# what's the best calmer !! what do you use!!!



## Gucci_b (6 December 2007)

At the moment i'm using Blue Chip...But some one said use Top Speck!!!


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## the watcher (6 December 2007)

I use Magic or CalMag


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## GTs (6 December 2007)

exercise and discipline!


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## Zebedee (6 December 2007)

[ QUOTE ]
exercise and discipline! 

[/ QUOTE ]

PMSL!!

True.......but if you do need a bit of a hand Equine Herbals V-Calm is quite effective.


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## the watcher (6 December 2007)

[ QUOTE ]
exercise and discipline! 

[/ QUOTE ]

Absolutely, unless you are dealing with a magnesium deficiency.


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## GTs (6 December 2007)

You shouldn't - you are either feeding them too much feed or not exercising them enough!


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## Maesfen (7 December 2007)

Brewers Yeast!  Very good results with it and it's reasonably cheap too (£8ish for 1.5kg) A tub lasts my four a month.


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## Zebedee (7 December 2007)

[ QUOTE ]
You shouldn't - you are either feeding them too much feed or not exercising them enough! 

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't need them on my own horses.......but when I'm having to deal with other peoples who do (ie when I'm clipping for them!) it's nice to be able to recommend something that I do at least know may have some effect!!!


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## Taboo1968 (7 December 2007)

Would these calmers work on humans?  LOL!


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## Halfpass (7 December 2007)

Have used global herbs super calm and throughbred calmer on my youngster both to good effect.


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## Accy (7 December 2007)

I use Feel Good 30 Science Formula Calming this has had very good results on my boy, and would not hesitate to recommend it although it is different for each horse


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## charlotte1 (7 December 2007)

Nupafeed is fab and really works.


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## kinderhorse (7 December 2007)

Has anyone tried Equine America Calmer does it work ?


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## ruscara (7 December 2007)

[ QUOTE ]
Brewers Yeast!  Very good results with it and it's reasonably cheap too (£8ish for 1.5kg) A tub lasts my four a month. 

[/ QUOTE ]

I second this!  I sincerely recommend it and I would urge anyone to try it before buying the other calmers on the market.  Not only does Brewers' Yeast calm a nervous horse, it's also very good for their digestion and helps keep midges away in the summer.  And they love the taste!   
	
	
		
		
	


	




  I buy the Gold Label on from my normal feed supplier, it's cheap and I feed one scoop a day.


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## kombikids (7 December 2007)

do whatever works for you i say. i put my mare on horse calmer - tried a few the american equine so kalm does work, their paste really helped calm my horse when i was loading her. i know some people say they are more for horse than rider but so what! they dont turn a naughty horse good or calm a hyper horse but in my case they do help to relieve anxiety a little and take the edge off.


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## horsegirl (7 December 2007)

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You shouldn't - you are either feeding them too much feed or not exercising them enough! 

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That's not true in all cases!  MY boy is hardly overfed I stuggle to keep the weight on him with what he is fed (mainly forage) and he can get really silly esp when he has had grass, I have found the magnitude or magic have worked wuite well


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## dressagecrazy (7 December 2007)

Another Nupafeed fan. But it just got to expensive for me so i now just use plain old Mag-Ox. A lot Cheaper than Nupafeed lasts for ages &amp; works.
But only if you are dealing with a horse that has a Mag deficiency. Most do have a deficiency but the only way of finding that out is to blood test &amp; its cheaper just to try a Mag calmer imo.


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## madhector (7 December 2007)

Cool Calm and collected, completly changed my horse's attitude to work, he is becoming a nice sensible person now. I dont normally have much faith in calmers etc but after trying this one I am a convert! Really amazing result


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## eventrider23 (7 December 2007)

I've used So Kalm in the past on a stressy (and sometimes dangerous) eventer.  Use Magic at the moment on one of my in foal mares as she is a real stressy redhead and box walks like mad....has almost completely stopped it since being on it.


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## mccarron6769 (7 December 2007)

I am using Equine America's calmer and yes it works.  I used Nupa thingamyjig and it turned him into a zombie so I stopped.  He's much calmer now than he used to be through exercise and finding the right feed but he can just be spooky and stupid so I wanted to try and take that edge off until his education was complete and he perhaps took on board that there are no scary monsters in the field hedges.

About three weeks ago I started the EA product and I have to say it hasn't removed his personality, he's still on his toes but it has removed the stupid spookiness and it seems to have improved his ability to settle down in the school and concentrate on his flatwork instead of his eyes being out on stalks at every little thing.  I won't use is forever but for what I need it is definitely doing a good job and I still have my boy and not a zombie.


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## fruity (7 December 2007)

[ QUOTE ]
You shouldn't - you are either feeding them too much feed or not exercising them enough! 

[/ QUOTE ]

That really isn't true,my mare is a bit hyper in general and she's fed on a fibre diet is exercised 6 days a wk for at least an hour and a half,turned out most of the time and she's still sharp!

I feed Equistro Betamag 12 which is used and recommended by vets.I work at a vet centre and we advise some clients to use Equistro for certain things. Heres the website,fab german company,i've noticed great results, i use a lot of their range as it works for my mare.
http://www.equistro.co.uk/ProdCat/Prod11Nerv.asp


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## JillA (7 December 2007)

[ QUOTE ]
You shouldn't - you are either feeding them too much feed or not exercising them enough! 

[/ QUOTE ]
This was absolutely not the case with my horse - he spooked at everything, didn't get much feed other than haylage, but Magnesium Oxide transformed him into a sensible reliable chap who once he was back on the planet earth could start to learn that most things were not scarey. No change of management, work or diet, just MagOx.


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## MillbrookSong (7 December 2007)

i ;love equine america calmers - the ones in the tubes!! work wonders on gogs!


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## GTs (7 December 2007)

Everyone who uses one will claim their horses is an exception - I have yet to find an exception and been around a few horses.


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## eventrider23 (7 December 2007)

I have to agree that some horses DO NEED calmers GT.  Magnesium deficiencies in horses are a scientific and known fact.  It is also known that nagnesium is the main component to calming horses down naturally within their own systems.  Many horses however, especially competition ones or ones that get very stressed use up the magnesium in their bodies too quickly (it is not a sustainable mineral and so the horse needs to constantly produce it, meaning that sometimes not enough is produced.  
Therefore magnesium based calmers especially, such as MagOx and Magic are aimed at replenishing the stores or magnesium in their bodies and thus allowing them to remain calm in stressful situations without doping them.
I too have worked with many horses, from youngsters and happy hackers, to olympic eventers;  as well as having a degree in equine science and so can honestly say that calmers DO have a very valid place in horses providing they are used for the right reasons.  Of course if a horse is not worked enough or over fed it will be harder to handle however you cannot say that EVERY horse out there without exception that is using a calmer successfully is being underworked and overfed because all horses are individuals and as with some people, many have nervous or stressy personalities and need some extra assistance.....

What's worse (examples only)....a happy healthy horse that is in full work and has an enjoyable horse/rider partnership but has one a scoop of so kalm or magic (or whatever) per day

 OR

the horse that is in full work, etc. but gets easily stressed in differing situations/competition/etc. therefore becoming hard to ride/handle or box walking/not eating, etc. and therefore gets into arguements with its rider, thus becoming unhappy and possibly having feed reduced, etc as it is too sharp....but is not on any sort of calmer, when this may be all that is needed to chill him/her out.


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## GTs (7 December 2007)

But I also believe with proper training and handling horses should not get stressed. We took two year olds from the farm to Saratoga, and never had a problem - so I can't say I agree.


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## Gucci_b (8 December 2007)

o.k guy's...
I have a young 6 yr old standard bread t/b trotter, that i have had for a year now, we have made LOADS of progress together from no canter to cantering under saddele and learning to pole and grid work with now jumping taking shape nicley. we even done together her 1st ever dressage and gained 60% and quilifed for the championships. So we arn't doing to bad....are we!!! I ride her most days (when work &amp; weather permits me, so she get's regular exercise and i feed her a very good diet (my bank balance will vouch for that!) BUT she remains very scaty and nappy from time to time, i never let her get away with being nappy. i always push her forward ect ect... I may try Baileys no 6...As only 6% starch. as well as her regular feed. I also believe that her last job as a trotter in france was very full on and fast, i feel it may take alittle more time to relax her, but i also need a helping hand..


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## eventrider23 (8 December 2007)

I too have taken many youngsters straight from the field who have never had a hand on them and brought them on from scratch and never needed to use a single calmer/feed additive and in general on youngsters I do try to avoid using them as I like them to work through problems and cope with life on their own...however...if as work progresses they prove that they have 'issues' (and of course even the best handles/started/worked horses DO have issues occasionally) then I am quite happy to try different things including calmers to see if it has any effect on them.  I would never dream of doping a horse and working it becaue that is stupid and dangerous IMO but a natural additive such as magnesium, which is already in their body is absolutely fine.

You cannot say that every horse that has had the proper start and training will turn out perfectly.  They are individuals and as with people you can do everything perfectly when raising them only to have things go pear shaped at a later stage through no fault of your own.  At the end of the day, as with people, horses can suffer chemical imbalances as well as being naturally of nervous dispositions.

Also, not every horse has the benefit of a perfect start/training.  Many people take on a horse at a later stage to find that it has deep seated 'issues' that could have been caused at any point in their past (rescue horses being one example).  These horses may thus get stressed out in general or cannot cope with specific situations and thus need an additive like a calmer to help them cope with things.


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