HELP - my horse is too quiet

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hannahealasaid

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My horse seems to be unaturally quiet.
He's only 5 and usually full of beans but doesn't seem himself.
He's eating/drinking normally and is sound, has had back, teeth etc checked and been recently wormed. Hes just dull and not as forward going as usual.
We did move back to uni 4 wks ago but he is in the same stable and has the same friends as last year, and hasn't been like this moving before. He wasn't stressed when he arrived, just wandered in and started eating.
Don't think he has and problem with having enough feed as hes having half a scoop of conditioning cubes and quarter pasture mix with alfa a and sea weed twice a day, and unlimited hay. He's never needed concentrates before but had lost a bit of weight being out more this summer.
Any ideas??
Thanks :-)
 
sometimes horses go a bit quiet when they are changing their coat or....if he has grown a thick coat he may just be feeling too warm and just needs clipping......has anything else changed? has he changed shape and saddle not now so comfortable? just a few ideas to think about, hope it helps a bit..
 
Possibly picked up a virus when he moved back to the yard at uni, they dont always show symptoms just being a bit low, a blood test may be a good idea. Otherwise if he has lost weight it may be that as he picks up he gets brighter, is he getting turned out, I know a lot of unis have very restricted turnout so he may be missing the grass.
 
Nope, not changed anything, he has a new saddle which was fitted by master saddler 6 wks ago and still fitting well.
Not a hairy horse either!
I really can't think of anything thats different. He usually copes well with anything. Def a people horse anyway so different horses being around wouldn't bother him.
 
Yeah, i guess a blood test would be a good idea, at least if it comes back clear I won't need to worry so much :-(
He's back up to usual weight now but I guess he might not be getting as much grass now. He does go out all day but grass not growing so much now.

Thanks for ur help :-)
 
can't remember but its not much, basic is call out and less than fifty, closer to twenty I think. How long have you had him... do you have anything to compare his behaviour with, I mean did you own him this time last year? How are his gums and have you checked his temp?
 
hannahealasaid said:
Yep, this is my 3rd year with him. I guess part of it might be him growing up but want to make sure!
Will call mr vet in the morning!
Click to expand...

Yeah it may well be, if you hadn't had him long, I may have suggested something to do with seasonal changes, but since youve had him 3 years I would say go with your gut, you know him and know when he is not right... keep him extra well rugged, well fed, get him a blood tonic, for 20 quid Haemavite B+ is something I would stake my horses lives on, and get bloods... def better safe than sorry xx
 
To make sure he has enough of all the vits/mins he needs, he must be on a full ration of a good comprehensive balancer or vit/min supplement. Without this, there are problems which can build up over time.

Ring some of the feed company nutritionists. You'll soon find who knows their stuff, and who just tries to sell their product whatever. I'd recommend Nicola Tyler at Topspec. If he's losing more weight than you want him to, then it may be that a balancer is more appropriate than a vit/min powder, but see what the nutritionists think.

I'd also opt for a blood test. The most comprehensive general blood test that you can, so including muscle enzymes, liver enzymes etc. I pay about £65 for this test plus callout plus about £10 for the vet to take the blood. I could have gone for a narrower profile, but when you don't know what you're looking for, I would want to keep the test as broad as possible. It can show up things like infections that might not be obvious yet, as well as damage to muscles, liver etc and can be a really good indicator of what's up, especially when you know your horse and know he's not right but can't show a vet anything tangible.

Sarah
 
I'd say its due to the darker mornings and darker nights, and the cold weather, its depressing for horses as well as us. We naturally feel more tired and down in the winter as we don't get the same level of serotin in our bodies, due to the lack of sunlight.

My horse is abnormally quiet too, but casting my mind back I remember he was like this last year too.
 
For the last three years we have fed Prepell Plus. The reason for doing this is at the begining of the Autume / winter we found that one of my Arab geldings was rubbling his coat , nipping at himself and shacking. This all happened as they were changing their coats.

In the last week again one of the boys seemed dull and dopy.I started them on the propell last week and he has picked up a lot. It seems they just need a bit more at this time of the year.
 
I'm thinking its more likely to be some sort of virus hes picked up from having so many new horses around. He's never been like this at this time of year before so daylight hours etc unlikely to be the problem. He does seem a bit more his usual cheeky self today so hopefully he's starting to get over whatever's causing it.
 
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