Pet Remedy
Since 2016, I have regularly used products from Pet Remedy. This began with my cat, who was having some difficulties with neighbouring cats, and she was showing some fearful behaviours.
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My vet recommended Pet Remedy, which I immediately bought, and I noticed that Lucy was finding some comfort and she seemed to be able to regulate her emotions and appear a lot less wary in situations which had begun to worry her.
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Pet Remedy works in a very clever way! It's natural ingredients (valerian, vetiver, clary sage and basil) work to mimic the action of GABA (gamma-amino butyric acid), which is a naturally occurring neurotransmitter in mammals, birds and reptiles. This acts on fired-up nerve cells by tricking them that the brain has sent them messages to calm. GABA has also been shown to have a similar response on pain signals, and I, myself, am on Pregabalin for that very reason.
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One of my clients, Hector, checking out the smell of Pet Remedy
Since then, I have used it with various animals - cats, dogs, and of course, horses. There are multiple situations within a domestic environment which have the potential to cause stress, fear, anxiety, over-arousal in equines. For example, moving to a new yard/home, travelling, the competition environment*, a new horse on the premises, injury, loud and highly stimulating yard environments, husbandry/farriery/vet visits (the list goes on). If we are able to help facilitate a shift from the sympathetic (flight/fight/freeze) state, to a parasympathetic (rest/digest) one during these encounters, our horses have a better opportunity to absorb sensory information whilst feeling safer, happier, calmer. In this way, over time, there is the chance of changing a previously stressful/fearful situation into a more positive, or at least neutral one. This, of course, needs to go hand in hand with empathetic handling and incremental approaches whilst they are under 'threshold' (not in a reactive or worried state, able to receive information and remain calm).
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A little anecdote which I love to share, which was originally from one of my vets. She had recommended Pet Remedy to a client with a dog who had some emotional difficulties. The client duly purchased some and used it for the next two weeks. He returned for a check-up and on asking him how his dog was doing, my vet got the response "he's fine, but I've come off my beta-blockers!"
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Pet Remedy have carried out various clinical studies into the efficacy of the product, which cover multiple species (including equine). If you are interested in learning more about these, they can be found here Clinical Trials, Pet Remedy, Pet Stress, Natural Pet Relief
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In August 2024, I was hugely honoured when I was asked by Pet Remedy to be an Ambassador for the brand. I happily accepted - as well as having a belief in the product, I am also keen to work with ethical companies who are invested in improving the emotional wellbeing of our non-human friends.
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*A note on competitions and the use of Pet Remedy - currently Valerian is banned by most competitive organisations/governing bodies so cannot be used on the day of the competition. But watch this space on that one..... (and it is fine to use the day before)