Supplements: Peak Performance "Solace" Supplement, Reviews?

[lupinfarm]

We got Mylie home and she's been a headcase every since. I know a lot of this is her settling in and the fact that she cannot physically touch Luna is bothersome, no doubt. To help her calm down I bought a tub of Herbs for Horses "Equine Serenity" its a herbal remedy for flighty/nervous/spooky horses that calms naturally and can be used daily for long periods as a training aid and general relaxant to help them settle in. We used it on another horse who was very nervous all the time, he was on this supplement for years and did very well on it. Mylie hates it. She won't eat it, she just tips her feed container. I was feeding both horses this supplement, now I'm only feeding it to Luna and after 2 days I must say it actually is helping.

I was at our local Greenhawk location and the owner reccommended a product called 'Solace' by Peak Performance. It's meant for performance horses to help reduce stress and calm down, it's also all natural but not actually in the dry leaf form that Serenity is. It actually kind of smells like cheese LOL. I decided to try it out tonight, I put some olive oil on Mylie's feed, and tossed it up with the Solace. Miraculously, she ate it. Mylie is not at all a performance horse, but I figured what the heck, we may as well try it.

I'd love to know if anyone else has had any success with this product? I bit the bullet and spent hte $83 dollars on a 90 serving tub, but I'd still like to know what you guys think.

For those who are interested, this is the product ..

 

[johny1]

It is true, sometimes it is necessary to supplement your horse's diet and the most known (or the most effective) supplement is a combination of antioxidants and vitamin E. Especially vitamin E is very important for horses, as we all know.

 

[w c]

I'm not a 'supplements believer'. I don't feel that the calming substances in the various products do anything, or make any biological sense from the sense of how animal's systems work on a cellular level. I know...I know...people believe in them so strongly and disagreeing with the whole idea of the supplements business can make people mad. But supplements are an unregulated industry, and not one I believe in.

I look at it differently.

If your new horse is nervous, she may be getting too many calories and not enough exercise. The food she is getting may be too rich for her or there may not be enough exercise. Many folks have beautiful rich pastures but for some horses all that grass can be way too many calories. Most modern pasture mixes contain clover, alfalfa, and high sugar grasses meant to fatten been cattle. For some horses it is just too much.

And too, alfalfa, corn and many sweet feeds are too energizing for some horses. We have had ones we can't feed any alfalfa or corn. And alfalfa is often mixed into what you buy billed as 'grass hay'. Many supplements and ration balancers make some horses very excitable and tense. One popular brand of ration balancer fed at 1/4 what was recommended on the label, made my quiet old retiree into a basket case. So if it isn't the pasture it can be the hay or concentrate (grain, pellets, corn, oats, processed feed, etc).

Or, she may simply be not getting enough exercise. Not all horses are the 'family type horse' that can be turned out in a pasture and be calm for an occasional ride. Some need to be in a regular program where they work five or six days a week. Some horses are just more energetic and need to move. I've got one that needs to work really hard 5 or 6 days a week, week in and out, no Christmas day off, no Thanksgiving day off, etc. No it is not a family type horse. But a lot of horses aren't.

There are other possibilities too.

For example, the horse was drugged or tired out when you tried her out, and now the drugs or fatigue have worn off. It's a common trick for selling horses, to work the heck out of them for a couple days or slip them a sedative before an eager customer comes by. It may just be a very nervous horse.

The other possibility is that your horse is used to being handled a different way than what you folks do at your house. I've seen quite a few cases where the person just handles the horse a different way, and it scares them. They are used to different commands, different gestures.

If the horse seems 'nervous' when you ride it could just be the horse was trained a different way. Many horses are trained if you barely touch them with any part of your leg they need to move very fast. How one handles the reins, if one leans forward, all of these things can make a horse very quick or excited.

My suggestion would be to find someone with more experience to come and take a look and see what's up.