# do calming horse feeds actually work?



## moodiestmare (13 July 2011)

At the moment my mare is being a real handful. I Have stopped all her feed but it doesnt make much difference. She is still nuts! Would feeding something like ride and relax make a difference?


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## faith123 (13 July 2011)

Hi

I dont know about the calming feeds (I fed Mollichaff Calmer over the winter as the other stuff is full of suger!) but I have just started my mare who can also be a bit nuts/fizzy on Feedmarks Steady Up - and so far it seems to have made a difference in her general concentration levels - I have a couple of friends that recommended it to me.

Mares..... got to love them huh


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## hayley123horses (13 July 2011)

I think cutting the sugar out does help but agree with the mares you got too love them, it is very true what they say you tell a gelding but ask a mare.

As for some of these supplements I sit on the fence with these I think they must do something or would not be on the market getting through trading standards but not quite sure as to the overall effect.

I have 3 mares and absoilutely love them bad news is one is 28 and she seems to get worse with age bless her


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## Toffee44 (13 July 2011)

From time to time I feed placid mix its a herbal thing from d & h. I havent fed it for long periods but I find it allows a horse to look at things where as before just spook and poo and bolt. So I might feed it for a few weeks especially if getting back into work etc

If Samba gets to go to a party this year I will prob feed her a bit for a few days before the party and then stop.


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## Hippona (13 July 2011)

I do feed the Mollichop Calmer chaff to my arab- hard to say whether it works or its simply that he's better since I don't feed him cereals like his previous owners used to....


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## laura7981 (13 July 2011)

Hi, ride and relax doesn't actually contain anything to calm a horse down....it just doesn't contain ingredients that would heat your  horse up. Give magnesium a try, it's really cheap and has a good review


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## hessy12 (13 July 2011)

I've tried them all, none of them work. If you use the search function on this forum (look up 'calmers') then you can see all the previous posts. it seems rather hit and miss and i suspect there is a very strong placebo effect going on. Short of using an increment of sedalin there is nothing you can buy to calm a horse down based on herbs. My vet agrees with this, they (calmers) are a money making exercise. Sorry to be negative but i thought telling you what i have found out (cost me loads too) might save you wasting your own money.


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## abailey (14 July 2011)

Me too, none of them work! (in my experience) There was an article in H&H which pretty much backed this up (vets). The only thing that works is work, work and more work!!!


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## lazybee (14 July 2011)

hessy12 said:



			I've tried them all, none of them work. If you use the search function on this forum (look up 'calmers') then you can see all the previous posts. it seems rather hit and miss and i suspect there is a very strong placebo effect going on. Short of using an increment of sedalin there is nothing you can buy to calm a horse down based on herbs. My vet agrees with this, they (calmers) are a money making exercise. Sorry to be negative but i thought telling you what i have found out (cost me loads too) might save you wasting your own money.
		
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^^^THIS^^^


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## amandap (14 July 2011)

hayley123horses said:



			I think cutting the sugar out does help
		
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I have found this is very true and I include sugar in grass here. 
Supplements will only have effect if there is a deficiency or imbalance I believe. Given that many of us can't do frequent forage and overall feed intake analyisis the usual suspect missing that affects behaviour along with excess sugars is I believe magnesium. I'd be tempted to try giving some magnesium oxide along with pure salt first. Giving blends is ok but you may not know what worked. The best way to know is forage analysis but a blood test might show major mineral deficiency or overload. 
Just thinking out loud but have a check if anything has changed in her life that may have stressed her as well.


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