Do your horses ever just start a day agitated?

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Horsekaren

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As above really? Are your horses essentially the same horse every day?
This morning the words "he is almost back to his old self" left my mouth and within 2 seconds he started to swish his tail and stamp his hind leg whilst being lead to the field. He then got all pent up and took me into a bush, then pratted around for a few seconds (wasn't pulling for grass or trying to run off ) it was just prattish behavior.
He has done this a couple of times and when he does this once he is in the field he will either roll instantly or bolt about... could this be relieving pain? i noticed he maybe did 2-3 poos less than what he would usually do last night but still plenty of poo :/

Today however my usually non dominant horse as soon as he was in the field he went and told the two dominant horses where to go and kept moving them away from the hay. I'm sure if he hadn't seen the hay he would have had huge roll and run about.


Just curious if this behavior is also a sign of pain or do they just have bad and agitated days like us humans.
 
We have two ponies and look after another, they definitely have different moods.

My daughters pony has the occasional day when its like he has never left the field before, he spooks at everything, disco dances around the village and is a pillock in the arena, then is back to normal for the next few weeks, until he will have another one of his 'days'. The rest of the time he is roughly the same.

The mare that we look after is also fairly similar most days, then has one or two days where she is charging around the field, shouting and huffing, then back to normal.

Definitely days where something is winding them up, if you ask why I am not sure, we don't see any common link with ours.
 
I dont see why they cant have 'moods', maybe they didnt sleep well one night, or maybe feeling the cold, or uncomfortably warm because they've got too thick a rug on, or a bit hungry ('hangry') etc. My horse definitely had a grump on the other day; it had been raining, I have noticed before that he does not seem to appreciate being left out in the rain (all those horsey folk who tell you "Horses dont melt in the rain"; well try telling him that!) and he practically ran me over trying to get out of his field. Stood at the gate literally stamping his feet and tossing his head; 'Take me in to my dry, comfy stable RIGHT NOW Human... Oh and bring that haynet; I havent finished it yet but im not staying out here to eat it; its not exactly picnic weather..."
 
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No my horses don’t start the day agitated they will be keen to get out but not agigated the year need something extra to agitate them for instance loading or starting the lorry or in the case of one of them being plaited.
 
Horsekaren said:
Just curious if this behavior is also a sign of pain or do they just have bad and agitated days like us humans.
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to me all you are describing is a horse that is keen and impatient to get out to the field and when he gets there he feels confident enough to tell everyone where to go.
 
Goldenstar said:
No my horses don’t start the day agitated they will be keen to get out but not agigated the year need something extra to agitate them for instance loading or starting the lorry or in the case of one of them being plaited.
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today was defiantly agitation, if he was keen to get out he would have tried to walk faster ect, I noticed him start to whip his tail and thought that's not normal :/ nothing was behind him.

If horses have sore bellies do they want to run around and roll? I know laying down is a sign of collic :/
 
The strong wind Wednesday night certainly upset B, he was very anxious and jumpy the whole day & evening Thursday and generally not himself. He is usually very laid back at home and is a very happy character, unless something has upset him. Certain things trigger his anxiety to degrees, like booting up to go out or really loud noises. There is always a trigger, never 'just because'.
 
We had a few out of sorts yesterday morning after the high winds. Anything not tied down on the yard had been blown against the far wall, the bins had gone over, tarps had got loose and a tile was off - I don't think they'd had a good night's rest!
 
Yes sometimes he gets ants in his pants and wants to get going but most times he’s laid back Larry. He does not appreciate dilly dallying when he thinks it’s turn-out time and will complain if I spend too much time chatting and faffing around.
 
I agree with Goldenstar.

When my horse has been agitated there has been a reason, in our case it was ulcers that he'd had prior to coming to us. Yes some days he'll be more cuddly, or a bit more on his toes (usually weather dependent!) and I know if I haven't ridden in a few days that I can expect there to be more monsters hiding in the bushes, but generally I know what to expect with him and no matter his mood I would expect him to remember his manners and not tow me here or there.
 
FestiveFuzz said:
I agree with Goldenstar.

When my horse has been agitated there has been a reason, in our case it was ulcers that he'd had prior to coming to us. Yes some days he'll be more cuddly, or a bit more on his toes (usually weather dependent!) and I know if I haven't ridden in a few days that I can expect there to be more monsters hiding in the bushes, but generally I know what to expect with him and no matter his mood I would expect him to remember his manners and not tow me here or there.
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He is due to be scoped and scanned on Monday as i believe he has ulcers, i suppose i was thinking if he does have them maybe they were extra sore this morning.

Hfffffff that wind was awful Wednesday, i didnt really sleep in my house so im sure the horses didn't get a wink
 
Horsekaren said:
He is due to be scoped and scanned on Monday as i believe he has ulcers, i suppose i was thinking if he does have them maybe they were extra sore this morning.

Hfffffff that wind was awful Wednesday, i didnt really sleep in my house so im sure the horses didn't get a wink
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One of the symptoms before one of mine was diagnosed with grade 4 ulcers was a desperation to roll straight after exercise
 
ihatework said:
One of the symptoms before one of mine was diagnosed with grade 4 ulcers was a desperation to roll straight after exercise
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That is really interesting as that is exactly what he does, i took him out once and he rolled in his stable when he got home, he never does that.... i just presumed it was the sweat.

Always after schooling, i pop him out and he will roll, two , three times... again i just thought it was the sweat.

I must say i am dreading the scoping procedure. I probably wont sleep now until its done but if he turns out not to have ulcers i will be sooooo shocked. I feel like i'm almost wishing him to have them just to start a treatment i know will help him.
 
Not usually without reason. E.g. Today there is a shoot on the farm so I got up earlier and got them turned out. If I left them in their boxes and they watched lots of cars and beaters and dogs turn up they get agitated (and take twice as long to muck out 😂 ) hence the reason I avoid it!
Very rarely do I not know the reason for silliness.
 
Depending on the time I get to the yard; if I'm the last one up he will have seen those who get turned out leave and will obviously be pent up, not eat breakfast and generally be impatient to go out. If I'm first he's usually still eating hay or snoozing at the back of the stable, will eat his breakfast calmly and pick at hay while I faff.
If we have hail or very heavy rain on the tin roof of the barn it's deafening and some get a worried look but nothing we can do about it.
 
Yes, today! Came in from the field jogging sideways, was a knob for the farrier and a knob to ride! Cant complain shes usually a saint so these days are very few and far between!
 
My boy has been an absolute misery since he's been off work and his hard feed has been cut down (or he turns into a barrel on legs!) day after I long reined him ready to start again he was back to his dopey but smiley self. They definitely have their personalities and quirks just like people!
 
My older girl is very bombproof and reliable and doesn't seem to have moods too much but if you want her to work and she doesn't fancy it she will make her displeasure known known.she never is just agitated at the start of the day.
Our younger pony who's a rescue however is the opposite. She gets agitated for seeimingly no reason, usually if I try o can figure out why, one time it was because a red kite was flying overhead, another because it had been raining and she was annoyed.
 
Definitely! All four of mine go a bit 'funny' when they've not been worked. The old grump who is really only up to a pootle round the block once a week gets EVEN MORE grumpy if she has not had said pootle and will chase the others from the hay and be generally vile. The big one just exercises herself by doing laps round the field at full pelt, the connie (who is always a bit feral) goes extra feral and you can't get near him and the little shetty just gets naughty...barging through gates and emptying my grooming kit etc. There is an obvious reason when they're like this but some mornings they are just all "on one" and you think, why did I buy you? It can be pain related as well, and weather; rain/wind etc. The sunshine seems to put them in a good mood, like us humans really!
 
Yes. Some days Fig is on the wrong side of bed, some days he's really wound up... There's mostly never a reason for it. Everything else is heads down eating etc.

Re the bolting/pulling away - worth checking for ulcers. Sorry some people seem to say its a blame all issue BUT Fig was an absolute idiot to handle when on saracens releve. It really really upset him. He's a gentle boy to handle but he was spinning round pulling away and becoming a real live wire. Totally fine within the week of coming off it.
 
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