Energy and spookiness

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Calla

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I got a horse at the beginning of May who was in poor condition and not rode for a number of years. I have spent the past month and a half slowly putting weight back on her and lunging her in the pen (to build up her fitness again in preparation for her being ridden again). Weight has been going on slowly and about 2-3 weeks ago I noticed a massive improvement in energy.

For the past week - week and a half though I have had the spookiest horse ever in the stable. Even out around the yard in familiar settings exception is being taken to things that in the first month were deemed to definitely not be spooky.
In the field however nothing phases her.

There have been a few changes in this time though I'm not sure if any of these are what's made her spookier or if she's just finally got energy to actually spook at things.
The horse in the stable opposite her that she was good friends with has now been moved, she can still see the rest of the horses down the row but none in direct line of sight to converse with as such. I had also put her on pink powder on recommendation of a friend but have since taken her off this again as it didn't agree with her at all. She's also now out at grass every day.

Could it be the grass causing this change going from being phased by nothing to being scared of someone even saying hello to her?!

She's currently being fed 1 stubbs scoop of Calm & Condition (Stonebridge) with 1 small scoop of garlic powder in her a.m. feed and hay and the same for her p.m. feed but with the addition of soya oil. She still needs to put on more weight (probably around a 3 now on the Hennecke scale). Oh and she's out at grass for between 3-8 hours daily depending.

Any thoughts or similar experiences?
 
Sounds like she's now got enough "spare" energy to start to be herself!

She's feeling better in herself, taking an interest in her surroundings - it's good!

Doesn't sound like you are overloading her with calories but I would be concerned that she's getting enough vitamins/minerals from her feed. It wouldn't hurt to give her a general supplement - NAF do one, as do Equivite. Some mineral deficiencies can show as spookiness :-).
 
Thank you Spacefaer. I think my local tack shop stock the naf supplement so I'll pick that up next time I'm in. :)
 
Sounds like it might be time to start giving her a bit more to do! You must be doing a good job of getting her back to health again. How exciting and satisfying to see progress! Keep us updated, would love to know how she's getting on in a few weeks time :-)
 
The spring grass makes my horse go loopy every year (not that it's really spring now but the flush of grass has been late). He was hurrendous on our hack the other day, spinning and spooking the whole time!
She will settle down again, just keep her brain ticking over in the meantime.
 
I think she is just feeling very good with the care you are giving her. I know you are feeding for weight gain but I would question what you are feeding her and if she would just be better off on a high fibre diet and a balancer!

I feed speedi beat, hi fi molasses free chaff, micronised linseed which is awesome for weight gain and condition and naf pink powder as a balancer and my boy is doing amazing on it. For what should be a 600kg horse he weight 518kg when i got him two months ago and he weighed 538kg the other week (I should weigh him again, I did say i would every Sunday!)

He is in at night with hay and all day turnout on grass. He is fed twice a day and worked 6 days out of seven with lots of hill work. Its one thing putting weight on them but its nothing if you arent working her and building her muscle and the only way to do that is to do lots of hacking!

The spookiness should reduce with regular work to burn off that excess energy!
 
It's not whats in the spring grass, but what isn't in it that causes some horses to go silly at this time. The rapid growth spurt leaves the grass short of magnesium and this shortage can cause spooky behaviour, so it might be an idea to supplement her feed with magnesium oxide (which is very cheap and you only feed a small amount) to see if this helps.

She will also be feeling a little upset by the loss of her friend which will have knocked her self-confidence. You could try doing in hand work with her to build up more of a bond and build up her trust in you as a leader.

Good luck with her.
 
Thank you everyone :) I changed the pink powder for a general supplement and she's lost the spookiness but still has energy. Same ingredients but in different quantities so something was probably either lacking or too high with the last change.
Also we've now got a saddle so she's slowly being brought back to work and seems to be enjoying it. Antw23uk I've misplaced the weight tape, but you've reminded me to look for it again to give me a guideline on her improvement. Her ribs are still visible etc but when hands on a change can be felt.
I'll keep you all updated on her progress. :)
 
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