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 Fluffy Tuffy
Posts: 10343
  
Location: New Sharon, IA | I have owned this mare for 2 years now. She is 16 years old. This spring she has started spooking at her own shadow. She doesn't possess any other symptoms of blindness. She doesn't squint or hold her eye shut in the sun, no weeping eyes, no cloudy look to her eyes. She will see her own shadow, put her nose low to the ground and snort at it, try to veer around it and sometimes completely bolt the other direction. This is my 10 year old daughters horse. I had a vet take a quick peek at her this past weekend and he couldn't see anything in her eyes that indicates any blindness so I am not sure what could be causing this? Any ideas? Thanks! |
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With God all things are possible
Posts: 3917
  
| CHECK OUT womenandhorses.com Linda Midkiff, she has DVD and inbalance esstential oils that help with focus and bonding it works
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Fluffy Tuffy
Posts: 10343
Location: New Sharon, IA | Thank you! I'll check it out! It is just so strange for her to start doing this all of a sudden. It doesn't matter where we are either. We can be home or away at a race and she will spook at her own shadow. |
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 Experienced Mouse Trapper
Posts: 3106
Location: North Dakota | I would evaluate your feeding program. I have one that when I feed alfalfa, he will spook at his own shadow. I literally can pour the hottest feeds around to him but after a day or two of nothing but alfalfa for forage, he is a spook. Maybe you changed something?? |
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Member
Posts: 47
| Sometimes if they are out in their neck, It can affect the vision according to my therapist.  |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 330
| My mare gets very jumpy when her ulcers flare up. It's one of the first signs that I notice.
ETA: I had her eyes checked too, because I was wondering if maybe that was it (prior to the ulcer diagnosis). We also checked her twice for Lyme disease which was clear both times.
After we treated her ulcers, she wasn't jumpy anymore.
Edited by SuckerForHorses 2014-07-09 8:55 AM
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I Need a Xanax!
Posts: 2774
| LMS - 2014-07-09 8:20 AM
I would evaluate your feeding program. I have one that when I feed alfalfa, he will spook at his own shadow. I literally can pour the hottest feeds around to him but after a day or two of nothing but alfalfa for forage, he is a spook. Maybe you changed something??
This is the first thing I think of too. If you have changed anything(even the tiniest thing) about her feeding program go back to feeding exactly what you were feeding when she was fine. I've had horses that have become total quacks just because I changed their loose minerals, got a different brand, or just fed more or less than they previously had. For some crazy reason a couple of my horses have also become different horses when feeding flax. It was hard to convince myself that a cup of flax per day could possibly cause any changes in behavior but for 2 of my mares it sure did....they went back to being their same old self after quitting the flax. I don't feed sweet feed or high carb grains either. Mine are calm and cool and look good on grass hay and loose horse minerals. I don't ride often or hard enough to work out all the excess energy and attitude that comes with grain. Hope you get it worked out. |
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Fluffy Tuffy
Posts: 10343
Location: New Sharon, IA | My horses are pastured. She has been in the same pasture as long as I have had her, eating the same thing. Her mineral is the same, water is the same, grain is the same. I get her worked on regularly by a chiro and she does get all out of whack regularly because she has pretty poor conformation but it doesn't matter if she is out, or in, she seems to do this anyway. She never did this before. It just started this spring. I have never had her checked for ulcers but she also does not show any other symptoms of ulcers either. I am at a loss :( |
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 Expert
Posts: 1857
| Could something have chased her in the pasture at night? When she first started doing it did you try to correct the behavior other than checking for anything physically wrong? Sometimes things happen to a horse and they react(which is normal) but the reaction is never corrected and then it becomes a bigger and bigger issue overtime. If it started the beginning of spring this may now be an issue that is not pain related but something along the lines of a habit. She was been reacting to the shadow instead of thinking it through because she's been doing it for sometime now. Maybe try doing some desensitizing. get her in a round pen and let her buddy up with you, then introduce tarps on the ground(dark colored), hoses, poles(raised), etc. This may help her rethink her reaction to the shadow instead of react then think. Good luck |
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Fluffy Tuffy
Posts: 10343
Location: New Sharon, IA | FlyingJT - 2014-07-09 9:37 AM Could something have chased her in the pasture at night? When she first started doing it did you try to correct the behavior other than checking for anything physically wrong? Sometimes things happen to a horse and they react(which is normal) but the reaction is never corrected and then it becomes a bigger and bigger issue overtime. If it started the beginning of spring this may now be an issue that is not pain related but something along the lines of a habit. She was been reacting to the shadow instead of thinking it through because she's been doing it for sometime now. Maybe try doing some desensitizing. get her in a round pen and let her buddy up with you, then introduce tarps on the ground(dark colored), hoses, poles(raised), etc. This may help her rethink her reaction to the shadow instead of react then think. Good luck
Yes I correct the behaviour each time she does it. Something MAY have chased her in her pasture but that is not very likely due to where we live. She is perfectly relaxed in her pasture but as soon as you catch her and start leading her, she starts eyeing her shadow. She doesn't freak out standing at the horse trailer. It is only when riding her or leading her. It is with or without a fly mask on. I have thought it may just be something in her behavior but she really freaks out about it sometimes. Snorting, blowing, spinning around etc. |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | My 9 year old gelding started doing the same thing this year, plus ducking/spooking at barrels to the left in indoor and covered pens. I have experimented with a shadow roll and fly mask. He seems like he sees better and spooks less wearing a fly mask, although the run we made in a shadow roll at least got him beside the barrel before he set up and spooked, so we made a clean pattern. LOL. We haven't tried running in a mask yet. I had him checked by a horsey opthamologist and he got a clean bill of health for his eyes.
Next step is switching him left and see what happens. |
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 Dr. Ebay
Posts: 8507
Location: Land Of Oz | Mine gets spooky at everything when she needs treated for ulcers.  |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 448
Location: lone star state | She needs to have her vision checked by a vet that specializes in vision. She may be loosing her eyesite in spots causing her to spook when she thinks she is seeing "things".
Horses cannot judge depth as humans can. Their eyes are located on the sides of their heads to help them see almost all the way in front and back at all times to protect themselves from prey. When a horse sees anything black on the ground or a hole or bridge or water crossing they have to be trained that it isn't a bottomless pit about to swallow them up. Thats why often times a horses that has never been inside a trailer with black mats a horse will shy away until they learn its safe to step on the black mats. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 330
| "I have never had her checked for ulcers but she also does not show any other symptoms of ulcers either."
Mine didn't show your typical ulcer symptoms either. www.photobucket.com/ulcers |
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Fluffy Tuffy
Posts: 10343
Location: New Sharon, IA | What does everyone use to treat for ulcers? |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 330
| 1 tube daily of UlcerGard or GastroGard paste for 28 days, then I tapered down to 1/2 tube daily for a few weeks, then 1/4 tube daily for a few weeks.
You should never abruptly stop a PPI medication. You will end up with ulcers again when the horse's stomach kicks into it's acid rebound affect. |
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 Sexy Bee Yacht
Posts: 5849
Location: WA | I have a 10 year old mare that I have had since she was 2 (wow, time flies). She spooks at her shadow all the time. But it isn't out of the blue, she has always done it. The "best" part is when she jumps from it and the damn thing chases her. Sigghhhh.... Good luck to you though, sounds like something is going on causing it to be a new behavior. |
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 Chasin my Dream
Posts: 13651
Location: Alberta | TNMel - 2014-07-09 7:53 AM Sometimes if they are out in their neck, It can affect the vision according to my therapist.
Edited by dream_chaser 2014-07-09 6:21 PM
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 Balance Beam and more...
Posts: 11511
Location: 31 lengths farms | Maybe beginning of head shakers syndrome...My mare was doing the same thing, spooking at stuff that had always been there, this is an 11 year old mare and it came out of nowhere it seemed. Then a few months later I noticed she was cocking her head at a funny angle when I rode her. Had her teeth and ears checked, got clean bills of health. Then the halter started bugging her, just the pressure of putting it on or taking it off and heaven forbid she hit the end of the lead rope when she did spook. Had a 17 hand Alligator on my hands.
In January I hopped on to ride and she lost her mind, jumping lunging, rearing, full blown panic/mad. I have had this mare since she was a weanling, she is the kindest horse I've ever seen and suddenly she just wanted me off!!! I knew her well enough to know it wasn't behavioral, she was in a full panic, barely got her bridle off without sending her into another fit. I had been doing some research on head shakers, not because she so much shook her head but because she rubbed her face furiously on her forelegs, on the panels, on the trees anything she could rub on she did, it was one of the symptoms of head shakers. When he flashed the light in her eyes you could tell it basically gave her an instant head ache. Put the fly mask on her in January and she was 95% better, though the face rubbing continued. Started her on Magnesium and Melatonin which helped also and then got the Cyproheptadine (sp) which is antihistamine that has shown good results for some head shaker cases. She quit spooking and I was able to ride her again but having to give it to her about 1/2 before I wanted to ride was kind of a pain. After starting my mare with kidney stones on herbs I asked the lady I got those from about Poopie's issues, we did a hair sample and it came back TMJ on her right side, put her on the herbs for Joints by Equine Natural Care and took her off the Cypro and havent' had to use the Cypro since starting the herbs and no more face rubbing!!!
Sorry about the book but just another thought as to what might b going on with her. |
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 Peecans
| dream_chaser - 2014-07-09 5:20 PM
TNMel - 2014-07-09 7:53 AM Sometimes if they are out in their neck, It can affect the vision according to my therapist.
You know the first time I ever went to a cryopractor I did not even know my neck and spine were out of line I went in for constant rib pain.
I was teased for a few months I needed to go get glasses and after he worked on me I could SEE I had no idea I was out and my vision was that bad! Also stoped having constant headaches, i had lived with thoes my whole life even brought it up at dr apoiments.
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Experienced Mouse Trapper
Posts: 3106
Location: North Dakota | I've used ulcercureotc and had good luck! Most reasonable I've found |
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| Keep in mind the sides of a horses face have a million nerves ... so look at your headstalls, tie downs and how they fit over the poll ... pinching one of these nerves could be affecting his eyesight which is at the top of my list as a problem ..
A horse has very little depth of perception in his eyes... especially up close ... this is the reason a horse lowers his head looking at a puddle or log to try to tell how deep or high it is or silly people train the professional arena trail class horses to look at the pole they have to step over and the silly judges just love it give them high scores ... His lowering his head to inspect then jumping or bolting sez eye problems ...
Then again this horse may have figured out he can scare the crap out of your young kid and not get any correction .... so you may have to go riding for several hours for many days to get him tired and thinking straight ... the only new piece of equipment you might use is a shadow roll used on race horses ... but this is for ignorant horses that have no obstacle training at all ... they will jump a footprint or tire track when young and stupid .. lol ..
GOOD LUCK AND BE SAFE .. |
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Fluffy Tuffy
Posts: 10343
Location: New Sharon, IA | This horse does this before and after chiro adjustments. She is the same before or after the adjustment. She is wearing the same tack she always has been. She does not do this out in her pasture. It is not until I put the halter on her that she does it. Tie her to the trailer and she is fine. Untie her and lead her off and she will do it again. She does not do it every time either. Only 1/2 the time. Sometimes she does it when my daughter is riding her and sometimes she doesn't. I correct her behaviour each time she does it and my daugther does as well. I have literally changed nothing about our routine. Sees the same chiro, adjusted regularly. Feed is the same, tack is the same etc. I am just trying to figure out if it is behaviour, or if something is really wrong with her? This is a tough one, that is for sure! |
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Peecans
| CwgrlTuffTurnin3 - 2014-07-10 12:03 PM
This horse does this before and after chiro adjustments. She is the same before or after the adjustment. She is wearing the same tack she always has been. She does not do this out in her pasture. It is not until I put the halter on her that she does it. Tie her to the trailer and she is fine. Untie her and lead her off and she will do it again. She does not do it every time either. Only 1/2 the time. Sometimes she does it when my daughter is riding her and sometimes she doesn't. I correct her behaviour each time she does it and my daugther does as well. I have literally changed nothing about our routine. Sees the same chiro, adjusted regularly. Feed is the same, tack is the same etc. I am just trying to figure out if it is behaviour, or if something is really wrong with her? This is a tough one, that is for sure!
Sombody borrow her?
My one mares been pretty snakie with her back end since she was borrowed, havent got a clue what crawled up her and died, but what ever crawled up her is pretty big lol.
I also did have a horse get in a bad wreck, and for how bad it was he was only a bit stiff for a few days, one little hair scratch no blood. He was never "right" afterwords, could she have whiped out and hit her head in pasture? |
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Fluffy Tuffy
Posts: 10343
Location: New Sharon, IA | Nope nobody has been on her other than my daughter 99% of the time and me 1% of the time. She very well could have fallen and hit her head but I'm not sure what that would have done to make her act this way so intermittently? She does not freak out when my kids ride 4 wheelers by her or I mow behind her in the pasture, or when cars whiz up and down our gravel road that is only 15 feet from her pasture. She does not do this at the trailer or in a stall at a race. She only does this when we are leading her, or on her. |
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I Need a Xanax!
Posts: 2774
| Probably a long shot but I had a good gentle mare start freaking when I would go to catch her or start leading her or sometimes even pet her...turned out to be a really sharp spot on one of her molars that was slicing her jaw so anytime something touched that part of her face she'd go bezerk but it took me a while to realize what the trigger was since sometimes I was just leading her and was 5 feet away. Got her teeth done and within 3 weeks she was back to her old sleepy self again, thank goodness! Just a thought..... |
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Fluffy Tuffy
Posts: 10343
Location: New Sharon, IA | This mare just had her teeth done in February. These issues did not start happening until Mid May sometime. |
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Fluffy Tuffy
Posts: 10343
Location: New Sharon, IA | I really wish I could pin point the problem. We are leaving for youth world Friday morning and this mare is going so I hope she is up to it! This is our first trip there! |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 330
| Get her scoped for ulcers. That would either confirm or rule out at least one possibility. |
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 Lady Di
Posts: 21556
Location: Oklahoma | You might want to have her tested for EPM....it WILL affect the vision sometimes. Jackie Jatzlau's good horse, Rooster, that she took to the NFR had it and it made him go blind in one eye. I had a friend who had a 10 yr old mare that was acting just like you describe this mare, only it started with the trailer. One day she started spooking at the trailer and wouldn't load. She thought the trailer was shocking her at first, checked the wiring, nothing wrong...then went the whole bit with ulcers, chiro, etc. It ended up being EPM....once she treated her for that, she quit spooking, would load, and was her old self.
Edited by dianeguinn 2014-07-11 1:04 PM
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Sexy Bee Yacht
Posts: 5849
Location: WA | Lol, time to call the horse communicator. In all seriousness though, I have used Kathy George with good results. The sometimes spooking is hard to deal with. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 898
Location: Mountains of VA | dianeguinn - 2014-07-11 1:01 PM You might want to have her tested for EPM....it WILL affect the vision sometimes. Jackie Jatzlau's good horse, Rooster, that she took to the NFR had it and it made him go blind in one eye. I had a friend who had a 10 yr old mare that was acting just like you describe this mare, only it started with the trailer. One day she started spooking at the trailer and wouldn't load. She thought the trailer was shocking her at first, checked the wiring, nothing wrong...then went the whole bit with ulcers, chiro, etc. It ended up being EPM....once she treated her for that, she quit spooking, would load, and was her old self.
Agree with the EPM thought. A boarder horse where my daughter works started acting strange, similiar to your mare. One day she would be fine, the next day spooking at everything. The owner's went through all types of treatments and testing. Gradually the horse got more dangerous because she would just bolt and run through fences, with our without a handler. Finally tested her for EPM and it was positive. Unfortunately, the mare was euthanized due to her dangerous bolting and not responding to treatment. |
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Horse spooking at her own shadow