Lookin’ South asked: “Interesting. Why is that?? Are the horses not sane enough to go out undrugged??”
I would venture to say that most of them are sane enough without the chemistry. If they aren’t (long term), it’s really better for horse and rider the horse is given some other job, he and his rider will be happier and safer.
Many times in my experience, the horse is ‘aced’ because of rider confidence issues. I had a friend who would even ‘pretend’ to administer ace because of rider requests. Riders, thinking horses were aced, were relaxed, and so the horses were relaxed, too. Other times, it’s just a training short cut.
I share Just My Style’s opinion. I’d really rather just take however long it takes for a horse to learn, and be relaxed, for whatever task is at hand. I’ve had friends purchase or borrow horses from one trainer who is known to train ‘on ace’ and makes no secret of it. The friends were disappointed in those horses’ skills, particularly over fences. I also, decades ago, helped to completely reschool a former AHSA working hunter champion (national) who had been trained and shown exclusively on the needle. It took us two years and a lot of patience, but that horse was terrific, a solid and happy citizen, and we even got him out hunting as I recall.
Ace can be a useful tool for a lot of different things. But I would say I don’t approve when it’s used as a crutch or short cut instead of a tool.
