Calming supplement?

[Hayburner]

My 7 year old mare is on stall rest and hand walking only, no turnout. This will be for about a month. She's extremely sensitive and can be over reactive. I order to safety hand walk her and keep her from doing something to impede her healing, I'd like something to calm her down. As in she reared 3 times yesterday and when returned to her stall she exploded in there and raced around bucking, ugh!

suggestions, please?

I am looking at Smartcalm Ultra And Quiessence, I'm open to other supplements too.

Thanks!

[redsoxluvr]

I would use Reserpine, rather than an herbal calmer. Your vet can give her a shot, or you can do pills. For a situation like this you need the big guns.

[Chisamba]

I would use Reserpine, rather than an herbal calmer. Your vet can give her a shot, or you can do pills. For a situation like this you need the big guns.

Agree fully.

[Hayburner]

Would this be something that she could be on once she can be turned out? Are there dangers to this drug?


The diagnostic vet recommends No Turnout untill she is back in full work. He suggests March 1st I ride her at the walk, and Slowly progress from there. There is no way I can get on her without lunging (which Is not allowed) and my trainer does not want me on her until she has been turned out a few days with some Ace.

I'm discouraged right now, as I want her to heal and I want to walk her, but she scares the crap out of me.

[redsoxluvr]

Would this be something that she could be on once she can be turned out? Are there dangers to this drug?


The diagnostic vet recommends No Turnout untill she is back in full work. He suggests March 1st I ride her at the walk, and Slowly progress from there. There is no way I can get on her without lunging (which Is not allowed) and my trainer does not want me on her until she has been turned out a few days with some Ace.

I'm discouraged right now, as I want her to heal and I want to walk her, but she scares the crap out of me.

I have been in your shoes. They suck. You have to make sure you are safe. Reserpine is commonly used with
horses that are undergoing rehab/stall rest. It is prohibited from use at shows, but this is the
application that it was meant for. The shot typically takes 2-3 days to reach full effect and lasts for between 4-6 weeks.
The pills take less time, but you have the capacity of cross contamination if someone were to use a bucket that
you used to mix the pills with feed, etc. I would go for the shot first, TBH. My boy tore his DDFT and SDFT in
the field. When he got hurt, he was 100% fit and on his hind legs constantly. He was not safe to lead or deal
with and he certainly was not safe to ride. IME Reserpine does not make them dopey per se, but it takes the wind out of them.
Back a few years ago, more than one top hunter trainer got suspended for getting caught using it.

Have your vet give chemical assistance. They should not balk at this. They know better than anyone what a horse can do.
When you can start getting on her at the walk, she needs to be sedated, and you have to have a spotter. This is not negotiable.
If you have a round pen, start in the round pen. Bad things can still happen, but she has less room to get up a head of steam.
I do not envy your situation, and I think people dismiss how dangerous it can be.

[redsoxluvr]

http://www.wedgewoodpetrx.com/learning- ... y-use.html

[Hayburner]

Thanks Redsoxlovr for the information on your horse and the link.

I will talk to my vet and the diagnostic vet for their advise too.

[texsuze]

I've only used Quiessence and never found it to be helpful, but my situation was very mild compared to yours. I would heed the advice of those who've experienced what you are going through now. Good luck, this too shall pass.

[vkitty]

Use Drugs! My little mare is a quiet sort, but after a few months handwalking only, and all the horses on the property feeling their oats after prolonged "stall rest" due to weather, we are using ACE for under saddle walks so she doesn't re-injure herself (or me) with explosive spooks. For a horse not safe to get on before lunging, definitely talk to your vet about drugs, and you may have to consider asking for an alternate rehab protocol if the current plan just won't work for your horse.

[Hayburner]

I will definitely be asking for alternatives to the vets original rehab instructions.

Probably will continue to hand walk for more weeks than his suggestion, then Ace her for turnout, maybe even just do a few days of turnout in the indoor since our pastures are hilly. Then Ace for outdoor turnout. Then see if we can get her to lunge lightly without her normal drama, then get on . Ugh, this is so hard for a green bean like me....

I'm trying the smartpak ultra calming supplement along with mare magic just to see if this helps, just as an interim before drugs

[redsoxluvr]

Good for you! Stand your ground - I know there are vets out there who aren't really horse people who may be a little hesitant to prescribe drugs that are not USAE legal. I mean, I know they have the clinical education, but I know more than one horse vet who has pretty limited riding/horse experience. (Our local surgeon is a genius, for example, and helps a lot of horses. He has just never owned one.) Until you go through a rehab yourself, with you at the end of the lead rope when a horse is turning itself inside out you never really know the joy of rehab.

Some other suggestions I have - start out with turnout in the round pen. Do not just set the horse loose in a big field. The reasons I recommend the round pen are two fold - first, it's a smaller space so they have less room to build up a head of steam. Second, there are no corners. IME a horse will take off full-tilt and slam to a halt when they hit the corner. Another recommendation is to turn them out for the first time in the afternoon, before/after the barn busy time. (Like 1-2PM, after the morning riders are done and before the kids come from school to ride.) I always put a high value feed out there to distract the horse. Sometimes it works, sometimes being free is too exciting for them. If the horse is on a structured program of rehab, I do that first, before I turn out. That way the horse can burn any iota of energy they can before they are cut loose. If this were my horse, I would do the rehab, administer the ace or whatever, then hand graze near where I am going to turn out. I let the horse pick around grazing, let them wander into the round pen and then casually unclip the lead.

Good luck, and best wishes for a speedy, uneventful recovery.

[Hayburner]

Red - thanks for the additional suggestions. The diagnostic vet is one of the BEST...So, I trust his recommendation, it was her first appt with him and he saw a super sweet laid back horse. She was a total angel at the clinic, ( I was in utter shock at how good she was) so I'm sure he thought she'd be fine to just get on after her stall rest.

We do have a round pen - but, it is a thick mud hole. She's also very picky about her turnout pasture and who she's next to. The round pen is not that close to where her "friend" goes - so I think she'd be a total nut case in the RP.
Though, I like your final suggestion of hand grazing, then go into the RP . Your method just may just work for her, hopefully when she's ready the ground will be dried up.

Thanks !