Can a Calming Supplement Help a Sharp or Over-Reactive Horse?

Why is your horse sharp in the first place?

There are lots of reasons a horse can become spooky, tense or over-reactive, and the best solution depends on what is driving the behaviour.

First, look for a reason

If your horse has suddenly become sharper than usual, or their behaviour has noticeably changed, don't automatically assume it is simply their personality.

Consider the basics first:

Pain or discomfort

Back pain, dental problems, gastric discomfort, lameness and poorly fitting tack can all show themselves as tension or changes in behaviour. If the behaviour is new or unusual for your horse, investigating discomfort should be high on the list.

Turnout and movement

Horses are designed to move. A horse spending long periods stabled, particularly if they are in full work and receiving a relatively high-energy diet, may simply have more energy than they have an opportunity to use.

Increasing turnout and allowing more natural movement can make a significant difference for some horses.

Feed

Take a look at the whole diet. Is your horse receiving considerably more energy than they need for their workload? Could high levels of starch or sugar be contributing to their behaviour?

For many horses, a forage-first diet with an appropriate source of additional energy where required is a sensible starting point.

Training and confidence

Not every sharp reaction is caused by excess energy. Horses can also react because they are confused, worried or don't yet have the confidence or strength to cope with what is being asked of them.

Giving the horse time to understand the work, building confidence gradually and avoiding simply trying to contain the reaction can be important.

What if your horse is simply naturally sharp?

This is where a calming supplement such as BUCK OFF can be particularly useful.

Some horses are naturally much more reactive to their environment than others. They notice everything. A noise, movement, change in surroundings or exciting atmosphere can produce a much bigger response than you would expect.

These horses aren't necessarily badly behaved and they don't necessarily have too much energy. Their threshold for reacting is simply lower.

The aim with BUCK OFF isn't to make the horse sleepy, dull or less capable of performing. It is to support a calmer response so that the horse has a little more capacity to process what's happening around them before reacting.

Think of it as trying to turn the volume of the reaction down rather than switching the horse off.

Could Buck Off help your sharp horse?

Potentially, yes — particularly if you recognise your horse in descriptions such as:

 • Naturally spooky or highly reactive
• Easily distracted by their surroundings
• Tense in new environments
• Much sharper at competitions or away from home
• Quick to escalate from noticing something to reacting to it
• Difficult to keep mentally relaxed even when their exercise, turnout and diet are appropriate

However, a calming supplement shouldn't be used to mask pain, unsuitable management or a training problem.

If you've considered those factors and you're left with a healthy, appropriately managed horse who simply seems to experience the world at volume 10, that's exactly the type of horse where BUCK OFF may be worth considering.

The goal isn't to change their personality.

It's to help them feel a little less overwhelmed by it.