two in good health, coming off a month of stall rest means that short time in the paddock is the only time they can really move their bodies. Riding them sedated after injury seems a very dangerous practice, essentially turning off the ability of the horse to say no when they may be resistant due to pain or discomfort even when proclaimed sound
Yes I completely agree, limiting their turnout time is the culprit and the solution is of course to let them stay out for longer, not to sedate them... And same for riding a sedated horse, that's absolutely unethical and dangerous any way we look at it. You make a good point about the fact that sedating them takes away their ability to express pain/discomfort/stress! That's another great reason to NOT sedate a horse before riding it.