chestnut cob
Well-Known Member
I'm not generally one for feeding calmers but could do with some recommendations/ experiences please.
Horse is currently on box rest due to a nasty fall in the field. Turnout is banned because he plays too much, even on a stable-sized patch, and makes the injury much worse. So he's working from the box, getting up to an hour 6 days a week (hacking only). Doing around 60:40 walk/trot and introducing canter this weekend. He also gets out for a graze in hand. I have never needed to feed this horse a calmer as even though he does have a tendency to be sharp and spooky, he's always worked through it. Now he's so full of energy that he can't concentrate and he absolutely has to work softly and correctly during the work to sort out the injury.
He gets no hard feed, hay only. I am not someone who gets nervous and I know this horse inside out, so it's not me or my riding causing the tension and behaviour. He's in the vast majority of the time. He's always been a horse who has boundless energy - he can do a full days' eventing, have half an hour break and feel like he's ready to go again. I've joked that he's like the Duracell bunny of the horse world. I have never been able to exhaust him which is great under normal circumstances but is proving to be a bit of a nightmare now!
Can anyone suggest a short term calmer that might help relieve some of the tension while we're in this unfortunate situation? Once he goes back out in the field (hopefully in about a months' time, all being well) he should start to get back to normal.
Thanks
Horse is currently on box rest due to a nasty fall in the field. Turnout is banned because he plays too much, even on a stable-sized patch, and makes the injury much worse. So he's working from the box, getting up to an hour 6 days a week (hacking only). Doing around 60:40 walk/trot and introducing canter this weekend. He also gets out for a graze in hand. I have never needed to feed this horse a calmer as even though he does have a tendency to be sharp and spooky, he's always worked through it. Now he's so full of energy that he can't concentrate and he absolutely has to work softly and correctly during the work to sort out the injury.
He gets no hard feed, hay only. I am not someone who gets nervous and I know this horse inside out, so it's not me or my riding causing the tension and behaviour. He's in the vast majority of the time. He's always been a horse who has boundless energy - he can do a full days' eventing, have half an hour break and feel like he's ready to go again. I've joked that he's like the Duracell bunny of the horse world. I have never been able to exhaust him which is great under normal circumstances but is proving to be a bit of a nightmare now!
Can anyone suggest a short term calmer that might help relieve some of the tension while we're in this unfortunate situation? Once he goes back out in the field (hopefully in about a months' time, all being well) he should start to get back to normal.
Thanks