b'NUTRITIONovercome nervousness and give ownersseveral other ingredients for which there and riders training and managementis little or no solid evidence for their recommendations. safety and efficacy, cautions McDonnell.McDonnell says its also important toSo the important message in my view for evaluate the horses health to make sure ausing L-tryptophan as an aid to calming medical reason isnt behind his behav- is to find a product with L-tryptophan as ior, because conditions such as gastricthe only active ingredient.ulcers can lead to behavior issues. Horses that are in pain due to injury might alsoB Vitaminsexhibit negative behaviors.Several B vitamins work together to Evaluating a horses diet before add- promote nervous system health. Most ing a calming supplement is also veryhorses with healthy hindgut microbial important, because several dietary com- populations produce more than adequate ponents can affect behavior. Imbalancesamounts of these nutrients. However, and deficiencies in some nutrients canhigh-starch diets, stress, and antibiotic contribute to behavior disorders. In theseadministration can reduce the micro-cases a calming supplement that containsbial population and, therefore, decrease one of these nutrients might help. Workvitamin production. Adding prebiotics with an equine nutritionist to assessand probiotics or supplementing with your horses diet and determine whetherindividual B vitamins can help. dietary excesses or deficiencies are caus- Thiamine (vitamin B1) is one of the B ing behavior problems. What follows arevitamins that plays a role in fat and car-some of the more common and effectivebohydrate metabolism. Horses deficient natural calming additives on the market.in B1 often appear stressed and nervous, The first three are designed to addressand supplementing the diet with this vita-certain deficiencies, while the latter fourmin might bring about positive behavior are simply helpful additives.changes.MagnesiumMagnesium is a prevalent nutrient inWhen using calming supplements. Its often poorly ab- L-tryptophan as an aid sorbed from feedstuffs, so you might need to supplement it simply to meet a horsesto calmingfind a needs. Magnesium is important for prop- product with er muscle contraction and nervous signal transmission. Misfiring of nervous systemL-tryptophan as the components can cause horses to appearonly active ingredient.nervous, irritable, or especially sensitive to new situations. Have a qualified equineDR. SUE MCDONNELLnutritionist evaluate your horses diet, then add magnesium if its needed. If the horse is truly deficient, you should see anAlpha-Casozepineattitude change within a few days of start- The milk peptide alpha-casozepine has ing magnesium supplementation. shown promise as a calming supplement. Some of the amino acids within this L-Tryptophan protein are linked to the calming effect L-tryptophan is an essential aminoobserved when young mammals nurse. acid, meaning it needs to be supplied inAlpha-casozepines structure is similar to the horses dietthe horses body alonethat of some anxiolytic benzodiazepines cant produce it. L-tryptophan is involved(sedatives found in anti-anxiety medica-in synthesizing serotonin, a central ner- tions), and it seems to work like one, vous system hormone and neurotransmit- as well. It does not appear to cause any ter that can create feelings of relaxationof the negative side effects (agitation, and contentment and is often consideredincoordination, and even recumbency) an anti-stress hormone. 1 sometimes seen with benzodiazepines, A problem with suggesting L-however. This peptide has also been tryptophan is that it is usually in horsestudied in other animal species, such as products in combination with one torats, cats, and dogs, and researchers saw 34April 2020The Horse|TheHorse.com'