FOCUS: Managing the horse’s stress

Our horses’ days are punctuated by many moments that can bring more or less intense stress. The movements, the crowds, the noise, the dressage, the medical care, the competitions, the farrier, the changes of environment, etc. The list is long because of their domestication. Their primal instinct dictates that they flee and survive, so stress is commonplace among our equine friends.

Every horse is different. Every anxiety is different. These moments can lead to really dangerous seizures for your horse, for yourself and for anyone in the vicinity. A panic attack can have serious consequences on the animal’s health: wounds, open wounds, tachycardia, intestinal disorders, gastric ulcers, colic, decreased attention, nervous tics, etc. If it is a competition horse, this can significantly compromise its results and performance. It is therefore essential to identify these “risky” moments. And it is the responsibility of owners and trainers to anticipate them in order to defuse stress in the animal.

One of the first things that can be put in place is repetition in order to numb the animal. A situation experienced several times, in an environment without other stimuli, helps to get the horse used to it gradually. In addition to this learning, it is advisable to accompany the animal throughout its life, by administering anti-stress products with targeted actions: relax the animal, reduce its anxiety and soothe its nervous system. Several solutions exist such as tryptophan or magnesium-based food supplements, equine pheromones, milk proteins, and herbal phytotherapy for relaxing. At Naturacheval, we are concerned about the health of your animals and we want to give them the best. We have selected plants with recognized soothing properties that have proven their worth, in order to support your horse in a background or additional treatment, while respecting him.

You can find our natural products for stress management below: