Candidate for a calming supplement?

[alishaarrr]

I’m wondering if my gelding (10yo ISHxWB) would be a candidate for a calming supplement. He is not a “hot” horse and does not seem particularly stressy or anxious, but I am curious if a supplement might help some of the following things:

He has a hard time focusing; he is easily distracted and gets bored very quickly – one trainer says he is “always daydreaming”. He is constantly looking around the yard for activity and gets preoccupied by other horses; if they are around it is quite difficult to get his attention and manners can go out the window. He’s a pretty different horse when ridden in our indoor and our outdoor – does much better work in the indoor because he actually concentrates.

He has been such a bully in the field that he’s now on solo turnout. He also aggressive toward other horses in neighboring stalls (constantly trying to pick fights; lunging at stall bars with his teeth; ears back when other horses pass in the aisle). That has been fine for several weeks until he jumped out of his field last weekend, landed on concrete and feet went out from under him, so skidded on the pavement and got some pretty good scrapes.

Can be fizzy and hard to handle on hacks.

However, in the school he’s a bit of a lazybones, so I’m not sure if a calming supplement is the right fit given that he’s not bursting with nervous energy. Definitely one of those “minimal amount of effort required” types when schooling, but I think part of the issue is that he’s just off in la-la land and not paying attention to the rider? Came to me 4.5 months ago pretty unresponsive to the aids, so we are working on that and trying to establish a more consistent forward way of going, but I do wonder if something to help with focus might also put him in a better working frame of mind.

Finally, he’s quite physically sensitive so can be fussy to handle at times (was an absolute nightmare for the vet to clean up aforementioned scrapes; sedated heavily but still kicking like a mule, and has continued to do so with attempts to cold hose those scrapes all week).

In spite of the sluggishness in the school, he does strike me as being low-grade edgy most of the time (tense, grumpy, agitated, and so on).

If this does sound like a horse that would benefit from a supplement, I’m wondering about magnesium-based vs. something purely herbal – have had recommendations for both but not sure which would make most sense.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be a big help. Thanks in advance.

[Marla_100]

Have you considered Ulcers?
Magnesium wouldn’t hurt to try. It does wonders for the neuro-muscular system if horse is deficient. And many horse show
improvement in concentration relatively quickly.
What’s his diet?
Some high carbohydrate feeds can drastically change a horse’s behavior.
What’s his turnout situation?

[alishaarrr]

I have considered ulcers and discussed with my trainers … he is such a sensitive horse that I feel like he’d be letting us know if he was in discomfort or pain, but he’s really not expressed signs of them. I have waffled on giving him a preventive dose of omeprazole just to rule it out.

He’s on Pure Easy feed (https://www.purefeed.com/product/pure-easy/) with ample, quality hay and 5-6 hours of daily turnout with decent grass.

[C-Monster_sHuman]

I’d try the magnesium, too. FWIW, it took about two weeks on it to have a very noticeable difference.

Have you had bloods pulled to test hormone levels or check for other imbalances? From your description of your horse’s behaviour, he sounds rather aggressive, and perhaps his alpha drive is fueling his distraction. I’m quite skeptical that a calming supplement would affect those behaviours. Perhaps he is a cryptorchid or was gelded late?

[Gardenhorse]

If the magnesium doesn’t work, I would more seriously consider ulcers. You say he doesn’t show any signs of pain or anxious behavior, but you also say he is low-grade edgy most of the time and physically sensitive. Those could be symptoms that he is physically uncomfortable.

[Color_of_Light]

@alishaarrr

… he is such a sensitive horse that I feel like he’d be letting us know if he was in discomfort or pain, but he’s really not expressed signs of them.

Sure he is. He’s trying to tell you that something is wrong the only way he can: by his behavior. By your own description, he is irritated and unhappy. Something is out of whack in his body, but what? Based on your description below, it doesn’t sound like he needs a calming supplement. You could go the route of guessing and trying a few things, like ulcer medication and magnesium, or have a vet do an exam to figure out what is bothering him, and test vitamin and mineral levels, check for a retained testicle and test his testosterone, and scope for ulcers.

hard time focusing; he is easily distracted

lunging at stall bars with his teeth; ears back when other horses pass in the aisle

Can be fizzy and hard to handle on hacks.

However, in the school he’s a bit of a lazybones, Came to me 4.5 months ago pretty unresponsive to the aids (maybe he’s stoic type and he’s shutting down because of some of discomfort?)

Finally, he’s quite physically sensitive so can be fussy to handle at times (was an absolute nightmare for the vet to clean up aforementioned scrapes; sedated heavily but still kicking like a mule, and has continued to do so with attempts to cold hose those scrapes all week).

he does strike me as being low-grade edgy most of the time (tense, grumpy, agitated

[RedHorses]

My horse’s focus did improve with magnesium. It allowed him to learn self control through various other training and exercises.

It made enough of a difference by itself that I wish I had tried it earlier and made his life that much better.

”‹