Which calmer for Friesian ?

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Erikaa

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Hi Everyone! :)

I have a 7 years old gelding friesian horse, who's very anxious, can't stand still even one sec. He always has to move. He's also very distracted during work, he cannot focus. I was thinking about putting him on calmers... I hesitate between TOPSEC calmer or RelaxMe. Can I give him the calmer during the whole year? Or we have to take a break, and restart it?

Which one would you suggest?

Thanks a lot.
 
Well, thank you Paula. Is not that he's looking, but he's worried about everything. He just can't relax... But he's nice, he likes people, nothing evil, but we can stand still, he's circling nervously around himself, no matter if I'm on his back or not...
 
I have never used calmers before but have a tb in on long term box rest he is totally chilled despite having been in now for 3 months , I have him on Magnitude it was the first one I picked up but it seems to be working well.
 
Have you had him long? How much work is he doing. I have to admit I'm no great expert as I've only had my mare a few months - she was quite unsettled to start with, and needs regular work, but is generally quite calm. She can be terribly pushy if allowed to be, but she's only 4, so still a baby really.

Hopefully someone will advise you on the calmer.

Paula
 
He's working 5days a week, and lives outside with 12 other horses, so he is always on the move... I have to admit, that he's very pushy, I also really have to work it with him :D

I bought him 2 months ago, and I'm a bit worried about his future

I don't want to sedate him, just helping him to relax.
 
He could still be a little unsettled then. When I first had Bree someone recommended the book Perfect Manners by Kelly Marks and a dually halter. We did a lot of ground work to work on her manners and it really paid off. But it's probably worth getting an instructor in to help you to start off with as it's all about body language which is difficult to learn from a book.

Do ask about this on the Frieisian thread as they have a lot more experience than me and some of them don't post much in the general forum.

Paula
 
Hi Erikaa,

Most calmers on the market are magnesium based which is great if your horse has a magnesium deficiency but pretty pointless if he doesn't! Lots of horses with magnesium deficiencies have certain tell tale behaviours - for example above being a little spooky they find it difficult to settle down after getting worked up about something - but of course not every horse who finds it hard to calm down has a deficiency some are just built that way.

Personally if you have the patience I would look at other factors before you spend money on a calmer - lots of people swear by them when it is other factors which have sorted the problem out (ie. if you think your horse is taking a magic calming supplement you will be more confident about his behaviour and he will respond to you being less nervous by being magically calmer).

Personally I'd look at his diet first - what is eating? you say you have only had him for two months - what was he eating in his previous home?

Has his routine changed dramatically - I know two months seems like a while to have had him in his new home but for a temperamental breed change can be a slow process. How does he seem with the horses he is turned out with? Is he bottom of the pile? Sometimes very submissive horses can be excessively nervous but similarly animals who don't know their place in the hierarchy can struggle as they are constantly unsure of how to behave - it might be worth watching how he reacts to the rest of the herd seeing as he is out with a group. I don't buy into the whole 'alpha' stuff but it is worth asserting yourself a little in these early stages so he doesn't learn pushy is the way forward :D

I'd also suggest getting his back checked - constant fidgeting could be a sign he is a bit uncomfortable?

Anyway sorry if those are all things you have considered - Just thought I'd add my thoughts from personal experience!

If you are set on getting a calmer equine america's (is that MagnaCalm?) comes highly recommended from a lot of people, as does RelaxMe. I don't know anyone who has used Topspec but as a company I couldn't recommend their products more - they generally are very high quality. I would steer clear if the cheaper ones completely (Dodson and Horrel 'Placid' etc.).

Hope some of that helps :)
 
I would be putting in ground work with him. Calmers only work if your diet is unbalanced otherwise you are just pissing away your $$ and possiably causing other imbalances.

Analyse your current diet and make sure it is balanced - both vit and mins and calorie wise as lots of people over feed horses calories and then get surprised they are energetic. Make sure he is getting at 1.5% body weight of fibre per day.

I use www.feedxl.com but nrc have a free tool and you can do an as fed analysis your self with a few calcualtions.
 
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