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Expert
Posts: 2685
   
| Random discussion.... Due to my life changes here lately I had to put my horses on the back burner and my royal Blue Chew Chew mare (OTT, 6yo) got really poor. Didn't change her diet or anything. She just got really depressed and quit eating as much hay. She continued to eat her grain but just kind of changed. At first I thought something was wrong and needed fixed but on a whim I just started riding her again about a week ago and I swear in the last week she's gained 40-50#. Just acts like a happier horse and really is riding better than ever. I have never had a horse with so much need for a job in my life. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 415
| PSSM or RER? I know some horses with type 1 or 2 PSSM can get so stressed from the pain in their muscles that they get ulcers and constant work is a treatment for it so maybe he's feeling better being excercised? |
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 Balance Beam and more...
Posts: 11493
 
Location: 31 lengths farms | I have one like that. She is the type that needs a job and loves her job, hence the reason when she fractured her Patella in early 2011 I went to hand walking her about a month too early because I was losing her mentally, she was depressed and wouldn't eat much at all. Same thing in 2014 when she had the bladder stone issue. At first we only walked and did a little trotting because I was afraid she'd pass blood in her urine again, but even just doing that helped her look forward to 5:00 pm everyday and a ride, put the bloom back on her.
I see yours was an OTT, they often are used to a schedule and do best with one. |
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| My RBCC son loses a lot of muscle tone when he's not in work. He responds best with daily excercise, even just a few minutes, and a diet of free choice alfalfa, free choice grass hay, 3 lbs oats, and 1 lb rice bran.
He also thrives on personal attention and gets very upset without contact. Also, he has incredibly low pain tolerance, and gets his digestive system all out of whack and ulcers if something is sore. |
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Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| My RBCC son loses a lot of muscle tone when he's not in work. He responds best with daily excercise, even just a few minutes, and a diet of free choice alfalfa, free choice grass hay, 3 lbs oats, and 1 lb rice bran.
He also thrives on personal attention and gets very upset without contact. Also, he has incredibly low pain tolerance, and gets his digestive system all out of whack and ulcers if something is sore. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1165
Location: California | My gelding looses muscle tone when not exercised regularly. I feel like a failure when my life gets hectic and he starts looking poor. He's been this way since he was 8 months old. I hate it. Blood tests are clear and the vet just says to keep him exercised. If I could afford free choice alfalfa he'd have free choice. Unfortunately its very hard to get quality alfalfa around here and if you find it, its outrageous. |
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  Twin Sister to Queen Boobie
Posts: 13315
Location: East Tennessee but who knows?! | I think some horses too find comfort in routine and what they're used to. If she was on the track, she got used to being worked every day. Horses find comfort in knowing what to expect and if they're sitting and used two working that's not normal for them and it's not routine. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 425
Location: California | Yes, my mare kept having reoccuring abscesses and just soundness issues all around. I pretty much retired her & she would eat fine, but she really just didn't seem happy. Never got too spunky or anything anymore (this was a horse who would run circles around me). I just assumed she was getting older. Finally she stopped stepping lame & I took her out more. Went through a ghetto-no arena/trash can barrel pattern & BOOM suddenly she lit up. It was amazing for her to feel like that again. Now if I don't take her out for too long, she will let me know by tearing down the posts and letting her self roam free (she already has a very large paddock)  |
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