Nervous Horses – The Magic Elixir?
There is no such thing as a magic elixir that transforms the nervous horse into a perfectly behaved one.
However herbal remedies are ideal for promoting nervous resilience and confidence, because they support the horse’s nervous system, they don’t sedate.
Sedating a horse is not the way to train him or her. Because when they are sedated, even lightly, they do not recall the events, therefore they don’t learn anything from that experience.
Strengthening and supporting the nervous system so that the horse becomes less reactive and more accepting of new and exciting things in their lives, and continually gains more confidence, is the way to go.
Walkenny Park Equine Herbs have two tried and true remedies for helping nervous horses become confident performers.
Nervous Ned is a dried herb mix which is added to the feed and is ideal for introducing horses to new experiences. It contains Chamomile, Vervain and Mugwort, which are the most popular and commonly used nervine herbs. Chamomile is calming, balancing and soothing to the central nervous system so is very useful to support horses in new experiences such as weaning, travelling, starting and showing.
Vervain is wonderful for horses with nervous behaviour like fidgeting, pacing, pawing and general distraction. Mugwort reduces sensitivity to sight, sound, touch and noise. So the three together make a great trifecta.
This blend should be added to the horse’s feed for at least three days to start to have an effect, and then maintained for several weeks, or longer, depending upon what events are planned for the horse in question.
For horses that have had unfortunate experiences which have led to nervous behaviours, Walkenny Park’s Tranquil Assist, is the best choice. It is a blend of liquid herbal extracts for syringing over the tongue which affects the horse more quickly than dried herbs added to the feed. It contains Chamomile and Vervain plus Hops, Lavender and Passiflora. Hops promotes normal relaxation in horses with entrenched nervous habits while Passiflora is good for horses who are restless and inclined to pace, and who are reactive to new happenings in their environment, while Lavender relieves irritability and muscle tension. A really synergistic blend of herbs.
This is not a one off fix it for the day remedy, no herbal remedies do that, so it should be given for at least three days to start to have an effect, and then maintained for several weeks, or longer, depending upon what events are planned.
For horse owners who would like to have a holistic prescription designed especially for their horse, Denise Farrugia of Walkenny Park Equine Herbs can help through their consultation service. This also includes natural diet advice.
Natural feeding is a very important part of promoting resilient nervous systems. Walkenny’s Equi-Vital All Natural Feed Supplement is key to this with Rosehips, Seaweed, Brewer’s Yeast, Raw Wheat Germ and French White Millet together providing horses with all the minerals and vitamins their bodies need for optimal functioning of all body systems.
