HELP- longest post ever maybe? Sorry!

He has a small handful (literally) of alfa-a, half a round scoop of speedi-beet and one third scoop of Badminton conditioning nuggets twice a day, hay in the field during the day and 1-2 nets of haylage at night. He is looking just right, in good condition not fat and not underweight.
 
I find if someone is on the ground talking to me, asking me random questions I don't focus on being nervous.. and then eventually I relax. Deep breaths and don't worry, you aren't the only one with confidence issues! Is there one thing that you enjoy doing? Start from that and branch off if possible.

I hope everything goes well and you CAN do it, just take your time
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The badmington conditioning nuggets contailn 14% protein, Alfa A also contains 14% protein. No idea on the speedibeet.
The protein level to me is quite high for a horse that isn't going to burn the energy off. I would either cut his feed out or change it. Also change to hay. All you can do is try to stack the cards in his favour and eliminate everything that could possibily hype him up
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The first thing I would do is switch to hay. Haylage *can* have an astonishing effect on some horses. The chestnut in my siggy was bonkers on haylage. She was virtually unrideable and a spooking explosive loon to handle. She was a different animal on hay.

I would also cut out the sugar beet, again in my experience it can have an unwelcome effect on some horses

Give it a couple of weeks for the effects to wear off (your YO will be riding him during that time) and then see how things are going.

Good luck and I really do feel for you, you have had a horrible time and I hope things work out
 
Thank you- do you have any suggestions re alternative hard feeds? I feel that my experience with his weight suggests he would not do well on hay and a vitamin supplement alone but as you say, I am keen to stack all the cards in his (my!) favour, so I would definitely like to try something different which may be more appropriate. I am feeding the conditioning nuggets on previous advice from my feed merchant and just hadn't really thought about changing, and I felt that the Alfa was such a small quantity it wouldn't make much difference. I am not particularly hot on feed knowledge so would appreciate any advice. Thanks!
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I've been through some of what you're describing with my own youngster. I'd definitely lose the sugar beet but personally no problems with hage. Second I thinl you're absolutely right not to want to get on board. His issues are probably a combination of energy from time of, memory of some discomfort and some loss of respctful behaviour alsp through time off.
Can I ask what ground work you were able to do with him while he was off ridden work?
Only my 2p worth but I'd concentrate on the ground work until you can honestly say he's leading/lunging beautifully without ever challenging your authority before you even think about getting on board! Don't feel bad about being nervous. Those self protective instincts are there for a purpose! Getting on when nervous will only perpetuate the problem as others have said, they pick up on it!
 
He is not on sugar beet, just speedi beet which I have been told is ok. Does anyone know different? As you can see I am determined to find a magic fix which will make him suddenly revert to his previous self LOL. I couldnt do anything with him really while he was off as most of the time he was on strict box rest and to be honest he was good as gold apart from thinking that he could walk out the door the instant you opened it, which we used that opportunity to resolve and he is now a lot better (think- me standing there holding him in headcollar with door wide open for 2 mins evey time I went to get him out!). He only really played up when I tried to walk him in hand (with a bridle, lunge line and hard hat) and mostly that was just playful and threatening to rear rather than actually doing anything. He is an absolute puppy dog to lead apart from that, except the two incidents where we tried to walk up the drive and others started galloping and then two days ago when I brought him in, and the only main issue was that he never wanted to stand still, just barge through me when he was bored or saw a feed bucket! So I kind of feel that ground work is under control. Lunging he is fine, always has been
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I def agree with you that he picks up on my nerves, he really relaxed after ten minutes with instructor today after he found he could not wind her up!
 
I would reccomend a feed change and someone on the ground to walk beside him and chat to you. He will feel reassured with someone walking beside him and you will too
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Gosh - we're twins! I am in the EXACT same situation as you - hyper horse with recent OCD diagnosis.

Out of interest - has your horse had the newly-developed alcohol injections? It's still at quite experimental stages, but has had a lot fo success. We've had it done, and vet is coming out tomorrow to reassess.


Can you turn out 24/7? I find mine is less of a nutter if he's been stuck in a field all day.
 
I'd second all the suggestions to look at his feed and reduce the energy, you want him without aany excess energy so that he doesn't feel too fresh in himself. Obviously you don't want him loosing weight but I'm sureyou can work something out with the feed merchant's specialist helplines. Use a calmer on him too as that will hopefully help chill him out.

Get yourself some rescue remedy, and take that before you handle him or ride him so that you feel less nervous. It is good stuff, my OH swears by it for any occasion that makes him nervous. It will help you feel better and stop your horse picking up on your nerves. Take deep breaths and think positive thoughts.

You can also use bach flower remedies on your horse, so you could find out which one is good for calmness and use that on him.

If you are still struggling there are specialists out there that work with nervous riders. Look into NLP, there is a lady on here (who was at Your Horse Live) who does it and she might be able to help you or recommend someone in your area.
 
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