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Elite Veteran
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| I was going to wait until I got a few videos, but will get them tomorrow and post them. In the meantime, he's always been girthy when saddling, but yesterday was really not good. He pinned his ears back more than usual, and acted like he wanted to bite. He's never loved me putting a cooler or blanket on him, again, he pins his ears a little bit, but yesterday he came extremely close to biting me when I was putting on his blanket, really acted like he was going to. He's not happy when I take a cooler or blanket OFF either. When I got close to his chest to buckle the front, he gave me the evil eye. He's never been this bad, he usually just moves around a little when I put it on for a few seconds.
I had my vet come out 1.5 weeks ago, she saw him move on the lunge line, checked his teeth and did a full chiropractic session. She said he wasn't out bad anywhere really, he had a lot of tension in his TMJ area, but loosened up a lot when she worked on that area. She said his withers were a bit out, but nothing to be overly concerned with. She palpated his back and he didn't move a muscle or flinch. She said, next time she comes out to do a chiro again, if he's out in the withers again she might want to have me look at his saddle. I don't know a lot about saddle fitting, I wish I did! She doesn't either, as she just rides English. If anyone remembers my thread a few weeks ago about bits, I did change to a Jr Cowhorse Chain Bit with a copper roller, and he has been better about his stops. He seems to really like this bit a lot better and is working nice in it. He has never offered to buck, rear, bolt, etc and is not cold backed when I get on him.
I talked to his vet a lot about Kissing Spine, and she didn't think that he has it. She said if I wanted her to do an X-Ray she would definitely come out and do that.
He dropped about 75lbs at the previous boarding barn we were at, but has put on about 50 since we have been at this new facility and is continuing to gain weight.
He is a lot calmer where we are now. He gets Poulin E-TEC feed which has no grains or molasses, and Sentinel Senior. Free choice hay. I have him on Previcox, and just started him on T.H.E Muscle Mass with a few blends about a week or so ago. He just finished a month being on DAC Cool Gut, and will be continuing another month on it. I wonder if I should put him on T.H.E Gastro Plus for a month? Before I ride, I give him Purina Outlast.
I am feeling defeated. I'm so happy to have a horse, and I really do enjoy him, but I feel like I just can't get it right with him.
We don't have tons of money to spend right now, as we just had the vet come out, but I want to figure out what is going on. My husband is supportive, as he bought me my horse, all my tack, everything, horse trailer, etc, and I'm so grateful, but now he's getting frustrated as well as he has spent a lot of money, and I get that. He and his family had 20+ horses growing up, hosted gymkhana's, offered trail rides, etc, but the horses all just got the bare minimum (which is fine, to each their own) but I brought up him trying to bite me yesterday, and he just thinks I need to "show him who's boss"..
I don't have ANY horse friends, as I'm not from the area (I've been here 6 years but have only had my horse since the fall). I don't have anyone to ask for advice, or to look at my saddle. The owner of the barn I'm at now is nice, but she said she didn't know a lot about saddle fitting, so I can't ask her. I googled saddle fitting professionals in my area, and in my town there is a small tack shop (they ONLY sell English/dressage saddles, no tack, nothing). I e-mailed the owner of the shop today, and he got back to me. He said "I have done western fitting. There's not much that can be adjusted but I can tell you if a saddle fits, what type of shape your horse is and what type of saddle would best suit in terms of tree shape. I charge $75.00 locally to come to your barn. Let me know if you are still interested."
I ride in a Circle Y "The Proven" barrel saddle. 14in. I will attach a picture of it. It was a little over $1,000 new. It's not anything fancy. We couldn't afford anything over that amount. We don't have the money right now to buy an expensive saddle. If it ends up being the saddle doesn't fit him, we would be looking for a used saddle under $800. I ordered a BOT liner for him that should be here tomorrow.. The tack shop I bought it from is a little over an hour away, and I don't believe anyone there is certified in saddle fitting. It's a nice tack shop, small, but I don't think anyone is certified. They have about 15 new saddles in stock, it's a mix of brands, roping saddles, a barrel saddle or two, and others.
I just don't know what to do, or where to start. As I said, I really want to fix whatever is going on, but we just don't have a lot of $ right now to spend. We sold a lot of things we had around the house to buy my horse, and his tack, etc, so we don't have anything to sell right now.
Thanks! You guys are ALL I have!
I'm so frustrated with these pictures upside down! They look perfect when I download them..sorry 
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| I would take him off the coolgut and put him on the T.H.E. Gastro supplement. It has proof that it heals ulcers and my sister has used it on a horse for several years that gets ulcers every time she takes him off it. I am fixin to order some for one of mine that I suspect has ulcers. Every time I have had a horse show the same behaviors your horse is showing, they have gotten better after ulcer treatment. | |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 460
| Hugs to you during this frustrating and difficult time! Have you ruled out Kissing Spine and EPM? I have never dealt with KS myself...but know friends who have, and their horses also displayed discomfort with saddling =/ My EPM horse also got fairly girthy before we treated him. Just some ideas! | |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 897
| GLP - 2018-01-18 1:12 PM
I would take him off the coolgut and put him on the T.H.E. Gastro supplement. It has proof that it heals ulcers and my sister has used it on a horse for several years that gets ulcers every time she takes him off it. I am fixin to order some for one of mine that I suspect has ulcers. Every time I have had a horse show the same behaviors your horse is showing, they have gotten better after ulcer treatment.
I am going to order some right now! Thank you for your advice. | |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 897
| Katielovestbs - 2018-01-18 1:13 PM
Hugs to you during this frustrating and difficult time! Have you ruled out Kissing Spine and EPM? I have never dealt with KS myself...but know friends who have, and their horses also displayed discomfort with saddling =/ My EPM horse also got fairly girthy before we treated him. Just some ideas!
I have not ruled out either! I think it sounds like I need to start with diagnosing for KS. How is EPM diagnosed? | |
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 Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | The pictures are so small that it's hard to see the saddle fit for sure, but I don't see anything glaring.
Question: Why do you have him on Previcox?
And side note ... while it is uncommon, some horses get very bad ulcers with Previcox..... Could be the case with your guy. Can you stop the previcox and add the Gastro Plus or other ulcer treatment?
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
 
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | I'm going to try to fix the pictures for you..
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 897
| r_beau - 2018-01-18 2:31 PM
The pictures are so small that it's hard to see the saddle fit for sure, but I don't see anything glaring.
Question: Why do you have him on Previcox?
And side note ... while it is uncommon, some horses get very bad ulcers with Previcox..... Could be the case with your guy. Can you stop the previcox and add the Gastro Plus or other ulcer treatment?
I'm so frustrated with the photos! They are the right way on my computer but when I load them they all turn around. I will be getting a few videos tomorrow, and post them so I can get some help from you all!
He is on Previcox for moderate high ringbone in his right front pastern. I tried stopping the Previcox 1.5 months ago and he didn't do very well without it. I think it is going to be something that I can stop in the summer months, but any other time he needs to be on it. I ordered the Gastro Plus half an hour ago.. | |
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Since he was just out on pasture when you got him and I'm sure he was raised out on just pasture, I'm thinking he dont like all this pampering that you are giving him, hes just not use to all this attention and kinda not liking you at this point, sorry I dont want to hurt your feelings but I think this horse would just rather be back out on pasture and not stalled up I know he gets turned out some but not the same as living the way he use too. He was just a ranch horse at one time and now hes being a pamperd boy.. So I think hes just gumpy and miss's being a outdoorz boy | |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 897
| Southtxponygirl - 2018-01-18 2:59 PM
Since he was just out on pasture when you got him and I'm sure he was raised out on just pasture, I'm thinking he dont like all this pampering that you are giving him, hes just not use to all this attention and kinda not liking you at this point, sorry I dont want to hurt your feelings but I think this horse would just rather be back out on pasture and not stalled up I know he gets turned out some but not the same as living the way he use too. He was just a ranch horse at one time and now hes being a pamperd boy.. So I think hes just gumpy and miss's being a outdoorz boy
Thank you for fixing the pictures, I appreciate it!
I try and do too much sometimes, thinking "it has to be helping", and that's not always the case. Where he is now, they are turned out from around 8am-5pm. We are moving in April to my trainer's barn, and they are all out 24/7. They all have a stall, but are ONLY in there for feeding in the AM and PM. She waits until they are done eating their grain, and out they go. I'm hoping he does good there, there's a part of me that doesn't want to change places again, but I think 24/7 turnout will help.
I know his previous owner really didn't ride that much, so me riding 3-4 times a week is a change for him. She always laughed that he was always on maternity leave..
Edited by emricmacy 2018-01-18 3:10 PM
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 The One
Posts: 7998
Location: South Georgia | The behaviors you mention are classic signs of ulcers. I'd do 28 days of AbGard (generic omeprazole) paste. www.abler.com Made a huge difference in my mare. Gained weight, started eating her grain well again, etc. | |
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | emricmacy - 2018-01-18 1:21 PM GLP - 2018-01-18 1:12 PM I would take him off the coolgut and put him on the T.H.E. Gastro supplement. It has proof that it heals ulcers and my sister has used it on a horse for several years that gets ulcers every time she takes him off it. I am fixin to order some for one of mine that I suspect has ulcers. Every time I have had a horse show the same behaviors your horse is showing, they have gotten better after ulcer treatment. I am going to order some right now! Thank you for your advice.
Worth a try with T.H.E.. Give Krystal a call shes really easy to talk too and I bet she can help you out alot.. Krystal is the one that sells this supplement. With him going threw such a change in life being moved and pampered he may have giving himself ucler's. | |
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | emricmacy - 2018-01-18 3:09 PM Southtxponygirl - 2018-01-18 2:59 PM Since he was just out on pasture when you got him and I'm sure he was raised out on just pasture, I'm thinking he dont like all this pampering that you are giving him, hes just not use to all this attention and kinda not liking you at this point, sorry I dont want to hurt your feelings but I think this horse would just rather be back out on pasture and not stalled up I know he gets turned out some but not the same as living the way he use too. He was just a ranch horse at one time and now hes being a pamperd boy.. So I think hes just gumpy and miss's being a outdoorz boy Thank you for fixing the pictures, I appreciate it! I try and do too much sometimes, thinking "it has to be helping", and that's not always the case. Where he is now, they are turned out from around 8am-5pm. We are moving in April to my trainer's barn, and they are all out 24/7. They all have a stall, but are ONLY in there for feeding in the AM and PM. She waits until they are done eating their grain, and out they go. I'm hoping he does good there, there's a part of me that doesn't want to change places again, but I think 24/7 turnout will help. I know his previous owner really didn't ride that much, so me riding 3-4 times a week is a change for him. She always laughed that he was always on maternity leave..
Your welcome on the pictures, I just hope that you get this all figured out I know you want the best for your horse and you sound like a really sweet lady that is doing what she can | |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 897
| Southtxponygirl - 2018-01-18 3:19 PM
emricmacy - 2018-01-18 1:21 PM GLP - 2018-01-18 1:12 PM I would take him off the coolgut and put him on the T.H.E. Gastro supplement. It has proof that it heals ulcers and my sister has used it on a horse for several years that gets ulcers every time she takes him off it. I am fixin to order some for one of mine that I suspect has ulcers. Every time I have had a horse show the same behaviors your horse is showing, they have gotten better after ulcer treatment. I am going to order some right now! Thank you for your advice.
I placed my order with Krystal for Gastro Plus an hour ago, and she messaged me saying she will get it in the mail tomorrow morning! She is wonderful, I placed my last order for THE Muscle Mass 2 weeks ago and she was great to work with!
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | Southtxponygirl - 2018-01-18 2:39 PM
I'm going to try to fix the pictures for you..
I just knew you were gonna be the one to fix them, Miss Roxie!!
Good luck on getting your boy figured out, I know it's frustrating when our four legged kids aren't "right".
Edited by Chandler's Mom 2018-01-19 11:08 PM
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Chandler's Mom - 2018-01-19 11:04 PM Southtxponygirl - 2018-01-18 2:39 PM I'm going to try to fix the pictures for you.. I just knew you were gonna be the one to fix them, Miss Roxie!! Good luck on getting your boy figured out, I know it's frustrating when our four legged kids aren't "right".
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 824
Location: Duvall, WA | horsegirl - 2018-01-18 1:12 PM
The behaviors you mention are classic signs of ulcers. I'd do 28 days of AbGard (generic omeprazole) paste. www.abler.com Made a huge difference in my mare. Gained weight, started eating her grain well again, etc.
Also classic signs of PSSM. . . | |
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