Becoming spooky at this time of year?

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Ellietotz

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Is anyone else having the same issue?
In the last couple of hacks, my mare has decided she wants to do her extreme spooks again but at absolutely nothing.
She can be pretty looky generally but it has really mellowed out now I've sorted her issues so practically nonexistent now but the last two times I've ridden her, she has been doing her leap and spin to the side kind of spooks which is very extreme and not something she has been doing for a while.
I haven't changed anything, she isn't clipped either which I understand could cause them to be sharp.
Is there a lack of magnesium or something in the grass now? Could it be something else with vitamins or minerals? Or is it just horses being horses?
 
Most horses on our yard are more spooky at this time of year. Even my horizontal cob has his eyes on stalks. He nearly wiped out my friend the other day, shooting sideways at the muck heap.🙄
 
Rose is pretty sparky ATM getting her in this afternoon, something startled her (no idea what!) and she reared up. She was also quite bright to ride yesterday. I think it's the change in the weather and possibly because I've upped her feed a little as she had lost a little condition.
 
ycbm said:
Shes PSSM isn't she ET? it's been a bit nippy here this week, that can set them off.

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Yes she is, I have put her vitamin e up but that was a few weeks a go as I felt she was getting a little stiff in the colder weather, she also is kept nice and warm now and she is feeling spongey all over still which is good. I wonder if I should put it up more to help the spookiness? She is on 8000iu now.
 
My QHxTB is usually so laid back that he's horizontal, but he has been a spooky PITA since the clocks changed. Mostly my fault as I can't ride after work now. We had an 'interesting' hack last w'end where I had to get off & continue on foot as he was spooking at everything & nothing & starting to throw some interesting shapes. We also had a slightly stickability-testing jumping clinic yesterday, then similar doing flatwork today. I hopped off, lunged, which was more like flying a horse-shaped kite, then got back on once he'd wound his neck in & he was a lot more rideable.

Now that we've finally got planning permission, I am praying that my arena will come sooooooon...!!!!
 
this is a bad time of the year for PSSM horses. Are you rugging enough, mine is also unclipped ATM and has a 450g wug. He will have the same rug when I get round to clipping him. Are you using a thick exercise sheet when out riding? That can make a big difference at well. I think it is the cold or cold and wet more than the grass. Also possibly lack of movement if a horse is stabled overnight rather than yarded or out,
Mine (PSSM) got spooky and I found that equishure calmed him down a fair bit and he stopped turning 180 degrees and belting off in the wrong direction. He has light magox but I cannot say if it does anything or not for him.
I would have guessed 8000 iu's was probably sufficient if she is feeling spongy.
I would try working on more warmth (even though you have her nice and warm) and more movement if possible. If you have no progress after a week then you could consider equishure. That was the final piece for mine albeit a very expensive piece.
 
paddy555 said:
this is a bad time of the year for PSSM horses. Are you rugging enough, mine is also unclipped ATM and has a 450g wug. He will have the same rug when I get round to clipping him. Are you using a thick exercise sheet when out riding? That can make a big difference at well. I think it is the cold or cold and wet more than the grass. Also possibly lack of movement if a horse is stabled overnight rather than yarded or out,
Mine (PSSM) got spooky and I found that equishure calmed him down a fair bit and he stopped turning 180 degrees and belting off in the wrong direction. He has light magox but I cannot say if it does anything or not for him.
I would have guessed 8000 iu's was probably sufficient if she is feeling spongy.
I would try working on more warmth (even though you have her nice and warm) and more movement if possible. If you have no progress after a week then you could consider equishure. That was the final piece for mine albeit a very expensive piece.
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Yes, the winter is usually when everything went wrong before I managed her for PSSM, I dread it now!
It's not too cold here at the moment but yes, she's kept very warm and I used an exercise sheet too which I took off half way as she was absolutely cooking under it. She is out 24/7 as well.
Isn't equishure a digestive supplement? I haven't looked at supplements for a while so I can't remember the details of it.
With her being ulcer prone, it could be a possibility that the cold/wet/frosty grass could be upsetting something. Maybe something simple like Protexin gut balancer might help but her droppings etc are all fine and she isn't showing any symptoms for stomach issues so I'm just not sure!
 
Ellietotz said:
Yes, the winter is usually when everything went wrong before I managed her for PSSM, I dread it now!
It's not too cold here at the moment but yes, she's kept very warm and I used an exercise sheet too which I took off half way as she was absolutely cooking under it. She is out 24/7 as well.
Isn't equishure a digestive supplement? I haven't looked at supplements for a while so I can't remember the details of it.
With her being ulcer prone, it could be a possibility that the cold/wet/frosty grass could be upsetting something. Maybe something simple like Protexin gut balancer might help but her droppings etc are all fine and she isn't showing any symptoms for stomach issues so I'm just not sure!
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this is what equishure does. "EquiShure promotes normal digestive function by aiding in the maintenance of an optimal hindgut environment and is designed for horses suspected of suffering from or that are at risk of developing hindgut acidosis." It is specifically for the hind gut.

when I started to try and work out my horse's problems I was pretty sure he didn't have ulcers but I did wonder about the hind gut as that sort of seemed to be where his problems lay. I used equishure and it did seem to help. I stopped. We moved on and eventually after tying up PSSM became a possibility but he still seemed to have possible hind gut problems.
Then I started to wonder if the muscle pain was impacting on the hind gut. The hind gut pain was secondary. Sorted the PSSM part but left out the equishure. We still had the spookiness. Tried equishure again and it resolved a lot of it. Now he is on equishure permanently. None of this is very scientific and I can't tell you why it worked but it is just how I worked my way around to get for mine a pretty good solution.
 
The gelding is super chilled at the moment but I have noticed the mare who normally doesn't care about stuff has been spookier, I kind of just put it down to coming back into work and getting fitter
 
Mine is bonkers at the moment. To be fair she is just coming back in to work after being backed in the summer, but the other day we did a whole hack sideways. There were tigers behind every tree and snakes under every stone. I went back to longreining out and riding back, and upped her mag ox. Today she was cool as a cucumber.
To be fair I find Spring and Autumn are always testing for any horse round here. I blame the grass.
 
One of mine spooked at a flapping marker in the menage last week then did a huge buck, don't know how I stayed on so I would say yes very silly and spooky at the moment.

If you want a good warm exercise rug I can recommend the Rambo whitney stripe fleece ones, they are so thick and warm and you often see them second hand on ebay.
 
Is she affected by seasons? My mare is still cycling, has been very good despite being in for a week due to the weather. She’s been on oestress for the last 6 weeks and been much more agreeable to ride - she’s nappy rather than spooky though
 
theoilbaron said:
Mine is also a nightmare at the minute. Never fallen off so much and christened my air jacket yesterday! Not even clipped yet as don't want to add fuel to the fire!
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I wonder what is going on with them! It's not particularly cold here at the moment either. I'm wondering if it is a magnesium thing or something to do with vitamins and minerals lacking in grass now?
 
mine all get mag., salt, vit e and advanced complete. None of them are difficult riding and fortunately, as it is like a quagmire, none are spooky in the fields. In fact they are all ultra calm.
 
Mine were a bit hysterical when they moved fields and stopped getting fed. They're now getting fed again (for Mg, mostly) and Dae is back to sanity. Fergs is saner than he was, but still ludicrous about the murderous feathered dinosaurs in the hedge :rolleyes: but that's normal for him...
 
The Osteopathic Vet did an interesting article on his facebook page about the change of season, grass, & management affecting horses.
I have started doing a log of ours over the past 3 years to try & get to the bottom of what is happening - including meds & worm counts etc.
There defiinitely appears to be a trigger in both Spring & Autumn!
 
MotherOfChickens said:
very short term they might be ok, they are a laxative though. you can buy mag ox capsules at any health shop if you needed some quickly?
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My feedstore was out of Magnitude so was wondering whether to try epsom salts instead but I understand magnesium sulfate is harsher on the system. It doesn't say how much to feed either but just wanted to try it and see if it helps. Lots of mixed views on it from what I can find.
 
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