Anyone know of any good calmers?!!

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jojane

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Hi :)
My horse is very full of it and am thinking the times come i may need to think about a calmer?!! does anyopne know of any good ones tried n tested??
Hes always very FRESH this time of yr to say the least.
He knows one speed n its fast,u try and trot n he bounce canters side-wards he wont go anywere but up front hes worse when out with others..
hes a tb x 14yr old,hes on spillers feed if that helps n hay!!!
He does turn in to abit of a monster this time of yr looses his manners,pulls to come in from the field,i was even begining to think he had sad snydrome lol.
Any help greatfull :) hes such a good boy in summer am not use to this lol Xx
 
I have had a horse on box-rest and he was starting to turn into a right stress-head. On vets advice went for on the was pure magnesium oxide. And it's worked a treat. He was dramatically calmer in all aspects and it was relief to see him relax.

Equine America Magnitude. - HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
 
jojane said:
Hi :)
My horse is very full of it and am thinking the times come i may need to think about a calmer?!! does anyopne know of any good ones tried n tested??
Hes always very FRESH this time of yr to say the least.
He knows one speed n its fast,u try and trot n he bounce canters side-wards he wont go anywere but up front hes worse when out with others..
hes a tb x 14yr old,hes on spillers feed if that helps n hay!!!
He does turn in to abit of a monster this time of yr looses his manners,pulls to come in from the field,i was even begining to think he had sad snydrome lol.
Any help greatfull :) hes such a good boy in summer am not use to this lol Xx
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Most 'calmers' as sold by companies are actually just magnesium.

Magnesium deficiency is very common and some of the symptoms are muscular twitching, pain, hoof pain and agitation.

The 'calmers' do not actually calm the horse - they provide the missing mineral (magnesium) and therefore return the horse to their normal state.

Magnitude, Magic and a host of other 'calmers' are just over priced magnesium - often in a cheap form that is unpalatable without all the fillers and sweeteners they add.

You can buy heavy grade, 85% magnesium oxide (the most absorbable form) from here
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAGNESIUM...r_Equipment&hash=item4160a98fb9#ht_1296wt_952

If your horse responds positively to the use of a magnesium based 'calmer' then you can be certain that he is not 'FRESH' or 'full of it', but rather he is deficient in a mineral that is essential for over 300 actions in the body and is crying out for help.

The whole concept of companies selling 'calmers' and pretending they've magically calmed the horse, while keeping the owner in the dark as to what was wrong in the first place really makes me sick:(
 
I would highly recommend calm and condition from Allen and Page. It is well and truly tried and tested! I swear by it and the horses love it! Its more like a sugar beet in that it has to be soaked for about 10 mins before adding to food (I usually do mine overnight) Ive tried a few of the powdery supplements but none have worked for me really and this has! Also, its only about £10 for a 20kg bag so no need to waste loads of money on the magnesium based supplements. :)
 
Calm and condition isn't a calmer, it's a feed. So called Calm and Condition as it adds condition without containing any heating elements such as cereals.

The BEST calmers I've found are:
- Long Term: EquiFeast Cool, Calm and Collected- My horse has been on this for 18 months and it's really helped his attitude towards work, he's more willing to learn and spends more time with four feet on the floor rather than two.
-Short Term/One off: ProKalm: Dear god this stuff is AMAZING! I use it before REALLY stressful situations and he's so chilled out on it, I use it for competing and for riding after he's had time off.

Since using the above products, he still has his 'moments' but none of them have been 'OHMYGODIMGOINGTODIEWHYDIDIBUYATB' moments!

The other thing to try is Valerian BUT and this is a big BUT it's not legal for competition use, because it is so effective, so if you are competing at an affiliated level don't use it, but if you're not then go ahead and make an infusion and mix with feed. You can buy it off ebay.
 
Oberon is correct - I too would give him magnesium supplements of some kind. Another thing to note is taking a look at all the supplements that are included in any feeds you might be giving him ie; complete feeds. Potassium is known for revving horses up - if it's included in any electrolites you might be feeding him it could be worth changing this to plain table salt. Also - have you tried toxin binders? Could be a toxin in the grass causing him to revv up.
 
Oberon's already written exactly what I was going to write

hes a tb x 14yr old,hes on spillers feed if that helps n hay!!!
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Start by looking at the diet as a whole - if he is deficient in Magnesium he's definitely deficient in other things too.

And stop feeding any grains at all - grains, soya, peas....no place in a modern diet for horses. If you're having trouble, that's probably why. :)
 
Thank you all for the replys:)
Its like hes a totally different horse hes lost al his manners n just so not the horse he is in summer,its really frustarting me as to what could be worng?:( he went like it last winter to but because of the bad weather wasent rode alot n by the time it was ok to ride again he seemed to get out of it fast..
I have rang spillers they dai there isent anything in his feed that cud b makin him fizz up..
hes grumpy to this time of yr!x
 
jojane said:
Thank you all for the replys:)
Its like hes a totally different horse hes lost al his manners n just so not the horse he is in summer,its really frustarting me as to what could be worng?:( he went like it last winter to but because of the bad weather wasent rode alot n by the time it was ok to ride again he seemed to get out of it fast..
I have rang spillers they dai there isent anything in his feed that cud b makin him fizz up..
hes grumpy to this time of yr!x
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Rather than rely on Spiller's helpline....what's in the feed?

There's clearly something that's not agreeing with him each winter. He won't sit there and plan to be a dick for a few months in each year
lol.gif
.

It's a case of finding what the problem is. Very, very often it is dietry - an imbalance of some kind.
 
Oberon said:
Rather than rely on Spiller's helpline....what's in the feed?

There's clearly something that's not agreeing with him each winter. He won't sit there and plan to be a dick for a few months in each year
lol.gif
.

It's a case of finding what the problem is. Very, very often it is dietry - an imbalance of some kind.
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He was on calm and condition last yr with alfa hay n just as bad??!!!!
its very strange but yea your right why would he be a dick a few months of the yr!!!!its not just with thr riding he looses all respect to for you..
 
I have rang spillers they dai there isent anything in his feed that cud b makin him fizz up..
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Of course they would say that. You need to know what is in the feed - the ingredients not the analysis.

I wouldn't be so blunt about all of this if I hadn't seen first hand the huge changes for the better in my own four horse's temperaments and general health since stopping all compounded and bagged feeds and moving on to the forage and linseed and mineral supplements approach.

Some of these bagged horse feeds - it's kind of like feeding your kids nothing but Haribo's - of course you'd have behaviour problems.

Yes, these bagged complete feeds say they have all the mineral and vitamin requirements for the horse - but you have to feed them in such quantities the poor animal is either obese or a bog eyed, neurotic, high strung nutcase!
 
Alfalfa is high in calcium which can deplete the horse of magnesium - Oberon is quite an expert on this. It's all about balance. If we all just fed good quality hay, chaff, linseed and a general vitamin and mineral supplement then horses would likely be much less temperamental. The fact that personlaities change in the winter speaks volumes.

I cannot feed one of my horses any sugar or cereals as he just gets stressed and nasty. I cannot even feed haylage. Yet my mare can be fed anything and she is no different ridden or otherwise. You just have to listen to your horse.
 
Valerian is fantasic. My horse is on box rest and was on sedalin untill I found this. Doesn't make them sleepy just chilled out. And is only cheap. Hope this helps.
 
Look at the starch content in your feed - if it is over 10%, chances are that is your problem.

I feed mine Winergy Low which is 3.5% starch.

Friend was having real issues with her mare's behaviour but thought diet was fine as it had been designed by the Bailey's nutritionist. She was at a para training where an independent nutritionist was speaking and asked her for advice. The diet was full of starch and nutritionist suggested the Winergy. (I'd been suggesting that for ages :lol: ) Within 10 days mare was sane and sensible again but still had plenty of oomph.

If you go down the magnesium supplementation route make sure there is sufficient calcium in the diet. The two are interlinked in how the body functions and if your soil calcium levels are low (hence forage will have lowere levels) the magnesium won't work efficiently. Handful of limestone flour does the job.

If you want a really good calmer I would go for the ProKalm.
 
Oberon said:
He won't sit there and plan to be a dick for a few months in each year
lol.gif
.
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love this :D:D

are you sure that your hay isn't too high in sugar? also Spillers are there to sell their products. One of mine is successfully on spillers hi fibre nuts. He is affected by high sugar hay (makes him very difficult to ride) and I am sure that if I put him on some of the other spillers feeds I would have problems.
If I put him on my local feed merchants own brand H & P nuts he goes crazy, Different horses are affected by different feeds.

How much hard feed exactly are you giving him and which spillers products?
 
I tried pretty much all the calmers on the market to try and chill my old very stressy mare. The only one that really worked was valerian root. I get mine from ebay and soak it before feeding. Only drawback is that it stinks!
 
Hi thanks again everyone for your info :)
His feed is Senior balancer by spillers 600g daily,conditiong fibre by spillers he has 2 big scoops daily and then garlic,corta-vet..
And a big haynet everynight about 5 slabs in a net!
Hes been alot better today i schoold him n he was such a good boy...and very calm???!!!!
what about a feed balancer if he could be lackin minerals??!! thanks :)
 
Iv tried most calmers for my spanish nut case the only one that works was equine answers calma hes been really good on it but he is on double dose
 
A lot of people routinely feed carrots at this time of year but my TB used to go loopy on them. He would box walk and kick the stable walls and generally be an idiot when out hacking but then I subsequently found he was very sensitive to any sugar in his diet. Years ago, he also reacted in the same way when I added barley to try to put a bit of weight on him. Maybe there's barley in the feed?? Just a couple of suggestions.
When I competed him, I used to use NAF calmers which definitely worked to keep him alert but just took the edge of his nerves.
 
A livery at my yard tried magnitude on her horse to calm him but it had no effect at all. Another livery has a very fizzy tb and used a calmer by horse first. He was a totally different horse when he was on it. She always has some in as a back up if it is needed in the future.
 
scewal said:
I tried pretty much all the calmers on the market to try and chill my old very stressy mare. The only one that really worked was valerian root. I get mine from ebay and soak it before feeding. Only drawback is that it stinks!
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How spooky! I have finally got round to registering on the most excellent HandH forum with a view to posting a question about calmers, only to find that lots of people are talking about this subject today anyway!

Scewal, what is the score with valerian root? How strong should the infusion be? If it is stinky, will a horse actually eat it if the liquid is mixed in with the feed? I am intrigued as to whether valerian is as effective is it meant to be, but am a bit loathe to pay top whack for V-Calm if a homemade version could be just as effective.

Huge thanks for any advice on this. I can only guess that valerian must be reasonably effective if it is banned from competition.
 
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