Calmer Recommendations / Nervous Horse Woes!

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Mardy Mare

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Hi everyone.

I've had my mare for 2 yrs, she has just turned 6. She is the most irrational/nervous horse I have ever owned/rode etc!

I am an experienced rider and have made good progress with her. For instance, she was terrified or cars and having her bridle put on, and I can now hack her alone/in company and bridle her (even managed to put fly masks on her recently!).

She is talented and I want to really get competing regularly with her.

However, she is constantly on edge. I only have to sneeze or fart in the saddle and she jumps! She has almost zero concentration in the school no matter what circles, transitions or variety of work I do. I just want her to chill but nothing I have tried has worked.

She's not lacking in magnesium as I have tried 2 x magnesium calmers which made no difference. I have her on Equine America So Kalm at present as it contains other calming properties but this is also having no effect.

She is on a non-cereal diet of just Fibergy, calmer and a tiny handful of non-heating/non starch/cereal nuts. I was feeding brewers yeast also but she was leaving her feed.

She gets excersised-5 times a week, lives out at present with good, managed grazing. I have recently started doing more grouond work with her, but in general she is a trusting, obedient horse.

She has had her eyes checked and all OK (she spots scary stuff a mile off!).

Has anyone else had experience with a horse like this and have you found anything that helps? She thinks the world is out to get her and I just want her to become more confident!

Thanks in advance :)
 
You could try Equifeast's Cool Calm and Collected... that might do the trick. Or maybe try the vet? If she's in pain somewhere she could well be behaving irrationally.
 
We have a Hann x TB & he was very skittish, worried about everything & couldn't consentrate at shows as everything worried him. We tried various calmers, Global Herbs Supercalm, Magic etc & none of them worked in the slightest. We changed his feed to a Barley & Mollasses free feed (Allen & Paige Power & Performance) & this helped a little. In addition we tried another calmer 'Nupafeed'. It's very expensive, over a period of days you build up the dosage & then when that is achieved you give the horse a maintenance dose every day & that is supposed to keep them calm. To be honest we have found it to make a considerable difference to our horse. He still gets a little worried at some things but he generally is alot calmer & when we take him out show jumping he really enjoys it & listens to his rider. He is less likely to panic.

There is something about Nupafeed that allows the magnesium to be absorbed well into the horses system. With the other calmers most travels through their system with very little being absorbed so there will be little change in the horse's behaviour. Telephone Nupafeed & speak to them & they will explain everything to you as they appreciate that it is expensive but they will advise you if it could help your horse.

I also use it on a bolshy Warmblood showjumper who thinks he knows best in the ring. He is also calmer & listening & we are getting results. Both horses are well schooled, their issue is a temprament one not a schooling one.

I'm nothing to do with the company so nothing to gain by singing their praises, but it's worth thinking about.
 
Thank you for all your replies and I will look into all your suggestions. She really is a lovely, sweet mare and enjoys SJ and fun rides. I just want her to be happier in herself! Thanks again.
 
She sounds just like our spooky chestnut mare! We think she is very sensitive to clover after looking at the New Zealand site - Calm Healthy horses (Jenny actually sent us her graze ezy to try which worked wonders). She is now fed 2 tbs of salt every day, fast fibre with forage plus (off eBay) and magnesium. She still has her spooky moments but is now more manageable!
 
Blue Chip Karma is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had a lovely little tb mare (ex racer) who needed the edge taken off, she also weaved and over reacted to things. his calmer dramatically reduced her weaving and she was different horse to ride etc etc. Wouldn't use anything else. :D
 
Forage plus sold by progressive Earth on eBay is the closest to grazezy sold by Calm Healthy Horses which unfortunately isn't available in the UK. A friend's horse was also showing similar behaviour to our mare and is now on the same regime. The information on the website definitely makes sense!
 
In the past I've had my mare on a liquid supplement called Hormonise and it really works for her whereas others I've tried don't.- always been a bit of a skeptic when it comes to clamers but this one suits my girl who is spooky out on hacks and away with the fairies at times in the school. It really seems to help her focus and concentrate and of course chill! Not overly expensive too :)
 
I tried everything with my spooky pony (all supplements, feed changes, no feed just a vit & mineral etc, more exercise, less exercise, ground work, longreining, "spook busting", being ridden by a professional) Honestly, everything! Nothing made any difference, I think sometimes it's just their nature. Sorry, not much help, the only thing is that Alfalfa sent my OAP loopy (spooking, cantering sideways etc) so maybe don't feed that?
 
YasandCrystal said:
Try giving her 2 tablespoons of salt in her feed everyday. It is not suffice to just offer a saltlick as the added salt overcomes an imbalance. This website makes for very interesting reading:-

http://www.calmhealthyhorses.com/behave/spook.html
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That is a really interesting site - explains a lot. And I just briefly looked into the research behind the science and it does look sound. Isn't it funny how you can have years of experiencing how clover rich grass and alfalfa sends some horses loopy and yet it never occurs to you to look into the science behind it :o
 
wench said:
You could try Equifeast's Cool Calm and Collected... that might do the trick. Or maybe try the vet? If she's in pain somewhere she could well be behaving irrationally.
Click to expand...

I've had good results with this. Apparently feeding magnesium to a horse who isn't deficient can actually make them worse so if its not having any effect I would take her of it.
 
DabDab said:
That is a really interesting site - explains a lot. And I just briefly looked into the research behind the science and it does look sound. Isn't it funny how you can have years of experiencing how clover rich grass and alfalfa sends some horses loopy and yet it never occurs to you to look into the science behind it :o
Click to expand...

Yes I agree it's a fascinating site. I have told so many people about it with some great success stories off the back of it - particularly regarding itchy horses and feeding them the daily salt and how the itching just ceased after months of folk trying steroids and all sorts of drugs. One person on here did it and a friend also. So good to find such a cheap simple answer too.

Clover is a massive offender causing imbalance to horses.
 
It's a really interesting website and makes sense. I'm reluctant to be honest in spending a tonne on a calmer which is probrably not going to make much difference. I've tried her on a couple before and they don't seem to have taken any effect. I will look into changing her feed and explore the clover issue further. Thinking about it, she does seem to be more skittish at this yard (been here for a year) than when she was a 4yo at my old yard!

I'm also going to write to the first people on her passport for information on her breeding as I have no idea what breed she is which may help me explore other avenues. Some people have said shes WB, some TB x Cob, others Trotter and Fresian x so I think this may help also.

Thanks again for all your advice :)
 
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