Calming supplement advice

[Eptennant]

I am hoping to get your advice on where to continue with calming products. I have a 2009 Oldenburg gelding. He is an excellent show horse - we compete in hunters - and not nervous as a general matter. But he is very distract-able in the saddle and When riding the corners between jumps he is liable to spook. He sometimes takes a look at a jump as well. At home he is usually much worse, taking any opportunity to spook at something on the side of the arena. To be clear, he’s almost perfect on the ground in terms of never spooking. I believe his distraction under saddle is due to a lack of focus / perhaps the overly easy tasks being presented to him? He has been on SmartPak SmartCalm half a year but I can’t say I notice much change. We also tried PerfectPrep Pro Chill paste once but even half a dose was too much more him: I basically had no horse. He’s a leg ride already.

Thoughts? Thank you!!

[Renn_aissance]

@Eptennant

I believe his distraction under saddle is due to a lack of focus / perhaps the overly easy tasks being presented to him?

You can’t treat boredom and learned inattentiveness with a supplement. You can treat it by riding the horse. Do proper flatwork (lateral work, figures, transitions within and between gaits.) Every time you lose him to watching bluebirds, ask him to do something. Learn to recapture his attention and keep his brain on his business, which is whatever is inside the ring, not whatever he is inventing to look at outside of it. But have mercy on the fellow and actually give him something to think about more than going around and around and maybe doing a circle.

And if you think he’s bored, go trail ride.

This is such a warmblood thing. Any reasonably clever horse will invent ways to amuse himself but it seems to be primarily warmbloods who spook at their inventions.

[Eptennant]

Well said!

[beau159]

@Eptennant

I am hoping to get your advice on where to continue with calming products. I have a 2009 Oldenburg gelding. He is an excellent show horse - we compete in hunters - and not nervous as a general matter. But he is very distract-able in the saddle and When riding the corners between jumps he is liable to spook. He sometimes takes a look at a jump as well. At home he is usually much worse, taking any opportunity to spook at something on the side of the arena. To be clear, he’s almost perfect on the ground in terms of never spooking. I believe his distraction under saddle is due to a lack of focus / perhaps the overly easy tasks being presented to him? He has been on SmartPak SmartCalm half a year but I can’t say I notice much change. We also tried PerfectPrep Pro Chill paste once but even half a dose was too much more him: I basically had no horse. He’s a leg ride already.

Thoughts? Thank you!!

I’ve never really seen a “calming” supplement actually work. Because in reality, most issues are a training issue.

If the horse’s problem is “lack of focus” then it is the rider’s job to get the horse focused on them.

If the horse’s problem is that it is “too easy”, well, that’s not really a problem - again, it’s the rider’s job to ride the horse through the task, no matter the difficulty level.

If the horse is spooking at things outside the arena while they are in the show pen, what can the rider do ahead of time to make sure the horse is laser focused on the rider?
Or, is the rider subconsciously looking for things outside the ring … anticipating the horse to spook from them? Etc. Lots of scenerios here.

I guess myself personally, I would NOT be looking for a supplement to deal with this issue. It’s training and preparation. IMO.

[albytb]

I find some nerves/spookiness can be because of an upset gut, which is incredibly common whenever a horse goes off property. Because of that I always do an ulcerguard dose for every day at a show. If you aren’t doing that already, I’d give that a try over calming supplements. My gelding was that sort of ADHD type at shows, but once I started getting ahead of any gastric upset I had a MUCH more focused and happy horse.

I also agree with the suggestions that this can be a training issue as well.

[SBrentnall]

I had one horse like this, and I found changing his diet to be helpful. In my case, my guy turned out to be sensitive to corn, and switching him from SafeChoice to Renew Gold made him much more focused. I also used Perfect Prep on the first day of a show, which definitely helped.

[TWH_Girl]

@Renn_aissance

And if you think he’s bored, go trail ride.

That’s assuming the horse and rider are both safe and comfortable to do that. Not always the case esp in winter.

[Renn_aissance]

Quite true. Alternatives include walking around the perimeter of the barn or doing leg yields up and down the driveway, assuming it isn’t covered in ice. Equine equivalent of “go touch grass.” Horses need breaks from their routines and a variety of life experiences.

[floppyammy]

Equine Elixirs Positude. It’s seriously a game changer for spooky/distracted horses.

[Pico_Banana]

I use SynChill on an as needed basis. One or two scoops, depending. I find it helps with focus but doesn’t affect “go” like some of the mag heavy products do.

Mostly these days I use it to ease trailer loading.

Although with warm weather headed our way FINALLY and the thought of getting one of the horses back to work after three months off, I also plan to use it to make sure I don’t die the first few rides! I think of it as cheap insurance.

[xQHDQ]

Magnesium supplement worked great on my horse. I tried different one’s and they were all about the same in terms of his behavior. I did a few tests where I took him off the magnesium for a month at a time and then put him on it again and I could definitely tell the difference.
It made him less looky.