Calmer for focus, not to sedate!

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Loulabella1980

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Is there a calmer on the market that can just help focus my boys mind? I don't want him half asleep as he already has little impulsion most of the time, but I just want him more focused and not naughty charging around in the warm up. I haven't used anything before, but to get him focused and listening to me can take a long time and then I'm (well both of us) knackered before going in to do our tests! The last time I went out I did two intro's and then a prelim and by the time I did our prelim he was listening and we did well but he'd lost impulsion cos we were both worn out!
 
Have to say that i don't think a calmer is going to help. Not focussing on you and charging around in the warm up suggests the horse needs more training so that he is responsive to your aids. If he isn't listening within 10-15 minutes then is he really ready to compete?
Dressage tests are just to test the level of training your horse has reached; you shouldn't end up knackered before you start.
Is the horse responsive at home? If not then a trainer can help. If yes then its just a matter of going out to events (e.g. clinics/training days etc.) until your horse behaves approximately the same out competing as he does at home. If he lacks impulsion most of the time though it sounds like he is not responsive to your aids at home, so i would start by working on that.
However, am sure there are others that disagree with me and can give you names of products to try.
 
Loulabella1980 said:
Is there a calmer on the market that can just help focus my boys mind? I don't want him half asleep as he already has little impulsion most of the time, but I just want him more focused and not naughty charging around in the warm up. I haven't used anything before, but to get him focused and listening to me can take a long time and then I'm (well both of us) knackered before going in to do our tests! The last time I went out I did two intro's and then a prelim and by the time I did our prelim he was listening and we did well but he'd lost impulsion cos we were both worn out!
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I won two of these on Facebook https://www.animalife.co.uk/product/vetrocalm-intense-instant-syringe
Had never used anything before. My mare is daft and unfocussed but can also fall behind the leg so didn't want to risk anything that might sedate her even a little. Used it for an ODE and she was like a new horse! It's a bit expensive for regular use for me, but I enjoyed the two syringes I won and bought two to keep in the lorry in case we have a particularly bad day. Actually, since those two outings she's been more focussed in herself, like it helped her understand venues weren't full of monsters.
 
We have been out, quite successfully, but I just wondered if there was something to make him focus abit quicker. He is young and still a little green but does on the whole behave, it's just new places situations seem to stress him and then it's like Groundhog Day again! He's not particularly bothered by the other horses/ponies, just needs to concentrate! He's a heavy trad cob and is quite strong and stubborn! We do go out to clinics and tests and I think because he has low miles he needs to experience abit more. We don't really hack as we have no where suitable without driving somewhere first. I think everything to him is either really exciting or really scary!
 
MissTyc said:
I won two of these on Facebook https://www.animalife.co.uk/product/vetrocalm-intense-instant-syringe
Had never used anything before. My mare is daft and unfocussed but can also fall behind the leg so didn't want to risk anything that might sedate her even a little. Used it for an ODE and she was like a new horse! It's a bit expensive for regular use for me, but I enjoyed the two syringes I won and bought two to keep in the lorry in case we have a particularly bad day. Actually, since those two outings she's been more focussed in herself, like it helped her understand venues weren't full of monsters.
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Do you know what is in them? I can's see any ingredients list on the website. Are they competition legal?
 
I use Lincoln Pro 5 Magnesium calmer. I started using it as mine would get fixations on things (like a coot in the pond beside the outdoor, or a shadow) and once he was spooked at that nothing I did made him focus again... once I started him on the Lincoln calmer he was a different horse, same spark but now so much more focus (so definitely not sedated!).i tried a few calmers before this one and none seemed to work for him but this one definitely does. I ran out for about two weeks and all of a sudden the unfocused twit was back... so I think for him it works! It’s competition legal as well
 
I like ear plugs for focus... work a lot better than calmer but it depends which disaplin you are doing cos not legal in all sporting events (But I have competed in them with a very young horse and no one noticed)
 
I'm no expert, but Nupafeed Mag Ox was suggested to me by two people I really rate, and it does seem to work much better than most magnesium supplements, and it is comp legal.....
 
Cowpony said:
Do you know what is in them? I can's see any ingredients list on the website. Are they competition legal?
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Could be wrong but I think it's salt water! Bizarre as that may sound I believe it is said that a regular addition of salt to daily feed has been known to promote calm behaviour... There's a website called calm healthy horses which kind of explains it I think.
 
kinnygirl1 said:
Could be wrong but I think it's salt water! Bizarre as that may sound I believe it is said that a regular addition of salt to daily feed has been known to promote calm behaviour... There's a website called calm healthy horses which kind of explains it I think.
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Salt, good auld table salt, assists with the uplift of Mg, which assists the nervous reaction. Mine has a sprinkle of table salt in his feed.

So, yes, you are correct. Salt licks don't work, horsey tongues aren't rough enough. Salt added to feed works.
 
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kinnygirl1 said:
Could be wrong but I think it's salt water! Bizarre as that may sound I believe it is said that a regular addition of salt to daily feed has been known to promote calm behaviour... There's a website called calm healthy horses which kind of explains it I think.
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Interesting! I feed quite a bit of salt for other reasons, and my mare has been better but we assumed she'd grown up a bit lol ...

Re the syringes, I understood they assist oxygenation via salt or anything else who knows - but it seems to help her when she tenses or holds her breath to spook!

(interestingly, mine are on the Calm Healthy Horse broad spectrum supplement too - for potassium related reason. I can't remember the science but I knew it once upon a time)
 
NAF Magic has really helped me take the edge off Chills' silly reactions and help her focus more. She's still hot and still has all her personality but doesn't react in an over the top way to things any more. A livery asked if I thought it was because I was more calm because I thought the calmer would chill her out but I'm not been nervous riding her through these moments and wasn't when she was being silly so I do genuinely think it's made a difference. Not too expensive, either. First tub won't go as far as it says but that's because of the loading dose which I would definitely recommend you do! :)
 
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