BronwenSurf
Member
Can anyone help explain my gelding's shift in behaviour?
To set the scene: owned my now 14 year old OTTB for 4 years now, 3 years ago we moved to a new yard (we're in Ontario Canada) where the quality of care he gets is much better than the place we were at before. In the summer he is out in a bigger half acre field on a big hill with 2 buddies and in the fall/ winter when the grass gets low he goes in a much much smaller paddock so it's easier for the staff to bring them hay and also the paddock is flat so its safer in the winter (still with his 2 buddies). The smaller paddock isn't necessarily a dry lot, it is still covered in grass that I've seen him grazing on but simply because of the smaller area, there is less available forage. The smaller paddock is close to the barn and he watches all the other horses get brought in past him before he is brought in last or nearly last. I think this upsets him as he comes in with mud all the way up his legs from running around for the last 15 minutes he's outside. For the 3rd year in a row now, immediately after he starts getting turned out in the smaller paddock his behaviour changes completely. He bites at me more often, he is nervous, not relaxed and anxious under saddle and is more stressed when it is time to come in from the paddock. At first I thought it was the change in weather but this year he was moved to the small paddock much earlier than previous years and the same bad behaviour symptoms came back while the weather is still mild. He continues to spiral and get worse under saddle until it seems the weather improves and he can go back to his big paddock. The first year I had him he only got turn out maximum 5 days a week (sometimes less if the weather was "bad") in a dry paddock about the size of a round pen. We made it through that winter at that horrible stable with no incident of these behaviour changes.
The first two years this happened at the new yard I convinced myself it was a pain thing so this year we tried many precautions: he was on omeprazole during the move to the new paddock, he has been on previcox for some arthritis that may be bothering him in his neck since this spring, his back was inject this spring after we x-rayed and found some kissing spine, he was on cyproheptadine for the last month... Just before he moved to this paddock he was PERFECT (and I cannot stress perfect enough) under saddle. No spooks, no anxiety, no signs of lameness, no tension getting tacked up, perfect on the lunge line, happy, calm and happy to do his little job of packing his amateur mom around for a few hours a week. But in the last week (approx 3 weeks he's been in the small paddock now) he is spooking out of nowhere which is out of character, he is not stretching down into the bridle like he normally does, he is always going at a faster pace than normal and wont slow down and just seems over all anxious under saddle. The ONLY thing that changed in the last month was moving to this smaller paddock. The issues I've listed he's presenting are the exact same that happened the last 2 years. The more I ride him during this period, the worse and more anxious he gets... I just cant put together how moving to this small paddock translates to bad behaviour under saddle and anxiety...
It isn't an option to be in the large paddock for the winter because its a big hill that wouldn't be safe with the snow and ice.. the care we receive at this barn is really great so I hate to be nit-picky and tell them how to do their job or ask them to bring him in first every day if it does in fact bother him to watch every other horse get brought in before him. He can't really go to another paddock because they say he chews the fences if there is no electric fencing and the small paddock he is in now is the only one with electric wires. I've tried everything I can think of to manage and fix any pain he is in because I thought that was the underlying issue but after all the treatments and precautions I took, I don't think it is pain related.
I introduced him to clicker training thinking I could changes his outlook on work and make it a positive experience but once he starts these bad behaviours, even the clicker training cant get him to relax and there has been no way to get him out of the spiral until the good weather comes back. He is on a balanced feed, mad barn visceral supplement and a hoof supplement.
I know these facts are so random and specific but if anyone has any clue or advice as to what might be going on in his little brain please let me know! I just want him to be the happy calm horse I know he is and I hate to cause him unnecessary anxiety.
To set the scene: owned my now 14 year old OTTB for 4 years now, 3 years ago we moved to a new yard (we're in Ontario Canada) where the quality of care he gets is much better than the place we were at before. In the summer he is out in a bigger half acre field on a big hill with 2 buddies and in the fall/ winter when the grass gets low he goes in a much much smaller paddock so it's easier for the staff to bring them hay and also the paddock is flat so its safer in the winter (still with his 2 buddies). The smaller paddock isn't necessarily a dry lot, it is still covered in grass that I've seen him grazing on but simply because of the smaller area, there is less available forage. The smaller paddock is close to the barn and he watches all the other horses get brought in past him before he is brought in last or nearly last. I think this upsets him as he comes in with mud all the way up his legs from running around for the last 15 minutes he's outside. For the 3rd year in a row now, immediately after he starts getting turned out in the smaller paddock his behaviour changes completely. He bites at me more often, he is nervous, not relaxed and anxious under saddle and is more stressed when it is time to come in from the paddock. At first I thought it was the change in weather but this year he was moved to the small paddock much earlier than previous years and the same bad behaviour symptoms came back while the weather is still mild. He continues to spiral and get worse under saddle until it seems the weather improves and he can go back to his big paddock. The first year I had him he only got turn out maximum 5 days a week (sometimes less if the weather was "bad") in a dry paddock about the size of a round pen. We made it through that winter at that horrible stable with no incident of these behaviour changes.
The first two years this happened at the new yard I convinced myself it was a pain thing so this year we tried many precautions: he was on omeprazole during the move to the new paddock, he has been on previcox for some arthritis that may be bothering him in his neck since this spring, his back was inject this spring after we x-rayed and found some kissing spine, he was on cyproheptadine for the last month... Just before he moved to this paddock he was PERFECT (and I cannot stress perfect enough) under saddle. No spooks, no anxiety, no signs of lameness, no tension getting tacked up, perfect on the lunge line, happy, calm and happy to do his little job of packing his amateur mom around for a few hours a week. But in the last week (approx 3 weeks he's been in the small paddock now) he is spooking out of nowhere which is out of character, he is not stretching down into the bridle like he normally does, he is always going at a faster pace than normal and wont slow down and just seems over all anxious under saddle. The ONLY thing that changed in the last month was moving to this smaller paddock. The issues I've listed he's presenting are the exact same that happened the last 2 years. The more I ride him during this period, the worse and more anxious he gets... I just cant put together how moving to this small paddock translates to bad behaviour under saddle and anxiety...
It isn't an option to be in the large paddock for the winter because its a big hill that wouldn't be safe with the snow and ice.. the care we receive at this barn is really great so I hate to be nit-picky and tell them how to do their job or ask them to bring him in first every day if it does in fact bother him to watch every other horse get brought in before him. He can't really go to another paddock because they say he chews the fences if there is no electric fencing and the small paddock he is in now is the only one with electric wires. I've tried everything I can think of to manage and fix any pain he is in because I thought that was the underlying issue but after all the treatments and precautions I took, I don't think it is pain related.
I introduced him to clicker training thinking I could changes his outlook on work and make it a positive experience but once he starts these bad behaviours, even the clicker training cant get him to relax and there has been no way to get him out of the spiral until the good weather comes back. He is on a balanced feed, mad barn visceral supplement and a hoof supplement.
I know these facts are so random and specific but if anyone has any clue or advice as to what might be going on in his little brain please let me know! I just want him to be the happy calm horse I know he is and I hate to cause him unnecessary anxiety.
