Calm Her.....?

Question

I have a large pony mare who has a VERY marish attiude. I know severial people(including my trainer) who have used something called Calm her on there Mares. Its a natural hurb that has some kind of hormone calming thing in it. Has anyone else used this? any dislikes or likes?

please note for thoes who don't know this is ok to show on and whold not show up on a drug test if tested. I know a few people on the "AA" circirt that use it. I would just like to know if anyone on here uses it.

Answer 1

I would not recommend using natural herbs because it is only temporary. Using herbs to calm a horse is good but will not cure a horse. Work with this horse type differently than you would handle another horse. ALOT of hands on and teaching with marish attitude takes alot of work. Idk...alot of people like to use natural herbs, but I don't like to rely on these incase there is a time when she is not treated and it's an important time for her to be calm.

Answer 2

i use something like nupa feed on show horses that hot up at events. I also use herb supplements, and things like 'stroppy mare' which suprisingly enough do work!!!! The main thing that works on calming horses is magnesium! Also, HOWEVER much training you do, it is not always the answer. Some horses just hot up at event etc because they are anxious and nervous etc, and you without experience the horse will not get better. Time and experience will help your mare, aswell as calming products.

Answer 3

look up on wat clint anderson has to say on a calmer horse...

i wouldnt do any herbs.

Answer 4

there are many calming remedies and herbs on the market for mares and I have heard nothing but positive results from them.

For those that are just excitable during shows or for lessons I also suggest using Lavender oil.  It's used by many in the show circuit.  It has a calming effect.

Rub on the horses neck and bridge of the nose (just a few drops, don't go wild).  Also apply to your hands.

Answer 5

Calming remedies are short term solutions that don't really get to the root of the problem. The other day, one of my horses was left alone in his paddock as people were taking their horses out, and a lady came up and suggested I give him a bucket of grain with bute in it to calm him down, because he was freaking out. My answer? NO WAY! Doing that just teaches him to get scared so he can load up on grain and get high on bute.

OK its not an exactly analagous situation but the principle is the same. You need to work on problems with horses by behavioral modification, not some magic bullet. What do you mean she is very marish? I assume this means she is dominant, but I would like it if you would describe specific ways in which she is dominant.

Is she dominant over you? If so then YOU need to become the alpha mare. The way to do this is with proper groundwork.

If your groundwork isn't up to speed, consider reviewing some of the free articles posted here:

http://www.train-horses.com/horse-articl...

If a horse has a "marish" attitude, I have found that simple leading exercises (done properly) work very well to start getting rid of that problem. If a female horse is acting marish its because she doesn't see you as the alpha mare. In a horse-human relationship, you need to be the alpha. That doesn't imply being mean, what it implies is being a leader for your horse. This is the natural state of affairs for horses.

I am not sure what to think of your trainer if he/she relies on drugs to cure horse behavior problems. That ain't much of a trainer in my opinion. A natural herb may be natural, but it is still a drug.

David

http://gentlenaturalhorseman.blogspot.co...

Answer 6

I think it's a little different, but we used this stuff called Mellow Mare on a horse we had.  It worked pretty well, helped her attitude, made her easier to work with.  Here's a link:

http://www.chamisaridge.com/horses/1/CR4...

I've also used a supplement called SmartCalm.  I like it a lot.  But it's more for general calming, it doesn't specifically deal with mare-ish attitudes.

http://www.smartpakequine.com/productcla...

Answer 7

If you are in the UK or Ireland, there is a great supplement called s**t Mix (I'm serious!)  It was used by the owner of the yard I worked at when I was in Ireland, as there was one mare in particular who was VERY mare-ish.  The only ingredient I recall that was in it was passion flower (which it had a photo of on the label).  I wish I had payed more attention to that label....  Anyways, it worked EXTREMELY well.  

Commercially marketed herbal supplements for horses are generally pretty safe, but keep in mind that some herbs can and do interact with certain medicines.  Always ask your vet first, and do some research (via Google or the library) on each and every herbal ingredient that you are thinking of feeding.  

The ingredients in this supplement (Moody Mare) are very safe, but I must say that none of these ingredients really do anything for horomones to the best of my knowledge:

http://www.horsehealthusa.com/cgi-local/...

This supplement (Easy Mare) contains herbs that are definetely more well-known for hormonal/anxiety/hyperness problems, yet they are still quite safe:

http://www.smartpakequine.com/ProductCla...

I have seen mare supplements now and then that contain black cohosh.  I would steer clear of those.  Blach cohosh is quite potent, interacts with a ton of stuff and is not intended to be used long-term anyway.  Same with blue cohosh.  I don't know if they even make those supplements anymore, but I do distinctly recall seeing them for sale in some of the bigger tack shop's catalogs a few years ago.

Bottom line, herbs are medicines and ought to be treated as such.  That being said, they can prove to be very useful provided they are used correctly.

Good luck!

EDIT:  Is the supplement you're thinking of called "Relax Her"?  I found it and it does contain black cohosh:

http://www.smartpakequine.com/productcla...

it's up to you - the other ingredients are OK.  But the "do not feed to pregnant mares" warning is definetely from the black cohosh.  Don't rule out mixing your own herbal supplements, either.  Many herbal comapines online will make custom mixes for you.