Has anyone had any success with supplements that claim to reduce anxiety in nervous horses? I have owned a 12 year old AQHA gelding for 3 years now, and I just can’t get this horse to stay focused on me when we ride. He is so anxious about his surroundings. I have been “dumped” 3x’s due his sudden and extreme “spooks” where out of the blue, he just jumps sideways, spins and does a bunny hop because of something he thinks he sees or hears. He can spook because of a chatterinf squirrel on a fence post, or birds rustling in hedges. He’s paranoid about dogs rushing to their fence to bark at us. I’ve tried ground work, exercises on bonding, circles, the one rein stop, etc. My feeling is, the horse is a jumble of nerves out on the trail, but that’s why I bought him (thinking a quarter horse would be a great trail horse!). I don’t want to do arena work forever and keep thinking if I can get his mind to calm down and stop seeing imaginary danger, he will turn a corner and be a good riding horse. I’m tired of being parnoid about falling off. Are there any supplements out there to relax this horse’s busy mind? Has anyone had luck with ear plugs? Any advice is so wanted and needed!
It sounds like you’re riding alone? Is there anyone with a very steady horse you can ride behind?
My mare started acting unusually spooky and nervous,
put her on Ultra Cruz Magnesium
Plus- now she’s a different horse.
Great stuff .
Mustang tell us everything from the start - behavior and medical. Was he good on the trails when you bought him? For sure, sounds like you need a steady Eddy out trail riding WITH you and your horse. Is he confident and calm if you ride out with someone else?
I had an Arab that would worry out on trail and especially in the woods. He could relax more out in the open.
Once I partnered up with a trail buddy with a rock steady QH and we rode in mowed meadows he was relaxed and happy. Didn’t mean there weren’t 180 type spooks - like if a deer stood up from laying down next to us OR a hunter walked out of the woods. Those did happen and I rode a 180 and was 20 feet away in 2 seconds. We learn to sit up tall to ride those. Horses that spook sideways are much trickier to sit.
It could be pain. That same horse of mine also had what felt like electric shocks in his body - every now and then. No reason at all. Couldn’t make sense of it. Except later through lameness exam and finding suspensory problems there WAS a reason. Pain. Suspensory tear first in the back and then the front and then later dx’d PPID.
Is he relaxed sometimes with you? Does he listen to you? Can you get an ear?
Have you had a good dentist in his mouth - with a speculum and headlamp - full exam. I have a friend who bought a horse and was chasing what they thought were stifle issues. Big chase. Multiple vets. End up at Rood and Riddle. Get a really good dentist in there and find a big hook in the back and voila…issues all gone. Gone.
Are you sure your saddle fits?
If you go out in hand does he listen to you and is he calm? And one more thought on the dogs. Many horses it seems to me would have worry knowing dogs will come out and rush at them.
And how much turnout? How big is the turnout? Is he stalled? Is he happy in turnout?
Interesting, I’ve found most horses to be more relaxed in the woods. Maybe because in a field the range of vision is so much bigger. Wooded trails also feel easier to manage as a rider since there’s pretty much only one option, to continue forward on the trail.
My TB feels trapped in the woods he’s much calmer out in open fields.
In addition to the comments above I’ve tried many calming supplements on my guy. The best has been focus by immubiome. Mine has trouble in the ring by himself but with this supplement he’s much better. I don’t think it’s an easy fix but it might help you get his concentration on you to work through the training issues.
Vet check to make sure no weird pain reaction.
Then groundwork. You have to teach them to self regulate. There is good info from Warwick and from TRT. I’m sure others are around, but those are the ones that worked for me.
Try magnesium. Just a Mg supp is fine and way cheaper than a calmer (magnesium is all that’s in them anyways). It will only help if the horse is deficient. Otherwise, you’re looking at pain or training.
Do you ride alone? Some horses just need another horse for confidence when they go trail riding.
Was he a trail horse before you bought him or did this start when you brought him home?
How you house them and what you feed them can make a huge difference in personality.
What is his diet and living situation?
I have had great success with the anti-anxiety supplement “SynChill”. It’s legal. Daily powder. I saw a difference in just a few days. It works to increase serotonin. https://synnutraequine.com/product/synchill-daily-horse-calming-supplement/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA7t6sBhAiEiwAsaieYho537dGRseFygvpLyPirBZMWsKMBKxIoHSdId_tYGBb3mLhAhqWWBoCMscQAvD_BwE
A different horse, who was spooky, saw success with Performance Equine MagRestore. It’s a very absorbable form of magnesium. They usually have a sample pack of both MagRestore and FOcus. https://research.performanceequinenutrition.com/?gclid=CjwKCAiA7t6sBhAiEiwAsaieYmblK3phJqXiQdIe8WCkTCKVarOTizQ_cMlQLSa8ZLJQ511x_RQyLBoCkTcQAvD_BwE
Magnesium will work if the behavior is connected to a magnesium deficiency. Other signs to look for are a tense/sore back and being touchy when groomed. I used to have my gelding on supplemental mag at the suggestion of a DVM chiro who worked on him. He stayed on it a few years but is no longer on it. His ration balancer has plenty added in and he seems fine.
Pain can cause spookiness because a hurting horse might feel vulnerable and therefore be extra-vigilant about its surroundings. This includes gastric ulcers, which I found made my gelding an absolute nutcase about things he used to never care about and now no longer does since treating the ulcers.
Anecdotally, I’ve found that supplemental thiamine/B1 has been the final touch on making my dude more “thoughtful” instead of “reactive” when he notices or is startled by something. It’s like he stops and says, “What the…?” for a minute and might get big and bug-eyed, snort a little at it, but eventually goes, “Oh, okay…that’s not going to kill me.” Whereas before, especially when ulcers were still in the equation, he would get downright inconsolable and lose his sh!t completely. He was never like that pre-ulcers and didn’t have the B1 supplement, but he’s had more “real life” thrown at him over the past three years than in his entire 12 years before that. And to be fair, on the occasions he did have to haul to shows in the early days, I did put him on Smart Calm Ultra, which had magnesium and B1. But he was never a fan of showing. He didn’t mind the actual showing, it was the hauling and being cooped up in a stall overnight (multi-day shows). Just not his scene. He’s “outdoorsy” lol. Does best with 24/7 turnout, a forage-based diet designed for a happy tummy, and a little scoop of B1 crumbles added to his meals. Ten deer came through his pasture this morning while he was eating breakfast and he didn’t even bother to raise his head out of his feed pan to look at them. Of course, the deer outnumber the horses at our barn, so they’re pretty used to them. But dang, they usually at least acknowledge that they’re there. Not my dude. We flush deer while we’re in the woods all the time. They startle ME when they all of a sudden go bounding from close by, but not my horse. He’s all, “What? You didn’t see the three deer standing there? Silly person.”
Anytime I see an anxious, nervous, or spooky horse, I think ulcers. I would try Nexium and keep him on it.
If that doesn’t work, I would try riding with blinkers to see if he focuses better.
If you are riding by yourself, some just don’t handle that well. My 3 year old is always much happier in a group. Now my older mare was fine by herself even as a young horse but that is her personality. Some horses are just better suited to riding alone.
Thank you! I am going to buy some Ultra Cruz tomorrow and try!
Yes, this happens mainly when I go out alone. I don’t always have a partner to ride with, but one guy who’s mare is with my horse, when we go out together my horse is “golden”. Super calm, But darn it, I can’t always ride with someone! I wanted a horse I can just “hack” on when I"m tired of arena work! And that’s when he gets super anxious-when we’re out alone. 
I really appreciate your comments! Yes, he will go alone and be nice, and when he’s good, he’s golden. Like the ideal trail horse! And fun! I really love this horse, for 3 years he’s been a “project” He came off a ranch in Washington, and came to me like a green horse-as in not knowing much but “go forward, and go fast.” I’ve had many lessons on him to get him to slow down, listen and collect. Ride him dressage and western. He’s a great kid’s horse in the pasture, but I would never ever let my grand daughter ride this horse without a lead rope on him because you just don’t know when he’ll spook. When he spooks, it’s big, almost violent. It comes with no warning. But, I have noticed he is also acting a little “uptight” for 30-40 minutes before, like anxious, jigging, head up…but in control. And then out of the blue-BAM! Sideways, spin, bolt…the speed and jumps are so explosive I challenge the best trainer to sit and stay in the saddle. Almost like what you would experience on a fast moving cutting horse, but without warning. He does need his teeth floated. The Vet told me next visit we need to do that. Would that really cause his spooks?
I haven’t been able to turn him out since grass started growing., He had laminitis a few years ago and is very “metabolic.” I have to watch his calorie intake carefully or he’ll founder. He currently has fecal water syndrome-and I"m changing diets on him to try and fix. It could be a combination of all those reasons, but he’s done this spooky thing since I got him. He is very very sensitive! Could he be “autistic?” It’s so frustrating. I do appreciate your comments and the sharing of info on this forum has given me many good ideas!
For now, I would probably ride out behind the other horse, and stick to the arena when you’re by yourself. Then start riding with the other horse but having yours lead. Eventually he might get comfortable enough going out by himself. My guy prefers being with another horse, but is okay alone too. However, he hates it when other horses get too far in front of him. Then he gets very tense and jiggy, so I try not to ride with people who walk faster than us!
Another thing I thought of, when I first started trail riding my horse it was much harder to ride him off property than to just trailer somewhere, because then the urge to hightail it back home isn’t as strong!
It isn’t out of the blue. He’s spending 30-40 minutes telling you he isn’t okay before he bubbles over.
If he needs his teeth done, isn’t getting any turnout, and has fecal water issues I’d address that first and then spend some time teaching him how to deescalate. He isn’t “autistic”, he’s just a horse. He sounds like a good horse honestly and one where I think you’ll see the fruits of investing the time and medical care. I wouldn’t expect to see much if any difference from a supplement.
But that horse a muzzle and kick him outside as much as possible.
Then fix his fecal water stuff.
Then while fixing that help him with his rabbits. He’s sounds like such a good egg that isn’t comfortable.
It truly doesn’t matter what label or reason the horse is the way he is. The question is if you can or want to handle the spooks and unpredictability. He’s not likely to change. At least not for you. I had a similar horse and in another riders hands, he does fine. It is perhaps personalities that do not work well off each others.
Magnesium is simple enough to try and there are plenty of good calming supplements but they won’t solve a mismatch. I’d really do some soul searching and get a good honest objective opinion regarding your suitability together. You’re a grandparent and the horse his young enough to still make someone else a great partner. It’s not the end of the world if it doesn’t work. I once thought it was, but it really truly isn’t.
