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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 899
  
Location: Idaho | I need some help.. or understanding. I think I have a grand idea, but I was just curious if anyone else has this issue.
So my horse is 5.. and I have owned him since he was 11 months old. He has a solid foundation, he has been sacked out, introduced to everything I can think of, never had issues with him being spooky. Well, a couple months ago he spooked by my trailer. We worked on it, he was okay.. now he is being stupid again, at the trailer. I try to saddle him up, and he's bouncing around and trying to evade being tacked up. YET, if I get after him then he stands quietly like there is no problem. If I tie him up, somewhere else, it is no problem. I have contemplated just tying him up and leaving him there for a while, so he can just realize he will not get away with it, he has to get used to it. I have tried working him by the trailer, and he's fine.
The other day I went out to pasture, and he was being flighty and didn't want me to touch him. Then he ran away, he is getting a little sunburnt on his face so I needed to put a flymask on him. So I approach him a second time, he doesn't spook at all. He is fine, no issue.
I don't know what his deal is. He is by himself in his pasture, although he has other horses in the neighboring pastures so he is not fully alone. He is on grass (pasture) and I give him about 3 lbs of alfalfa cubes/1.5 lbs of whole oats soaked daily, just to kind of help with his weight as this is the first time he has been on pasture which he has been doing fine. I also give him a teaspoon of pure garlic powder daily, just to keep away the ticks.. and it works amazing. I am planning to give him a supplement for his coat as well, as it is pretty dry. I am just wondering, if this a normal thing for horses in the pasture. I have considered it being the alfalfa, but it wouldn't be the first time he has had alfalfa in his life. He used to get timothy/grass mix where we used to live and blister beetles weren't a big deal there, and I never had problems with him.
He does not ulcers, he has been checked out by a vet recently, had his teeth done, farrier work, chiro work, been wormed etc. So I don't think it's a pain or health issue, I just don't know how to get him consistant and stop acting like he is. | |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 695
Location: Windoming | green grass will certainly make them spooky and stupid, mine anyway. | |
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Regular
Posts: 65
| Our 5 year old did that....he had Ulcers and they were treated and he hasn't acted like that since. Good Luck. | |
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 Expert
Posts: 2335
Location: IL | Does he get a mineral supplement? A horse lacking vitamins and minerals can get spooky too. I'm dealing with this now. Lacking electrolytes and also cause an issue. I'm all about a natural diet (my horses are on one) but they still need a complete vitamin/trace mineral supplement. Hay even great hay doesn't contain everything they need. Especially a performance horse. | |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 415
| my 5 year old got EXACTLY like that, found out she has PSSM type 2 | |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 899
Location: Idaho | Thanks guys. I actually just got him a himalayan salt lick for those minerals. I am partially thinking it's because he is by himself.. in a big pasture. Will check it out, thanks. :) And he has been on grass pasture for about 6 months, this didn't start until he got spooked at the trailer about a month and a half ago. It's almost like he's looking for a reason to be like that. I don't know. Thank you all for your responses. | |
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 The Bling Princess
Posts: 3411
Location: North Dakota | I have a 10 year old that will get spooky, fidgety, angry, & watchy whenever he is sore. Recently dealt with this. Treated him for ulcers (btw he looked like a million bucks, but tested sore over two points when I did Dr. Depaulos' ulcer test) and took care of the inflammation in his hocks and stifles. He's back to falling asleep while I brush and saddle him.
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 597
| Ulcers?
Magnesium deficiant?
Too much feed not enough exercise? | |
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  Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | I would add a Fat supplement.. fat seems to calm them down and some horses get flighty on oats and alfalfa..is he getting any reg hay or just cubes at dinner.. Id stick some free choice hay out for him.. grasshay or whatever you can get for him to munch on (not alfalfa) | |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 899
Location: Idaho | Um.. he is on bermuda grass pasture 24/7. So aside from the alfalfa/oats thats what he gets.
I actually just started him on a different supplement, one that adds omega 3s, fatty acids, crude protein, calcium and phosphorus. I am actually didn't give him any alfalfa today, try this for about a week to see if it makes a difference. I just started giving him the alfalfa cubes after being on a straight grass diet about a month and a half ago. He lost weight because his teeth needed to be done and he had some atrophy in his back, because he was out. But now he has had his teeth done, and chiro came to take care of him and I switched farriers and now he looks great. I will see if the change will help a bit, also I am going to have him looked at to see if he has ticks in his ears. I haven't seen any ticks on him anywhere, but sometimes he will let me touch them.. other's he won't. He's never had issues with me touching his ears, but also when I first moved out here and the heat started to roll in I would always poke around in his ears to make sure there were no ticks in there.. that might be a reason too lol Also it might just be he's not being worked enough, he only get's rode about once a week if I'm lucky. Other weeks he gets rode 2-3 times. Just my schedule doesn't allow me to ride him unless I get up bright and early.
Edited by DashNDustem 2016-06-23 11:25 PM
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 IMA No Hair Style Gal
Posts: 2594
| I would be more apt to tie him at the trailer daily. I would get a bucket hook it to the trailer along with a hay bag and feed him there every day and then turn him back out.
Meanwhile, I would make a mental note to see if there is some type of pattern that is causing him to spook at certain things. If there is no pattern I would do some more work on seeing what makes him spook and then do more of it....the more you spook them the quieter they become. | |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 898
Location: Mountains of VA | DashNDustem - 2016-06-23 11:22 PM Um.. he is on bermuda grass pasture 24/7. So aside from the alfalfa/oats thats what he gets. I actually just started him on a different supplement, one that adds omega 3s, fatty acids, crude protein, calcium and phosphorus. I am actually didn't give him any alfalfa today, try this for about a week to see if it makes a difference. I just started giving him the alfalfa cubes after being on a straight grass diet about a month and a half ago. He lost weight because his teeth needed to be done and he had some atrophy in his back, because he was out. But now he has had his teeth done, and chiro came to take care of him and I switched farriers and now he looks great. I will see if the change will help a bit, also I am going to have him looked at to see if he has ticks in his ears. I haven't seen any ticks on him anywhere, but sometimes he will let me touch them.. other's he won't. He's never had issues with me touching his ears, but also when I first moved out here and the heat started to roll in I would always poke around in his ears to make sure there were no ticks in there.. that might be a reason too lol Also it might just be he's not being worked enough, he only get's rode about once a week if I'm lucky. Other weeks he gets rode 2-3 times. Just my schedule doesn't allow me to ride him unless I get up bright and early.
You just answered your own question.............remember a TIRED horse is a GOOD horse. Your horse is not getting enough work for the type of feed he is getting. | |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 899
Location: Idaho | hotpaints - 2016-06-26 4:14 PM
DashNDustem - 2016-06-23 11:22 PM Um.. he is on bermuda grass pasture 24/7. So aside from the alfalfa/oats thats what he gets. I actually just started him on a different supplement, one that adds omega 3s, fatty acids, crude protein, calcium and phosphorus. I am actually didn't give him any alfalfa today, try this for about a week to see if it makes a difference. I just started giving him the alfalfa cubes after being on a straight grass diet about a month and a half ago. He lost weight because his teeth needed to be done and he had some atrophy in his back, because he was out. But now he has had his teeth done, and chiro came to take care of him and I switched farriers and now he looks great. I will see if the change will help a bit, also I am going to have him looked at to see if he has ticks in his ears. I haven't seen any ticks on him anywhere, but sometimes he will let me touch them.. other's he won't. He's never had issues with me touching his ears, but also when I first moved out here and the heat started to roll in I would always poke around in his ears to make sure there were no ticks in there.. that might be a reason too lol Also it might just be he's not being worked enough, he only get's rode about once a week if I'm lucky. Other weeks he gets rode 2-3 times. Just my schedule doesn't allow me to ride him unless I get up bright and early.
You just answered your own question.............remember a TIRED horse is a GOOD horse. Your horse is not getting enough work for the type of feed he is getting.
Thanks, I was reminded of this today. He got a little frisky on the trail, which he has NEVER done.. because I always work his little heiny off before hand. So I guess because he is getting older, sometimes I just want him to be like an older horse that I can just get on and go. Not quite there yet! lol | |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| i agree with the feeding.
One other thing is it could be his personality.
I have 2 that are nut jobs, safe to ride but I would never put a kid on.
The one is 24 yrs old now retired for 6 years. Every spring (as I live in the cold white north) he would jump 10 feet sideways if the snowbank looked a little different, could never do slow barrel work as he would spook at the barrel, he was a high school point earner, rodeo money winner, 1d money earner. It was just him, also he to this day still hates men.
The other is 6 and if she has time off, she is worse then my 3 yr old to saddle, she jumps, moves, wide eyed, just her personality.
They always say the best horses are quirky. | |
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Horse is spooky one day, not the next. Help??