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| Author |
Message |
    
Mary Ream (Ebony)
| | Posted on Sunday, Sep 9, 2001 - 6:19 pm: |   |
My husband has a 6 yr Quarab who can ba a little high strung. We joined a Search and Rescue team and have been practicing 2 nights a week. There are certain things we need to do that gets him very nervous for instance carrying a bag of empty cans,. Now he will drag them but have worked alot on carrying them and he stiil gets nervous. My husband just had neck surgery 4 mo ago and we cant have a wreck. I talked to someone on this sight last year on giving B1 to calm horses down but cant remember how much to give. He is 1140 lbs. We dont want him dead but relaxed more, instead of going in there big eyed. My husband is so afraid he wont pass the certification, because of the horss sometimes nervousness, when he gets excited about something he doesnt seem to try to do the things that he normaly will do. Any help with any calming agents and how fast they will work is much appreciated. I already have the B1 they are tablets 250 mg each.
Thanks
Mary |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM (Dro)
| | Posted on Monday, Sep 10, 2001 - 7:11 am: | |
Hello Mary,
I don't know if I replied last year but I need to reassert my conviction that large doses of B vitamins do not act as a dependable sedative. Would it not be more reasonable to continue to train this horse so that he could pass certification without the use of tranquilizers? It may be more than your husband that will have to depend on your horses steady nature for safety.
DrO |
marci iverson (Aachen)
| | Posted on Monday, Sep 10, 2001 - 4:22 pm: | |
Hi Mary,
I have used a B1 supplement for my 4 year old TB for 1-1/2 years now and really noticed a difference. On 3 different occasions I have tried to stop using it, and within 1 week (or less) i notice my horse is more distracted, excitable, and more unpredictable. Every time as soon as I started feeding it again she is clearly more "with it". I do not have the container here with me, but will tell you that I use 1-1/2 times the ammount that they recommend for a 1000 lb horse (my horse is 1200 lbs.) I would definetly give it a try, and give it a week or so to get in your horse's system before you expect any results.
Another thought - look at your feeding program. In my opinion, most horses get fed way too much. Even if your horse is not heavy, try reducing his feed so he is not getting so much protein. If he is getting a lot of alfalfa, try reducing it and giving him more grass hay or timothy instead. Also look at reducing his grain intake if he gets any.
good luck!
marci |
Mary Ream (Ebony)
| | Posted on Sunday, Sep 16, 2001 - 9:35 am: | |
Thank you bothe for your advise, we have cut his grain down to a little more than a few hands full of grain. We had the vet come out to check his teeth because when he started to get nervous he would keep flippin his head then get more nervous. Well his teeth were really bad and we had just had them floated in April! He also pulled his wolf teeth, which really amazed me how tiny they are. Its been 6 days since he did that and we plan on riding today to see if there is a differance in his attitude.
Dr O first off I want to tell you how proud I felt when I got on this page and seen the American Flag! It brought tears to my eyes.
Well I figured only using the calming agent just to take the edge off him since my husband had neck surgery in May, I figured that was 1 less thing I had to worry about. The President of the team doesnt think he needs it. My husband thiinks I need it. :>) carrying the cans is not one of the exersizes we will be doing in the certification, they are just throwing alot at us to see what the horses are capable of and trying to despook them. With the flag we sacked him out and he would carry it and all would be fine but 2 days later he thinks itll eat him. Could it be the Arab in him? :>) Oh well we will work harder at it.
Thanks for the advice.
Mary |
Janet S. Hinrichsen (Jhinrich)
| | Posted on Thursday, Feb 28, 2002 - 9:12 am: | |
Horse boarded has been given B1 as a calming agent. Noticed swelling in eye lids and sheath. Started looking around and noticed that several other horses have the same problem. Now I learn they are going to up the dosage of B1. What are the long term effects to a horse being given B1 as a calming agent. |
Christine C. Mills (Chrism)
| | Posted on Thursday, Feb 28, 2002 - 11:55 am: | |
My anecdoetal experience with B1 was that giving the recommended daily dose either made a difference in a day or two, or not at all. Then, if it does make a difference, the recommendation is to change the protein level in the feed - less concentrate with lower protein, change from alfalfa hay to something less rich, etc.
If the horse isn't calm with the current daily dose, I certainly wouldn't bother to up it, but would look for other issues.
Environment, tack, training, rider skills, feeding program are all things to take into consideration. I personally know of 2 horses that had immediate personality changes when they were moved to a different facility. One situation was related to abusive help and the other, I believe, was due to the herd dynamics.
I believe B1 is a water soluble vitamin, so, unless the dosage was ridiculously high, my guess is that the extra would just be p****d away.
I don't understand how your comments about the eyelid and sheath swellings apply. Are ALL the horses on B1? Or, did the swellings occur after giving the B1? |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM (Dro)
| | Posted on Friday, Mar 1, 2002 - 5:54 am: | |
I can find no information on similar reactions in the literature and believe Chris is right, it is probably harmless, except to your pocketbook.
DrO |
