Helping horse during stressful time

L

llohcins

Well-Known Member
Joined
26 July 2009
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97
Location
Hertfordshire
www.thehorsediva.co.uk
I feel so sorry for my poor horse. He has been on total rest for 7 weeks due to injury and now we have tragically and suddenly lost his best friend. He is very upset. He is generally a calm boy but certainly gets big bouts of insecurity, especially if any even small change in routine. Is there anything I can give him to help fairly quickly for a couple of weeks whilst he is pining and finishing his recovery? I tried him on Valarian before but that sent him crazy. Thanks for your help
 
Valerian has the opposite effect in about 30% of horses (and humans!) You might have one of those. You could try a non valerian based calmer - there are loads as valerian is a banned substance in competition. I'm getting very good results from Dobson & Horrell Placid atm.

Or you could try offering him herbs seperately by hand - fresh, dried or oils. He can choose which ones he wants. try things like Chamomile, Lavendar, Lime flower, hops.

Also - we are massive fans of Bach's flower essences. You could try rescue remedy and then maybe move on to things like Rock rose for greif. You can find all the specifics on line. Just drip a bit into your hand and if he wants it he'll lick it off. The interaction will probably be good for him too!
 
Thanks. I did think of rescue remedy as I am a fan of that myself. It's so much trial and error with the calmers and I really want to ease him now as his stressing isnt doing his injury any good. I might try the herbs, I previously bought from natural horse supplies so may contact them. I am pretty sure he is in that 30%...I have never seen a horse react like he did when he was on that, it turned him from slightly afraid to totally insane!
 
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