Calming supplements

[cowgurl1985]

I have a horse that walks his stall alllllllllllllllllll night long. He gets turned out 12 hours a day on pasture and has free choice hay all night long. Leaving him out 24/7 is not an option as we are next to train tracks, no one lives on the farm, and its a busy road. I have tried the hay net to slow down his eating to keep him busy and have hung ropes from ceiling with knots in and several other things to keep him busy throughout the night and nothing seems to work. He also gets very nervous if you take a horse from the pasture(even tho there are still others out with him) and he gets nervous if you start to bring horses in and dont get him first.

I was wondering if anyone has used any calming supplements and do they seem to work? or is it jus a gimmick. I also show and I know some supplements might be prohibited. I am not trying to make him calmer to ride or show that is not my issue he is fine in the show ring. I just hate that he seems upset or nervous out in the pasture and in his stall at night.

Thanks

[SendenHorse]

magnesium works very well. Quiessence is a good start.

[Mad_Mare]

SmartCalm Plus Pellets work well on most horses, and they do not contain prohibited substances.

Quiessence is also good.

Eileen

[caper]

Often this just becomes a habit that is hard to break. My friend had a severe stall walker and it was eventually hurt/affects his joints. She would actually tie him in his stall at night. He calmed right down and didn’t panic. Would just eat his hay from his hay net.

I have seen something interesting in a barn with not enough stalls. They would put two ponies in a shared stall. One would go in and they would fasten/clip a board to act as a divider. It would prevent his from walking.

[KrazyTBMare]

I’ve done all of the calming supplements and the one that actually worked for my anxious OTTB mare was MagRestore by Performance Equine. There are a lot of threads with experiences from other users for you to read.

The nice thing about magnesium esp the MagRestore is that if it is going to work, you will know within 10-14 days at 40g a day. The benefit of this form of magnesium over others is that you can feed more without having loose manure. Also anything the horse doesn’t use is peed out. Also you can order the 1lb bag for $15 and it will last the 10-14 days at 40g a day dosing. Def cheap enough to try and again me personally and many others have found this particular magnesium to really work on horses that need more than just a little help with taking the edge off.

[Hampton_Bay]

Magnesium, but I had NO luck with Quiessence. Magnesium oxide, which is what’s in Quiessence, is poorly absorbed. I use epsom salts, 1/4 cup twice a day for an 1100lb horse, and have had wonderful luck with it.

A lot of people think epsom salts is a laxative so you can’t feed it. But ANY magnesium is a laxative. If you’re noticing soft poop, you’re feeding too much. I use it myself when my muscles get tense.

It may or may not work for a stall walker though. It’s only going to work if the horse isn’t absorbing enough from his current diet to meet his needs.

[horsefaerie]

Equilibrium from Biostar works for some horses. I like that it is food.

Magnesium also helps some horses.

As a last result check with your vet about the possibility of ulcers.

If none of the above it may be a retained bad habit and will damage the joints over time so address that with a joint supplement. I had a mare like that.

[Mad_Mare]

[QUOTE=Hampton Bay;6133803]
Magnesium, but I had NO luck with Quiessence. Magnesium oxide, which is what’s in Quiessence, is poorly absorbed. I use epsom salts, 1/4 cup twice a day for an 1100lb horse, and have had wonderful luck with it.

A lot of people think epsom salts is a laxative so you can’t feed it. But ANY magnesium is a laxative. If you’re noticing soft poop, you’re feeding too much. I use it myself when my muscles get tense. . . .[/QUOTE]

Exactly. Magnesium oxide is not absorbed by the system very well at all. You want to use magnesiums that end in “-ate”, such as magnesium proteinate.

Epsom salts are magnesium sulfate. Far better absorption than magnesium oxide.

As with anything, research and read the labels.

Eileen

[KrazyTBMare]

[QUOTE=Mad Mare;6133881]
Exactly. Magnesium oxide is not absorbed by the system very well at all. You want to use magnesiums that end in “-ate”, such as magnesium proteinate.

Epsom salts are magnesium sulfate. Far better absorption than magnesium oxide.

As with anything, research and read the labels.

Eileen[/QUOTE]

On the same thought, the MagRestore is di-magnesium malate.

[GallantGesture]

My tb used to run frantically back and forth in front of the gate when he was turned out (like a horse that walks the fence, but he ran, sliding stop, spin, repeat), MagRestore has been a miracle cure for him. Another tb in the barn was a horrible frantic weaver/stall walker, and each time she went to the side she would swing her head up and smash her teeth against the wall. It was damaging the wall, and her teeth. She had also worn a hole right through the stall mat. She was also a fence walker in turnout. The MagRestore worked a miracle on her as well.

[valkyrie36]

Is there another horse stalled nearby? Does the company he keeps make any difference? Just wondering if there might be another horse (or other companion animal) that might help him feel calm. I have my doubts that a calming supplement would do enough to change this behavior. My horse will pace in a stall if he’s alone…but is completely fine if another horse is next door. I understand you not wanting to leave him out at night, but if your fences are secure I would probably choose that over him being miserable all night long.

[quietann]

Agree with others that stall walking/pacing may not be helped by a calming supplement.

That said, I’ve had my mare on SmartCalm since mid-2008 and I do notice a difference when she’s off it. I started with Quiessence, but it made her nuts! For her, SmartCalm is more to help with focus than calmness… she is very distractible!

[Mad_Mare]

[QUOTE=quietann;6134553]
. . .That said, I’ve had my mare on SmartCalm since mid-2008 and I do notice a difference when she’s off it. I started with Quiessence, but it made her nuts! For her, SmartCalm is more to help with focus than calmness… she is very distractible![/QUOTE]

Amen to that. Money was tight and I took my mare off SmartCalm for a couple of months. Holy rocket spook, Batman! I put her back on as soon as I could and I’ll not skimp on that again.

Eileen

[keatssu]

Another vote for SmartCalm Ultra. I was very skeptical, but it has worked wonders for my anxious OTTB.

[lucyeq]

Quiessence!

[ise]

You might want to try a stainless steel mirror. We used it for a mare we had that did walk around quite a bit and it worked. A friend used it for a young horse he had that required stall rest for a couple of months. Worked for him as well. He was the one who sold me his when the youngster was off stall rest.
We just drilled holes in it an screwed it to the wall.

[dangerbunny]

I have found Quietex powder to be really useful in helping horses get used to scary situations, I don’t know about using it long term and it you can’t use it at shows but might be helpful in teaching your guy to relax indoors and set up a new behavior pattern.

I used it for getting my mare used to trailering, when she was younger she would get really anxious and sweaty in the trailer, the Quietex took the edge off and helped her relax, now the trailer is no big deal, I feel it helped (in combination with short low stress trips) give her a good experience.

[Cupcake]

I use smart calm ultra on my easily distracted mare. She’s one of those that has to look carefully at every single new thing, three times.

It has really helped. I find that she is just much easier to focus.

She was never super spooky, but I find that adding the smart calm has helped me keep her attention.

[cowgurl1985]

The barn is designed so that the walls in between stalls have spaces in between to help air flow but also the horses can see each other through them. He has horses next to him on both sides as well as across from him. He can hang his head out of the stall door into the aisleway and his pastured with his buddies when he is out. I am not really sure why he seems nervous. He always seems fine when I am around. I never see him pace he always looks completely content and happy but everyone else (other boarders and the owner) has said when I am not around he paces and paces. There is a well defined circle path in his stall every morning. When i ride him he is calm and quiet, rarely spooks at shows he is quiet for the most part. I guess he is only nervous when I am not around. He paces if he is in a stall and he paces if he is out in the pasture. He is hard to keep weight on in the summer. So I make sure to fatten him up a bit in the winter to avoid him being super skinny. The amount of hay and grain my horse gets is completely ridiculous. I just want to make him feel at ease and at this point I am willing to try just about anything.

[LarkspurCO]

Have you treated him for ulcers or had him scoped? This is pretty classic symptoms, and I would explore this first if you haven’t done so already.

I have one that is like that and I tried various calming things with limited success for years. Then I put him on omeprazole (the “pop rocks” from the horse care forum discussions). The pacing was almost completely eliminated within a few days, and he finally started lying down to sleep more regularly.

He has been on a daily maintenance dose for about a year now. Because he is so high strung, I occasionally will give him B1 for a few days in a row (because stressing out depletes this vitamin). Sometimes I have to up the omeprazole for a few days in a row, then drop back to the maintenance dose.

I guess a life of leisure gets stressful sometimes – dang redheads.:rolleyes: