I personally don’t believe any kind of gadget could fix this behavior as it is more of a mental issue.
You are in a tough situation though that many endurance riders have to either work with or find a horse that better suits the job. We don’t have the option to use any type of calming supplements in the sport.
The first thing I would do honestly, is check for ulcers. It sounds unrelated but it’s incredibly important to rule it out. Based on my conversations I’ve had with many E-riders and my own personal experiences I’d guess 80% of the time the behavior is related to ulcers. During times of stress (travel, base camps, rides), ulcers will be more painful for horses. This causes them to act uncharacteristic, stressed out, and panicky.If you rule out ulcers (instead of scoping, you can also have your vet perform a fecal test which is much more affordable or try giving Ulcer-Gard at your next high-stress ride and see if it helps).
Horses by nature are herd animals. So put yourself in your horse’s hooves…he finally settles into a new environment (base camp), is trying to figure out what the heck this big horse convention is, is probably trying to make friends or desperately whinnying hoping he’ll find someone he knows. He finally relaxes as night falls and come dawn everyone is tacking up and pulling their horses away from their trailers. Then, majority of the horses in a base camp are heading out on the trail and your horse is thinking “OMG! They are all leaving me, I’m going to be alone in this environment I’ve never been to before, I don’t know how to get home!”. People may try to say it’s a training issue and that your horse isn’t focusing on you but how can you blame him when he’s put in this situation? The training will come from working through it and allowing your horse to develop a trust in you the more rides you do. With more rides, he will eventually start thinking “My human has gotten me through these rides many times, I’ve always ended up back at camp, and then I’m returned home.”
My success stories come from having a conditioning partner. The stress of an endurance ride can cause ridiculous herd-bound behaviors that your horse doesn’t normally show on a solo conditioning or trail ride. Having a buddy horse that your horse has become accustomed to will help everything from being quieter/calmer at vet checks and knowing his buddy horse isn’t leaving him on the ride. You can look on the AERC website for Mentors or Riding Partners (Education > Mentors> Regional Mentors). Try to find a horse that will pace well with yours, explain your situation, and discuss your goal for your next ride (probably just to get through it!). Try to meet up with that rider once a week leading up to your ride.
I know your situation. I started doing Endurance on my former showjumper/eventer Thoroughbred mare. She acted the same way until I started riding her with a laid back gelding who’s owner liked to “Turtle” on. He complemented her really well and it helped me complete the rides. I try to ride with someone on my TWH mare too as she can be nervous/anxious; especially the first loop of a ride. I personally prefer to ride alone, but I’d also rather complete rides and if that’s what it takes for a while then that’s what I’ll have to do. I can’t stress the importance of conditioning with someone BEFORE the ride to figure out the best game plan. For example, if my conditioning partner rides her mare and I ride my mare we switch off leading every mile if we can because both mares like to lead. An Endurance ride is not a good time to figure out a plan. Eventually, seasoned horses become more accustomed to what they are doing. There will be times where a friend may have to pull and you are stuck on your own. Let those opportunities test your horse’s independence when you don’t have other options.
