"calmers" given to my pony without my permiss!

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footballerswife

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what do you think about "calmers" - i have always been: you work with what youve got. or sell it or dont buy it in the first place. so get a kick on type if thats what you want! we're not very good at selling them - i have 5 - and have a lovely lovely pony who is really too big for my daughter at the moment. he has been lent to someone else to compete in mounted games at which he excels, not on loan just goes for a sleep over! and i found out they have been giving him calmers. if they had asked i could have told them that he would fight any type of tranquiliser - he is the most bold pony but we have given up clipping him because he hates it so much - and i would have said no anyway. i was really upset, he is a special little horse and now i dont know what to do.
 
If you are very concerned then simply do not lend the pony to them again.

The comercially available calmers on the market will have done no long term harm.
 
Ditto little miss lauren. If the pony was there for a "sleepover", and seemed unsettled, I can see why they added a scoop of calmer to his evening feed. I don't think that would do him any harm, though I understand that you want to decide on what he is fed.

The calmers you buy from feed merchants are usually magnesium food supplements, not tranquilizers as such. It seems many people find them useful for their horses, if it helps them them then why not? If it can help take the edge of a nervous or sharp horse that does not mean that they are bad owners, or that the horse morphs into a kick on plod :-)
 
You can't buy anything without prescription that will have done him the slightest harm. If he's only going there for the odd night rather than living there permanently I'm guessing they gave him one of the instant calmer pastes? It won't have stayed in his system for more than a few hours.

If you're unhappy I just would say so and not lend them the pony again.
 
littlemisslauren said:
If you are very concerned then simply do not lend the pony to them again.

The comercially available calmers on the market will have done no long term harm.
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I agree with this - I imagine it's not the impact of the calmers as much as them not consulting you about it that is more upsetting. It's your pony so you're call on what to do now :)
 
dwi said:
You can't buy anything without prescription that will have done him the slightest harm. If he's only going there for the odd night rather than living there permanently I'm guessing they gave him one of the instant calmer pastes? It won't have stayed in his system for more than a few hours.

If you're unhappy I just would say so and not lend them the pony again.
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Agree with this.

Plus, the calmers work by trying to remedy some sort of deficiency.. ie, some very spooky horses *might* have a Mg deficiency so most calmers contain Mg to attempt to "treat" this. If the horse doesn't have a deficiency then the calmer won't have any effect at all. It's the same as taking multivitamin supplements; if you don't have a deficiency in the first place, the excess will just be excreted in urine.
 
Calmers aren't tranquilisers. They are magnesium based herbal supplements designed to sooth the horse. IMHO they have very little, if any effect on most horses, and they are certainly not harmful. They are legal to use in competition.
If they are using these magnesium calming pastes, then no harm done, and I would not be concerned. Although it would have been polite for them to have asked you!

I have known some people to actually dope a horse for a show, i.e. using sedalin which is totally wrong. They aren't doing that are they??
 
thank you. i guess i was more upset about the lack of consultation - max is like my fourth child and it was like your kid came home and said "they gave me ritalin because they thought i would be easier to handle"? i did as politely as possible say i was unhappy and we havent been asked to lend him since then. but he was in the team so its kind of a biggie!!
 
I think you are blowing this a bit out of proportion. As others have said calmers are not tranquilizers.

Under some circumstances ít's perfectly fine to give a horse sedatives, e.g. after consulting with the vet and in order to bring a horse back into work safely after prolonger box rest.

However, I think your loaners probably gave the pony an additive, some of which have a calming effect on some horses. Magnesium additives can help magnesium deficient horses and can have a very positive effect on their behaviour - I feed one to one of mine and it works wonders. Herbs and other supplements can help other horses, after all not all horses fulfill all their nutritional requirements from their main food source. I can't see an objection to any of that as long as it works, otherwise it is a waste of money.
 
Sorry, forgot to add: for what it's worth Ritalin is a stimulant and not an additive. It increases dopamine and nonadrenaline in people with ADHD and helps them focus, but if you do not suffer from ADHD it is a serious stimulant (hence its abuse as an addictive drug).
 
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