I have a 7 y.o. Ottb who is amazing and has lots of potential. He’s ridden 4 times a week in lessons and by my trainer. He also gets lunged on top of that. He’s on Bermuda cause alfalfa makes him too excited and also strategy gx and bran to keep his wait up. I will also be starting him on vita flex health and wellness formula once it arrives. It has b vitamins and l-tryptophan in it though and I’m hoping that helps to calm him down. I’ve owned him for a little over two years and and had him in training 9 months.he’s still very excitable. I’m curious to know peoples thoughts on calming supplements? Particularly one called vision by vita flex and only feeding it to him before rides. But I am skeptical just cause I don’t want to be one of those people who use silly unnecessary tools when it’s just a training issue. Idk which is why I’m seeking advice although I’m going to try the new supplement first to see of it helps. I would just like him to be more focused on me when he rides to get the most out of his training, I’d also like to take him eventing but keep having to push it back cause he’s still too flighty.
I had a similar problem with my OTTB. He was coming along but was still pretty spooky and he was very sensitive about me putting my leg on (that was where we were at with our training at the time). I put off using a calming supplement because I knew it was a training issue but I finally had enough. I had him on Vision for about 2 months and it really made him focus and be less over-reactive about my leg and external stimuli. I used it until he understood the concept of me putting my leg on and then stopped. I used it as a training tool but didn’t want him permanently on it (I’m stubborn). I called it his ADHD meds, it was fantastic.
He is now on stall rest with hand walking for an injury and he was getting dangerous. I put him on Quiessance which is cheaper and magnesium based and supposed to help with tight muscles too. He calmed right down but I think if see better results long term if he was in work or turnout. Both took under a week to start working. I don’t think feeding just before you ride will help much. It seems need to to build up a little.
Another thing that helped was putting him on digestive supplements… I think he had some belly issues that made him spooky and reactive.
Hope this helps.
Thanks a lot this does help! Hearing someone with first hand experience, like you I don’t want to use this long term but more as a tool just to get him to focus. The other day while lunging and he was too busy looking at a horse that when I tugged him towards me he come felt fell down. I’m hoping the accel will be sufficient as it has magnesium, b vitamins, and tryptophan.
Also on the vision container it says you can feed it regularly or an hour before riding
Okay, good luck! I don’t know which are allowed for competing since he wasn’t ready for that when he was on it.
My young horse seems to get extra silly when it’s cold, so going into fall he was starting to overreact to even mild corrections. If he wanted to go left, but I was asking him to go right, I’d ask a little firmer and he would get rushy and have a mental breakdown. He just wanted to rush rush rush. Trotting was quick and short-strided, and he’d get all balled up behind the bit and try to canter sideways.
I treated him for ulcers, and about a week ago I switched him to Triple Crown Senior. It’s good for horses who tend to get nutty. I also started him on SmartCalm (originally Mag5000) a few months ago. The Mag5000 is just magnesium, and SmartCalm has magnesium, tryptophan, B1, all that stuff. It’s only a few $ more (about $20/mo.)
I rode him Sat. and Sun., his first time really working since early November (injury then bad weather.) He’s a bit stiff laterally, and our circles are more like trapezoids, but he is MUCH quieter. He hasn’t tried to scramble and break to the canter once. He doesn’t feel dead to my leg or doped up at all–if I need to gun it with him, he’s still more than willing to go. He’s just much easier to settle and focus.
My OTTB does better on a magnesium supplement like Quiessence. It makes him less “twitchy” and also somewhat calmer. Without the magnesium he’s uber sensitive to touch, to the point where you can barely groom him.
I wouldn’t say that it’s “the” answer – he’s also on low starch feed, a 5-6/day week riding program and 24/7 turnout, but it helps.
I put my CrazyPants mare on Thia-Cal and it really seemed to help her out. I got it through SmartPak!
My horse is also on Quiessence. We started for the muscle tightness issue, and it did help him take a deep breath and calm (possibly because his back was less tense. I’m not 100% convinced the sup actually made him calmer).
I am skeptical of calming sups and leery, as well, since some have banned substances in them (choose carefully). I like to address the need to be calmer with better feed choices (high fat, high fiber, low NSC), more turn out, and common sense approaches to training. THEN, if we’re still struggling to get through, possibly try a calming sup.
I also think a lot of people could stand to learn to deal with their horses’ natural energy levels or select more appropriate mounts. Harsh, possibly, but true. I see a lot of timid riders with naturally energetic and tightly wound critters who try to supplement their way to a more suitable horse.
[QUOTE=yellowbritches;7409874]
I see a lot of timid riders with naturally energetic and tightly wound critters who try to supplement their way to a more suitable horse.[/QUOTE]
This was me with my previous horse. I finally smacked myself and sold him, realizing it was just never going to work work. Not a good fit.
The only real way to battle this long term is to learn how to train your horse to relax, and how to ride the horse properly to encourage relaxation. This can take upwards of 6 months to a year. If your coach can’t do this, then I would look for one who is familiar with high energy Thoroughbreds.
Don’t count out digestive tract issues. Ulcers or lower-grade inflammation can make them reactive, tense, and spooky.
My mare is much happier and more focused and less less reactive when she’s on a probiotic. Makes sense to me-- I’m pretty miserable when my belly hurts.
I think that beyond treating for ulcers which can make a horse crazy you have two classes of calming supplements.
Those that actually physically calm the horse and are thus banned from competition
Those that calm the rider into thinking her horse is calm.
A regular program, a firm hand, and a calm hand are the most important things.
I think the fact that the horse is lunged on top of a 4 lessons a week plus training rides may contribute to its problems. The horse is probably far fitter than it needs to be because it is being lunged. I’ve only ever had one horse that truly benefited
to regularly lungeing, and that was for MAYBE five minutes so he could let loose the hellacious buck he always had. There were days I didn’t even go both ways. Once he bucked, he was ready to go. Most horses that “need” regular lungeing need it because they’re getting to fit from lungeing plus riding! 
Many years ago, in the 80’s, before all these supplements were available, I had a big, strong, hot, opinionated, OTTB mare. Wisdom at the time was to feed a minimal amount of plain crushed oats [no processed feed], free choice timothy hay, and pasture grass without clover or alfalfa. So at 17 hands she was limited to 1 quart of oats twice a day plus timothy and pasture [New Jersey] with no supplements. This strict diet resolved most of her behavior problems. I was a pretty good rider so her energy didn’t frighten me and I learned to respect her occasional moods - mostly due to monthly seasonal swings. Once I sold my little farm and changed to boarding situations the problems resurfaced every time the management determined that she was losing weight - instead of increasing the timothy, they increased the grain or gave her beet pulp. Yes, even the minimal amount of sugar residue in beet pulp was enough to switch her from warm to hot. Today, would I use a calming supplements? I don’t know. But I do know that I became a much better horseman by learning to manage and cope with her energy.
I too am skeptical of calming supplements - but have found that my mare is more focused, and less explosive in turn out when kept on Vita Calm.
I like the ingredients of this product (magnesium, l-Tryptophan, probiotics), the price ($10 a month) and palatability (my mare loves it). I don’t feel like I am “drugging” her, and it doesn’t make a HUGE difference, but I can tell that she is more “up” and fire breathing when she has been off it for a few weeks.
And I also agree with others - getting OVER fit can be a real problem. More turn out, or walking hacks are preferable to settling a horse in my book than lunging.
Vita Calm contains 1000mg l-Tryptophan, 500mg Thiamine, 20mg Calcium, and 2.5mg Magnesium
Also includes Yea-Sacc® 1026 which provides a source of live, naturally occurring beneficial micro-organisms to help promote the best possible digestion, help stabilize cecal and colon pH and encourages healthy digestion and gut stability
[QUOTE=LHL;7410040]
Many years ago, in the 80’s, before all these supplements were available, I had a big, strong, hot, opinionated, OTTB mare. Wisdom at the time was to feed a minimal amount of plain crushed oats [no processed feed], free choice timothy hay, and pasture grass without clover or alfalfa. So at 17 hands she was limited to 1 quart of oats twice a day plus timothy and pasture [New Jersey] with no supplements. This strict diet resolved most of her behavior problems. I was a pretty good rider so her energy didn’t frighten me and I learned to respect her occasional moods - mostly due to monthly seasonal swings. Once I sold my little farm and changed to boarding situations the problems resurfaced every time the management determined that she was losing weight - instead of increasing the timothy, they increased the grain or gave her beet pulp. Yes, even the minimal amount of sugar residue in beet pulp was enough to switch her from warm to hot. Today, would I use a calming supplements? I don’t know. But I do know that I became a much better horseman by learning to manage and cope with her energy.[/QUOTE]
This is a good point as well. Instead of “grain” or complete feeds, I feed my horse free choice grass hay (which means as a boarder, I have to buy and lug my own hay - which I feed in a small hole hay net). My barn, like just about every boarding barn I have been at isn’t really set up for boarders to have their own hay. It is assumed if you are feeding extra feed, you are feeding something pelleted that fits in a can.
Mine gets free choice grass hay, 1 lb per day of a ration balancer designed for grass hay, MSM, and Vita Calm.
If you put her on pounds a day of concreted feed (like most complete feeds call for) she goes pretty bonkers.
Strategy GX calls for around 10 pounds a day to be fed. How much is he getting? Would it be possible to ditch the strategy in favor of more hay and a ration balancer (or vitamin/mineral supplement)?
[QUOTE=yellowbritches;7409874]
My horse is also on Quiessence. We started for the muscle tightness issue, and it did help him take a deep breath and calm (possibly because his back was less tense. I’m not 100% convinced the sup actually made him calmer).
I am skeptical of calming sups and leery, as well, since some have banned substances in them (choose carefully). I like to address the need to be calmer with better feed choices (high fat, high fiber, low NSC), more turn out, and common sense approaches to training. THEN, if we’re still struggling to get through, possibly try a calming sup.
I also think a lot of people could stand to learn to deal with their horses’ natural energy levels or select more appropriate mounts. Harsh, possibly, but true. I see a lot of timid riders with naturally energetic and tightly wound critters who try to supplement their way to a more suitable horse.[/QUOTE]
I’m skeptical about them as well. I don’t know if the SmartCalm is really doing anything, but I definitely think his diet has made a huge difference. He’s not getting bowls of Sugar N’ Starch for his meals anymore.
The SmartCalm probably just makes ME feel better, so for $20/mo. I’m willing to keep him on it for a while :lol:
Thank you all, it’s good to hear other peoples opinions. I have a great trainer with plenty of tb experience. However sometimes I wonder with show season in motion if maybe during the week he’s not gettig the attention I think he is. I’m not using this as a quick fix method and I think I can handle my horse. But I do also recognize I can be very apprehensive with him. But I’m trying to correct it in myself. His feeding regiment was mapped out by his vet so I don’t want to mess with that so much.
My concerns I guess lay more with his “ADHd” as some of you call it, he’s still spooking at same bushes and what not that he has been around for two years. And him trippin and falling the other day cause he’s so unfocused is also concerning. I like the idea of talking to my vet about ulcer treatment although I think he’s fine in that regard. And I will say this I just took a break from work during Christmas where he got out like 4-5 days in a row and he was amazing but then we back peddled.
I often find vets don’t know as much about nutrition as they want us to believe. Sooo, don’t be afraid to do some research and comparison shopping in that respect. A lot of vets recommend certain brands of feed because of deals with that brand or because that’s all they know.
Also, some horses just spook at the same thing, day in, day out, no matter what. That’s who they are. I’ve had UL horses who would not walk past the same trash can they saw every day, but would gallop down and jump a house. My horse can be a total lunatic (there are people on this board who know I do not exaggerate) but when it’s time for him to do his job, he does it. I deal with the hooliganism by being firm, having a very good sense of humor (when you’re horse tries to unload you at the END of a long weekend competing, you have got to be able to laugh), and a good dose of guts. Supplements, lungeing, and other versions of trying to calm him don’t work. It’s who he is. He would be a terribly inappropriate horse for a lot of people. I find his antics far more funny than scary, so we work well together.
I don’t like that he fell down and I would be thinking about a simple neurological exam for that (horses rarely fall down just because they are unfocused. Even the gangly teenage monster of an OTTB I used to have who face planted me in a moment of gangliness found his feet before he went all the way down). I would also talk about ulcers. I would reconsider the feed choices. And then I would learn how to deal with the sillies instead of trying to make them go away via supplements.
Oh and just a clarification he gets out 4 times a week plus one day of lunging and a quick lunge before rides to get get all his quirks out. Lunging is sometimes done in side reins but not always.
