Calming cookies - experiences?

[J_sarahd]

After a pretty rubbish show jumping outing the other week, my instructor suggested trying calming cookies as my boy tends to seemingly lose his head a bit when at busy competitions. He will happily skip round an 80/90cm course in training but we have trouble when we are out and the busier it is, the worse he is.

Has anyone got experience with calming cookies to share? Good or bad?

I will of course also be taking him out a lot more to get him used to things.

 

[MissTyc]

Helps my mare and I quite like the taste myself lol. I give her one the night before to help ensure a good night's sleep, then one in the morning feed, and then one about 15 min before travelling (she travels fine it's just s I don't forget as that usually puts me in the 1-3 hour window for riding). She's def less spooky, more sensible. Still wild, but less distracted wild.

 

[Annagain]

We tried them on Charlie for the next ride after the pigs episode. A friend swears by them for her horse who is generally excitable rather than fearful. Having given it to him 30 mins before we left home (another 5-10 mins to the pigs) I was worried he'd been doped as he was so chilled (isn't usually when getting ready for a ride). As we left the yard he picked up a bit but was definitely a bit more chilled than usual. He did get worried again when we approached the pigs. He went past but was very stressed - hard to tell if he'd be even more stressed without them as the time we had an issue with the pigs we were on our own so that could have been down to him having very sensible company or it could have been the cookies or just the time before being a particularly bad day. It took him a good 10 minutes to chill again after the pigs and he wasn't as settled then as he was before. I would say they seemed to have a bit of an effect to take the edge off but once his anxiety levels reached a certain point they didn't have much of an effect. I think if his problem is excitement, you could find they work, if it's genuine fear, not so much.

 

[Cowpony]

They do take the edge off. unfortunately they seem to have changed the recipe in the last couple of years and my mare won't eat them any more

 

[J_sarahd]

Thanks everyone. I just want the edge taken off, still want the sparkle. I’ll try them and see if they work. Would be amazing if they did!

 

[Casey76]

I think they work brilliantly - for the owner.

The two active ingredients are amino acids, and it is pretty much guaranteed that the amount of each AA provided in 1 or 2 cookies is not going to have any physiological effect, especially when fed once.

 

[Spirit2021]

The calming Cookies Turn my mare bookers .

 

[L&M]

No effect on my neurotic connie, total waste of money.

 

[SpotsandBays]

They work for my horse at home, get him thinking better, however they don’t touch him if we go out anywhere! I found the Magic calmer syringes better