At a loss with spooky horse, any ideas?

[spookyhorse]

Hi all,

I've read lots of threads here in the past and looking for different opinions as struggling to get to the bottom of things with my mare.

Background 12 year old irish mare, owned 4 years, full history known, always been in regular work, show jumping, never had these problems before.

For the past 2 years she has become very spooky around March/April time through summer to Winter. She goes from being very quiet, calm mare to unsettled and spooking at things she's seen many times before. It's not just a little fresh it's a real difference in her temperment.

Things I've looked into:

Had her scoped, no ulcers. Had 3 tubs of Suclrafate to see if responded for hind gut: No difference
Had ovaries scanned, all fine. Had a few months on regumate as a trial: No difference (never been a hormonal mare anyway)
Had full lameness workup, xrays, suspensories scanned: All fine. She's never been lame, off, sick or sorry, show jumps and is ridden 5 days a week, no loss of performance at all during the 2 years.
Had physio: All fine
Teeth done every 6 months, no issues there
Saddle checked by numerous fitters. Also is the same on the ground without tack so doesn't indicate pain from tack causing spooking.
Eye checked: All fine
Magnesium deficiency, tried her on 3 big 5 litre bottles of Nuprafeed: No difference
Blood tests: All normal

The pattern I've seen is she is worse after rain, so a spike in the grass. She will go bloated, gassy but wary, spooky, not unsettled whilst through winter she's the exact opposite. She also gets grass glands. I've kept a diary of her behaviour and it is definitely when the grass starts coming though, rain after warm weather etc.

Does anyone have any ideas that I haven't already looked into?

Sorry my first post is a long one but I'm a loss of what's causing such a drastic change in behaviour.

 

[SpeedyPony]

Have you moved yards/changed fields/had fields fertilised in the past two years? It does sound like it might be diet related, perhaps worth doing allergy tests or switching to different pasture (ideally with a different mix of grasses/less or not fertilised) if you can, to see if that helps?
It might be worth having your grass analysed as well, at various points throughout the year, to see how, or if, the nutrient profile relates to her behaviour.

 

[splashgirl45]

what other feed is she getting, it may be that the grass is plus feed is too much. try cutting out all feed and if she has hay, try soaking for a week or so to see if that makes any difference..is she out 24/7 for the months you are having problems.., if so could be worth putting her back into her winter routine to see if that helps

 

[kc921]

I found my horse became more spooky when he he was on a particular feed, have you changed her feed over at all?

I found calm and condition and sugabeet always sent my horse loopy and spooky, as soon as I stopped feeding him that he went back to normal

 

[I'm Dun]

have a look at calm, healthy horses. It doesnt work for every horse but yours sounds exactly like the ones it does work for!

 

[Melody Grey]

I’d try restricting grass intake for a bit and see where that gets you? Maybe muzzle/ strip graze or take off grass completely if you have a turnout pen? I’d not want a horse to be off grass permanently, but sounds like you need to rule it in/ out.

Obviously be very careful when re-introducing grass!

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Clover? Turns my lovely placid pony into a deranged lunatic.

 

[Boulty]

Sounds highly likely to be grass related. Have you tried bringing her off it for part of the day & using a grazing muzzle to stop her gorging?

 

[deicinmerlyn]

Sounds like the grass?! Have you tried a good gut balancer?

 

[spookyhorse]

Thanks all so much for your replies and confirms what I’m thinking that it’s the grass that seems to be causing her a problem.

have a look at calm, healthy horses. It doesnt work for every horse but yours sounds exactly like the ones it does work for!

Forgot to add we did about 3 months on calm healthy horses last summer, didn’t see much of an improvement if any as I thought that was going to work.

She’s on no hard feed and gets turned out overnight and in during the day.

Yes we have moved her in the last 2 years and have had the grass and hay analysed by forage plus who couldn’t see anything in the levels that would cause such a reaction.

 

[spookyhorse]

Sounds like the grass?! Have you tried a good gut balancer?

Grass is the thing it keeps coming back to. I’ve tried her on Mac but health along with equinox, no change. I only did one tubs worth though as after spending so much money I’m hesitant to keep throwing money into supplements where I’m not seeing a change.

 

[Cowpony]

If you don't give her a bucket feed how do you get salt into her? Mine is much less spooky with a spoonful of salt every day. Worth a try.

 

[hollyandivy123]

everything you were to scared to look at with spring grass........
https://thehorse.com/111768/spring-grass-safety/

 

[spookyhorse]

If you don't give her a bucket feed how do you get salt into her? Mine is much less spooky with a spoonful of salt every day. Worth a try.

I tried adding salt when she was on calm healthy horses, from a tea spoon to 2/3 tables, if there was a difference it wasn’t that noticeable. When she was on that and the salt she was on thunder brooks healthy herbal chaff and we gave her a handful.
I’m at a loss as what else to try.

 

[spookyhorse]

everything you were to scared to look at with spring grass........
https://thehorse.com/111768/spring-grass-safety/

thanks, how do I stop it affecting her behaviour/temperament though? She’s on restricted grazing already and in during the day.

 

[hollyandivy123]

thanks, how do I stop it affecting her behaviour/temperament though? She’s on restricted grazing already and in during the day.

is she on adlib soaked hay through the day and then out in a muzzle? i think it has been said up the thread maybe a probiotic ? i think it is a case of changing what she is eating weighting it more to fibrous forage

 

[splashgirl45]

is she on individual turnout, and is her turnout times the same as at the other yard. that can make horses very spooky as they lose their confidence , is there anything in her stable to upset her, rats etc..or some horses just dont settle in some yards...is this yard busier/quieter than the old yard.

 

[SpeedyPony]

Yes we have moved her in the last 2 years and have had the grass and hay analysed by forage plus who couldn’t see anything in the levels that would cause such a reaction.

When she moved, what sort of pasture did she leave? If she's moved from old traditional meadow type grazing to a more modern mostly ryegrass ley that might be responsible, ryegrass is popular because it is quick growing and has a high nutritional content, but it's really not that great as the main grass for most horses. Not necessarily something that would be flagged on forage analysis, as they're probably used to a lot of samples being PRG/IRG mixes.
If that is the case it might be worth seeing if you can find different grazing to try for a couple of months, although I appreciate that traditional pastures are few and far between these days! Or could she go into a paddock with very limited/no grazing and be fed hay?

 

[spookyhorse]

is she on individual turnout, and is her turnout times the same as at the other yard. that can make horses very spooky as they lose their confidence , is there anything in her stable to upset her, rats etc..or some horses just dont settle in some yards...is this yard busier/quieter than the old yard.

Hi yes she's got her own paddock. Turnout and management exactly the same. She's totally her normal self through winter and certain days through summer, but around March to April and then throughout summer, and autumn she turns much spookier. The one main thing that seems to make her worse is when we've had a dry weather then rain. I'd say she's settled there's just something during this time, I think it's the grass due to the timing, and she also can get loose poos, bloated and gassy.

 

[spookyhorse]

When she moved, what sort of pasture did she leave? If she's moved from old traditional meadow type grazing to a more modern mostly ryegrass ley that might be responsible, ryegrass is popular because it is quick growing and has a high nutritional content, but it's really not that great as the main grass for most horses. Not necessarily something that would be flagged on forage analysis, as they're probably used to a lot of samples being PRG/IRG mixes.
If that is the case it might be worth seeing if you can find different grazing to try for a couple of months, although I appreciate that traditional pastures are few and far between these days! Or could she go into a paddock with very limited/no grazing and be fed hay?

I'd say when she was on a yard that was probably better horse grazing, but our grazing I wouldn't class as super rich either but probably is rye. She's at home and all the grazing is the same, I have tried swapping her into different paddocks though. I'll have a look locally but I think the grazing will be similar to what we've got.

I'm glad others think it's the grass and I'm not going mad, it's just trying to find a way of managing it so it doesn't upset her I'm really struggling with.

 

[spookyhorse]

is she on adlib soaked hay through the day and then out in a muzzle? i think it has been said up the thread maybe a probiotic ? i think it is a case of changing what she is eating weighting it more to fibrous forage

She's has adlib hay when in but it's not soaked, I'll try this as that's something I haven't done yet. It's the same hay she has through winter and that doesn't seem to cause a problem so I thought it must be ok. Could be tipping her over the edge with the summer grazing though. I haven't got her in a muzzle no, I'll look into that.

She's been on Max Gut Health and Equinox but saw zero improvement, maybe I needed to give more than one tub though. I've spent so much on all the diagnostics, magnesium supplements, calm healthy horses where she had months on them with no change. I feel a bit like unless I start seeing a difference is it worth carrying on and chucking more money away.

 

[Ellietotz]

Hi yes she's got her own paddock. Turnout and management exactly the same. She's totally her normal self through winter and certain days through summer, but around March to April and then throughout summer, and autumn she turns much spookier. The one main thing that seems to make her worse is when we've had a dry weather then rain. I'd say she's settled there's just something during this time, I think it's the grass due to the timing, and she also can get loose poos, bloated and gassy.

Could you try giving her a Protexin Quick Fix syringe when this happens? And maybe a maintenance supplement of their gut balancer perhaps?

 

[spookyhorse]

Could you try giving her a Protexin Quick Fix syringe when this happens? And maybe a maintenance supplement of their gut balancer perhaps?

Thanks for your reply, I've tried both of these, neither seem to make difference to her. The quick fix helps firm up poos but seems to have no affect on the behaviour side.

 

[spookyhorse]

I'm thinking of trying science supplements gut balancer and seeing if that makes any difference.

 

[splashgirl45]

you say she is now at home, is it very quiet and how many other equines are there. was her previous yard busier. these little things make a lot of difference. my mare was very hot and spooky and was on herd turnout but had to be on individual at the yards i went to. she had other horses all around in both yards. when i moved to my last yard my friend and i had to share grazing as there were no other spare fields. it changed her dramatically and although she could still be spooky sometimes her general demeaner was much calmer. any chance of trying her with a companion in the same field?

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Now that she is at home is she a member of a herd? Lack of security within a herd can make horses very spooky, combined with the grass flushes which you have noticed that may be pushing her over the edge, if she is not living as part of a herd.

 

[bouncing_ball]

Hi all,

I've read lots of threads here in the past and looking for different opinions as struggling to get to the bottom of things with my mare.

Background 12 year old irish mare, owned 4 years, full history known, always been in regular work, show jumping, never had these problems before.

For the past 2 years she has become very spooky around March/April time through summer to Winter. She goes from being very quiet, calm mare to unsettled and spooking at things she's seen many times before. It's not just a little fresh it's a real difference in her temperment.

Things I've looked into:

Had her scoped, no ulcers. Had 3 tubs of Suclrafate to see if responded for hind gut: No difference
Had ovaries scanned, all fine. Had a few months on regumate as a trial: No difference (never been a hormonal mare anyway)
Had full lameness workup, xrays, suspensories scanned: All fine. She's never been lame, off, sick or sorry, show jumps and is ridden 5 days a week, no loss of performance at all during the 2 years.
Had physio: All fine
Teeth done every 6 months, no issues there
Saddle checked by numerous fitters. Also is the same on the ground without tack so doesn't indicate pain from tack causing spooking.
Eye checked: All fine
Magnesium deficiency, tried her on 3 big 5 litre bottles of Nuprafeed: No difference
Blood tests: All normal

The pattern I've seen is she is worse after rain, so a spike in the grass. She will go bloated, gassy but wary, spooky, not unsettled whilst through winter she's the exact opposite. She also gets grass glands. I've kept a diary of her behaviour and it is definitely when the grass starts coming though, rain after warm weather etc.

Does anyone have any ideas that I haven't already looked into?

Sorry my first post is a long one but I'm a loss of what's causing such a drastic change in behaviour.

I’d try Equishure at a fairly high dose for 3 weeks. I’d expect a dramatic change if it’s going to help.

 

[spookyhorse]

Now that she is at home is she a member of a herd? Lack of security within a herd can make horses very spooky, combined with the grass flushes which you have noticed that may be pushing her over the edge, if she is not living as part of a herd.

Thanks for replying! No, she's very independent, the sort that doesn't even lift her ahead when left alone, isn't remotely interested in the others. She's always been like that. She has been in with others but after a kick we separated them again. It made no difference to her.

 

[spookyhorse]

I’d try Equishure at a fairly high dose for 3 weeks. I’d expect a dramatic change if it’s going to help.

I have thought about this, but is it similar to Sucralfate? As she's gone through 3 tubs of Sucralfate from the vets which made no difference to her

 

[SpeedyPony]

I'd say when she was on a yard that was probably better horse grazing, but our grazing I wouldn't class as super rich either but probably is rye. She's at home and all the grazing is the same, I have tried swapping her into different paddocks though. I'll have a look locally but I think the grazing will be similar to what we've got.

I'm glad others think it's the grass and I'm not going mad, it's just trying to find a way of managing it so it doesn't upset her I'm really struggling with.

If you can find meadow type grazing to try her on and find that it improves her, you could always reseed your land, although that's not the cheapest option!