Valerian - seems to be working.......

L

longdog

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 September 2008
Messages
1,003
Location
Sussex
Visit site
We have now put stressy Scarlet on Valerian (from health food shop) This was a suggestion on Twitter from a fellow scatty TB owner!
Weeeell, all I can say, at this very early stage, is that it seems to have a beneficial effect on the lovely but stressy Scarlet. DD had a lesson yesterday & usually it takes 45 mins of the hour to settle (this is with a 20 min hack to the school), yesterday she was much better, worked more easily, softer, & more responsive. I will try & get a blog post up later (or rather will get DD to do post), but so far, things are looking good. Fingers, toes, eyes ALL CROSSED as I type!

Hopefully posting by Longdog
 
Valerian worked wonders years ago when my TB was stressy & silly. Was most annoyed when the supplement I used stopped including it. I wasn't competing at the time so wasn't a prob for me to use it!
 
Ditto above regarding banned substance.
Do not jump using it as valerian upsets the horses spacial awareness and is an accident waiting to happen if unsure ask your vet.Its like jumping a horse thats sedated.
 
Valerian is a proper sedative, that's why it's banned. Just because it's in it's natural state doesn't mean it's not a drug. :)

Personally, I think chemical restraint has its place in the world - much better than having a wreck and it can help a horse get over a tough period - but be aware that the horse is altered.

Re not jumping on it, I can see your point but a couple of top GP horses have had positive tests over the years - because they won on it, obviously - so they couldn't have been that impaired. ;) That said, I'd want to look into why a horse needed it to jump.
 
Phone won't let me edit . . . If used for ridden work I think it's at best a temporary measure and I'd want to know what I was covering up.

If you are going to show make sure you find out the clearance time - it might be more than a week. And be prepared when you take the horse off it as you might get a shock!
 
We are currently only using it when she is going to do something interesting - like a lesson!!
It seems to work quite well giving it 30 mins b4 riding. She doesn't appear sedated, I must say, just able to focus on her work better. She is so terribly nosey & uber sharp that it has made her nicer to ride. She was still quick enough to spot that Ins had changed a jump when she went on the other rein, ducked out & put DD on floor!

We have tried NAF Magic, Eclipse supplement, D&H Take Control not much seems to work on her. Any other suggestions would be gladly received. She is, hopefully, going to event BE, so we really do need to find something that is permitted under rules eventually.
 
Try global herbs mag calm, it's done wonders for my horse. That and equine America so kalm plus are the only things that touch her. Have tried lots of different ones and was going to use valerian but tried global herbs instead and it's really good.
 
There is no question it works. Anything that's banned works. :)

As I said, I think it can be very useful and hopefully, if it helps you make her more ridable, then eventually you won't need anything. :)
 
agree with tarrsteps

it isn't a permanent solution
is it fantasic stuff ,seeing that is was banned in comps was the reason i tried it as i thought it must make a difference if it was worth banning :)

it saved my bacon with a horse walking/riding out when on box rest but mine did look sedated/half asleep ,it doesn't take much real sedative to knock mine out anyway though
 
i've heard really really good things of WinningEdge for this sort of horse, and that's legal. worth a try. it's next on my list, once mine are used to their trial Pure Feed siet and i can judge if that's made a difference or not.
i would never take a horse xc that had had any kind of calmer or sedative, sometimes you need lightning-fast reactions at your disposal... ;) ;) ;)
 
I've used it really successfully with horses on box rest/returning to work. If they're REALLY mad you can top up with some Sedalin and you don't need anything like the dose, nor do they seem to shake it off with quite the same explosion. It's not for every horse but it beats getting someone hurt!

Re riding on it, again it has its place. (People DO ride on veterinary grade sedation, most often for the "wrong" reasons, but sometimes, temporarily, for perfectly valid and justifiable ones. It's one of those things, though, like draw reins that you really have to understand the mechanism and know what you're up to. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but it's naive to think it doesn't happen. A lot.) If it helps a horse get through a difficult transition, it can be very helpful. And certainly easier on the horse than say, hours of longeing or other "quietening" methods. I have a horse on it now to help him accept the training to work through a specific anxiety. I just worry because it's "herbal" people feel it isn't "really" a drug and so is somehow only effective in the "right" ways.

Which is not to say, OP, you shouldn't be using it now - I don't know you or your horse! And I have no idea what you've tried - I'm assuming Valerian isn't your first stop! Re what calmers might work for you, there won't be anything legal that works in a similar fashion. Are you using a proprietary blend? Some companies make "legal" and "not legal" versions of their herbal calmers so it might be worth trying something like that. There are tons of threads on here re calmers - I think PrincessSparkle had had very good luck with one. Also, Spotted Cat is trialing Equifeast and seems pleased. Always worth a p.m!

Another plan might be to tweak the diet. There are horses that are so sensitive even trying a similar product from a different line can make a difference. If you have a tricky one it's always worth a bit of experimenting.
 
Both my TBs have their sort of "looky" days (for no good reason, of course!)where they hop at anything, but I've not thought to try valerian. I keep them on grain-free feeds, though.

But my question is this: will valerian help the Ancient Hacker? Seriously, I enjoy my horses hugely, but I do need some sort of "boldness" medication if I am to improve my confidence and courage, especially with the feral beast who has had a year off, and who I am slowly bringing back into work.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top