I like smartcaom ultra and it does contain valerian, magnesium and tryptophan. I have an 18 year old gelding that has been on it for 6 years. Helps him a lot
We had one that was very flighty, and spooky. He also had the occasional buck 
We moved him from home to my trainers barn. We put him on 4CC of Depo 2x a month, a scoop of SmartCalm Ultra 1x a day, and 2 scoops of Quiessence 2x a day. We also started night turnout with a friend. Literally a new horse. No spook, kicking quiet, and so easy. I started riding him and couldnāt believe what I had. His program didnāt change much, just 1 pro ride a week. I think the Depo and Quiessence really did it. He was on SmartCalm at home and went out at night. He also started getting acupuncture and chiro done. The chiro (who is also a licensed vet, just doesnāt practice) said he was extremely stiff and up tight. I could feel a huge difference after one session. He also had A LOT of stretches before and after we rode. He wasnāt unsound or anything, she just said that because of his neck stiffness it could be causing a lot of those issues. Maybe try a chiropractor?
Just wanted to add, make sure the supplements donāt test for showing. Perfect prep, quinessence and regumate wonāt test. Valarian does test I believe.
Since she is a mare, I think going with regumate may help you.
Findeight- she is my only racebred horse, so Iām going off what her breeder had told me. Itās nice to know they arenāt all like this. I have owned several mares and never had one like this.
Her x-rays have always been clean and as I said, off farm, she is fine. Not a foot wrong, itās only when she is at home that she is like this.
Iāll definitely ask the vet about depo and see what he thinks.
My trainer thinks she is perfect since I take her off farm to my trainers and like I said, these things only happen at home. Lol
Thanks for all the advice
Smartcalm Ultra worked very well for our OTTB gelding who is extremely anxious and reactive. We donāt ride him anymore, so he isnāt currently on it. I was skeptical when we used it and was fairly surprised when it worked so well. He returned to his anxious self when we took him off. Now we use low dose oral Dormosedan for stressful things (pretty much anything other than being out with his best friend just being a horse).
I have a friend with a mare who is dead quiet in the summer, but in the winter is extremely reactive, spooky, quick, tense, and herdbound. Two years ago she started her on Herbs for Horses Serenity. It worked wonders, within a week the mare was her usual self. She weans her off of it for the summer and starts if again when she starts to get flighty.
I understand where youāre coming from, If someone rode my hunter during the summer they would think heās an easy ammy/childrens horse. In the winter heās spooky and likes to play hard (ie buck, head tossing) after the jumps, and this is a horse on 24/7 turnout. Itās something I can deal with but if anyone less experienced were to ride him I wouldnāt think twice about given him something to take the edge off .
I have tried several different calming supplements for putting horses back to work after extended time off and needing them to stay calm to rehab them (no longeing allowed, need to prevent reinjury, etc.)
I think you basically have to try and see what works best on your horse. But, hands down for me, Perfect Prep training day has worked the best. Really dramatic difference. Downside is it is expensive.
You could try one of the less expensive ones - Quietex pellets, SmartCalm pellets, etc. Both of those also have a paste version so you can use the daily pellets and use the paste as needed.
But, I agree with the poster that said no calming supplement is going to completely change a horse to the point that a hot, reactive horse becomes a bombproof saint. The only thing it might do is make things a little more manageable.
For a mare, Iād recommend starting with regumate, whether or not the issue seems to be related to her cycles. If you arenāt worried about testing at a show, there are a lot of calming supplements that work, some work at first and then seem to stop working with time. Training Day doesnāt test, but it does work quite well. Yes, as others have said it is pricey. Thereās also nothing wrong with 1/2 cc of acepromazine on occasion for a particularly spooky day.
Have you tried taking the horse completely off grass? I had a hot really spooky mare who changed totally when I completely cut her off grass. Much much better . Absolutely no grass.
Iāve used Quiescence and shen calmer. So far, Iām not seeing much of a change at all in a super reactive horse. I would think about an oral dose of Ace to make the ride safe. Appreciate the other recommendations and will look at Training Day for my nut job.
To answer the question that was asked rather than lecturing you on other options you sound experienced enough to know wonāt work, why not just start with the Perfect Prep which is only a $25 investment?
Youāre talking mainly about wanting the horse to calm down at home and this stuff is a USEF sponsor. Weāre not talking about you giving the horse an absurd amount as we know has happened in certain notorious examples. See if it makes a difference and go from there. Basically there are so many options that you will need to experiment and see what works for your horse. If that doesnāt work and youāve looked into feed, etc., then try the depo.
[QUOTE=Ready To Riot;8721258]
I wonāt ever let her go because she has been this way with every owner and Iāve spoken with her breeder, her mother was the same way and never calmed down. I wonāt take the chance getting rid of her and have the possibility of her ending up in a terrible place or her hurting someone.[/QUOTE]
Your long-term interest in your horse is very refreshing. Kudos to you for caring enough not to just unload her on someone else.
I happen to love mares. I would chuck all those calming agents. They make their stomachs hurt. Invest in tons of turnout, some trail rides to get her out of the ring and slow down her brain and GASTROGUARD. Two great feeds are Legends Gastrotech and Legends Carbcare. Maybe some depo or regumate. Mares brains need to slow down. A nice long walk before and after working will do her wonders, whether she is at a show or home. The more she is exposed to the better. You donāt always need to be asking of them. Just let them take it all in. When you use your aides, use one at a time. Explain simply. Mares want to learn and please they are just misunderstood. Sometimes internally nervous. Sounds like both of you need to take a deep breath and I am not being snarky. Patience is a virtue in this sport. Sometimes less is more. Yada Yada.
I second what KandC says - put her in consistant work. I have a gelding that frankly was scary - spook, bolt, buck. Last yr. I had a good trainer come out and give me lessons - maybe it was having someone stand in the middle of the ring - but he except for the first lesson where he bolted once, after that he was wonderful - I rode him six days a wk. gave him the Winter off. Started riding again this yr., he did spook and bolt a little the first two rides and now he is perfect and a pleasure to ride. Its doing the same thing everyday - the repetition and I tell him he is a good boy and pet him on the neck that helps, Iām also more confident and donāt over react when he āseeāsā something in the bushes ect - I just ignore it and carry on. I did ride him with ear plugs and that has helped. ( My friend used mare magic and liked it for their mare - you can buy it bulk for much cheaper).
How many horses do you have at home? I ride at a small private barn and at one point this year we were down to four horses on the property. My mare suddenly had a very hard time leaving the other horses, was panicking when on her own in the barn, looking back towards the other horses when I was out riding her, etc.
Three new boarders came in and suddenly she went back to normal. No problem being in the barn by herself, not seeming to care about the existence of other horses at all.
Having a very small group of horses vs. a slightly larger group made a huge difference to her in terms of being herd bound.
Perhaps with your horse being better at the trainerās (and at shows?), sheās more comfortable in a busier environment.
Magrestore! Itās cheap, itās supposedly the most bioavailable magnesium supplement, and if it works it works fast. Thereās almost no reason not to try it on a reactive tense horse. If you donāt notice a change after a month on it, probably none of the other calming supplements will work either.
Not to hijack this threadā¦
Will any of this stuff help a horse that i just very sensitive? He is not spooky or over reactive to the environment but he so sensitive in the mouth. If your contact isnāt perfect he gets hollow and quick.
What feeds would be good the lower energy levels? Thanks
OP - my semi-retired horse became an utter nutter once I put him in psature 24/7. He is very herdbound and quite ridiculous about it. Itās made him really obnoxious and no fun to ride. Iāve lost my perfect little horse that could be ridden 4 days a week and didnāt care if there was a monsoon going on. Sigh.
I just started him on a Mg supplement. He lost a lot of weight when I moved him to pasture and then decided that the food he had always eaten was unacceptable. I got the weight back on, but it was by adding more alfalfa because it was all he would eat. (in CA we usually feed at least one feeding of alfalfa anyway). I decided to try the Mg because itās quite possible that heās out of balance with all the Ca from the alfalfaā¦and if he didnāt need the Mg, he would pee it out.
Heās been getting the Mg for a bout a week now and I can see a pretty marked difference already. There are a few other factors, but what I would say is, it doesnāt hurt to try. I am also considering Depo shots for him as wellā¦but for now, I can see a difference with the Mg.
ivy62, You could try but I doubt it would work. However it is only a small investment to see, so it doesnāt hurt.
Have you tried a different bit, and gotten the teeth floated recently?
StormyDay- his teeth were just done and he is ridden in a Natheā¦ not much softer then thatā¦
