Calmers that work on TB's?? I'm out of ideas??

[lunarmagic]

So a good friend of mine has an ex race horse that is very anxious and spooky (a lot like mine) she wants to try a calmer but I'm out of ideas to give her, I've tried Valerium, super so kalm, calm-ex, magic but nothing touched mine so I've given up with mine and don't know what to suggest so I'm asking the oracle which is the forum....she feeds a low sugar/starch diet, well she hardly feeds at all....any ideas/experiences of calmers that actually work???

 

[doodle]

Relax Me worked for Soli. He was a sharp ex racer.

 

[kinnygirl1]

Just this minute heard of one on fb that you spray on behind the ears called instamag. Think free step make it. No idea if it works but might be worth a try? They also make one for the rider which I think I might invest in, lol!

 

[CBAnglo]

Relax me sent mine absolutely mental. I use global herbs TB calmer to take the edge off "daily" issues and prokalm for very exciting like hacking. You need to experiment with dosage though; I give 2 scoops an hour before the excitement otherwise he is either doped out if it wears off (lasts a couple of hours).

 

[Theocat]

Cool, calm & collected by equifeast?

 

[cava14una]

Friend is looking for something to calm a retired TB who fence walks. Would any of the supplements suggested be suitable or can anyone suggest ways of dealing with it?

 

[scewal]

Val Kalm is a good one.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I have never found a single one that made the slightest jot of difference to a tb! And I have tried the lot lol!

Good Luck in your search for one!

 

[lunarmagic]

I have never found a single one that made the slightest jot of difference to a tb! And I have tried the lot lol!

Good Luck in your search for one!

I've lost all faith in them too, tried all of them but no joy!!

 

[TruthorDare]

Suggest a call to Equifeast, Cool Calm and Collected can be tailored to your horses needs, also find that the Equifeast Silver or Gold product has worked well on my Irish TB. If it doesn't work initally they will work with you to get the right balance for your horse, so its worth trying for a few weeks to get it right

 

[TPO]

Read the ingredients on the calmers. Most are magnesium based therefore they will only have an effect if your horse has a deficiency. Magnesium deficiencies effect the nervous system and in turn that makes horses appear, what is labelled as, "spooky".

If you know the analysis of your soil and forage you can balance accordingly alternatively a good vit/min supplement from Forage Plus or Progressive Earth covers most bases.

Pure valerian is the exception; it does work hence its banned in all competitions.

I've had a few ex-racer and non-racing TBs (& one ex racer Arab) and while some are naturally sharper and "lookier" than others the majority of their behaviour is attributed to their training/schooling. Any holes are instantly apparent in high stress situations. It might be worth having a read of something like Richard Maxwell's books (How to Improve your horsemanship in 20mins a day and Maximise your Horsemanship) for ways to build a solid foundation and work with introducing spooky items etc

 

[Mamamia]

I have had brilliant results with the Top Spec calmer for my ridiculously silly gelding. The recommended dose knocked him out, so I feed half of that and which makes him rideable but still responsive.

 

[ilvpippa]

I had great results with top spec calmer, I also feed mine mollichaff calmer.

She's now not on topspec but hack up bespokes liquid calmer. I only feed when needed & it really really really works!

 

[oldjumper]

Never had any calmer work on TB. Probably more effective if rider takes them! TBs quickly pick up rider anxiety which makes them more tense, rider more anxious etc etc...
Treating (horse's) ulcers can often improved things.

 

[Scatterbrain]

My thoughts exactly oldjumper!
I firmly suspect ulcers are the root cause of many behavioural problems in horses. If you think about just how irritating/painful just one small ulcer is in our mouths, imagine how awful it must feel to a horse having them in their stomach & hindgut.

 

[Irish gal]

Presume people are also lunging prior to riding - 15 mins, lots of fast trot should help. I don't envy anyone here with a spooky TB, not sure the solution can be found in a calmer, though. And I definitely wouldn't be trying the spray behind the ears - had a vision reading that of mounted rider spraying and horse standing on hind legs for a while Good luck with that!

 

[exracehorse]

I have never found a single one that made the slightest jot of difference to a tb! And I have tried the lot lol!

Good Luck in your search for one!

I tried everyone available, wasted a lot of money over the years, nothing worked. I think if a horse is the stressy anxious type then that's in his DNA, same when the adrenalin kicks in, and no amount of powder sprinkled in his food will stop it

 

[Pigeon]

10 mins on the lunge

 

[Irish gal]

Exactly Exracehorse! If you look at what the TB is - they are bred to explode out of the starting stalls and run like crazy and so are far more reactive (in general) then something with a little cold blood/draught thrown in. Add to that the problems that can be picked up through training and maybe having ulcers, some estimate 80% of racers have them and it's not a great outlook. I wonder how many leisure riders taking on exracers end up with horses that are beyond their scope to deal with.

 

[CBAnglo]

It's not that they are beyond their scope but rather you need to get them focussed on the job rather than looking for the next thing to spook at. My ex-racer is fine if in work however due to his multiple problems he is off work a lot. In order to bring him back into work without just lunging the crap out of him first which he cannot do due to injuries I need something to focus him. And he is also not allowed to be turned out again until in work, again due to the injuries. So if a calmer works so he can engage his brain and I don't get launched every 10 mins and he runs off then I would rather use one than not. Once he is back in work for a couple of weeks and I can actually school him, he is fine again but I definitely feel that the calmer takes the edge off. He is 17 now and I have had him for 10 years and he has always been like this. His ulcers were treated as soon as I got him and he has been managed for the last 10 years.

 

[kinnygirl1]

Presume people are also lunging prior to riding - 15 mins, lots of fast trot should help. I don't envy anyone here with a spooky TB, not sure the solution can be found in a calmer, though. And I definitely wouldn't be trying the spray behind the ears - had a vision reading that of mounted rider spraying and horse standing on hind legs for a while Good luck with that!

Lol, Irish gal...I think you are meant to spray it on prior to riding...would be hilarious if you had to whip it out every time you felt a spook coming on tho!

 

[Irish gal]

I know Kinnygirl but still couldn't shake the vision from my head Bound to cause rears that come back on top of you!! Whoever is making that calmer knows very little about spooky horses that's for sure. I can think of a few I've had that would need sedation to get a spray near their ears. If there's one thing a spooky TB won't like it's the sound of a spray and anywhere near their ears - it's madness Generally for this reason I hate sprays - much easier to rub the nice cream into the yearling colt's knee while feeding carrots - then frighten the life out of him with a canister!

 

[lunarmagic]

Thanks for all Advise, just a few things I can't do too much with him lunge wise as he's undergoing treatment and we have to keep it all low key....which doesn't help!! Completely agree that tb's are always going to be a handful and I was fully aware of that, I've been a groom at international level, worked in racing and TB breeding studs all my working life but I firmly believe that you can never know "too" much, there's always more to learn from others.
He's French bred and I believe he started his career early as he's birth date is mid May so sales/training wise he'd have started very young and at 17.2 is a lot of work on long, gangly, undeveloped limbs (hence his injuries now). I'm very interested in looking down the ulcer route too, I've spoken with my vet already as he is very gassy and though his droppings are normal there is always liquid first, vet had said we could try him on righttrak or fast track (not sure on name) but with everything else that's going on with him I just can't afford it. It has been playing on my mind a lot though.
Again thanks for all positive advise.

 

[peanut]

I have a tb x id and have had considerable success with ProKalm by Science Supplements. My mare is very sharp/tb-headed in the school and it has really helped her settle and focus - I have never used it in any other situation.

Global Herbs make a calming supplement designed for tbs and I have also heard of people using lavender oil on the bridle or nostrils to help (I've never tried either but might be tempted by the lavender idea).

I've read that magnesium doesn't work on tbs but I don't know whether there is any scientific evidence to support this.

 

[Pigeon]

To be honest if it's a rehab situation and lunging is out of the question I would go for something prescription. Sedalin maybe or bromide. I've personally never seen any evidence for shop-bought calmers having any effect.

Is he insured? Gastro-Gard sometimes offers free scoping.

 

[lunarmagic]

I've passed all these messages on and josie (the girl is was originally asking for) had called the people at Equifeast and they were great, seems very pricey but she's rolling with it. Might call them for mine tomorrow.
My boys issues are being investigated now but I'm coming to the end of the insurance and I still have possible surgery to go through so I'm being very tight with it all. Very interested in calling the guys at gastro guard, that's also scarily expensive though.

 

[peanut]

I've personally never seen any evidence for shop-bought calmers having any effect.

??

The only evidence needed is whether the rider considers that it works on their particular horse.

 

[Theocat]

I'd suggest NOT mixing in all the magnesium in the CCC if she gets that one - just do a proportion of the two powders to see how it goes. Mine went bananas on the magnesium version and we had to change on to the mag-free, which has been great, but it meant I had to order a second batch and it got really expensive.

When they say they'll keep working with you until they find a blend that works, be aware you have to keep buying the stuff - you don't get freebies if the first batch hasn't worked, and you only get the money-back guarantee if you've been through several different versions of product with them (at your expense) and none have worked.

I'm very happy with the product but I was a bit taken aback by the service when things weren't working for us - especially as it came on top of a massive loss of confidence as a result of the neddy's behaviour. In retrospect I should have spoken to them earlier, but I wanted to give it a few weeks to find out if things settled down.

 

[lunarmagic]

I haven't spoken with them yet so I'm not sure what they've said but I am keen on calling them on Monday.....any advise for questions to ask, things to say/not to say so I don't get ripped off....don't want to sound tight but with my particular horse I'm already clutching at straws and have put all my finances and my insurance into trying to fix him. Much appreciated.

 

[lucy007]

Look for Equinox on facebook. I have 3 on it, one being my tb although she has not been on it long I have seen some small improvements with her. The 2 others have been on it 6 weeks or so now and are much better regarding their 'issues'. Their feedback posts are worth a read through.