Building Confidence In Equine Appeasing Pheromone ConfidenceEQ® At Burghley
10 years ago 
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15th September, 2014 22h24
Dr Alessandro Cozzi
The lunchtime talk featured an overview of the development of ConfidenceEQ. Dr Cozzi explained that pheromones occur in many different species and are naturally secreted in a variety of situations. During the product’s development, IRSEA observed horses in their natural environment to assess communication methods. A sample of the naturally secreted pheromone was analysed by IRSEA, and the compounds within it were identified and reproduced as an exact synthetic copy.
Dr Cozzi then went on discuss some of the extensive trial work that has been carried out on the equine appeasing pheromone. This included work on horses adapting to novel and fearful situations, travelling, mare and foal separation and the use of the product to aid learning ability.
In one particular study, looking at the use of ConfidenceEQ to reduce behavioural and physiological stress symptoms in horses, the results revealed a significant decrease in the frequency of restless behaviours in the foals treated with the pheromone during short-term maternal separation and a significant decrease in the duration of restless behaviours in the more highly reactive group of horses during clipping. In the weaning part of the study, the beneficial effects from a more positive separation experience for the foals in the pheromone treated group were evident six weeks later during actual weaning.
Dr Cozzi concluded his presentation with a Q&A session on ConfidenceEQ and this was followed by triple Olympic three-day event gold medallist Matt Ryan giving a humorous review of his riding career and his views on this year’s Burghley Horse Trials.
Triple Olympic three-day event gold medallist Matt Ryan
ConfidenceEQ is an exact copy of the equine appeasing pheromone that mares produce as they nurse their foals. This appeasing pheromone helps the foal feel safe and secure when encountering new situations and unknown environments.
ConfidenceEQ has been proven to help horses of all ages to manage new or unexpected situations by replicating this equine appeasing pheromone. It can help build confidence in horses that are facing new or troubling situations such as loading and travelling, clipping, changes in routine, exposure to loud noises as well as dentist, farrier and veterinary visits.
ConfidenceEQ comes in an innovative gel formulation; the gel is simply applied to the horse’s nostrils 30 minutes before any stressful event. The transparent, odourless gel gives a reassuring chemical message that helps reduce or prevent equine stress and it doing so can make the horse more receptive to learning. The gel should be applied just inside the nostrils of the horse to enable the pheromone to be detected by the vomeronasal organ (also known as Jacobson’s organ), which is located at the front of the head between the nose and the nasal fossa. In some cases this will generate a ‘flehmen’ response and the horse will curl its upper lip. The effects of ConfidenceEQ will last for approximately 2.5 hours after application.
To view an informative film on how to administer ConfidenceEQ please go to Ceva’s Equine Behaviour Channel on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgOT3Np-MKRiKq3WN4AInIw/feed. For further information visit confidenceequine.com.More from
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