Anyone use Perfect Prep products?

[DQ_Foxhunter]

@Guyot

You know, I love COTH, the information, the support, etc. what I don’t like is that lurkers start to speak up on a topic that are are interested or invested in, and are slammed by others. People who may have valuable info and or resources have just been suppressed.

(I won’t mention the people who can’t read for comprehension… grammar police we have; maybe comprehension police can be added?)

If anyone thinks that a stressed horse being given some support via herbs or amino acids etc, is drugs entering the sport perhaps they are the ones that shouldn’t be posting.

I too have skipped Nationals because it was a bad decision for my horse and his long term well being. Giving some herbal or amino acid support when needed so we can train the horse isn’t drugging them. It’s trying to get the anxiety under control enough that they can process and learn coping skills.

If everyone actually READ this thread they would notice that the OP and myself and others have a horse that is outside the common scenario. We are looking for ways to work and train through it so we have a more normal horse in the end. Maybe it’s possible, maybe it’s not, however OP is asking for info on things that have worked for others and or new ideas.

Isn’t that sort of the WHOLE reason for COTH…??

Sorry if this comes off snarky… lack of sleep and coffee… and quite frankly this just pisses me off this am!

I can not like this post enough!
When did trying to help a young horse cope with being stalled in a strange place ,turn into “drugs in our sport”

[lintesia]

I’ve used the Perfect Prep Extreme paste on an as-needed basis (not as an everyday supplement) and have been satisfied with the product and the result.

[rothmpp]

@BigMama1

Is trying herbal / mineral / vitamin supplements proven to have little effect really in the same category as given Depo, Resperine or whatever the calming drug of choice is these days in the hunter ring?

And I’m pretty sure that treating for ulcer prevention to keep a horse happy and healthy at a show isn’t quite the same as drugging to improve performance or boost scores, but maybe that’s just me.

Or maybe I’m misunderstanding the post above?

I think that it’s because most dressage people hear the word “prep” and think of what we hear about the hunter world and some trainers who use many chemical options to keep their horses calm. It’s more about a lack of knowledge about the different products. Perfect Prep is not the same as what some in the hunter world do. Though I would be careful to continue to check the USEF banned substance list and compare it to the listed ingredients on PP. You would hate to have a update to the list come through and not realize that PP now has something in it that will test.

OP - I know some people have suggested utilizing no pressure lunging - either in a halter or in just a bridle if you’re worried about him being too wild just in a halter. Were it me, I’d utilize lunging him as the weekend goes on - let his brain unwind in a somewhat safer manner.

My trainer had a horse that wasn’t high as a kite in the stall, but was a monster to handwalk. Part of the problem was this horse gave new meaning to the term “power walking”. I’m pretty tall and I walk fast naturally, but I could barely keep up with him. The trainer is tiny and had no shot at keeping up with him, she’d slow him down with a chain and he’d get more and more anxious. And the more you’d try to keep him under control the worse he’d get. He reared on me more than once when I would walk him. We lunged that horse without asking for anything. he’d let us know when he was ready to be a respectable citizen.

Another friend had a horse that never learned to hand walk or hand graze, no matter how much she worked on it. She finally gave up and just started tack walking him several times a day. He was happy doing that - she could ride all over the place on the buckle, could stop and talk for a couple minutes, etc… and he was happy as a clam. Just being hand walked? She compared it to flying a kite.

[Denali6298]

@BigMama1

Is trying herbal / mineral / vitamin supplements proven to have little effect really in the same category as given Depo, Resperine or whatever the calming drug of choice is these days in the hunter ring?

And I’m pretty sure that treating for ulcer prevention to keep a horse happy and healthy at a show isn’t quite the same as drugging to improve performance or boost scores, but maybe that’s just me.

Or maybe I’m misunderstanding the post above?

Perfect prep is advertised as a show legal calmer. That violates the spirit of the rule. Most calming supplements have Valerian Root in them which is an illegal substance. I think also raspberry leaves are illegal as well. It’s been a while since I looked at the list. There was also an incident with a BNR in the H/J world who used NINE tubes.

Most people who disagree with calming agents for horses at shows go to schooling shows and bring their horse to the longer shows just to get them there. Not to show and certainly not to pin.

Some horses aren’t cut out for the show life style.

OP in your situation I would start stalling your horse a week or two before the show. I’m not sure if you mentioned how often you show, but it sounds like your horse needs to learn how to be in a stall.

[MissAriel]

(names removed to protect the innocent)

“It violates the spirit of the rule” - If you are using it to get a better ride, sure, but my horse is fine under saddle, fine hand walking, grazing, etc. but hates being in the stall. Take him off the trailer, take a quick walking tour of the grounds, then head into the stall and he immediately will start to levade and buck. I don’t know that it violates the spirit of the rule to find a way to have him not be a basket case in the stall.

“put your horse in a stall so he gets used to it” - not a readily available option for many of us. Besides, what does that even look like - is this an equine version of Ferberizing your kid to sleep? Just toss him in the stall with water and some hay and lock the door until he decides it is fine, whether that takes 2 days or 2 months?

“don’t show” - really? Reading this thread, it sounds like many of us have had to try and try and try to find the right strategy for our horses. if you just gave up at the first show they acted out, I suspect show entries would be way down. We may eventually come to this decision, but most of us are sharing various remedies that have worked, including training, exercise, nutrition, health and supplements because no one size fits all, and throwing in the towel seems a bit extreme.

“go to more shows until he gets used to it” - again, like the stalling suggestion, this seems a bit cruel to toss them into a stressful environment and wait for them to give up their anxiety. If any of you want to help foot the bills for this approach, though, I’m willing to try it.

[Denali6298]

@MissAriel

(names removed to protect the innocent)

“It violates the spirit of the rule” - If you are using it to get a better ride, sure, but my horse is fine under saddle, fine hand walking, grazing, etc. but hates being in the stall. Take him off the trailer, take a quick walking tour of the grounds, then head into the stall and he immediately will start to levade and buck. I don’t know that it violates the spirit of the rule to find a way to have him not be a basket case in the stall.
The horse can’t handle stall time. If the horse isn’t deficient in magnesium Perfect Prep won’t help.

“put your horse in a stall so he gets used to it” - not a readily available option for many of us. Besides, what does that even look like - is this an equine version of Ferberizing your kid to sleep? Just toss him in the stall with water and some hay and lock the door until he decides it is fine, whether that takes 2 days or 2 months?
It worked for one of my horses and thank god it did when she needed hock injections. It’s a suggestion. Not possible? Ignore it.

“don’t show” - really? Reading this thread, it sounds like many of us have had to try and try and try to find the right strategy for our horses. if you just gave up at the first show they acted out, I suspect show entries would be way down. We may eventually come to this decision, but most of us are sharing various remedies that have worked, including training, exercise, nutrition, health and supplements because no one size fits all, and throwing in the towel seems a bit extreme.

Maybe no matter how talented the horse is, it can’t deal with multi-day shows.

“go to more shows until he gets used to it” - again, like the stalling suggestion, this seems a bit cruel to toss them into a stressful environment and wait for them to give up their anxiety. If any of you want to help foot the bills for this approach, though, I’m willing to try it.

You can’t complain about people saying don’t show and in the next paragraph complain about people saying get the horse to more shows.

People are suggesting things that have worked for them. If it’s been tried or you don’t agree with it ignore it. Honestly perfect prep products came about to provide a non-testable way to calm your horse. It’s in the advertisement. That being said, specifically feeding or administering a product to calm your horse violates the spirit of the rule. So what it doesn’t test? At the same time is LTD better? Or should we just realize as horsemen that some horses can’t cope with horse shows?

[Pony_Fixer]

Rather than respond individually, let me see if I can hit the highlights. This whole thing has gone in directions I never imagined (not all good), so maybe I can round this puppy up.

My horse is not that bad at shows. He gets some “yahoo” by day 3, sometimes a lot of “yahoo”. It leads to tension reactivity and I have to do “things” to assuage that. So far those have included hand walking, grazing, lunging, an extra ride or tack walk, etc. He’s not the best eater at shows, (but he’s not always the best eater at home) because he’s just such busy body plus his lack of turn out. If there is something I can do to help him as he gets more experience and season, I wanted to see if anyone else had input to help him. No more, no less. He’s not a crazy horse that needs retraining to ever set foot at a show and who just can’t cope. I don’t need a competitive edge. (Not that it matters but this is not my first rodeo. I have my silver medal and scores toward gold, working on GP with my older horse currently and while he is a real asshole sometimes, he is quiet as a mouse at the shows and isn’t phased one bit. When the USDF score correction deadline passes today, the younger horse will be the top ranked AA for Training Level and TL KWPN with a median of 75+%. With scores to 80.6%. All done without drugs for either of them. )

I’ve taken to heart some of the pearls here. He likes to please and when he’s a bit bonzo to hand walk by Sunday morning he gets lots of corrections to stay with me and I think it works against me. A quick 10 min lunge to just get his body moving and the ants out of his pants may be the answer to then be able to walk around. I’ve wanted to do as little lunging as possible because he’s young and big and I want him to be sound forever–but he’s not lunged at home and I think 10-15 min of “free” (on the line only, otherwise naked) lunging 1-2 times a day may be one answer. I think soaked hay cubes may be another answer–he likes them and if I save them for a “treat” at shows it may pique his interest more. The shows at Pinehurst have little paddocks–I may try that (although lawdy, I’m afraid to spend that extra money and have him whipping around making himself and other horses crazy, but I won’t know until I try). I may try a double stall in case he’s just claustrophobic by day 3. On the other hand at the Raleigh shows I can bring him home at night (and did at one show), since I sleep in my own bed anyway–I just remembered I did that. But, that doesn’t help when he then has no choice but stay in a stall, on the show grounds, because it is a championship. I think eventually it will work out and I truly thank everyone who had constructive ideas and anecdotes. The rest of you, well…bless your hearts.

Might one of things I try be Perfect Prep or similar? Sure, why not. I don’t see much difference in a supplement that is meant to relax the muscles any different than an ulcer supplement, a legal dose of NSAID for a horse with stiffness being stalled at the shows (don’t need it currently but have in the past with an older horse), a legal dose of steroids (I used to have a horse with terrible sweet itch and he was miserable without it), etc. While these things can be abused for performance enhancement, they can also be used to just make our horses more comfortable and have a better quality of life. (That’s why they are legal and allowable!!) It’s not like horses would go to shows by themselves, they do it for us and at our bidding. The least we can do is to make it as enjoyable as possible (or Hell, at least neutral) for them.

No worries, I got my flame suit on. Thanks again for those who took the time. xoxo