Cob a bit grumpy - any advice?

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WeeBrown

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My usually happy chappy cob is going through a real grumpy phase at the minute and it is not like him. I've had him about 3-4 months now and he can be a bit bargey somtimes and needs putting in his place but other than that he's lovely - the kind you could trust with small children. However I have noticed this last week that he has been a bit grumpy - ears back during rugging and doing up girth or if I'm moving him away from his hay for whatever reason and really anytime that I'm just not leaving him alone.
Here are a few extra details:

* He is fully clipped and rugged to suit the weather but never over rugged

* He was overweight when I bought him and I have just taken on a sharer to help exercise him. He will get exercised between 5-6 times a week, possibly even 7.

* He is on no hard feed but gets hay on a night and the occasional carrot (like one/two a week if I can remember to buy some).

* The saddle that he came with has just been checked and it was not a great fit even when altered due to one of his shoulder being bigger than the other so I bought a straight cut saddle from the saddler to avoid this issue.

* He is not at all grumpy when ridden and is well up for anything just has suddenly seemed grumpy in the stable as mentioned above.

So what do you all think? He had a little cold about 4 weeks ago and the vet put him on some drugs
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and then he had his tet/flu booster a week ago and vet checked him again at that time. I'm used to my mare being grumpy but not my little cob.
Sorry for long post! Any advice or slagging off welcome
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Obviously back checked would be one possibility but the fact that he is grumpy when moved off his hay (or even approaching his hay) shows it's not just a back issue.
 
Cobs are little piglets,lol...now the grass has gone off/going off,he is having to work for his food in the field,he will be loving coming in to lots of hay(easy pickings and will fill his belly
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Personally i would feed him some sort of feed that is fibre only if he dosnt need anything else and add a vitamin supplement,especially if he is going to be working 5/6 days a week!
 
I'd guess he's either cold or hungry. My old boy used to be like that - you could tell when the grass stopped growing cos he'd become a bit withdrawn and grumpy. Same with being cold.

Try feeding him in the field, either a little hay a couple of times a day, or adlib good straw.

Try upping his rugging too (maybe add a neck cover if he's not already got one first).
 
Thanks for the replies. I was going to look into the supplement thing anyway as I don't feed one but Weezy's recent post on the hoof/calmer ones had me checking out the general supplements. I might ring one of the feed people for some advice on that.

He might be cold too but he sweats very easily so I am keen not to over rug him. It has been a bit bitter too recently so this could be the thing. I'll clip him (he needs this as he sweats terribly all over when ridden - had hoped to clip just his sweat areas but everywhere is a sweaty area!) then I'll rug him up a bit more and see how warm he gets before re-assessing again.

It's good to know that it isn't just my cob!
So feed/supplement, rug, possibly back checked and then if no change or he looks a bit down still think I'll get vet out to give him another once over.
 
Mine goes through a bit of a grumpy phase at end of summer/autumn as we head into winter. He does ears back, turning his bum on me occasionally and a bit dominant in his stable. I've put it down to being stabled more as has to be in overnight in the winter and the lack of good grass which is the love of his life.
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It usually only lasts a couple of weeks and then he returns to his normal adorable self! I just keep an eye on the temperature and how he seems as to when I start rugging him as he's got a great winter coat.
 
It sounds as if he could be a bit hungry as a cob does especially if he's doing more work so he'll need help to do that work! As suggested before, perhaps just a nice chaff with some vit's or a balancer so that he feels he is getting something which might cheer him up.
 
your not alone on this one, my mare turns into a right narky cow this time of year, and i cannot seem to feed her enough cause she is the world greediest cob!! she bangs on her stable door if I'm a minute late shes barging around (she got away from me twice this week!)
Mind, you, i get into a abit of mood this time of year too haha, oh how i miss hot summer days and no mucking out!
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My cob is jsut the same at the moment. I havent had her that long either but she seems a bit fed up soon as the weather changed. She is rugged and is fat as a pig so she is finding something in the grass. Ive had her checked out physically so have wondered if its the change in the weather and feeling like I do about the winter!
 
My daughter's cob is just the same at the moment. She seems a bit grumpy and she was playing up a bit under saddle too, but my daughter can ride her through it so that's good.

In the stable she's been a bit irritable the last few days but, when I went up today she was fine so, hopefully all our cobs will be back to their normal dispositions soon
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