They don’t call it the nervous system for nothing! Anxiety affects horses too and stressful experiences can have a significant effect on their mental state. That’s why BetaCALM was formulated – to provide a source of vitamins, minerals and amino acids that may help to reduce nervousness or hyper-reactivity in horses.

BetaCALM has a unique combination of four ingredients to nutritionally support nervous horses without affecting performance.

• Tryptophan: An essential amino acid that stabilises the horse’s mood, reduces anxiety and lessens the stress response. Tryptophan is not produced naturally by the horse and beneficial levels are not found in feed. It is converted in the body to serotonin, which helps to induce a feeling of calmness.
• Vitamin B1 (Thiamine): A B vitamin that plays a vital role in nerve transmission. Hard-working horses or those on a high grain, low forage diet may have reduced production of thiamine in the hindgut due to stress or hindgut acidosis.
• Vitamin E: An antioxidant that helps to protect cell membranes from oxidative damage and maintain normal nerve and other functions.
• Magnesium: Important for cell metabolism, especially in the nervous system and muscles during work.

The specific levels of magnesium, vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin E and tryptophan may help to actively reduce the stress response during training, travelling and competition. With thiamine’s important role in energy metabolism and nerve transmission, and tryptophan’s role in the inhibition of stress and fear, deficiencies of these nutrients may cause anxiety, mental confusion and failure of muscle coordination. On top of this, magnesium has been found to reduce reactivity in horses.

Remember, there are many factors that can cause undesirable behaviour in horses including diet, age, training, housing, pain and digestive conditions. It is best to discuss your horse’s diet and history to determine whether changes in feeding and management practices are also required to reduce anxious behaviour. To help manage nervous horses, try providing constant access to forage, small meals and reduce starch/sugar in the diet. Also, decreasing stable time and providing equine company is very beneficial for mental health.