CALMERS -why??

[lcharles]

After reading a few other posts about Calmers.... why do people use them and for what for?

I wouldn't use calmers on my horses, for example loading, as i'd rather practise it until my horse was happy and relaxed rather than using calmers.

I know alot of people use them before going to shows, but if your horse hets up on the excitement....is that really a big issue? can that not be worked on rather than using them?

I've never used them, doubt i ever will. I've got two very highly strung horses but i like them like that. You could argue that the one can be 'dangerous' at times, but its a behaviour we are working on! x Using a calmer wouldn't stop his underlying behaviour.

My friend borrowed my lorry once to move her very non-loading Arab, he was purely stubborn, when he had a calmer before loading he went in alot better so i can see its uses. I actually have a calmer in my tack room as i won it team chasing!!

Not a dig or anything, just curious as to why people use them?

 

[Winklepoker]

Because we are scared!

 

[Firewell]

I don't bother using calmers anymore. I don't think they make a blind bit of difference tbh and he doesn't really need anything anyway.

 

[Holly Hocks]

Horses on long term box rest? A calmer which works in this situation could help the horse not get injured more in the box.
Why the aversion to calmers? If it works, use it. If you give a calmer to assist a horse in a certain situation, then eventually the horse learns that the particular situation isn't that stressful and the use of the calmer can be reduced/stopped.
I would rather give a calmer than the horse injure itself or myself. Why make a battle out of something when it can be prevented?

 

[wildwoman666]

There good for when a friends horse at yard jumeped out its field over a hedge and got stuck. We had a calmer ready. He was fine and got him out. 2nd time he got his foot in 5 bar gate and took it off fell in ditch with gate on top of him. He got out fine and with out need of calmer. Thats when it comes in handy. My horse got rused to vets colic she was sedated and went for op. I was told she was 100% to load , but never really been out with her to find out if its true. Had her 2 half years now. After her op i had to go get her 5 days later. Now i get to find out if she really is good to load . She was fine and brill travelling. Thats when i like to have a calmer to hand.

 

[saddlesore]

I feed my tense/nervous horse a calmer. Yes I'm sure over time I'll be able to reduce this inate behaviour even further (had him 3 years and he's much better than he was! ) and save myself money each month lol, but as it is he is MUCH happier with life on a calmer and so he gets one.

 

[Cop-Pop]

Because my horse is happier on them - shes a very moody mare with a slight hormone imbalance and the calmer helps with this.

 

[lcharles]

Ah thats interesting x I defo agree with giving one to the horse that got stuck!! x My mare will be on box rest for another 8 weeks - already done 8!! she's quite lively now but i wouldnt give her a calmer yet. I can see the use after 8 more weeks though, as you said to reduce the risk of further injury. I believe she'll be sedated when she first goes back out into the field but in some cases i guess people rely on them.

Again, not being funny, but do you think people use them on horses they can't 'handle'....a horse that is 'too good for the rider' just wonder why people use them for exciteable horses before a show....is it just so they dont get worked up and perform better?

Do calmers have any lasting effect on the horse if its used frequently? x

 

[Oberon]

Most (not all) calmers are magnesium based.

Magnesium deficiency symptoms include aggitation and the feed companies have marketed this with their magic calmers....

What they are actually doing is providing the deficient nutrient to allow the horse to feel 'normal' again.

It's hocus pocus by the feed companies and it really annoys me

 

[Hackie]

After reading a few other posts about Calmers.... why do people use them and for what for?

I wouldn't use calmers on my horses, for example loading, as i'd rather practise it until my horse was happy and relaxed rather than using calmers.

I know alot of people use them before going to shows, but if your horse hets up on the excitement....is that really a big issue? can that not be worked on rather than using them?

Having had a thoroughbred off the track, unfortunately sometimes they work themselves up and get so much adrenaline that even the best training can't get through to them - if a calmer works for you in this instance, then my preference would be to use one as it is much better to take the horse out and have them stay calm and learn from THAT experience than take them out, have them go off and then spend an hour or two trying to make them see sense (and I personally have worked an ex-racer for that long in such an instance, and it didn't make a dent in him, he was so worked up, and this was quite a well educated horse who was training quite well at home, and eventually became a pleasure to deal with out as well).

I've only ever used them on horses off the track, to which the theory of practice until they are calm and happy won't necessarily work even with the best training, as sometimes the adrenaline just takes over.

I have also used it to make a horse softer over the back, not for behavioural issues as such. he would do everything asked i.e. transitions, but simply he would not relax over the back, and a calmer helped with this. It was a tip I got from an international dressage rider/instructor back home, who used this quite successfully on one of his competition horses.

 

[stilltrying]

I use a magnesium based calmer for competitions because my horse gets bit wound up with nervous excitment. And yes it is a big issue if you are trying to do dressage!

When he's really excited he gets all shouty and finds it impossible to neigh AND work at the same time. So i find they just take the edge off his nerves without him losing any sparkle. So yes he performs better because he's calmer and i am able to ride him.

Obviously in an ideal world i'd take him out a couple of times a week so it would all become less exciting....sadly do not have the time or funds for that!

 

[Cortez]

Most (not all) calmers are magnesium based.

Magnesium deficiency symptoms include aggitation and the feed companies have marketed this with their magic calmers....

What they are actually doing is providing the deficient nutrient to allow the horse to feel 'normal' again.

It's hocus pocus by the feed companies and it really annoys me

Are there really that many horses with a magnesium deficiency?

 

[traceyann]

I use a calmer for my spanish horse because if i didnt im pretty sure he would have killed me by now and hes on double the dose he should be and still quicker than me.

 

[MiCsarah]

You go to a big 3* or 4* event and see how many calmers are pumped into their horses before the dressage and I dare you to go and tell them they shouldnt need them.
I used them on my boy when he was coming back into work after surgery. He was on restrcited movement so the short walks we did were his only exercise and he would explode occasionally. I then started to use the syringe calmers before our walks and it seemed to work.

 

[MiCsarah]

Are there really that many horses with a magnesium deficiency?

As far as I'm aware most grazing doesnt have sufficent amount init so yes many are

 

[lcharles]

If anxious/nervous behaviour can be linked with a magnesium deficiency, why isn't it fed as a suplement rather than just giving them a 'blast' of magnesium when its needed......wouldnt it be more effective to be fed in general?

Epsom salts contain magnesium dont they? it would be interesting to know if people horses who have salts as an addition to there feed need to use calmers? x

With the competing side of it I can only picture it being an issue for dressage (not that i do dressage!) as you have to be all pretty and flicky legged! x I would rather my horse by hypered up for showjumping! x

 

[Cortez]

I use a calmer for my spanish horse because if i didnt im pretty sure he would have killed me by now and hes on double the dose he should be and still quicker than me.

Only ever tried it on my Spanish nutter: had no effect whatsoever (and yes, I did keep him on mag based feed additive calmer for 6 mos).

 

[Wagtail]

After reading a few other posts about Calmers.... why do people use them and for what for?

I wouldn't use calmers on my horses, for example loading, as i'd rather practise it until my horse was happy and relaxed rather than using calmers.

I know alot of people use them before going to shows, but if your horse hets up on the excitement....is that really a big issue? can that not be worked on rather than using them?

I've never used them, doubt i ever will. I've got two very highly strung horses but i like them like that. You could argue that the one can be 'dangerous' at times, but its a behaviour we are working on! x Using a calmer wouldn't stop his underlying behaviour.

ETA: He was kept on a shoestring budget at his previous home and had grazing only - no hard feed. He needed the magnesium boost to return his levels to normal but no longer needs it because even in summer he receives some hard feed in his diet.
My friend borrowed my lorry once to move her very non-loading Arab, he was purely stubborn, when he had a calmer before loading he went in alot better so i can see its uses. I actually have a calmer in my tack room as i won it team chasing!!

Not a dig or anything, just curious as to why people use them?

Sometimes a horse is in a state of anxiety due to a low level of magnesium in the blood. This was the case with my horse when he arrived on the yard a couple of years ago. He would just explode with anxiety at everything. I put him on a magnesium based calmer and within a few hours he was acting normally. I kept him on it for three months. When I took him off it he remained calm and is istill a nice calm horse two years later.

 

[MiCsarah]

If anxious/nervous behaviour can be linked with a magnesium deficiency, why isn't it fed as a suplement rather than just giving them a 'blast' of magnesium when its needed......wouldnt it be more effective to be fed in general?

Epsom salts contain magnesium dont they? it would be interesting to know if people horses who have salts as an addition to there feed need to use calmers? x

With the competing side of it I can only picture it being an issue for dressage (not that i do dressage!) as you have to be all pretty and flicky legged! x I would rather my horse by hypered up for showjumping! x

Epsom salts contain magnesium sulphate(hope thats the correct one)and it does seem to work as a calmer but too much can lead to a laxative effect. I have used them with good succes with my stressy boy when he was younger

 

[Wagtail]

Are there really that many horses with a magnesium deficiency?

My horse was kept on a shoestring budget at his previous home and was on grazing but no additional feed or supplements. He needed a magnesium boost when he first arrived and this sorted out his anxiety almost immediately. However, he is now fed a balanced diet throughout the year and does not require the supplement any more.

 

[Oberon]

Are there really that many horses with a magnesium deficiency?

If you look at the trends in our forage analysis' you can see high levels of calcium in most of them (this is trend though - not a fact) added to alfalfa based feeds (also high in calcium) and other feeds high in calcium.

Calcium competes with magnesium for absorption - so even if you have good levels of magnesium (like we do in our forage) then the high levels of calcium can cause a magnesium deficiency within the horse. The magnesium just didn't get a fair shot to be absorbed and missed it's chance.

Magnesium is responsible for over 300 actions in the body. Deficiencies can be seen with muscle pain and twitching, hypersensitivity, aggitation, sore hooves and even heart irregularity.

Of all the mineral imbalances - magnesium is the one with the most symptoms.

The other common imbalance is copper versus zinc - but that's a rant for another day

 

[Oberon]

If anxious/nervous behaviour can be linked with a magnesium deficiency, why isn't it fed as a suplement rather than just giving them a 'blast' of magnesium when its needed......wouldnt it be more effective to be fed in general?

Epsom salts contain magnesium dont they? it would be interesting to know if people horses who have salts as an addition to there feed need to use calmers? x

With the competing side of it I can only picture it being an issue for dressage (not that i do dressage!) as you have to be all pretty and flicky legged! x I would rather my horse by hypered up for showjumping! x

Usually magnesium oxide is easier for the horse to absorb.
Quite a few of us barefooters have been feeding it for years as we saw horses becoming more comfortable when fed magnesium.

Things have moved on now to full mineral balancing via forage analysis rather than just blindly adding magnesium and hoping for the best.

It's a fascinating and exciting area.

 

[dressagelove]

Most (not all) calmers are magnesium based.

Magnesium deficiency symptoms include aggitation and the feed companies have marketed this with their magic calmers....

What they are actually doing is providing the deficient nutrient to allow the horse to feel 'normal' again.

It's hocus pocus by the feed companies and it really annoys me

Sorry to hijack, but Oberon, what is your opinion on Nupafeed? I feed it to my other horse who is an absolute stress monster, and it does seem to make a difference, but it is SO expensive. However, no Ive seen it work, im reluctant to change. Do you think all magnesium based calmers work in the same way? What makes nupafeed so special to be so expensive?

 

[turkana]

I give my tb magnesium, I use it mainly as she hasn't got the best feet & she is also shoeless, it doubles up as a clamer so I'd still give it to her if she had shoes on.

The reason is she's very sharpe & spooky when ridden alone & I have to go along a road before I get to the bridle path, anything that makes that little bit of road work even a tiny bit safer is worth it for me. If she was shod & I didn't have to do road work I wouldn't bother

 

[smallgirl]

This is very interesting, I feed magnesium oxide as a mineral (much more cost effective this way), try www.naturalhorsesupplies.co.uk . I find it a good addition to his diet and cheap to feed. He is barefoot, lives out all year (comes in for a haynet for a few hours in winter), and is as happy as larry, so I do think magnesium has a place in my system, not sure if I would class it as a calmer, more of a nutritional balancer?

 

[Oberon]

Sorry to hijack, but Oberon, what is your opinion on Nupafeed? I feed it to my other horse who is an absolute stress monster, and it does seem to make a difference, but it is SO expensive. However, no Ive seen it work, im reluctant to change. Do you think all magnesium based calmers work in the same way? What makes nupafeed so special to be so expensive?

If you throw the ingredients at me, I'll have a look and see if you can get them cheaper.

 

[dressagelove]

If you throw the ingredients at me, I'll have a look and see if you can get them cheaper.

Okay, i will pm you presently thanks

 

[FanyDuChamp]

To help my stressy WB settle and be happier, not a worry monster. That said I now only use Coligone, which does the same job.
FDC

 

[Oberon]

To help my stressy WB settle and be happier, not a worry monster. That said I now only use Coligone, which does the same job.
FDC

I'd love to know the ingredients of Coligone too - I can't find them online

 

[Kenzo]

There is no shame in wanting to make life a little easier for a horse or youngster in stressfull or excitable situations.

You don't get medals for braving things out or putting yourself, your horse or other people in danger neither.

Training, time and patience I agree without doubt the most important factor and some unfortunately do not attempt enough of this first, but there are perfectly good reasons why people use or should use or try a calmer.