Do calmer cookies really work?

They worked very well on mine. I gave him a whole one before Xc Schooling and he looks half asleep over the fences! Only gave him half next time out. He’s a bit of a lightweight it would appear! He’s a 16.3 ish who get the “chin of tension” whenever we go out. These just seem to relax him. Equine science ones I think.
 
My daughter's mare used to get very tense as soon as she went into the dressage arena. Since having a Calming Cookie about 30 minutes before she has to go in she's much more relaxed and rideable, so they definitely work for her. My other daughter has started giving her spooky mare one before a hack and they are working for her as well.
 
Can’t give a whole one to my WB unless I want him in a near-sedated state. A quarter of a cookie works perfectly to take the edge off any anxiety without laying him out cold.
 
I seem to be the only person in the entire country who’s horse went doollally on them. To be fair it could have been something else that sent her doollally but either way, I won’t use them again.
 
StableMum said:
My daughter's mare used to get very tense as soon as she went into the dressage arena. Since having a Calming Cookie about 30 minutes before she has to go in she's much more relaxed and rideable, so they definitely work for her. My other daughter has started giving her spooky mare one before a hack and they are working for her as well.
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This is literally exactly whats happening to me. How long does the calming cookie last for, for you?
 
i have used two different types of calming cookies and various other types of calmers - instant and longer term. none really have a positive impact on my boy. in fact we were doing an in hand class at the royal london show recently having had calmers and the judge remarked that he looked like a rabbit in the headlights. overall, i find he is better without. however, his response may not be typical. i know others on my yard who have very successfully used calming cookies so i definitely wouldn't discount them. my boy is by pouchka and they are typically difficult and quite stressy.
 
I use the premier performance cookies. I think they helped to take the anxiety off my boy when everything was so new and unsettled. He was getting in a sweat just through anxiety. They really helped that. I only needed to use them for a couple of weeks and now just use them when we’re doing something new.
I also started him on their calming stomach supplement - my thinking being that he’d had a big move and his gut seemed unsettled. I think that is also really helping and he is definitely much more settled and happy.
Even if the effect is just placebo, the ingredients seem ok to use, so worth a shot really.
They do contain molasses though, so may not suit a sugar sensitive soul (maybe try the stomach supplement instead).
 
Heinze171 said:
This is literally exactly whats happening to me. How long does the calming cookie last for, for you?
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It's difficult to say how long it lasts but we've never felt the need to give her another. She did two tests about 45 minutes apart last weekend and she was fine in the second.
 
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