b'NUTRITION JANICE L. HOLLAND, PHD, PASTheHorse.com/NutritionTaking the Edge OffCalming supplement ingredients that work and things to considerbefore choosing or administering a productY ouve spent significant time training and preparing your horse for a clinic or competition, only to get there and have him behave poorly. Hes excitable and unfocused and spooks at things that never bothered him at home. Does this scenario sound familiar? I had it happen with my Thoroughbred gelding Duke. We had a well-known train-er running a multiday clinic at the barn where I boarded. Even though I had been out of town for a week, I really wanted to ride. But when I walked Duke into the ringan arena we trained in dailyhe started acting squirrelly. We tried to work through it but ended up putting him back in his stall for the day. The next day we tried again, and he was great. Still a little up but listening and responding to my cues. For Duke, it just seemed he needed to be in the situation a second time to realize everything was okay.In situations such as this, you might ask what you can do to keep your horse from being so nervous. One option many ISABELLE BEAU DE LOMENIEowners reach for is a calming supple-ment. These are not chemical tranquiliz-ers but, rather, products designed to help horses retain focus. Sue McDonnell, PhD, Cert. AAB, founding head of the Equine BehaviorOwners might reach for calming supplements to help horses retain focus under saddle or cope with Program at the University of Pennsyl- stressful situations such as trailer loading or health care procedures. vania School of Veterinary Medicine, in Kennett Square, says she typically getsPinpointing Problems express their nervous energy in less-than- multiple calls a week from veterinariansBefore reaching for a quick-fix calmingdesirable ways. looking for calmative recommendations.supplement in one of these situations,As horse owners, we can try to find The horses are most commonly stall- however, start by evaluating your nervousoutlets for this energy. This could be as bound layup patients, she says, buthorse and his environment.simple as allowing additional turnout calming supplements might be useful inBecause horses are fight or flighttime or longeing a horse before riding. a variety of scenarios, such as training oranimals, they often fall back on theseIn addition, exposing horses to a variety show situations, health care procedureinstincts when faced with stressful sce- of situations can help desensitize them difficulties or aversions, loading andnarios. They are essentially hard-wiredto and become more accepting of new trailering worries, anxious breeding stal- to try to flee from new circumstances orcircumstances. If you need help, consider lions, separation stress, weaning stress,conditions beyond their normal rou- working with an experienced trainer. stereotypies, and more. tines. When they cant escape they oftenThese professionals can help horses TheHorse.com|The HorseApril 202033'