Should I use a calmer?

[vicm2509]

Im not sure if I should give my horse a calmer or not so heres the info and I would appreciate a little advice.

He is generally laid back in the stable, you can do anything to him. He good to school on the flat and a little lazy if anything but not so much that I would call him lazy. Now he can get tense as he worries and gets all worked up, this is mainly when jumping and can cause him to refuse. Also he naps, I find it hard to get him off the yard as he panics about leaving, he gets all sweaty, stiff and rears spins etc, I can usually ride him through it (has taken a lot of work) but he is still very tense on the ride. He can also be like this in dressage tests, quite nervy which causes him to tense up, he moves lovely but can get tense for the first half of the test. In SJ he is like a coiled spring, he will jump with lots of encouragement but again gets very tense and sweaty. I dont push him with the SJ as im trying to build his confidence.

So do you think it would be worth trying a magnesium calmer to settle his nervs a little. Its mainly the hacking thats an issue as he is so obviously stressed out and on his toes. When I do get him off the yard I find he will not nap at all if I sing and talk to him (dont laugh

) so its obviously due to him not being relaxed.

The reason i ask is that Im not sure if a calmer is supposed to be used for the reasons I want it for. I asked a while ago about instant calmers as I planned to use them for fun rides as I knew he would get really het up and stressed on his own but now im out cometing nearly every weekend and want to work on the napping issue now the nights are lighter I thought perhaps a calmer would help?

 

[Porkie]

Hv a friend in similar situation and she has now decided to try the new product from bluechip called 'Karma' - thats a magnesium based clamer - too early to say if its working or not but guess wouldn't harm to try - her horse gets stressy and tense about silly things but in general is good to handle - jumping is a nightmare tho............ Couple of people on my yard use Nupafed, which hv heard is the best one but can only get over the net and is v v expensive !!

 

[Law]

This is a really interesting one- I'm not convinced that a 'calmer' would help. It sounds like he lacks going forward and if he's a little lazy for you in some circumstances already then i'm not convinced a calmer would help. It sent my horse into a plod and he's normally quite spirited

I'd be worried that your horse might get unbearably lazy on a magnesium calmer.
What about something herbal?
Lots of long reining out with a helper if you can find someone should also help.

Sorry if this is a useless reply!

 

[vicm2509]

No its not useless at all, I did think it would perhaps make him more lazy. Ive tried the long reining etc and he goes abslutly fine, hes fine in all situations if there is a person on the ground, even if the person is behind him, we have hacked for hours friend riding him and me walking and vice versa and he is fine. He is also bad with other horses when he is at the back and they canter, he fears hes getting left behind and starts bucking, this is because I have to hold him back because his strides are so big but we cant go infront because he naps. So now after a year im looking for something to help him a little more. Ive only started competing him this year as I wanted to build a bond between us first so he leart to trust me rather than pushing him into situations he wasnt happy with.

 

[samp]

I used Equifeast Cool, Calm and Collected on my mare who can be lazy but can easily get tense and stressed when ridden, it has made her so much more relaxed, she can walk past most hings out hacking now - before we would either shoot backwards or rear and spin. Of course she may get an odd day but she has been so much better

 

[ann-jen]

Hi,
I remember you posted on my thread asking about Nupafeed. My mare has been on it for a few weeks now and I'm not sure its really making any real difference to be honest. If you remember my horse is lazy on the flat and sharp to jump and that is still the situation now! When she was on the loading dose I noticed she was freer in her paces somehow and if anything it seemed to help with that on the flat rather than calming her when jumping. She's now on the maintainance dose - I can't say she's had any terrible tantrums while she's been on it although she was a little bit of a handful when she was in season a few weeks ago. I took her to her first SJ show in a long time on Sunday and she was definitely a lot calmer than the last time I took her but I suspect thats more from the endless schooling I've been putting in rather than the calmer.
I remain an optimistic skeptic! I think the calmer has helped relax her muscles slightly but am not convinced it is having any effect on her general demeanor. Not sure if any of this makes sense or is of any help to you but thought I'd give you an update.

 

[KatB]

My horse is a bit stressy, and gets himself in a a state and then switches off, normally at a comp! Put him on Naf Magic, putting him on very very low levels at home, then upping it a few days before going out. Previously he has got off the lorry at a comp, rearing, plunging and completely oblivious to anyone doing anything to him, then completely dies and switches off. Took him out on saturday, first time out on calmer, he came off the lorry chilled, let me put studs in tack up etc no fuss, did a lovely dressage test with minimal warming up (judge commented on how relaxed and obedient he was) went SJ no probs, and went on to win, whereas previously he has been elim in the sjing when he has stressy head on.

May just be the fact something ahs finally clicked i his head, but i'm not taking him off Magic! He is normally sliughtly lazy at home, and goes backward if he is uncertain. HAvent had that at all....

 

[shandy133]

my sister used magic opn her horse for polo last year - it seemed to work a treat, so i used it all up on my very shy NF. he seems to have calmed, it may be because he is used to the place now, but i still have him on magnesuim capsules- which are amazing and work superbly on my to-be event mare too! pm me if you want the number of the ppl who supply the capsules.

 

[Lozz1uk]

I've been wanting to ask something similar. My mare is very lazy at home so i've recently started feeding her oats, which seems to be working a bit. However, when I've been out competing recently (pre-oats) she's been really stressed when in the SJ ring and has panicked and chucked me off a couple of times. I was thinking of using a calmer, but would using one as well as oats be a contradiction? She's not fizzy and is fine in the warm up ring, just going in seems to have blown her mind the last couple of times.

Sorry to hijack your post!

 

[KatB]

Nope, mine is on comp mix (oats!) and magic. Gives him energy and stamina, but takes the nerves off him so dont seem to get the nervyness....