Do herbs work to calm your horse?

Sammi

Sammi

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May 17, 2006
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I am looking into buying Wendells Herbs to calm my horse who is highly excitable, late-gelded, and recently pastured with a mare. Since springtime, he has been acting high-strung, so I'm looking for something to calm him down. Does anyone have experience with Wendells or have another calming suppliment that has worked?

All replies are grealy appreciated.

Thanks :)
 
I had trouble with my 'late gelded' gelding last year, who was also kept with a mare. I tried him on rig calm by global herbs as I had heard good things about it. I think it may if heped a very small amount but he was a pain to deal with - his brain was constantly in his non-existant testicles and he was nothing like the horse I bought.

I have since moved yards and he is now with geldings only. He is a different horse and so nice to be around. As I said rig calm may be worth a try but the only thing that worked for my boy was getting him away from the mare:rolleyes: . They dont have to be rigs to use it, it is for geldings or stallions also just to calm them a little.
 
Thanks everyone. I emailed the distributors of magic to inquire about cost and shipping. Gypsygold, my horse used to be in a field of geldings only, and I had no trouble at all with him as well. How long did you try to get your horse to get accustomed to the mare? Just wondering if I waited long enough, would he regard her as just another horse. I was hoping to densensitize him to this, because trying to ride him around mares can get crazy at times.
 
I got him in July last year and he was put in with my friends mare and our little pony gelding.

He became very attached to the mare and couldnt stand her being near other horses. He did rear up at times and have since realised this was always in the prescence of her and when he was either being taken from her or her from him or another unknown gelding was in the vicinity. Very stallion like:eek:

He was kept with her from July last year till February this year when we moved to Scotland. So 7 months in all and he never got better - if anything more detached from people and more attached to her. I was amzed at the difference I have seen in him since being with geldings only. I felt like I was talking to the wall before, he had a one track mind. At last I have him back:D
 
Thx for responding gypsygold, 7 months is long enough to deal with that behavior. How was he when you put him in the trailer to move him? Did you have to tranquilize him? I'm going to wait a few months before making the decision to leave this farm, but I have thought about moving him back to the other farm with all geldings (even though it's further away). I also know what you mean about them being in another world. It seems he doesn't respect what I am asking unless I am stern with him, which is no fun at all. He always has his gaze fixed on what she is doing, even though he is eating at the opposite side of the field. I am hopeful though, because the mare is 2 hands taller than my horse, and she is not the least bit interested in him. I saw her pin her ears back at him. :D (good girl)

Thx too Boo, I'll also read up on that calmer.
 
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Hi

I could seperate him from her at the yard and hack him alone etc,etc although he was never quite 'with me' if you know what I mean. I could even take him to shows and he was ok. The only times he was really badly behaved was if we were out somewhere hacking/lesson/show and she was there too, then if she moved away we had trouble, or if other horses got too close he was very possessive. I was out hacking with her and a friend on a gelding (which he didnt know) joined us and he started rearing at it:eek:

Anyway regarding travelling he travellled from the yard fine (with our pony gelding for company). The only time I had trouble travelling him was after a lesson (th mare went too) when we had to box back home. She went in her trailer (so out of sight) and we eventually got him in ours, not happy though, (panic, panic where is she:rolleyes: ). He kicked and pawed all the way home. He kicked the jockey door open twice on the way home and broke the handle, and bit chunks of foam off the breast bar. He was dripping wet after a 20 minute journey. I nearly sold him after this episode - it was a new trailer! However I just knew he was so out of character to the horse I bought and am glad I persevered. I cannot believe the difference in him now.

I even had him rig tested but he wasnt. He was gelded completely (as a 3 year old).
 
Gypsygold, the trailer ride you described sounds excactly like the one I dread but anticipate. Our horses have a lot of the same problems/history. I also had an experience of my horse rearing. At our previous barn, I rode my horse in the ring and someone else was riding a mare. (This is when I had no clue about his mare issues because I hadn't had him that long.) He knew the mare because it was stalled next to him, but they were turned out to different pastures. The mare kept peeing at different areas of the ring, and my gelding would stop to smell every spot she made and would get a little wild. As I made my circles smaller so he wouldn't be near the areas, the mare made sure she did her part to get his attention and my circles were reduced to half the ring. Then the mare, taking matters in her own hands, backed her hind end up to my horse :eek: and the mare's rider bailed :eek: So I frantically tried to get my horse to move away, and then he reared (that was interesting).

I have come really close to just giving him away out of shear frustration, but I couldn't do that. I haven't had him rig tested, but I have thought about it. I'm going to give it a few months to try and work him through these issues, and if he is unable to relax, I'm going to move him to an all gelding barn.
Thx again.
 
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I do feel for you and I have to say yours sounds a more severe case:eek: i never had or have trouble with mares in general, in fact I hack with one 3 times a week now without incident so far:rolleyes:

I would definately go for the rig test, it was just a simple blood test which I think cost me about £65. It felt worth it just to know for sure.

I think by the sounds of it you will come to the conclusion i have, that he just isnt a horse that can be kept with mares.
 
I agree, mine is a more severe case. On the positive side, though, he is able to trail ride with mares in the fall and winter. It's the spring and summer that give him problems when the mares get marish. That's why I have some hope (albeit small).

Also, after my horse reared, I got really stern with him after dismounting. I had definately gotten my horse's attention while ranting and raving at him. He had a look on his face like a child who had realized what he did was wrong. I calmly walked him out of the ring and into the round pen, and started to work him again with no problem. I ended on a positive note. Because of this incident, it lead me to believe that he isn't a rig because a rig would have gotten the job done (I'm guessing). I still wonder though.

I almost think that he needs me to be stern with him to keep his attention and obedience. Knowing this, the problem is, that's not my personality at all, and sometimes after work when I go to visit him, I just don't have it in me to do that.
 
This is not fun...

I have to treat him sternly all the time, and we are making very minimal progress. My horse now kicks in his stall and calls to her when he comes in to eat. He'll take a mouth full of grain and then drop it outside of his door because he calls to her. To make things worse, the mare is now getting possessive of him and has started to walk between us when I try to get him out of the field. I am seriously considering moving. :mad: I need more than a horse whisperer, I need a miracle.
 
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