Would rig calm help?

[BBP]

BBP apparently cannot cope with new horses. Both the arrival of my young quiet Connemara 2 years ago and now a 4yo pony gelding arriving on loan today have triggered a switch to flip on him. Everyone else has been curious but chilled out and he was fine for the first couple of hours but then has been fence running and rearing at the fence (approx. 1.5m high) thinking about going over it. Shaking all over and getting himself into a right state. He has gone full stallion mode, Spanish walking everywhere, rearing, charging through anything in his way. He’s so dramatic! I can manage the environment, distance and interactions etc, and he settled down but I wondered if something like rig calm might help him physiologically to regulate his emotions a little better as it’s not nice seeing him so stressed.

 

[Caol Ila]

I have no idea and zero experience with studdy geldings (or studdy studs), but I've done a lot of reading into how various herbs and supplements work. I'm also highly likely to buy something to throw at a horse and see if it does anything. Very scientific.

I checked out Rig Calm. The main ingredients seem to be Magnesium, Calcium, Agnus Castus (chaste berry), and pointed gourd.

Mg and Ca can have calming effects if your horse is defiicient in these minerals. Being deficient can also cause horses to act nutty because they basically get muscle cramps and discomfort. If they're not deficient and the behaviour is caused by something else entirely, those minerals will do feck all. I think there's quite a lot of evidence supporting that theory.

Agnus castus is a popular thing to throw at mares to control challenging estrus behaviour. Gypsum used to lose her mind when she went into season, and agnus castus was useless. Hermosa can become mildly herdbound during a really strong heat, and agnus castus has helped her. So in my well-controlled (lol) n=2 experiment, a horse with intense hormonal changes during estrus was not affected by agnus castus, but one with more mild (but still noticeable) changes was.

I had no clue what pointed gourds do. I looked it up. They are apparently rich in many vitamins and used in Ayurvedic medicine for curing everything from baldness to constipation. Also popular as an aphrodesiac. I'm not sure what giving it to a riggy horse would achieve.

It's meant to be great in a curry, though.

 

[ycbm]

Certainly worth trying agnus castus. Called Monk's Pepper for a reason . It worked well to calm down a very squirty mare I had. I've never tried it on a gelding.
.

 

[cauda equina]

Or try a generic calmer eg one of the valerian banned in competition ones

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I would say agnus cactus or valerian I use valerian if they are on box rest and seems to work.

 

[Frano]

Is the Connie a mare? Have you had him blood tested. A friends horse behaves like this to new geldings to ‘ protect ‘ his mare.

 

[Slightlyconfused]

I had better results with Ostraban from gold label, its for mares and riggy geldings. Did wondera for my lad.

 

[BBP]

Is valerian the stinky stuff?

I have some stroppy mare and magnesium but no agnus castus or valerian, so may need to go shopping.

It didn’t help his mood this morning that my Connemara had jumped the fence and was playing wacky races on the track with the new kid. He was furious at not being able to go and join in/be the fun police.

He has struggled with meeting other horses ever since seeing his ‘nanny’ be put to sleep when he was about 8. Prior to that he was the most friendly horse who loved everyone. After that he attacked the next couple of horses that moved in and continues to struggle to regulate himself.

We do have one mare who he is thick as thieves with, the rest are geldings. There is definitely an element of him guarding her.

 

[rextherobber]

Trinity consultants offer a free, very helpful service, their supplement has really helped a very tense, stressed horse I have.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Is valerian the stinky stuff?

I have some stroppy mare and magnesium but no agnus castus or valerian, so may need to go shopping.

It didn’t help his mood this morning that my Connemara had jumped the fence and was playing wacky races on the track with the new kid. He was furious at not being able to go and join in/be the fun police.

He has struggled with meeting other horses ever since seeing his ‘nanny’ be put to sleep when he was about 8. Prior to that he was the most friendly horse who loved everyone. After that he attacked the next couple of horses that moved in and continues to struggle to regulate himself.

We do have one mare who he is thick as thieves with, the rest are geldings. There is definitely an element of him guarding her.

I don't think valerian stinks strong it just looks like chopped leaves and Arabi ate it no problem and his incredibly fussy.

 

[Caol Ila]

Valerian made Fin less anxious. It's not a long term solution (as I found out) since they develop tolerance for it and can have some withdrawal effects, getting even more anxious. But I would still use it for acute, short term things, like a trailer ride. Or maybe your situation if you think BBP will settle relatively quickly with the new guy.