Calmer suggestions

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slimjim86

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Hi, I have a somewhat anxious 6YO PBA, she has had a bit of a bad time in the past - been broken in when she had some back problems and therefore work has obviously equalled pain, these issues are resolved now and she has had nearly a year off in the field to "chill" but now I am starting her again she seems to really lack confidence - which when out hacking shows up as a spooky, bouncing idiot who is afraid of every blade of grass (not cars though, can jump in front of them with no fear at all!!), however when in the school she is lovely and relaxed on the lunge but feels tense as soon as you get on and lacks any confidence to go forward to the point yesterday where she stopped and just alternated bucking and rearing to avoid walking around the school. I am really hoping that of the multitude of calmers out there someone might be able to suggest something suitable, she is not fizzy all the time so doesnt need one to take the edge off - not sure what she does need to be honest! Have tried a couple of herbal based ones (gold label and something else that I cant remember the name of) and oxyshot and magnitude none of which have had any effect. Sorry to ramble on, any experiences / suggestions welcomed xx
 
Hi, the fact she's a PBA will always male her a little more sharp and edgy, mines a PBA as well and he always finds something to shy at!
My gelding went through a bad patch where his behaviour just got dangerous, napping mostly and he started to rear and leap, Global herbs supercalm is very very good, and I also fed their instnt calmer for showing him.
The feed you give her also makes a lot of difference, some one suggested that I try Winergy Equilibrium mix, I give him the conditioning one, all that range have something in them that just makes my boy that little bit calmer, it made even more of a difference to him and when I come off the Global herbs calmer I stayed on the mix and he's ramained much calmer.
I also combine that mix with Mollichaff Calmer, another great one.

Good luck :)

http://www.winergy.com/Products/WINERGY-Equilibrium/Condition/
 
I have had most success with tryptophan based calmers-two I used were Good as Gold and So Kalm.Good as Gold worked on 3 horses I know of including my warmblood but didn't work on daughters pony.It increases/aids production of seratonin.
 
My pony goes nuts at shows and not on feed so i cant give him anything in his food so i give him NAF instant magic...it works really well on him when hes really hyper
 
I've tried all the calmers in the world and did not help my mare! She is Arab x so I agree it's important what you feed your horse the Arabs can't tolerate sugar and starch! My mare is on blue chip now and that has really helped her temperament and lots of work and turnout!
 
I hav issues with my arab too in that day he's now what I class as sane to lunge (no school so always work I a field no smaller than 5acres) he used to take off and generally is obedient now. I've cut his food right down and done a lot of groundwork. I've not gone down the calmer route, as you say, its expensive to just try them til you get one that works.
Have you tried to completely re back and break your horse. Starting with leaning over etc. What about lunging in tack? It sounds like there is still a remembered pain issue which shows itself as tension. My arab also spooks at blades of grass. And sheep even though he's turned out with them! Keep her mind occupied but with lots she can cope with to build confidence- as you've tried several calmers I wouldn't be convinced that's what is needed..
 
I agree with Hessy12. I think that if calmers do work its because of the phsychological effect it has on the rider. Kind of 'be alright I've used a calmer'. I've used the ACP paste (can't remember what it was called) and that did seem to take the edge off - but you can only get from vets. It might be worth speaking to your vet about this.
 
mines PBA too. have used many calmers in the past.....mainly because when I first got him he had been knocked about abit and he was terrified of people, particuarly men. none of the global herbs ones worked on him, neither did the topspec calmer. tried a couple of others but by far the best for him was NAF tempralax. I still use it if we are travelling a long distance. there was another one that was valerian based which i cant remember the name of..that worked as well but took longer to take effect. although valerian is not allowed under rules. so wouldnt be much good if you were doing anything affiliated. the other one i tried was one by equine america...so kalm i think it is called. that also worked..but was getting too expensive. what works for one doesnt work for another so you may have to experiment. mine doesnt get fed starchy stuff...grass nuts and speedibeet with balancer. that also seems to have helped as well. rescue remedy sometimes works..and is cheap enough to try. good luck. oh yes tried NAF magic..that was good too but he decided it dint taste nice after a while.
 
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hi not a big fan of calmers myself but decided to put my tb mare on equine america's magnitude £18-ish for a 6 month supply! it was amazing don't get me wrong she was still spooky and a bit naughty but the "omg the entire is out to eat me" was gone and she was able to listen and trust me a bit more and not go into a blind panic!! i've now been on it foe about 3 yrs and highly recommend it!!!
 
A lot of 'calmers' are magnesium based and only tend to work if your horse is lacking magnesium. If this is the case then epsom salts are a much cheaper option and are magnesium sulphate, but i was always told they shouldn't be fed constantly. I have to say nothing worked for my gelding unfortunately :-( and a lot of 'calmers' take 2-4 weeks to work effectively so it can be an expensive game.
Good luck!
Becky
 
ginadrummond said:
I agree with Hessy12. I think that if calmers do work its because of the phsychological effect it has on the rider. Kind of 'be alright I've used a calmer'. I've used the ACP paste (can't remember what it was called) and that did seem to take the edge off - but you can only get from vets. It might be worth speaking to your vet about this.
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Aah, totally agree. However, the one I used was recommended to my Mum who slipped it in horse's dinner when I wasn't looking to test just that. There is no denying her 'happy juice' works for her.

Have found none other to work in the slightest.
 
Hi, I have tried the equine science ones too but with no success either, regards the suggestions to re back her from the start - this is what we have been doing and she is a total gem lunging with tack, happy being led with a rider but has no confidence being ridden away without extra support. Reading the replies I am thinking maybe calmers wont make any difference (unlesss used on me maybe!!) and its just going to be lots of time and patience and making sure there is ground support everytime I ride her for now. :confused:
 
Blue chip is the only one that worked for me. My boy gets stressed easily and is a fussy eater, he ate this no prob and it didn't affect his energy levels and made a big difference to his anxiety level.
 
slimjim86 said:
Hi, I have tried the equine science ones too but with no success either, regards the suggestions to re back her from the start - this is what we have been doing and she is a total gem lunging with tack, happy being led with a rider but has no confidence being ridden away without extra support. Reading the replies I am thinking maybe calmers wont make any difference (unlesss used on me maybe!!) and its just going to be lots of time and patience and making sure there is ground support everytime I ride her for now. :confused:
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To get a bit of distance, has someone lunged while you ride? So there is ground support but at a bigger distance?
 
Yes done the lunging wilst ridden and she is actually worse than just asking her to go on her own as it gives her something to nap to, hopefully getting a lesson this afternoon time permitting and will aim for one each day this week to give both of us a bit more support and see how we get on.
 
ginadrummond said:
I agree with Hessy12. I think that if calmers do work its because of the phsychological effect it has on the rider. Kind of 'be alright I've used a calmer'. I've used the ACP paste (can't remember what it was called) and that did seem to take the edge off - but you can only get from vets. It might be worth speaking to your vet about this.
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Feel must comment on this because when we put warmblood on Good as Gold I deliberately never told daughter that she was on it,just gave it to mare when she wasn't around-I had key to feedbin so she never saw it there either.Daughter noticed improvement in horses behaviour-she's a rearer when stressed and this decreased .
I have also put a horse on it knowing it would make me feel better-horse didn't need it I needed her to be on it and tbh it works for me and will take it either way it worked lol!
I will add don't use it long term its just initially
 
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