Managing Hot Horses: Supplements & Medications

Sally gave me a list of supplements and medications used for managing hot-headed horses. As I mentioned before, she said with temperamental horses, management becomes a key factor in their performance. Sally also explained that what works for one horse may have no effect at all on the next; so it's trial and error - both with the type of supplement, the dosage level and the schedule. There are a lot of factors at play!

Too much testosterone?

Depo-Provera

This was new to me, but it turns out that some geldings are given Depo-provera (estrogen) to help calm them down. Reading through the online forums, I learned that I lot of competitors use this for nervous, overly spooky and reactive horses; to "take the edge" off. It sounds particularly common on the A-Circuit.

Injections are given once every 3-4 weeks. The strength seems to vary from 200mg - 600 mg/ml; the dosage appears to vary too - anywhere from 2-10 cc. Depo is on the expensive side, average $40-$50 a shot. There's a generic version of the drug called medroxyprogesterone, but I'm not sure how much the price varies.

Regu-mate

Regu-mate is also for mares and similar to Depo, but is taken orally. Like Depo, it is often administered to geldings. A 1000ml bottle costs $260 on SmartPak and like Depo, requires a Vet prescription. It is described as an Oral Progestin for suppression of estrus in mares. For both Depo and Regu-Mate, vets will check the geldings testosterone levels first before prescribing. Unlike Depo, it sounds like many people use Regu-Mate as a short-term solution.

Blood sugar imbalance?

Perfect Prep

You have to read the ingredient label of any calming supplement carefully to be sure it doesn't contain an illegal substance like valerian root, which is a herb known to be a natural sedative. Many calming pastes contain this ingredient and it is illegal. If you aren't sure if the ingredient is legal, best to cross-reference against the USEF's Drug Guidelines.

Perfect Prep makes a host of oral supplements and paste for the purpose of calming horses down. The intent is to stabilize the horse's blood sugar levels. Perfect Prep EQ Training Day, Extreme, ProFocus and Gold all meet competition requirements for the USEF. They each have variations in the ingredients. So again, this is where the experimentation comes in to see what works best for the horse at hand. These oral pastes are administered either the day before or the day of the competition.

Quiessence

This is a daily supplement of Magnesium and Chromium. I currently have Leo on a straight magnesium supplement (Magnesium 5,000) so I'm tempted to give this a try as it's so close to his current regimen. When I put Leo on the Magnesium 5,000 I didn't see much of any difference in his behavior. But Quiessence has 16,000mg of magnesium in comparison to my current choice. The increase in magnesium may be well worth a test.

Magnesium is traditionally used for nerve and muscle function and recovery. Because Magnesium can calm the nervous and cardio-vascular systems, and ultimately induce muscle relaxation, it is often feed to spooky, tense and inattentive horses. Some sources say that Magnesim also helps improve insulin levels and assists in gastric ulcer repair.

Chromium helps the body metabolize carbohydrates, and ultimately regulate blood sugar levels. A side-effect of Chromium is weight-loss, which is not due to the chromium itself - but when sugar levels are balanced, particularly in overweight horses, a natural result is weight loss. Chromium is used frequently with horses that are Insulin Resistance. This is a condition in which cells don't respond properly to insulin and causes the pancreas to produce more insulin than is actually required by the body to control good sugar levels. It is often seen in certain breeds like Arabians, Morgans and Paso Finos.

Chill

This liquid supplement is administered the day of a competition. It is compressed of Polygonum Multiflori, Albizia Kalkora, Zizyphus Jujube and Biota Orientalis. Yea, I have no idea what those ingredients are, but they are not on the USEF ban list. Omega Alpha's website said Chill is used to calm and reduce anxiety. 1 qt is $40 / 1 liter is $140. Dosage is 30-60 cc, given orally.

Chill Ultra - 2013 Update
At Rolex, I picked up a tube of Chill Ultra paste from the Omega Alpha stand at Rolex which is a new product on the market this year. Similar ingredients to the original Chill, but even more effective! Unlike Chill which is a liquid, this is a paste like the Perfect Prep products. It's $20 a tube and I give the whole tube to Leo before he goes on the trailer the day of the event. 

Digestive problems?

UlcerGard

UlcerGard is the only FDA-approved treatment for equine stomach ulcers. I have used this with Leo. At Five Points I administered UlcerGard all weekend; about half a tube a day. I also gave it to him at the Ark. Like the UlcerGard website says, prevention can be the best medicine. High stress levels and anxiety are linked to stomach ulcers so preventive management is a good way to go. So while it didn't appear to make much of a difference in his behavior, the benefit is still there. I've found the best price of $32 a tube on Amazon.

Succeed

Succeed is a digestive conditioning program. It's best to read through the website in full to get a complete perspective of how it is intended to work. Succeed made Sally's list of hind gut ulcer treatments, which she finds are often overlooked because scoping can only provide feedback on stomach ulcers. Succeed's ingredients are very simple: oat oil, oat flour, irradiated dried yeast and amino acids (Glutomine and Threonine).

The listed benefits of Succeed include: a shinier coat, weight gain, improved willingness or ability to bend and collect, and improved attitude and behavior. The idea being that if you can balance out the horse's digestive system, your horse will be more willing and able to work. I know when my stomach is upset, being productive is the last thing on my mind.

Succeed comes in a feed-through or an oral paste, both of which are supposed to be administered daily. Through Smartpak, Succeed is $2.99 a day or about $90 a month. It's definitely an investment.

Ranitidine

Mike saw Sally's chicken scribble and immediately recognized Ranitidine. In fact, we both take quite a bit of ranitidine because of acid reflux and stomach issues. (Definitely stress related.) In my research of Ranitidine for equines I came across one woman's experience with a chronic colicer. Ranitidine was the only thing that helped her horse. I wonder how these options could have helped Milo, who coliced chronically over the course of his 13 years. The digestive aides I could afford and were available to me at the time did nothing for him.

Just like for humans, Ranitidine for horses reduces stomach acid production and can aid in the treatment of existing ulcers, as well as preventing ulcer development.

Dosage varies wildly for Ranitidine, and how much you use significantly affects the price. The average is 3600 mg. A 28 day supply from Smartpak is $52.

Related Posts on Calming Supplements:

• Supplement Changes (April 2012)
• First Training HT a Success! (May 2012) Outlines Leo's calming supplements & regimen for competitions.