Herbal Remedies for a Nervous/Anxious Horse

Many riders and trainers resort to the use of chemical sedatives and tranquilizers to calm their horses, but not only are these products often illegal to use in competitive situations, they can damage the horse’s overall health and well-being.

Judiciously used herbs are a far batter alternative for treating the nervous horse, as they often effect a permanent change in temperament and many are ‘legal’ for competition.

Herbs nourish, strengthen and rebalance the nervous system so that once an anxious horse calms down he no longer reacts to things around him. The actions of sedatives and tranquilizers on the horse’s nervous system are completely different, as they simply block nervous system responses for as long as the drug remains in the horse’s system. This is why they are a ‘one-time-fix’ instead of an overall cure.

In a nervous horse, a tranquilizer will dull his reactions and make him physically unable to nervously fidget or jump around. The right herb will mean the nervous horse will no longer want/feel the need to fidget or jump around.

In dealing with nervous disorders, there are no ‘magic’ quick fixes. In treating a horse that has a nervous temperament, it’s very important to look at the horse’s whole history - both health and past experiences - such as training, traumas, etc. This gives us the information to combine herbs and other treatments- such as homeopathy, nutrition or even a change in training regime or routine - to bring the horse’s whole metabolism back into balance.

Treating the whole horse rather than a specific nervous disorder is important because there is a very close relationship between how a nervous system reacts and responds and how the horse’s whole metabolism functions.

For example, an imbalance or nervous system disorder can affect the horse’s digestive efficiency, thyroid balance, liver function, spleen function, respiratory efficiency, blood quality an immunity to infection. These aspects of the horse’s metabolism must all be brought into balance in order for a treatment of a serious nervous system problem to be truly effective and long lasting. This is where the advice of a professional herbalist is invaluable in prescribing a comprehensive treatment for each individual case.

Nervine

It is not advisable to attempt to treat a horse with a severe problem without professional advice, but if a horse’s nervousness is due to a slight imbalance or situational stress, feeding him a mix of herbs will usually effect a long-term solution.

There is a class of herbs called ‘nervines’ - herbs that have specific actions on the nervous system. Many of the nervines contain high levels of magnesium phosphate - a mineral that has been found to be very important to the healthy and well-being of nerves - for both horse and human. Different nervines nourish different aspects of the nervous system; the job of the herbalist is to identify the nervine(s) that will suit a particular sort of nervous system.

There are around a dozen nervines that apply to humans, but there are four main nervines - Valerian, Vervain, Chamomile and Hops - that apply to horses. A horse will not always fit exactly into just one nervous system type - he will often show the major signs of one type and some signs of one or more of the other types. The first step in finding the right herbs to treat your horse’s nervous disorder is to identify his nervous ‘type.’

The Types

The Valerian horse typically holds all his anxiety and tensions in his muscles - you’ll find his muscles will always be a little taut. When frightened, this horse will literally become rigid with fear, with the muscles all rock-hard. While the valerian horse typically freezes up with his tension, rather than bolting, if he encounters a series of stressful events, he may just explode - bucking rearing or taking off.

The herb Valerian is popularly used to help people with sleeping problems and the application to horses is similar. Even in relatively low-stress situations, the Valerian type of horse has a hard time truly relaxing his muscles - in its application to the nervous horse, Valerian relaxes and rebalances the nervous system so he’s able to relax muscular tension.

According to the FEI (International Federation for Equestrian Sports) “Valerenic acid is a constituent of the essential oil of the valerian plant, which is used as a mild sedative in horses, frequently in ‘herbal’ preparations. This is a prohibited substance and is considered a controlled medication.”

The Vervain horse’s anxiety is processed through the skin. He is very sensitive and twitchy on the skin and is generally very nervous and jumpy, without necessarily being afraid, upset or angry. This is the horse that is constantly agitated and highly reactive, always moving and fidgeting. He is the equine equivalent of a person who constantly taps a foot or chews on their fingernails.

Giving this horse the herb Vervain rebalances his nervous system so that he stops the endless fidgetings, moving and jumpiness. This horse will always be sensitive, yet once his nervous system health returns, he will be able to slow down and concentrate - making him more trainable and therefore more reliable under pressure.

The Chamomile horse’s anxiety is processed through his digestive system. He gets upset easily, almost always presenting with diarrhea or scours when he’s nervous or worried. He may show some signs of external stress (like other nerving types above), but he mainly internalizes his worry, so while he may be a little ‘spooky’ - the chamomile horse’s main problems are in the gut. The Chamomile horse may even suffer an attack of colic when under stress and he is the one that rapidly loses weight and coat condition in stressful situations and is slow to ‘back-up’ as a race horse.

Chamomile not only rebalances the nervous system, but also helps to maintain the health of the horse’s digestive system.

The Hops horse processes his anxiety through his head. He is easily distracted mentally and it is very difficult for him to concentrate as he’s constantly very scattered and unfocused. These horses are the ‘dizzy-dizzies’ of the horse world. He is usually very ‘busy’ in the head, although not necessarily physically ‘hot’ to handle and ride. He will be difficult to train in the sense that he will not retain things well. With the Hops horse, you will find yourself going over the same issues again and again and his concentration span often seems to be less than 30 seconds.

Giving him the herb Hops allows him to calm down mentally and to become focused. In this balanced state, the Hops horse will be able to concentrate on the job at hand and given the right direction he can shine in his chosen field.

Passion Flower is another herb that has proved to be very effective in treating long-standing nervous habits, but it is usually administered in conjunction with other nervines. Passion Flower helps to relax the nervous system and works particularly well in conjunction with one or more of the preceding herbs to facilitate the effect of the primary herbs.

Hypericum or St. Johns Wort is another nervine, which has some application as a nervous system type but is best used in support of specific treatments, externally and in small and regulated doses internally.

Happy Riding!