Due to the crazy winter we’ve had, my horses have now been off for 5 weeks but I’m hoping to be able to start riding them again this weekend once my ring dries out. I have a young mare who has been dealing with soundness issues and corrective shoeing since summer and is now doing really well, but I am not supposed to lunge her (or really, free lunge) and rides need to remain quiet and uneventful.
She has a BIG buck when she’s fresh so I’m trying to figure out the safest way to bring her back into work. She gets 10+ hours of turnout per day and is on a forage-only diet so I feel like I’ve covered my bases there. Is Ace appropriate in a situation like this for the first couple of rides? I have never ridden an aced horse, and honestly it makes me a bit nervous but I also don’t need her hurting herself (or me)…what dosage would be recommended? Or is there something that may be a better option?
She doesn’t know how to ground drive, or I would start there…although I’m not the most coordinated at ground driving anyway. Or, do I just haul her to my trainer and have her sit on her the first couple of rides back? Although, I also hate asking her to ride through those bucks…