Smartcalm, perfect prep, calming supplements

[Ready_To_Riot]

What do you recommend? Despite years of on and off trying, my mare will not calm down. Now at 14, she needs a permanent job, but again I am faced with the reason I bring her in and out of work. She annoys me. Also, before anyone chimes in, she is in perfect health. No problems, no soreness, teeth are done. Everything in tip top shape. She’s just a hot horse and I should have never bought her in the first place, but here she is and I’m not getting rid of her to allow her to be someone else’s problem! Lol

Anyway, what do you recommend

[KandC]

Probably not the answer you are looking for, but put her in a consistent, rigid program. Consistent, firm work can often be the answer for a hot horse- whether it’s you riding her or someone else. Make yourself a stronger rider- especially with mares, if they can get your number, they’ll take advantage of you. Work with a trainer to figure out how to better ride her. I have a hot mare, and a firm riding program, cross training (running and pilates) and consistent lessons have made a world of difference.

Barring that, if you really just want to feed her something, looking into feeding Mare Magic- she may be hormonal.

What does she do specifically that annoys you? If you two are simply not a good match, no shame in leasing her out or selling her.

[StormyDay]

One of my horses is on quiessence and perfect prep. I find the quiessence had more effect than the perfect prep but since he has been on it he started putting on some weight so he stays on it.
However, I have to say if she is annoying you, she probably would be better in someone elses barn. While it is hard to hear, she may not be a good fit for you and it could be better for the both of you to move on.

[Ready_To_Riot]

She is just a very reactive spooker. I’d rather her sit in my pasture than sell her. She isn’t worth anything since she is 14 and has only been shown at low level things due to the fact that riding at home is damn near impossible. She is great off farm. It’s just at home that she is like this. Has been no matter how much I worker her or where on the farm I do the work. She is herd bound, but not to any one horse. She wants them all in the barn if she is in the barn. If one is out, but all the others are in with her, she flips out in the stall. That annoys me the most. She is not herd bound when riding however. She is just a spaz. Just walking she gets worked up and lathers up in a terrible sweat

I won’t ever let her go because she has been this way with every owner and I’ve spoken with her breeder, her mother was the same way and never calmed down. I won’t take the chance getting rid of her and have the possibility of her ending up in a terrible place or her hurting someone.

[StormyDay]

My horse does the same thing. He hates if it everyone from the herd isn’t in the same place as he is.
He is turned out alone because of it. I tend to purposely make sure he is out when everyone else is in, and the opposite when he is in the barn. He isn’t allowed to be attached to any horses. Also it definitely helps my guy when he is ridden at least 4 times a week.
Also, if she is only being a brat at home she is either hormonal or taking advantage of you.

[Ready_To_Riot]

[QUOTE=StormyDay;8721296]
My horse does the same thing. He hates if it everyone from the herd isn’t in the same place as he is.
He is turned out alone because of it. I tend to purposely make sure he is out when everyone else is in, and the opposite when he is in the barn. He isn’t allowed to be attached to any horses. Also it definitely helps my guy when he is ridden at least 4 times a week.
Also, if she is only being a brat at home she is either hormonal or taking advantage of you.[/QUOTE]

I wouldn’t say she would be taking advantage of me. As she doesn’t get away with anything. Like I said, she is just very reactive and jumping out of her skin kind of thing.

As far as turn out goes, she isn’t turned out with all the horses. Just one other horse, but any of the other horses that walk through the barn or even just move out of their stalls into cross ties, it sends her into a frenzy. She is honestly like anything I’ve ever met.

What makes you think hormonal? I was reading up on hormone issues vs nervous system issues and she is like this ALL the time. Which made me think nervous system, where are everything I read regarding hormones say she should only be crazy when she is in season.

[skydy]

I have no experience with calmers but your vet may have an opinion on what may work best for her.
Are you wanting to ride or hack out at home, or are you just aiming for an overall dialing down of the crazy?

[Ready_To_Riot]

[QUOTE=skydy;8721317]
I have no experience with calmers but your vet may have an opinion on what may work best for her.
Are you wanting to ride or hack out at home, or are you just aiming for an overall dialing down of the crazy?[/QUOTE]

Both. I’d like to be able to work with her at home so I can take her to shows. When I was showing her, I would haul off the farm regularly to work her so I didn’t have to deal with her crazy at home, but I don’t want to have to do that 4-5 times a week.

[KandC]

I know everyone is looking for a faster fix- a calming supplement may help deal with the now, but not fix that actual problem. I’m not trying to be a negative Nancy, I’ve dealt with 2 of my own very similar to what you’re dealing with- one is a spook, bolt, and buck at everything when he feels like it, and the other is a hot, opinionated mare. Both really benefited from me working with them consistently, and it took months before I saw a difference.

When you do ride her, what do you do? What’s your routine? What is she like at home vs. away? Have you checked for ulcers? Ulcers can cause reactive, cranky behavior as well- if you don’t scope, you can’t know 100% they’re not there. If she’s that high strung, she may very well have ulcers.

[Ready_To_Riot]

[QUOTE=KandC;8721344]
I know everyone is looking for a faster fix- a calming supplement may help deal with the now, but not fix that actual problem. I’m not trying to be a negative Nancy, I’ve dealt with 2 of my own very similar to what you’re dealing with- one is a spook, bolt, and buck at everything when he feels like it, and the other is a hot, opinionated mare. Both really benefited from me working with them consistently, and it took months before I saw a difference.

When you do ride her, what do you do? What’s your routine? What is she like at home vs. away? Have you checked for ulcers? Ulcers can cause reactive, cranky behavior as well- if you don’t scope, you can’t know 100% they’re not there. If she’s that high strung, she may very well have ulcers.[/QUOTE]

As I stated above, she is 100% sound and healthy I’m not looking for a quick fix. I’ve been dealing with her for the past 8 years. She is simply a hot horse. More work doesn’t help. Less work doesn’t help. She is just a very high strung anxious animal and I need her to not be. It’s either put her on something or haul off farm to ride. I didn’t make this post for advice on her training or my riding. All I need advice on is if you feed a calming supplement, what do you have the best results with. If you can’t answer that, simply scroll past this please. It truly annoys me that a simple question cannot be answered on this forum. If I want training advice, I’ll call my trainer.

[Dutchmare433]

Could you add magnesium? I know you say sound and healthy, what about chronic Lyme or EPM? I added mag after a training horse tested high-positive for Lyme. After treatment with doxy, he was still super reactive and super sensitive. It really reduced his highly reactive spooks, which were totally out of character for him.

[Ready_To_Riot]

[QUOTE=Dutchmare433;8721356]
Could you add magnesium? I know you say sound and healthy, what about chronic Lyme or EPM? I added mag after a training horse tested high-positive for Lyme. After treatment with doxy, he was still super reactive and super sensitive. It really reduced his highly reactive spooks, which were totally out of character for him.[/QUOTE]

If it were out of character for her, then I’d think something Of it, but I’ve had blood work done on her on several occasions and never tested positive for Lyme. She has been this way her entire life. Her mother was this way. It’s simply bred into her. She is a racing bred quarter horse. They are known for their un level head.

[ladyj79]

I’d probably do a .5 dose of ace daily for riding or chat with vet about longer lasting injectable calming agents.

[findeight]

I wouldn’t go so far as to say race bred QHs are " known for an unlevel head". Had several racing bred QHs and Appendix (including my first 3’ Adult Hunter who had a tattoo indicating he raced) over the years as well as OTTBs and none were any more or less crazy then any other breed.

IME, erratic, unpredictable behavior is largely related to physical issues, not mental defects. Some of those physical issues are due to injury and/or hard work, some are hereditary. We now know of things like Kissing Spines and neck arthritis and better diagnostics are revealing things we can’t see that hurt, within the spine, hoof or joint for example.

What do this mares most recent X rays show and how do they compare with her PPE X rays? How long have you had her?

Many mares are spookier and over reactive due to hormonal issues, that’s why many prefer geldings. Have you tried her on Regumate? Have you tried her on Bute for a week to see if it is pain related?

If you prefer to go the supplement route, products containing Valerian Root usually work better, think Valium on that one. However with no regulation, amount in a supplement can vary so it can give you inconsistent results from batch to batch. Pharmaceutical drugs are a better choice and there are several frequently used as long term tranqs.

Consider mares overall are more intuitive then geldings. She knows you get frustrated with her, maybe hate her and will react and respond to you accordingly. Doubt anything will mask that. Can your trainer help you out at all with a solution?

[Winding_Down]

OP, I would add magnesium. It is the primary ingredients in most calmers and you can give a higher dose than what is included in the calming supplements.

[skipollo]

Do you have a video of her being ridden?

[Pennywell_Bay]

I sympathize. One of mine is similar, excluding the riding- where she thrives, loves to work and is a doll. In her stall- you’d think she was a stallion she freaks out so much. She went to a lease where they said “if we just kept her at shows she’d be great. She’s neurotic in her stall”, and she’d win.

1. Have you talked to your vet about Depo?
2. I used Quiessemce with “meh” results. Mg won’t work if they aren’t deficient via oral route.
3. I tried Mare Magic, see results on post 2. I flirted with trying the leaves and ordering in bulk etc but bagged it.
4. What made the biggest difference for her lately is she’s on Safechoice. She is on modified stall rest so you can imagine the joy. (I swap a min, old pony and goats to keep her company).
5. She’s lived out 24/7, she’s been professionally trained etc etc. she’s a hot horse. I won’t sell her ever, as I worry about her future- except she is a super athlete (and stunningly gorgeous).

Since you (kind of snarkily) made it clear you are not interested in any other type of advice, I’ll refrain, though I never think it hurts to listen to other people. Other perspectives are free- why not sort through.

Other than that: acceptance. There is not a damn thing wrong with mine. I’ve tried everything and “that’s her”, you can’t train, supplement or drug it out of her (tongue and cheek). I’ve switched her to a discipline that better suits her personality, as I stated she’s good under saddle.

[vxf111]

A double dose of Calm-n-cool (which may have undergone a name change) may take the edge off— but I don’t think it or any other oral supplement is going to make sufficient change for what you want. She’s hot and reactive, that’s her personality. You can’t supplement that out of her.

[Displaced_Yankee]

dons flame suit

So this spring I put my youngster on the daily feed “calmer” Training Day by Perfect Prep. I had started under saddle last summer as a 4 year old and due to work/life/winter/letting him grow, he was essentially out to pasture for 6 months.

My plan was to start him on a 30 day back to work sort of plan (as not to blow his mind or cause any injury). However, I found my now 5 year old goofy, spooky and much more balanced then when I first backed him. After some tense/reactive rides, even just walking, I knew I wasn’t getting the benefit I had hoped out of the 30 day back to work program. He was to smart, knew his balance with me on him and it was getting worse. In April he had his teeth done, vet check, chiro and saddle adjusted as I wanted to give him the best restart I could.

So I started him on the Training Day. And it helped. Even my farrier noticed (without prompting). I used it to take the edge off and get relaxed, positive and workmanlike rides. Soon my rides were improving. I weaned him down to half a dose and have recently taken him off of it completely. He is still “on alert” as I venture out down the trails and out of the ring, but since his work program has been reestablished, I feel that I can work through it on my own.

Also, when I started him last summer he was at my trainer’s, although I did all the backing. Now he is back home so I also had some anxiety about riding on my own. He just HAS to be a good boy. And now I am comfortable riding him when my boyfriend isn’t here, I haven’t lunged him in months and I can just go hop on him. I attribute this to establishing a workmanlike routine, which Training Day was a tool I used to get there.

[Jumper_Princess1988]

I tried several calming supplements on my super hot TB gelding at our barn…didn’t work. We ended up moving barns a year ago (long story), but he’s a completely different horse now - after we switched out his feed!!! He was getting high volume, crappy feed before, chock full of molasses and alfalfa. Now he’s on less volume of a higher quality feed and we make sure he gets the no molasses version. Still a very spirited horse (in a good way), but no longer scary. In fact, I rode him past a guy with a leaf blower the other day and he didn’t even react.