# Mare Magic vs. SmartCalm



## Rachel1786 (Nov 14, 2010)

Poseidon said:


> I'm considering getting one of these two for Abby, but I would like opinions on which one.
> 
> I plan to start her on UGard soon to prevent her ulcers from coming back and figure Mare Magic or SmartCalm would help her be less anxious, which would help the anti-ulcer cause. Her personality is also the definition of "mare-ish." I love me some mares and some attitude, but sometimes she's just a total jerk about it.
> 
> ...


I use smartcalm on my gelding, OMG i love the smell lol, i noticed a huge difference in his behavior, he was constantly pawing while eating and while i was preparing his food, he was spooky and antsy, since being on it he hardly ever paws and he is much calmer and doesn't get so worked up over new things(like me wearing gloves lol)


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

Hahah. I love the smell too! I was really surprised when I opened the little pack because all of the other supplement powders at my barn smell awful (except for Progressive in the blue bag, which smells like strawberry poptarts).

Thanks! Abby paws quite often when I have her tied in the barn and I walk off to go do something. She gets nervous about it, even if I'm within sight just about 10 feet away.


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## starlinestables (Nov 24, 2008)

I tried both with my moody mare and neither of them worked. Loved the smell though!


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

Thanks, Starline. I was reading reviews smartpak's website and every once in a while one would say it did nothing. That seemed to happen more with Mare Magic and then they switched back to SmartCalm.

They're both around $20 for a month's worth, so I might just order the small amount, then see if it does anything. I think I'll start with SmartCalm just because I already know she loves the taste.


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

Mare Magic didn't work for my horse, and I'm not fan of extra-supplements (the SmartCalm is all about). SmartPack used to sell Valerian-free RelaxBlend - Horse Calming Supplements from SmartPak Equine, but not anymore. It worked great (and I used just half-dose of what they recommended). Now since they stopped selling it I gonna try Confidence Plus VF - Horse Calming Supplements from SmartPak Equine from them.


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## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

I just got some Mare Magic for Lacey last week at the feed store so I can't really tell you whether it's working yet, but I can tell you that she has been a lot more controllably excited since I started her on it. She's a very excitable girl and usually when she gets excited, she starts getting kind of rushy and a little bit scary since you're not sure if she's going to remember about your "bubble" or not when you're leading her, but since about Thursday, she's gotten excited but her head stayed on and she remembered her manners, while being excited. 
I don't know if I can attribute that to the Mare Magic at all, but I like it if it is!
Also, Mare Magic smells so good. It's great. Haha


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

I used MareMagic on my clyde gelding, and it worked very well. I have heard great things about SmartPacks, though, and their brochures are very intrigueing, it seems a lot easier and simpler.

Have you tried a B1 supplement? I use to give it to the Thoroughbreds and it calmed them down a lot.


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## Sarahandlola (Dec 16, 2010)

Well I would not feed Oats to an already excitable horse...Maybe change her feed?


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

She's not very excitable and dancing around and the like, she is just rather uptight. She knows her manners about leading and most things, but she's got an attitude if she doesn't want to do something. She's very smart and a quick learner, so it would be easier to teach her new things if she was calmer and not worried about either throwing a fit or other noises coming from the barn. Like the big garage type door. As many times as she's near it and it moves, she spooks.

Kitten_val: I would love to try those..if they were a bit cheaper. I'm in college and need to be even more frugal than I was before. le sigh.

I think I might just get a one-month supply of SmartCalm to see if it works. Most of the reviews say it kicks in after about 2 weeks. If I don't notice a difference, I'll try Mare Magic.

Thanks guys.

ETA: What do you guys think? Pellets or powder? The samples I got were powder and she liked that a lot. I just want to make sure she's going to get it in her mouth rather than all over her nose. And I plan to get her UGard in pellets.


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## Rachel1786 (Nov 14, 2010)

Poseidon said:


> She's not very excitable and dancing around and the like, she is just rather uptight. She knows her manners about leading and most things, but she's got an attitude if she doesn't want to do something. She's very smart and a quick learner, so it would be easier to teach her new things if she was calmer and not worried about either throwing a fit or other noises coming from the barn. Like the big garage type door. As many times as she's near it and it moves, she spooks.
> 
> Kitten_val: I would love to try those..if they were a bit cheaper. I'm in college and need to be even more frugal than I was before. le sigh.
> 
> ...


i use the powder and just mix in come water so it sticks to the grain, and if i put in a little too much liquid he sucks up every last drop, it's so funny


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

I just sent an email to SmartPak asking for pellet samples of smartcalm just to see if she'll eat it. If not, then powder is the choice for her. I have to wait until tomorrow for them to email me back since it's Sunday though. woo.

I hadn't thought of using a bit of water to get the powder to stick. Clever.


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

Poseidon said:


> Kitten_val: I would love to try those..if they were a bit cheaper. I'm in college and need to be even more frugal than I was before. le sigh.


That's a good point!  Then personally I'd try SmartCalm . I use Magic Mare on my other mare (who is not excitable, but very moody), and she became even worse than used to be - now she looks ****y all the time....  So as long as I finish it (as I'm hesitant to just throw it away) I'm not getting other one. 

BTW (not sure you are aware of it) you can search for coupons on free shipping from SmartPack. They are usually posted all around the internet.


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

I get emails from them all the time, but I may scour around for these coupons because that would be fantastic. Thanks! 

Abby is just ****y too. Yesterday it was nice, so the stalled horses got turned out outside rather than the arena, but all of the paddocks are under snow, so they were all in this little makeshift paddock made of a roundpen and a small pen with shelter. She was snorting and huffing around with her ears pinned, not kicked or biting or anything, just an attitude of "There are other horses in here. I hate you all."

It's funny to watch, but at the same time, she needs to calm her fat butt down.


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