Ok. I was going to walk away from your stupid attitude but after seeing this comment. You have no idea who I am. You have no idea what I have won & done. You don't know the winners I have bred . I know more prof people than you know. I am personal friends with pro people, I just don't brag about it. I've been riding long before you were even concieved. You however need to get a grip on your nasty attitude. Maybe thats why your horse is a nervious wreck is because the horse is around you. If I were your horse and had to live with your snarkey attitude, I guess I would want drugs to so I didn't have to mentally deal with you. I will pray for your horse. God knows he or she needs a different home. Have a nice time bashing me. I will pray for you.

If you're truly in your 80s, maybe you're out of touch. My nasty attitude only came out after yours surfaced. Regardless of your age, you don't know everything. If you cannot stay on topic when someone asks a question, you CAN just keep scrolling. 

I haven't tried any THE products, but I've tried CEP, MVP, and multiple magnesium products and probiotics. He's been treated for ulcers and EPM. He literally shakes in his skin when touched. I bought him as a 2 year old. I did his groundwork. I know his history. There is no mistreatment or inconsistency. Walk in a stall with him and you get his rear end. Putting on his fly mask is a new experience every day. Walk up to him holding a bridle while he is saddled and tied and he pulls back and takes off bucking. There's no walking up to him in pasture. Lunge him with saddle on and he bucks like an NFR bronc.  Bottom of pecking order in my herd of five. I compare his personality to my rescue Pomeranian who was used as a "Fluffer" in a fighting ring. (Don't google that). Apparently many off that ranch have similar personalities and you love them or hate them. 

I had one almost like yours, he was exhausting to ride and be around, he was always on edge and scared of his own shadow. He was born on a working ranch and was bred to work. He has 2 other full sisters that were the same way, beautiful horses but dang, short on brains. Come to the conclusion that is was the way they were bred, the mare and stallion were not a good match and told the ranch to stop breeding these two together,LOL and they did!!! 

I cant really remember the breeding since its been a long time but I do know there was Peppy San Badger on top and bottom, close on the sires side and a bit back on dams. I traded him for some training done on another gelding of mine to a friend that is just awesome with horses, she liked Jazzy (his name) but she changed his name to Scaredy Cat, he never got out of being a Scaredy Cat I think it was just in his genes. He was not dangerous just a nervous horse, and I swear he was never abused just loved, but I just got to the point I hated baby sitting him when I wanted to haul, he ran barrels but just didnt have the heart for it, he mostly high loped and that was his top speed, ha ha ha ha..

I did try a few supplements (calming) but didnt really see any different in him, I wish the calming cookies were around back then, I sure would have loved trying them on him, lol..

Good Luck with what you try on your gelding, sometimes they are just wired different and need a little help.. 

Do you mind me asking what your feed regimen is?  Are these horses out on grass?  My first recommendation would be to remove any and all grain and dry lot them if possible so they can't have access to any grass.  Let them have only coastal hay, as much as they want, and stick to this for at least 2 weeks.  See what you have then.  I have had some horses who just can't handle any type of grain or alfalfa...and grass this time of year can dang sure make one act stupid, not that i'm saying the issue with your horses is seasonal.  Just throwing out some different things that may make a big difference if tried.  

If removing all grain and access to grass doesn't help, then i'd maybe look into some different options.  Did the vet who prescribed the reserpine give you dosing directions?  You'll definitely need to be very careful due to the different strengths and carriers.  I have heard of horses who have had bad reactions (emotionally) to these types of medications and those reactions have stayed with the horse long after the drug is out of their system.  It would definitely be a last resort for me.  

Bernie, I promise this is my absolute last option. 

He is turned out 24/7. Gets a small coffee can of alfalfa based feed twice daily. Hay is fertilized Bermuda. What is a nonalfala feed? Maybe sweet feed?

If he were mine he'd get no feed (grain) at all.  Definitely no alfalfa and absolutely no sweet feed.  And he'd be dry lotted with all the coastal he wants.  If you ABSOLUTELY just had to give some sort of grain to make yourself feel better it'd be Triple Crown Lite (no senior and no complete) at a rate of 1.5 pounds/twice a day or a different ration balancer that is molasses and grain free.  Ideally i'd love to see this horse on coastal hay only for 2 - 3 weeks, just as an experiment. 

Alfalfa will slow the gut down and thus exacerbate the effect of grass, sugar and feeds.  This is why some people see horses get hot when alfalfa is added to the diet.  It's not the alfalfa making them hot, but rather how the alfalfa is digested and affects the digestion and utilization of other things.....for example grass, grains, sugars, etc.  

Same with spring grass.  It's sugar content is high.  Many very level headed horses get fresh in the spring when the green grass and weeds start growing.  Hence the reason i'm suggesting a dry lot and coastal only for about 2 weeks and then see if there is any change.  I'm betting there would be.  

I have a gelding that is the most level headed, realiable guy when not consuming spring grass and alfalfa.  Add in molasses and he'll walk on his hind legs from the pasture to the barn and act like a rank stud horse.  He just can't tolerate the excess sugar or alfalfa added in, esp in the spring time.  During the summer/fall I can supplement with alfalfa a bit, as he's being ridden more and isn't getting the excess sugar from spring grass.  

I don't have access to coastal hay so Bermuda it is. My internet feed guru suggested hay and Purina enrich. (You know her from here. She's only on FB now.) When the grass starts coming on, I'll limit his pasture time.

Agree... I have one that has a screw loose. 18 years old, Big, beautiful, super athletic, absolutely no buck. No amount of wet saddle blankets, long days on the ranch, training, etc. helped him. We raised him, never ran barrels. Reserpine definitely helped but I have others to ride and Im not going to waste my time with him. I can never sell him, so he either continues to be a pasture pet or I put him down. Good Luck, I understand your frustration. 

Coastal hay IS bermuda.  Being you're in the south your grass/weeds are growing and are high in sugar.  I sure would love to see what would happen if all grain/grass was removed.  Best of luck with him!  

Well dang. Why don't they call it one name or the other? I learn something new every day. I can't dry lot him. I just can't. God designed his tummy to have something in it. 

I've been on Google. There is a hybrid grass called coastal Bermuda, but there are many other types of Bermuda. That's not the color of the grass hay I buy. Maybe im safe.

herbie

my mare jetta  it would not matter she was a ding a ling  period  he was not a 1 d  horse  but fun to run  not fun to ride she was always ponied it was easier ion her. she had no bad habits. eveyone that knew like her  but she was a ding a ling  you knew u accepted and delt with it  we bought her as a 5 year old till she had to be put down as she broker her ankle @ 15

ot all horse can be put in as caterogy what works for 1 will not alway work on another

yuoui be around 1 for any lenght of timer they will remind u of a human you know

Just a couple/few thoughts that I have.

1. Per a vet, bermuda hay, if it is the really good quality, fine type it is a colic maker.  It is so fine that it balls up easily and causes impaction.  His recomendation was to feed 1/2 bermuda and 1/2 prairie hay or something similar to help keep it from balling up.  (I'm talking midwest area Oklahoma/Kansas area, may be differnt in other areas)

2. Have you tried supplementing with B1 (thiamine).  I had really good luck using that on a couple really nervous horses that I used to have.  The first one I gave the shots to so I could see how it was going to work.  First time I gave the vets recomendation and didn't see much change, then a race horse friend told me to use twice that much and it worked like a charm.  The horse wasn't numb or anything, just calm and more relaxed.  I did end up selling that horse because it wasn't worth it to me to risk our 1 year old getting hurt around him. The second horse I used it on I just fed the granuals per instructions on the container.  My husband couldn't believe how well it worked on him.  It is really a pretty cheap thing to try, who knows it might really help.

On your comment about just not being able to dry lot because his tummy is meant to have something in it at all times, Keeping the hay in the lot 24/7 would be keeping his belly full as he would be able to graze on it all day as desired.

Another thing is, if you can't get him settled down enough to enjoy and not dread having to go to the barn everyday, life is short and you don't get this time back.  It might be time to just cut your losses and get rid of him however you have to.

CanCan have u used the medicine yet?

any results that u see? 

I have never used it but had a friend that did.  Her horse once it hit the alleyway and was in the pen, he was hard to outrun.  Outside the pen just warming him up or riding out at the barn he was a nut.  His anxiety was just off the chain without boundaries.  She put him on reserpine and it really helped his anxiety but it also took some run out of him.  She kept him on it when she hauled him and used him for the D races.

It helps...some. He's still way more nervous, spooky, and anxiety ridden than I want to deal with. At vets advice, I upped him to .3 cc IM weekly. Gave that Tuesday. He seems a wee bit more chill. I shall see this weekend. 

This is what I deal with. Tying him, handling him, and waking into his stall are all dangerous activities. I'm too old and slow to get out of his way. He isn't vicious. He isn't trying to hurt me. He just doesn't care if I'm in his way. 

The horse I gave it to was the most willing, want to work horse I've ever had. Tons of personality. He wasn't too bad as long as I stayed near the barn but if I got any distance away his anxiety was through the roof. Didn't matter if his buddies were with him or not.  He wasn't barn or buddy sour though, which was hard to explain to people. He never once balked at leaving his friends or the barn, he just got super anxious. People would tell me to lope the crap out of him but I knew that wasn't his problem. I used the Reserpine and did a lot of quiet riding.