Help please Valerian

[destreza]

I have a a bottle of it that I purchased from my local health food store. There are 500mg caps in it ... a 150 lb human is to take 1 before bed... so would that mean my horse should take like 8 ?! how many MG should they have ? how long does it take to kick in?
he is very flightly and freaks out bucking on trail rides so I want to give him something to calm his nerves but still keep him awake

 

[PapaFrita]

Recommended daily dose of Valerian for a horse is 10g a day in 2 meals.
I bought some of the rooty stuff from a health food shop and blended it a bit at home to make it a bit more powdery, and feed it like that.
I haven't used it very long, but it's supposed to be excellent and calming horses but not make them dopey.
Bear in mind that valerian has been banned by the FEI and Jockey club, so it's not legal for competition.

 

[destreza]

um do you have to feed it on a daily basis or could I just give to him the day of a trail ride or something I know will make him crazy ?
the human dose to make someone sleepy is 500 mg based on a 150 lb person, he is only about 1100 lbs so wouldnt 10 g be wayyy over dosing him ?

 

[PapaFrita]

This is a very good website describing the effects of Valerian. It says you don't need to feed daily, but you can. The doses I got from another website, which also says it's best to start with a lower dose and build up.

 

[_jetset_]

I'm glad to hear you are having good results on the valerian PF... It was the only thing that worked for Hannah.

When I first put Hannah on it (about 3 years ago for her seasons - was too much to handle) my herbalist recommended three days feeding 30ml, then seven more days feeding 20ml and then either 15ml or 10ml for upkeep. If there are particular times when Hannah needed that little something extra, for example the first few days of her season, I would up it again to 30 ml a day which worked wonders...

I always split it into 2 feeds though when on 30ml and 20ml...

 

[PapaFrita]

Ah, now that's interesting! So there is a 'loading' period like for Cortaflex. I'm only giving PF 10g a day, and she's settled well into her flat work (considering how much time she's had off) but was very, very spooky on our first hack!! Perhaps I need to up her dose a bit...