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Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
   
Location: North Dakota | I have a horse that I knew for a while before we bought him. When I knew him before, he was very solid, quiet, and trustworthy. He's been with us for about 2 years now. He's never settled in. He's not a mean horse, or a bad horse, but my sister is the only one who can ride him. I rode him in the past and dangled off him trying to hop on from the ground, standing on barrels to get on him, now he's petrified of mounting blocks. He was afraid of the hay net I brought into his stall the other night. He will sometimes just jump out of his skin for no reason. Like I'll be standing there petting him and he'll just all of a sudden jump. He gets 4lbs of Ultium a day, grass hay, and alfalfa/bermuda cubes. I had him on SmartCalm for a while and it didn't make a difference. I'm trying to think of things that would be causing him to be so on edge. He runs SUPER well and is 100% business when it comes to barrels, but I want him to be more relaxed when he's not running as well. My vet's going to be here next week so anything I can have her check while she's here that might be a contributing factor would be great as well. |
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  Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | Ultuim made 2 of my horses nuts. |
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Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
Location: North Dakota | That's interesting. Everyone seems to think I'm nuts if I ever mention that I think there might be a correlation between the Ultium and him being crazy. I'm going to the feed store tomorrow gosh dangit. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1119
| I agree with the Ultium. I just did a little experiment because I was feeding one of mine 2 lbs per day. I bought him Jan 2 thinking he was a pretty mellow horse. I started feeding him Ultium right away and he gradually got more and more spooky. Things that didn't bother him before were suddenly putting him on edge. A week ago I took him off of it. Today, he was perfectly sane even with crazy wind we had. Needless to say, he won't be going back on the Ultium! |
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Expert
Posts: 1561
| Every time you ride and work a horse you are teaching it to be sensitive and responsive so you also need continuous work on desensitizing them. |
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Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
Location: North Dakota | I agree. I've ridden some green/spooky/high strung/ problem horses. But this horse became different instantly after bringing him to my barn. If I hadn't known him well beforehand I would have thought perhaps it was him, perhaps he was drugged, but I rode him, my sister rode him, competed on him, we knew the family and for him to become a different horse overnight is not a training error. My sister rides him and she does NOT let him get away with crap. I am always there when she rides and give her lessons. She is a pretty good hand and rides him through his moments well and has never failed to get him calmed down and working past whatever scared him. And he still is ALWAYS all business when it comes to barrels. Even just walking or trotting them. If he sees them something clicks and he's focused, soft, and super happy. A lot of his spooking is not even when riding. Just, like I said, brining a hay bag in to his stall. He would snort and go to the back of his pen when workers would throw his hay/grain to him. Anything can set him off at any time. We've muddled through so far but it has been tough dealing with him in just day-to-day business.
I tried to switch him to Renew Gold, but he absolutely will not eat it. My feed choices are rather limited but I'm going to change him ASAP. |
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Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | Im not saying thats why he is .. but just wanted to point out my issues wth the feed.. you should change and see if it helps.. some horses do great on it.. some dont. I know a few on here that had issues as mine did on it.. |
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Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
Location: North Dakota | It's definitely the easiest fix though, so I'm going to try changing his feed right away. |
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Veteran
Posts: 137
| Ulcers can cause them to be spooky |
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 Expert
Posts: 3782
Location: Gainesville, TX | Ultium can make them hot. That would be the first thing. But I agree it cold be ulcers or something neurological or pathological after that which might cause a personality change, like EPM or PSSM. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1367
Location: mi | I agree on the Ultium. I have one that I have to find the lowest starch feed available to keep him level. If you are having the vet out anyways he could take a quick check of his eyes. That is another common thing that makes them spooky. |
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | I'd say Ultium...I could ride my horse out in the pasture and he'd be totally responsive and calm. He got so hot on that feed that I wouldn't touch it ever again. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 112
| Just to throw out a little different view..... Possibly get his eyes checked. Some horses can develop spooky behavior due to developing eye issues. Different eye issues can cause horses to slowly see shadows or shapes, or decrease vision all together, making them abnormally spooky.  |
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The Resident Destroyer of Liberal Logic
Location: PNW | Ultium made my horses into raving lunatics. Also, check for turkeys and chupacabras. |
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 Lady Di
Posts: 21556
Location: Oklahoma | One of the early symptoms of EPM is a quiet horse changing into a spooky, reactive horse. You changed his environment and owners, that's enough stress to trigger it. Sure wouldn't hurt to get him checked. Here is a video that shows you several tests you can do yourself to see if you need to take him to a vet to confirm. http://thehorseaholic.com/detecting-neurological-problems-with-your... |
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Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
Location: North Dakota | dianeguinn - 2015-02-27 3:57 PM One of the early symptoms of EPM is a quiet horse changing into a spooky, reactive horse. You changed his environment and owners, that's enough stress to trigger it. Sure wouldn't hurt to get him checked. Here is a video that shows you several tests you can do yourself to see if you need to take him to a vet to confirm. http://thehorseaholic.com/detecting-neurological-problems-with-your...
I'll try those test on him just to see what he does. Thanks! |
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