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Regular
Posts: 62
| I have an 8 yr old off the track QH, I've had him since fall of his 3 year old year. It was a bitter cold winter here, so I did not get to do much riding at all. Was able to start riding a little in Feb here and there, and then more in March. Ever since I started legging him back up I've been riding a totally different horse. He went from a laid back, go with the flow gelding to a complete hot head. It got to the point where he just didn't want to do anything, not even larger circles. His new trick is just stopping in his tracks and rearing up, which I do not tolerate at all. If he did it once in our half hr ride he did it 20 times, each kept getting higher and higher, the last 3 times I thought we were going over backwards. I've tried just walking around the hay fields, trying to get him and his mind to relax, and that turns into a battle. He will stop spin around and its a fight to get him going again. Then he does it another 75 yards down, over and over. I've tried just breezing him and letting him go, that just feeds the fire. I can't find any soreness issues, he doesn't ride off, no swelling, nothing is hot. He does need his teeth done, that is happening tomorrow. He is currently getting GastroPlus as I had suspected ulcers at first. I'm at a total loss on what to do with him, he has done a total 180 since last fall. I swear this is not the same horse I've been riding for the past 5 years. He's currently out on pasture 24/7, only comes in for grain, and is getting 3/4 scoop (about 1 lb) of Sentinel Sr twice a day, with aloe vera juice, smartsox, and formula 1 noni. I've been wanting to start showing pretty regularly, or as regular as my checkbook allows, but I do not want to take him anywhere acting like this! Any suggestions?? | |
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Cold hands and Warm Heart
  
Location: oklahoma | I'd get his teeth done and go from there. I looked at your feed and seems like a good one since it's low sugar/ starch. Try again after that and I'd tire him out. Sounds like he may be fat and sassy, not getting ridden enough. What do you do when he goes up? Whip his butt or get off? If his feet are moving, he can't set to go up. Good luck, I hate ones that rear. Hoping it's an easy fix.
eta, I'm no expert... Mainly a bump. :)
Edited by CurlyQ 2014-05-11 8:14 PM
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Regular
Posts: 62
| He gets smacked between the ears and I get his feet moving. He hasn't been wanting to do any type of circles, either direction lately, and the past couple rides he has started out doing them okay (not perfect but better than nothing so I'll take it) then after about 10 minutes he starts the rearing. He did it yesterday long trotting through the fields. He is and always has been a nervous horse, which is why I suspected ulcers at first. I'm really hoping getting teeth done with help out, I'm keeping my fingers crossed! I would love to get him out and go for a nice long trail ride with lots of hills, but I don't know of a place to take him around me. I will have to ask around and look into it more as right now my options are the arena or hay fields and I think he has about had it with both. | |
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Sock Snob
Posts: 3021
| Have a lamness vet check him. I wish i had mine a while back i got him so sore, i,got,his hacks fused and hemis still,fussy going right it maymbe his stifle. I did notice that he doesnot go right as well will male appointment tomorrow. Put him on previcox for,the week get his teeth done. The horse is telling something but what i dont know. He is 8 is in that prime for,hock,fusing. When was the last time his,hocks where injected.
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| I'm sorry but there are better ways to discipline a horse then hitting them between the ears. I never hit my horses in the head.
Honestly I would get a complete and thorough vet check as he is telling you something is bothering him.
Have you changed saddles, pads, bits, farriers, any one of these things can cause pain.
Once he has vet checked sound, then I would get chiro and massage out to do the once over.
Then I would start with baby steps. I always leave my horses on a positive note, I had one who could not be bullied, if you tried, she got worse circles was one problem. What I did with her was, I would get on her warm her up in straight lines, then I would lope one circle each way and get off, the next day 2 circles each way, then off, 3 circles each way day no 3, and so on. This worked with her. She is also one I could not pick at excessively, she was always a soft mouthed mare, still is, but she stands up to bullies. | |
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| I'd get the teeth done. For sure and before I got back on. Get a lameness exam done, those can surprise you. See what turns up, treat it if there's something.
Then I'd just spend some time, like a week to two weeks maybe, just lunging on a long line for 30 to 45 minutes. Long trotting, loping, you name it. Then hand walk a mile or more to cool out. Work time + bonding time. Yes, before anyone jumps me, lunging can be hard on their body. But better that than her chest under her saddle horn if the sucker flips over. Sounds like the pony could use some sweat.
Then lunge for 15-20 minutes before you get on. Then ride for 10, get off. See if it helps. | |
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  Angel in a Sorrel Coat
Posts: 16030
Location: In a happy place | It sounds to me like the saddle might be pinching him. | |
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 Expert
Posts: 2097
Location: Deep South | Definitely agree that it is pain related. Horses don't just come up one day and decide to be total jackasses. It's their only way to communicate that something is wrong. I would keep searching for it until the behavior subsides. | |
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 Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | Long story short, we sold a horse, she had him started under saddle and then she quit paying on him so we went and got him. Turned him out for a year to put weight on and forget the aweful training job he had. When I went back to riding him, he kind of out of the blue went to rearing if I asked him to turn right. I fought that SOB for several days until he had us both freaked out. I took him to the vet and he had a wolf tooth broke off just above gum level. Vet took it out and the problem was better, but not fixed as he had learned he could get out of work by rearing. So my husband took him and worked his behind off and gave him an attitude adjustment. Now we always have wolf teeth pulled at castration or when they get their first teeth float right before we have them started. | |
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 You get what you give
Posts: 13030
Location: Texas | I would also be going to the vet- a change in personality like that tells me something is wrong somewhere. If he used to be good, and now is being totally awful, I would do everything I can to rule out a source of pain or discomfort.
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 695
Location: Windoming | It sounds like a saddle issue to me. I have seen this happen before in horses that I've sold..............
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 Not Afraid to Work
Posts: 4717
| classicpotatochip - 2014-05-11 9:53 PM
I'd get the teeth done. For sure and before I got back on. Get a lameness exam done, those can surprise you. See what turns up, treat it if there's something.
Then I'd just spend some time, like a week to two weeks maybe, just lunging on a long line for 30 to 45 minutes. Long trotting, loping, you name it. Then hand walk a mile or more to cool out. Work time + bonding time. Yes, before anyone jumps me, lunging can be hard on their body. But better that than her chest under her saddle horn if the sucker flips over. Sounds like the pony could use some sweat.
Then lunge for 15-20 minutes before you get on. Then ride for 10, get off. See if it helps.
I was going to recommend lunging. A good lameness exam is always helpful.
Try running a pen lightly down the side of him and see if he reacts... thats a good way to see if there is sensativity/muscle soreness. | |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | After you get his teeth done and have Vet go over him, do a tack check, make sure bit is sitting right and not pinching, check saddle make sure its fitting him right, check for screws that might be backing out of saddle, pad check, check to make sure its not to stiff, dirty. Check cinch make sure its not rubbing him and making him sore. If you can have a Chiro go over him too.
Good luck to ya 
Edited by Southtxponygirl 2014-05-11 11:13 PM
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 364
| If you have ruled out lameness or soreness issues, take him off the grass. Sugar content in early spring grass is very high. Also the calcium/magnesium content is off balance in spring pastures. Calcium is high and magnesium is low. Get him on a magnesium supplement. Dry lot him on grass hay and see if it makes a difference. | |
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Sock Snob
Posts: 3021
| My gelding has been having proformance issues for,2 years even taking him to,vets and theymwould tell me nothing was wrong i just had to find someone who would listen. We did hock,fusion surgery she told me to,ride him see if anything else going on he is stiffer one way have to,call her today. Just know my horse used to,buck,if he had not been rode but he had stomach issues now,after 6 months saddled up no buck. I am heading right way. I knew my horse was a quiet just have to,find out,whats bugging him. He is telling you listen. Get his teeth done, get some cheap stuff for his gut see where you are in two weeks. | |
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Regular
Posts: 62
| Thanks for all the replies! There has not been any tack change, I've been riding in the same saddle/bridle since I him pretty much. Only change is I'll sometimes ride in a d-ring or a Jr cowhorse. I did check the saddle a few weeks ago, just to rule that out, and I could find any spot where something was pinching him. He is getting his teeth done today, and I've been trying to get an appointment for a lameness exam (I know just because I don't see anything doesn't mean nothing is wrong). Hes getting ridden/worked everyday the weather permits for anywhere form 30 min to an hr. So he's been sweating and some days he does act better than others. The rearing has just started in the last few rides, and I've gone over him with a fine tooth comb so to speak. I've flexed him and stretched him out and he moves out just fine to my eyes. But I will start with those steps and go from there! Maybe I will see about keeping him inside for half the day, I knew with all the spring green grass he was gonna have some spring fever. But I was not ready for it to be like this! Hopefully we will get to the bottom of the issue, and he will go back to his old self! Fingers crossed! | |
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Regular
Posts: 92
| We had a horse last year that won the Congress in the Hunter Under Saddle and was a horse that enjoyed his job. Then he got an injury and was given a few months off. When we started back to riding it was like he had a nervous break down. Spooking at everything, running backwards, rearing ect. We where at our wits ends as we could not understand how this could happen. When we took the horse back to the vet to check to make sure his injury was still good we told the vet that we think he had a mental break down. The vet said let me check his heart. He said a horse with a heart murmur can act like that. And sure enough he had a major heart murmur. We gave him some time off and put him on the proper meds and when he went back to work he was the same old good horse he use to be. So to make a long story short have his heart checked. | |
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | LabRat - 2014-05-11 9:16 PM
If you have ruled out lameness or soreness issues, take him off the grass. Sugar content in early spring grass is very high. Also the calcium/magnesium content is off balance in spring pastures. Calcium is high and magnesium is low. Get him on a magnesium supplement. Dry lot him on grass hay and see if it makes a difference.
Ditto to the grass!Take him off the grass, dry lot him, and if he checks out good, I'd start doing a lot of ground work and keep his feet moving to gain respect. I'd also start doing two-a-days. Ride him in the morning, leave him saddle all day, ride him again at night. | |
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Regular
Posts: 62
| Had teeth done, a couple were really sharp and caused some ulcers on his cheeks (I guess we will be getting checked every 6 months now not just once a year). Vet said he could be worked and just keep a bit or anything out of his mouth for 3 day, I"m going to give it a week just to be sure. Gave him Monday and Tuesday completely off. I rode him yesterday in the Shack just to walk around the hay fields. He acted up for about maybe 5-8 mintues when we first got in the hay field to walk away from the barn, just rearing up a bit and spinning back towards the barn. After that he wanted to do it a couple times but was mostly fine the rest of the ride. He will be in the stall during the day and turn out just in the evening and night, there is no place to dry lot him and he would go crazy in the stall 24/7. I think it has just become a habit for when he doesn't really want to do something, he was never a real big fan of working before. He would get really lazy and just kind of go through the motions so to speak. Hopefully with less grass and a painfree mouth he will start to get back to his old self again, at least no more rearing and "pitching a fit" about anything. | |
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Expert
Posts: 1414
| hammer_time - 2014-05-15 1:11 AM LabRat - 2014-05-11 9:16 PM If you have ruled out lameness or soreness issues, take him off the grass. Sugar content in early spring grass is very high. Also the calcium/magnesium content is off balance in spring pastures. Calcium is high and magnesium is low. Get him on a magnesium supplement. Dry lot him on grass hay and see if it makes a difference. Ditto to the grass!Take him off the grass, dry lot him, and if he checks out good, I'd start doing a lot of ground work and keep his feet moving to gain respect. I'd also start doing two-a-days. Ride him in the morning, leave him saddle all day, ride him again at night.
I agree with taking him off the grass, especially in the morning. My 14 year old gelding started acted nuts this spring. Spent major $$$$ at the vet going over him and he could not find a single thing wrong and blood work came back fine. Had the nutritionist out and he said get him off the grass, especially during the morning hours. The sugar is the highest in the morning, the sun helps push the sugar back down to the root (if I understood correct) so turning out in the afternoon was better. I was already feeding a low starch feed but we went to an even lower start feed and upped their protein to feed their muscle. He gets GOOD quality grass mix hay 24/7 and access to a loose vit/min supplement. It's only been a week since we changed but I think I can tell a difference already.
*IF* feed is the issue I'd take a week off from riding for safety's sake and do ground work with him. Make his lungs work. It's amazing how much work you can do on the ground and it will benefit your riding a 1000 times over.
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