Do syringe calmers work?

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_jetset_

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I am having some problems with my medium horse in that at the moment she is so tense and stressy in her work. She is fine when we are working deep and loose, but as soon as I pick her up to do any advanced work, she is just getting so fizzy and silly that it is becoming hard work :(

I am supposed to be competing her this afternoon in a Medium test, and a friend has suggested trying her on a calmer for the competition and seeing if that helps... I have never used one before so was just trying to see what others thought of them?

I rode her first thing this morning and she was just hyper active :o :o :o I am hoping I have worn her out a little for this afternoon as I worked her really hard!
 
Thanks... will look into it.

I have just ordered some of the Feedmark calmer for her in her feeds, but I do think something like this would help!
 
It depends on the horse, my mare responds well to Equine America So Kalm, Oxyshot was a waste of time on her but worked on my friend's gelding, Magnesium based ones are only effective if the horse is deficient in Magnesium so I have found them useless too.

A calmer with L Tryptophan in it works best IME.
 
It does seem to be one of those very individual things.

Maybe pm PrincessSparkle? She seems to have had good results with whatever she's using.
 
The only time I used So Kalm it took about 4 hours to kick in by which point I had finished competing and was about to head home.

All the others I have tried have been totally useless but I did draw the conclusion that I did give them to my horses when they were slightly wound up from being plaited and so I am guessing their natural adhrenaline overode the calming effects. Maybe try giving to your horse when she is settled and relaxed.
 
I used the NAF magic syringes at Wilton on Saturday (one the night before and one 2hours before the test) to try and take the edge off my horse for the dressage. I'm afraid to say it was useless as he was more tense than usual!


I think different horses react differently though so definitely worth a try and see what works for you.
 
And to oppose previous poster friend used a tube of magic on Sunday and it helped LOTS to point you wouldn't have thought same horse!!

Ultimately different products will have a different effect on different horses and a lot of time will be trial and error to see which ones help and which don't!
 
i tried the Magic syringe one on my tense youngster and he was definitely better than normal - it may have just been the atmosphere at that particular show though. I have 2 spare (he's going to a new home as a happy hacker now so dont need them) - would be happy to sell them on at cost if you wanted to try them.
 
Santa_Claus said:
And to oppose previous poster friend used a tube of magic on Sunday and it helped LOTS to point you wouldn't have thought same horse!!

Ultimately different products will have a different effect on different horses and a lot of time will be trial and error to see which ones help and which don't!
Click to expand...

Very jealous! Wish it had been effective for me so that I didnt have to try and navigate a plank of wood around the arena :eek:

I think it's probably the same as ACP - adrenaline can override the effects
 
Thanks everyone... a friend is bringing me a magic one to try!

It is just ridiculous when the 15 year old is needing a calmer and the 4 and 5 year olds go out and just get on with the job! There is something seriously wrong with this picture :p
 
I think it is really individual to each horse.

Nothing worked on our big mare, and I was firmly in the camp of "they are all useless" but her owner is convinced in them and has put her on equifeast "cool calm collected" and I have to say, I have had to eat my words because she is noticable calmer!!

I dont know if they do a syringe one though... Good luck in your hunt for a calmer!!
 
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