Best Calming Paste for the beach?

[coppertoneottb]

Hello! I am taking my 5 year old OTTB to the beach on Sunday. He is very high strung and gets extremely nervous in new places. I have made a ton of progress with him and new places and he has seen water before (like small creeks, never waves with foam), but there is going to be a lot going on on Sunday and I don’t want him to be an absolute nightmare.

I was thinking of Perfect Prep Supreme or Confidence Eq. The trailer ride is about 1 1/2 hours away and I wanted to give it before we go. Before anyone says its not good to drug them, I am not even planning on riding him, I just want him to be manageable and not take off down the beach. He can be pretty jumpy and I just want him to be able to relax so the whole time he isn’t freaking out.
Does anyone have a product that they think will really help him? Or any ideas to help keep him calm? He is going with a calm buddy horse, but we are going with a group of about 12 other horses that will likely be galloping around.

[beowulf]

Why not try ace instead? It’s what we’ve done for some of the first-timers for foxhunting and beach trips.

[nu2u]

Seems like a LOT to go through a long way from home just for an ‘experience’…Why not try some new places closer to home with smaller groups until he is a bit more manageable before the beach, or any place that is not so far away, so ‘different’ and so ‘unequipped’…you said it yourself “there is going to be alot going on”

[PeanutButterPony]

I’d ace the snot out of him, wear gloves and use a longe line with a chain.

wait - no. I’d go to the beach and take pictures. He’d stay home and grow up

[IPEsq]

I’ve tried the PP Supreme. It helped my boy focus, get a tiny bit braver, and quit some of the voices-in-my-head random spookiness in a new environment. So, it can take the edge off the jumpiness, but it’s not going to keep him from wanting to gallop off with the others. It seems to help ease anxiety but not really have a tranquilizing effect like Ace.

[CatPS]

I agree with nu2u. It is important to set him up for success, and a big part of that is introducing things at the right time. It doesn’t sound like he’s ready for this.

That said, I wouldn’t hesitate to use Ace to help an inexperienced sensitive horse relax the first few times away from home. Giving it under the tongue is easy and effective.