Husband horse is an arab, and is just go-go-go all the time. Even with tons of lunging or round pen, he still is just adgetated. I'd love to give him something to just take the edge off while husband and him work together. (Horse has been left out for about 2 yrs with only 2-3 rides a year.)
They do great together, and he is far from 'crazy'. But I'd like something to just get him to calm down a bit. I use smartpak equine supplements. Would just their basic calmer work or be enough? Thoughts?
Barn buddy has her TB on ultracalm supplements, and it seems to work on him well, so I was torn as to which one to use. Do you think the mare supplements would take the edge off?
I tried smartcalm and it did NOTHING to my arab at all. Nor does the mare magic.
I have also used the expensive one...Confidence Plus...and he was ok on that, but it made him itchy.
Quietex was the best for me.
Ok, thanks I'll see what I can do w/ it My supplement pack is suppose to be here this week. So debating on getting it in single doses, or waiting till next month.
This is the same mentality that has all our kids sitting in school drugged because they , Oh god forbid, act like kids. Try some ground work and exercise.
Oh my god, I never thought of that!! Thanks! Should I feed my horse too???
That would be a really good idea.
I do a ton of groundwork and ride my horse on a nearly daily basis. But thanks for making assumptions. My horse is a rescue and an abuse case who had severe anxiety and fear issues. The calming supplement takes the edge off of his fear. What a crutch.
FYI, Valerian (which is what the active ingredient in Quietex is) is not even remotely comparable to any kind of prescription drug.
Joe would you care to ride my entirely anxious mare? She's on smartcalm because she's so uptight thqt she developed ulcers last year. I also hae ADHD and am currently working on a paper regarding the overdiagnosis and overmedicating of children. I don't believe that the purpose of thia thread has anything to do with that same mindset.
Bacj on topic, like I said, I use SmartCalm and it works for me. But every horse is different so you may have to experiment. A month's worth of SmartCalm is about $20 and it takes two weeks of daiky dosing to take effect, which isn't all that long. Posted via Mobile Device
Bacj on topic, like I said, I use SmartCalm and it works for me. But every horse is different so you may have to experiment. A month's worth of SmartCalm is about $20 and it takes two weeks of daiky dosing to take effect, which isn't all that long. Posted via Mobile Device
Thanks, Poseidon. I spoke w/ the smartpak people, and my vet about it after posting. And I think I'm tossing up starting with vitamins, like smartcalm, or going herbal, with quietex.
I just ordered my first pack of smartmare balance from smartpak. I can't wait to get it and give it a try. I have a mare that I am in absolute love with but she is quite witchy no matter if she is in heat or not. I rode her every other day and when I didn't ride her, I lunged her but she still had an attitude problem. I am hoping this works for her and calms her down. Good luck.
myQHpaul, you shoukd shoot me a PM when you get it and how it works out. I read about SmartMare when I got some stuff in the mail and thought about trying it. Abby doesn't have her panties in a knot when she's on SmartCalm, but she's also very marish and tends to forget that I call the shots sometimes. Posted via Mobile Device
I know, Raven is the same way. I had a professional ride her and it seems like the more experience the rider has, the more she fights them. I'm just getting back into riding after a 15 year break (have been riding regularly now for 3 years but am in no way a pro) and we work well together but she does a lot of head tossing and fighting when I ask her to go another direction in the arena. I was going to have to sell her because she was so ornery but thought I would try this as a last resort. We're all keeping our fingers crossed that it does the job.
Abby calms down and does eveythig asked of her with the lightest of cues...but it takes 20 or so minutes of fighting her from going where she wants and whatever speed she feels like (which is usually pretty darn fast). I definitely curse and call her some colorful terms. :-D Posted via Mobile Device
I was told to stay away from mares but when I saw her, something in my heart gave way and I fell for her hook, line, and sinker and I bought her. She has learned some bad habits after being a pasture pet for 2 years so needs to relearn everything from head position to moving from behind. She has so much potential that I think if she calmed down and remembered to trust me, we would make one amazing team. I don't want to give up on her. I will keep you posted on her progress when the suppliments gets here. I should have it to start on Saturday and am hoping to see even some small results 2 weeks later.
My arab would become agitated when his saddle didn't fit. Drove me nuts finding the right fit. As soon as I mounted he dropped his head and walked off relaxed. All a lot of lunging does in increase the horse's stamina unless you run him to exhaustion. Then he shouldn't be ridden.
I've tried Mare Magic and Calm & Cool. Neither made a difference. I have put my mare on daily psyllium since she seems inclined to colic, and that may help a little. What has helped a lot more is A) ground work (not exercise, but ground work to teach her how to calm down) and B) working on my riding. She also is better behaved without a bit, although my gelding likes his bit OK.
The last couple times I've lunged Abby, she's been pretty good and our ride following went really well. I am fully aware that my personal saddle does not fit, which is why I have been borrowing one and plan on buying a new one very soon. However, Abby acts vey differently when her saddle is hurting and she is annoyed/frustrated an when she's just high strung. She used to be unbelievabky herdbound before i put her on a calming supplement too to the point where I didn't feel safe riding her. And even on it this spring, she tore down a small fence after all ofthe inside horses wer brought in. Thankfully she has calmed down enough now that she has yet to do it again as she is once again the only outsde horse. Posted via Mobile Device
Valerian has a particualrly pungent which our cats love. Use to relax and calm horses without affecting perfomance. Excellent to help relieve nervousness, stress and anxiety. Use for stomach cramping, flatulence, colic and bronchial spasms. Externally the oil is used as a rub for muscle tension and cramps.
Can you show me where it is proven detrimental, please?
Thanks!
It truly depends on what you mean by "proven" (statistics or medical research). :wink: I'll look up my old emails if I saved it (it's been 2 or 3 years since I've read the article). Will post the link if I find it.
To be honest with you I googled after I failed to find it in my mail folders, and I couldn't find anything on stomach issues in long run. So at this time I wonder if it wasn't proved or something (and was taken off the Internet). If you'll be able to dig out something, could you, please, share.
I didn't read through all the posts, but what your horse needs is exercise, not a calming supplement! It's surprising what some consistent exercise will accomplish. :lol:
Really, I think it's sad people feel they need to "calm" their horses, when what they really need to do is get them out and work them. Ride some hills, trot, canter, go on a trail ride for 5 hours. Those are the types of things that calm horses.
I've owned two Arabians and a fiesty Fox Trotter and I never lunge. I just hop and and RIDE. Don't hold them back, let them burn energy under YOUR terms. I do all my faster gaits on the way out (away from home) and ask them to walk coming home. If you burn enough energy they will learn to conserve it.
I think it was Clinton Anderson that said his horses are nice and calm because they don't know when he climbs on them if he is getting off at 7:30 AM or PM. So they have learned to conserve energy.
It's like dog breeds. Some dogs are not good for apartments. Arabians are like that. They were bred to have endurance and a lot of go. It's what makes the breed excel as trail and endurance mounts. It makes me sad to think people want to "calm" them. Calm comes from mileage.
Riding riding and more riding will calm the horse.
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