Hi all… opening this up for discussion as there are a lot of new products out. Looking to see what calming supplements are really helping your hot / anxious / spooky animals.
I have tried Smartcalm, Quiessence, and confidence EQ with very minimal results. USEF legal would be a huge plus!
Has anyone tried Zylkene? Thanks in advance.
aascvt-I have had better luck with an overall management strategy. I feed a high quality low NSC level feed, the best hay I can get, and as much turnout as possible.
I know that wasn’t what you asked-sorry. I tried lots of calming supplements with the very forward Connemara pony that I hunt, and they weren’t any help. What did help was lots of patience, repetition, and as as much turnout and as little concentrate as possible.
Good luck.
Total Calm and Focus works great on my spooky horse. I started with full tube but now use 1/2 tube , give it a hour to start working. I was completely surprised it worked. I have been using it about 3 months now,give it to him before I load him its about a 40 minute trailer ride to where I ride and when we arrive he is so well behaved. I’ve had him 10 yrs and he has had 3 trainers but all agree he is ADD so this lets me get his attention.
Magnesium
If this thread takes off, be prepared for a lot of comments that will tell you nothing is “USEF legal”. Some things may not “test” but that does not make them legal. Technically, you may never get busted for them but it does not mean you have not violated the spirit and the letter of the rule by using these substances during a recognized show.
Following on from the discussion about dietary supplements in the Horse Care section, I’d have to say: it depends on what is causing the behavior that you want to change. If the horse has a deficiency in a specific mineral such as magnesium that is known to cause anxiety problems, then feeding that mineral might help. If the horse does not have a deficiency, it probably won’t help.
In general, spooky and anxious are problems associated with training and management. “Hot” is more a description of energy level.
No one wants a spooky or anxious horse.
Some people want a hot horse, and some don’t. Hot per se is not a bad quality; it is necessary for high performance and speed sports. But a given hot horse might be too much horse for a particular rider.
The obvious time tested ways of handling excess energy is diet (less grain), turnout, and more exercise.
I think that until you have made all those changes in lifestyle, and done some confidence-building in-hand work for the spookiness, it’s a bit pointless to be looking for a magic bullet in a supplement, unless you are going to outright tranquilize the horse every time you ride. That of course works, but it isn’t show legal.
Xanax is said to be quite effective… oh… you meant for the horse…
[QUOTE=222orchids;9039923]
If this thread takes off, be prepared for a lot of comments that will tell you nothing is “USEF legal”. Some things may not “test” but that does not make them legal. Technically, you may never get busted for them but it does not mean you have not violated the spirit and the letter of the rule by using these substances during a recognized show.[/QUOTE]
I’ll make this comment. Couldn’t have done it better myself, 222orchids.
And to underscore: Using a chemical that is intended to “enhance performance” is illegal, whether it can be detected in the blood/urine or not.
Perfect Prep Training Day made a world of difference on my mare when I was bringing her back into work after an extended injury/time off. I was not able to longe her because of the nature of her injury and I preferred not to die. I have used other things but PP Training Day has worked the best for me.
Ok… perhaps I should have mentioned the following things. It seems that some of you are making assumptions about who I might be and what I’m doing with this horse.
This horse has an abundance of the following in her life:
I’m not looking for shortcuts… that’s not my thing. I just have sympathy for my horse and I do everything possible to make her life easier. I’m not trying to make my hot horse a hunter via chemicals. She is a jumper and I love her hotness, but there are times (mostly WINTER which is why I don’t care as much about USEF rule) where she is SO wound that she is constantly working against herself.
BTW, I completely disagree with the comment about spookiness being related to training. That just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Anxiety, perhaps. I bought this horse as an unbacked 2 yr old. She has always been this way. I love hot horses and have gravitated toward them all of my life. Wanting to make her winters a little easier does not mean that she is too much for me.
MVP, not everyone that seeks to decrease their horse’s anxiety and nerves is seeking to enhance performance. I’m not with a BNT trying to WIN at all costs.
If you think winter is the reason for an increase in hotness, well, spring seems to be your answer. 
Personally, I’ve had luck with an established routine and Quiessence on my gelding (no showing for him) who got hotter when he moved to 24/7 pasture life. He is a bit herdbound to mares that share a fence line…and he was eating a lot more alfalfa than he had previously. He was twitchy and nervous…just an overall mess. The routine helped him realize he got to go back to his mares after being worked…and the Mg helped balance out the Ca in the Alfalfa. He’s not perfect, but he is rideable and enjoyable.
If you don’t want people to make assumptions, you need to provide enough information so the board knows you’ve addressed feed/turnout/work before going to calmers…which should be a last resort. There are so many different levels of horsepeople on this board, it’s not fair to expect them to make an assumption that you HAVE addressed those things.
Spooking has TONS to do with training/the rider on the back. It’s why a horse may be hot/spooky under one rider and not under another. The relaxed rider who is not waiting for a spook will often not get a spook because the horse understands that the rider is in charge and is communicating confidence to the horse. The rider waiting for the spook will often increases the chances of the horse spooking.
Also, spooking can be a sign of a distracted mind. When a rider is really making a horse work, spooking often diminishes. So yes, spooking is related to training and quality of the ride/rider.
Is your horse turned out with other horses or on her own? It makes a huge difference to my horse to be in a herd situation. He is much more calm and confident in himself. Turn out alone, although with in sight and sound of other horses is not the same for him. Horses turned out alone miss the benefit of the herd dynamic-- turn out is IMO a lot to do with socialization as well as eating and exercise. A lone horse may feel like it is on constant sentry duty and cannot turn off the high alert while ridden.
I’ve done a fair bit of ground work, and watched others do it with horses that are hotter and spookier than my horse, and it absolutely does work. I mean the kind of slow quiet work with props and obstacles that trains the horse to understand that you are never going to put him in a dangerous situation, but you might ask him to do some odd stuff. Also that gives both of you a protocol for coming back down to quiet after a scare. The more the horse gets exposed to, the less will startle him. Western trail and working ranch trainers put a lot of time into this phase of training, but English competitive disciplines as a rule don’t, and tend to assume that the level of nervousness or spookiness in a given horse is just a constant. Now I realize that horses will spook bigger on days they have lots of energy, and will be more wound up on cold or windy days. And some of them will spook for fun, or as an evasion. But some attention to “training for courage” will reduce that, even if it doesn’t eliminate it forever and in all situations.
Work dependably? Ace? Reserpine? Career change?
We have a couple horses similar to yours in my barn. All on 12+ hour turnout in large 20 acre field, high quality hay and alfalfa (24/7), and quality grain.
We have found a mix of things that work, depending on the horse. Magnesium is a cheap solution and seems to work on many in the barn, but not all. But one Canadian WB it does wonders on.
We have used Vita-calm (not USEF safe) and it works great but you have to make sure your girls is off for 7 days prior to show.
I have found for my OTTB and actually has worked on any horse on it, is Shen Calm. It is a Chinese herb that is completely 100% legal and un-testable. I have shown my horse on these products, been tested, and no issues. You can up or down the dose depending on your horse. Most states require a vet prescription however if you call Farmvet via phone they can drop ship it to you.
http://www.vetacupunctureatl.com/uploads/5/9/8/9/59894191/shen_calmer.pdf
[QUOTE=aascvt;9040185]
MVP, not everyone that seeks to decrease their horse’s anxiety and nerves is seeking to enhance performance. I’m not with a BNT trying to WIN at all costs.[/QUOTE]
Doesn’t decreasing a horse’s anxiety and nerves via chemical means amount to enhancing performance?
“Enhancing performance” happens… even if you don’t win with the performance you get.
Look, you bought a hot horse (maybe on purpose, maybe with her degree of unrideability unknown since she was an unbacked two-year-old at the time). And you like hotness… but apparently not quite the amount this horse has. If this really is a “genetic” thing and a salient part of her personality, not one improved by great management, I see why you’d want to turn to chemical help.
That still doesn’t make it legal.
Most of the people who start down this road have what you do: They already own the horse. It’s good in many respects but lacks the degree of rideability they need. They have modified what they can about the horse’s care and training. They don’t want to sell this animal and buy one that has “all that plus a better mind” so they drug what they have.
I firmly believe there is a middle ground. Some horses are just wired a little hotter, and yes, making them safe for their owners might involve some supplements. I really don’t see why people get their panties in a twist over it. As the OP stated, not everyone is seeking to win ribbons; they just want their horse to be a little bit easier to handle. That is not a crime.
There are some good suggestions on this thread, particularly those that refer to taking a management approach and looking at feed, daily handling, groundwork, more exposure to more things, etc. YES, supplements can be part of that combination. I would only suggest to try one thing at a time - and give it a few weeks or even months - so you know which change influenced your horse’s behavior. Good luck!
I have tried Smartcalm, Quiessence, and confidence EQ with very minimal results. USEF legal would be a huge plus!
They didn’t work because your horse isn’t deficient in those vitamins/minerals. That’s how calming supplements work–for example a horse deficient in magnesium might be tense/wiry/anxious. Adding SmartCalm Ultra (10,000mg of magnesium) will help them settle because their diet is more balanced and correct. I had my young horse on SCU for about a year because I suspected he might’ve been deficient. I was able to wean him off if it as his diet changed and improved. Now he just gets Ultium and hay (or grass when pasture is good.)
I mean the kind of slow quiet work with props and obstacles that trains the horse to understand that you are never going to put him in a dangerous situation, but you might ask him to do some odd stuff. Also that gives both of you a protocol for coming back down to quiet after a scare. The more the horse gets exposed to, the less will startle him. Western trail and working ranch trainers put a lot of time into this phase of training, but English competitive disciplines as a rule don’t, and tend to assume that the level of nervousness or spookiness in a given horse is just a constant.
^^^^this x 1000. The way a horse rides is a reflection of how they are on the ground, and how they are on the ground is a reflection of their relationship with you. For whatever reason, the horse does not find comfort/trust/confidence in her current situation.
You might be carrying tension in anticipation of her spooking/being hot, you may not be as balanced as she needs you to be, she might not be physically strong enough to do what’s being asked of her and she doesn’t know what else to do, none of us have any way of knowing because we haven’t seen you ride. I say all of these things as a person who used to do all of those things. My riding had to drastically improve so that my horse could improve. He went from anxious and frantic all the time to being able to save my hiney when I get tired out on XC, and I attribute almost all of that to me becoming more effective thus making him more confident and comfortable in his job.
It’s not as easy as scooping powder into their breakfasts, but it’s a lot more beneficial in the long run. Good luck.
Maybe she just isn’t the right horse for you as a rider. I’m not suggesting that you aren’t a good rider or that the horse isn’t a good horse. What I’m suggesting that your personalities aren’t a good match; if she is getting lots of turnout, isn’t being overfaced in training, then she is naturally what she is. If you don’t like what she is naturally, then she isn’t the right horse for you.
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