Calmer for a stressy horse?

[Hoof_Prints]

Hello, I am riding a horse that is a fab jumper and moves beautifully- but it all goes out the window when he has a stress attack! rushes and panics at things and all schooling goes out of the window . He jumps very well when calm but if something upsets him then he does rush and send poles flying.

I do try to keep him calm as possible through my position but this can only do so much! it think it would be worth trying a calmer, he's never been on any sort of calmer before so would be interesting to see what it does.

Any recommendations?

 

[CrazyMare]

We use NAF Magic for OH's horse, and it works like a dream!

He is a horse that likes having his hand held, and it makes him a bit more able to go on his own!

 

[Rosesandhorses]

Brewers Yeast is a good natural calmer but has varying effects dependent on the horse. In my experience some calmers work on some horses more than others. Valerian has proved very useful to me but you can't compete on it.

 

[HeresHoping]

I don't represent them but again I'm going to suggest talking to Equifeast. They do a huge range of calmers, some of which are Mg free as magnesium-based calmers will not suit every horse. In fact, as I found out the hard way, magnesium-based calmers can send horses the other way. A dose of Mg Calmer for my TB blew his mind. It took 5 days for him to come down off whatever trip he was on.

As he is not in full work due to injury and is undergoing a 3 month long slow rehab programme, I have him on the Equifeast bombproofing which is Mg free but contains L-Tryptophan and it's wonderful. He has to go round in endless circles currently and it's really very boring. However, his concentration is excellent as a result of this, partly, I am sure.

 

[alwaysbroke]

Agree with Hereshopping give Equifeast a call have used their products for years with great success very good customer service as well

 

[Foxfolly]

I am another equifeast fan, my boy is on winning edge silver, I don't need to worry about feeding anything else like joint supplement as its all in it. What I like is they work with you and tweak the magnesium etc. my boy is actually on the mag free, and its just helping him to process things better.

 

[hobgoblin]

I have had good success with equifeast too, they are very helpful currently on Mg free bomb proofing with very good results

 

[Tr0uble]

I'm another Equifeast fan! Can't see myself ever changing to anything else

 

[Merlin11]

Another vote for naf magic. I notice the difference if we take our stressy ID off it.

 

[FfionWinnie]

Just to go the other way mag ox seems to be working on my mare. If its a generally calm natured horse which occasionally loses the plot I'd try mag ox. Apparently it either works or doesn't within two weeks (as it only works if they are mag ox deficient).

 

[Dukey]

Relax me worked a treat with my youngster, it also helps relax the gut as when he stresses I worry about colic/ulcers. Magic didn't work on him but gave it away to someone who loves it on my yard. Plain magnesium is brilliant too

 

[Shay]

There are as many calmers and there are reasons for the horse to stress! I'm afraid the only way is trial and error. You also need to be aware of the placebo effect - you think the horse will be calmer therefore you are clamer - therefore he is. (Not that there is anything wrong in that - if it works it works!)

We have a stressy ISH who is fine at home (mostly!) but can get wired at shows. NAF Magic was negligible for him but the NAF Insta-Calm at shows seems to work well. Or it works on my daughter - I don't care which!

The thing that made the most difference to him was switching his feed to A&P barley & Molasses free range - now that produced a truely stunning change in behaviour. A good one I hasten to add!

My only worry about Eqifeast is that they can be very expensive and they are excellent sales people. Again not necessarily a bad thing - but we do over supplement our horses sometimes!

 

[Nosey]

Does anyone know the costing of equifeast?

 

[HeresHoping]

Does anyone know the costing of equifeast?

It's on their website. The loader was quite expensive for my Mg choice, but after that it went down considerably for my 5 weeks supply. You get a discount for buying more that one packet, too. You need to download the .pdf for daily costs.

In my view, well worth it. And I really think it's more than the placebo effect - everyone else has noticed how calm Mr S is these days. Especially the person who witnessed his behaviour switch from dope on a rope to disaster after the Mg calmer I gave him to attend our first show.