VALERIAN (Valeriana officinalis) 🍂OCTOBER 20%-OFF SALE *Nature's most potent nervine
Benefits of Valerian for Horses
Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) is nature’s most potent nervine - an earthy, calming root that has helped soothe frayed nerves, ease tension, and support restful sleep for centuries. Despite its infamously pungent scent, valerian is one of the gentlest, most trusted herbs in the herbal apothecary for both horses and humans needing to exhale, unwind, and find their calm again.
Whether it's dental visits, farrier appointments, or travel nerves, Valerian offers unparalleled calming support with its potent anxiolytic, antispasmodic, and de-stressing properties.
✨ "I cannot recommend this enough for mares with severe cramping. Valerian has transformed our routine and eased so much discomfort." Helen
📌 Fussy Eater?
Horses have their own opinions (and strong tastebuds!), so now and then a new blend might need a little extra encouragement. This doesn’t reflect the quality or efficacy of the product, but rather their natural instinct towards new flavours.
Check out our Fussy Eaters page, or send us a message - we've many helpful tips to make introducing new supplements easier.
Overview
Valerian’s active compounds increase levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system that helps regulate nerve signals and calm anxiety. By boosting GABA, valerian naturally promotes a calming, restorative effect on the nervous system while also relaxing muscles and reducing spasms.
Valerian has also been shown to help maintain serotonin levels, another neurotransmitter vital for mood regulation and emotional balance.
How it works
Valerian works by influencing GABA activity:
- Increases GABA release from nerve endings.
- Prevents GABA reabsorption into nerve cells.
- Inhibits enzymes that destroy GABA.
This dual action not only calms the mind but also relaxes the body, offering relief from stress-induced muscle tension and spasms.
For comparison, conventional medications like alprazolam (Xanax) and diazepam (Valium) achieve their calming effects by similarly enhancing GABA activity.
At a glance
Valerian is the go-to botanical for horses (and humans) who are stuck in overdrive - nervy, restless, tight, and unable to settle. With powerful nervine, antispasmodic, and neuroprotective properties, valerian supports deep relaxation without blunt sedation, making it ideal for tension-related behaviours, poor sleep, or muscle-tight anxious types.
🌿 Potent nervine support – Calms the nervous system in anxious, tense, and reactive individuals. May aid focus, reduce excitability, and help horses feel more grounded.
🌿 Sleep & circadian rhythm support – Helps encourage restful sleep and deep relaxation — whether for chronic tension, post-stress recovery, or evening wind-down.
🌿 Neuroprotective & anticonvulsant – Research suggests valerian may support neurological resilience, reduce oxidative stress in the brain, and modulate GABA pathways — the same pathways targeted by medications like Valium.
🌿 Tension-pain support – As a natural antispasmodic, valerian helps with muscle tightness, cramps, and stress-related digestive discomfort. Traditionally combined with Cramp Bark to ease uterine and smooth muscle pain.
🌿 Adaptogenic duality – One of valerian’s strengths lies in its unique dual action — it can relax the over-agitated, yet uplift the nervous system when it’s depressed or depleted.
🌿 Menopause & hormone balance – Used traditionally to ease hot flashes, night sweats, and emotional volatility — especially during hormonal transitions.
🌿 Restless types – May help soothe pacing, agitation, and ‘can't stand still’ behaviour in horses, and has shown benefits in cases resembling Restless Legs Syndrome in humans.
Valerian’s calming effects come from compounds like valepotriates and valeric acid — highly volatile and best preserved through gentle drying and low-heat infusions or tinctures. It can interact with sedatives and, in rare cases, may cause paradoxical stimulation (especially in humans with digestive imbalances), so always start small and monitor.
Composition & Feed Guide
Valerian is a nutritional, functional horse food supplement and not veterinary medicine. For more on this see Dr Kellon's article - Nutrition is not 'Alternative' Therapy .
💧Organic Valerian Tincture
Our human-grade, certified organic tinctures give you a ready-to-absorb potent source of phytonutrients at the highest-strength available, for immediate absorption straight into the bloodstream and to the body’s cells.
- Valeriana officinalis (Valerian)
- Root
- Decocted 1:3 35%
- Organic Cultivated
~ Feed Guide - valerian tincture for horses
- 6ml/100kg bodyweight, daily in feed.
- Our tinctures come in a heat-sealed, twin-neck, child-resistant HDPE plastic dosing bottle, complete with dosing chamber. ♻️ HDPE is recyclable and low-impact - aligned with our sustainability ethos.
Functional Nutritional Value
Constituents: Alkaloids, gamma aminobutyric acid, irioids (valepotriates), volatile oils, valeric acid, sesquiterpenoids.
- Valerenic acids and sesquiterpenes : Anti-anxiety agents.
- Valepotriates : Act as antispasmodics.
- Linarin : Contributes to valerian’s sedative effect.
Footnotes
- Laboratory tested for identification and compliance to the British and European Pharmacopoeia standards.
- Human grade.
- Please be aware that if you're purchasing our dried botanicals for human use, our dried range is cut to appropriate sizes for feeding to horses.
- ♻️ Eco Note: Our packaging is recyclable and refillable.
- 🧊 Storage Tip: Keep cool and dry.
Clinical Considerations
- Pregnant or nursing mares - always seek veterinary advice before feeding.
- Valerian is a banned substance - not to be used when competing under rules.
Valerian in History & Tradition
With a name derived from the Latin valere - meaning to be strong or well - valerian has long been cherished as a powerful yet gentle healer of the nervous system. In ancient Greece, it was called phu in reference to its strong (and to some, offensive!) odour - yet this same scent has captivated cats, rodents, and even perfumers throughout history. Folklore even credits valerian as the Pied Piper’s secret weapon, used to lure rats from Hamelin.
Valerian’s first recorded medicinal use dates back over 2,000 years. Hippocrates noted its calming effects, and Galen prescribed it for insomnia. Medieval herbalists considered it a cure-all for tension, hysteria, and epilepsy - and by the 16th century, the Italian botanist Fabio Colonna had reportedly cured his own epilepsy with powdered valerian root.
Traditionally, valerian was used to calm palpitations, ease menstrual pain, settle gastrointestinal cramping, and soften the anxious edge of nervous exhaustion. In World War I and II, it was even given to civilians during air raids to help manage shell shock and anxiety.
Despite its smell, valerian’s reputation as a soothing root for tense souls
has stood the test of time - and continues to be supported by emerging neuroscience and clinical trials. Whether sipped, tinctured, or powdered, valerian remains a time-honoured anchor for rest, regulation, and resilience.
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