New horse, dont like his diet.. Wanting to change it .. advice please!

Hello all..

My 4yo gelding is currently on molichop and calming conditioner with garlic powder..
The reason he is on calming conditioner is because his previous owner didnt trust him and tried to restrain him with all kinds of gizmos and gagets, and including his diet!.. not I am coming to an end of the current stock of feed I have for him, and doing a little bit of research I would like to keep him on some kind of calming supplement as he gets really tense and stressed out on hacks.

I am thinking '5 start magic calmer' from robinsons, it doesnt seem too extreme.. but seems like he would relax a little when out and about. The only thing is, what to replace the calming conditioner with? As I don't think hed be too pleased with a 'chop and garlic' feed !!

Thank you xx

PLEASE take him off the garlic ASAP!!! I can't remember where but I read some where that it is toxic to horses!

As for the calmer. I personly think he needs more training. I don't know much about calmers but I can't imagen them being good for a horse.

Myhorsesonador-
Garlic, if fed at high enough doses for a long enough period of time, can cause a horse to become slightly anemic.

"There is a toxic element in Garlic called N-propyl disulfide which can change an enzyme within a horse's red blood cells, it depletes the cell of a chemical known as phosphate dehydrogenase - whose task is to protect the blood cells from damage caused by oxidation When the level of phosphate dehydrogenase gets too low the hemoglobin in the blood cell oxidizes and forms a bubble. This is seen as being deformed as it passes through the spleen and is removed from the bloodstream. If the blood is consistently poisoned by N-propyl disulfide contained in a garlic supplement more red blood cells are removed and the horse may slowly become anaemic.
Researchers fed a healthy horse 1 lb of onion tops, which also contain N-propyl disulfide, over an 11 day period. By the 11th day the horse had lost almost 60% of his red blood cells and was severely anaemic!
Some vets claim that the toxic effects of garlic are gradual - a low dose fed on a regular basis can result in mild anemia.
However it may be that commercially prepared equine garlic supplements are not dangerous as the active ingredient -allicin - is often destroyed during the manufacturing process when heat dried.
The benefits of garlic are many and if you do decide to feed a garlic supplement just be careful not to overdo it."


From Feeding Garlic to Horses - benefits and dangers. Bold from quote not mine.

ooooooo ok thanks for posting that!

No I didnt think so either, but id rather his hormone levels be in check and is muscles relaxed rather than tense and his concentration elevated than him bucking, rearing, bolting, planting.. the entire lot when im trying to introduce him to new things... it needs to be done, so ill do it safely a few times with a MILD calmer then take him off and try again in areas he now knows..

He is stabled right next to a primary school which backs onto a very large housing estate and busy bus ways... infact the entire town is houses, so he needs to get used to traffic, kids, people out and about and I can't risk him potentially killing a toddler trying to pet him when he spooks. Calmer is the way forward for a short period of time I think. I hate the idea of them, but if it saves injury or un-necessary stress.. so be it.

Please note I am looking to use a low-strength calmer. There are others on the market that you administer in a syringe that take affect instantly. The one I am looking at only takes effect when his hormone levels rise too high.. for example when he is stressed.

I have my gelding on Quiessence - Horse Calming Supplements from SmartPak Equine He's pretty spooky on the ground and paws and is just a very tense horse, having him on the supplement helps, he doesn't paw and he's less spooky

Thank you Rachel1786.. Its nice to know someone else is on a calmer for the same reasons as me :) xx