Horse has turned into a posessed maniac...

alsxx

alsxx

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I don't know why but the last 24hours my horse has turned into a complete psycho (sp). He's a sharp character anyway but normally is quite reasonable, he can have strops but they don't go anywhere, and cause no bother.

He's developed mud fever (again) in a small cut he had on one of his hind fetlocks (although we have NO mud), so have been poulticing like mad this weekend, they are normally out 24/7 however had him in all day sat, he was fine, then both in sat night, again was fine sun morning. His legs had filled overnight so I re-did poultice and chucked him out in the field as would rather legs didn't swell.

Got them both in at 3 yesterday for an hour to feed and do a rug change, and re-do his poultice and he was like a creature posessed. Being really narky in the stable, he flew at me as I walked in his box and grabbed my fore-arm - typically sleeves rolled up so have a really nasty bite now on my arm. Out again last night and got him back in this am to re-do poultice and again the most difficult horse ever. Swinging his back end round into me, ears back loads, stressing big style - fortunately no teeth this time. Turned him out and went to bring mare in to put on fat patch and he started getting narky with me in the field which he has NEVER done before.

So ideas anyone? As I said he is sharp but this is over the top. He was difficult when I first viewed him (at training yard) but since he left he has not displayed this behaviour once so its really weird. I was wondering if its because I kept him in and now he thinks he's going to be left in. He's not been worked in the last week as weather has been foul and I have no school, then leg was up over weekend so thought best not hack. I'm going to lunge him tonight and see if that makes a difference.BUT he's been left before for a week not worked and been fine. Only other thing I can think of is changed him from alfa-a oil to normal alfa-a last week, but if anything I would have thought the oil would have made him more volatile, not the other way round?

Sorry bit of a self indulgent sympathy post...but suggestions welcome as he's really not nice at the moment and certainly don't want this behaviour long term.
 
You'll think I'm crazy but it Might be having a leg bandaged - had a racehorse once in Oz who went BESERK when she developed shin soreness and the vet told us to bandage her. JUST got the second bandage fastened and she went right off - hurling herself around the stable and crashing into the walls. She had to be literally lassooed over the stable door and dragged near enough to it for a sedative to be whacked in IM (no way vet would have found a vein they wat she was!!) Once sedated, we took bandages off - and left them off!!

It MAY be that he had a nasty injury/nasty treatment of a leg when racing - and it's left him with an aversion to bandaging.

IF he has developed mud fever from a cut, I'm not sure I'd be poulticing it anyway - mud fever is usually best washed (with very dilute Hibiscrub), rinsed, dried and then kept dry - with an antiseptic ointment applied. (I find Savlon as good as anything.)
 
I did wonder that but he stands as good as gold to have it bandaged up, and would have thought he would have objected to the actual bandaging. Is just the chucking himself around when I'm not doing his leg if that makes sense!

I'm poulticing as he wont let me wash it to get the scabs off and I cant get them soft enough, so by poulticing it I'm softening the scabs which are wiping off now, then I wash with hibiscrub between each new poultice if that makes sense. I was washing and applying cream before and it was actually getting worse quite quickly (which is strange as last time he had a touch of mud fever on his heel it went quite quickly, also tried treating it for ringworm just in case), where as this has stopped it in its tracks.

Its so strange though as normally he is so good, he is sharp but I never normally have any issues with him, its so out of character!
 
Yep - loopy mare I knew stood fine to be bandaged - but I confess it's a bit unlikely that's the cause as mare had other reasons (she was by a notorious stallion who ALWAYS threw nutters!)

Other possibility is that it IS much more uncomfortable than you might think. I'd lay off the Hibiscrub now - try plastering it with cream and wrap some clingfilm over the creamed areas, then bandage lightly. SHould get the scabs nice and soft.

I did have a similar problem with two colts last year - turned out O. was being a bit enthusiastic with the Hibiscrub (which can be VERY drying) and it made it worse. (They didn't go dolally about it - but then they were IDs - not TBs!)

I would also try cutting out the Alpha and using something like Graze-on (which is pure grass.) As the behaviour co-incided with the behaviour change it's worth a try!
 
As you are in Kent would assume that you had the rain on Friday that we had and my fields are no longer brown they are a lovely rich green colour and the grass is coming through very fast and all the horses on my yard seem to have had a personality change. So I would assume that a combination of no exercise and lovely rich green grass could be your problem.
 
Am going to switch him onto hi-fi tonight for a few days and see if that makes any difference. I have heard of Alfa-a causing behavioural changes but never experienced it myself before, certainly worth a shot.

I'm quite certain the mud fever is very sore for him, hence why he wasn't keen on me washing it even with plain lukewarm water, plus it had started to swell slightly on sat morning. But the speed at which it was spreading when i was was just washing and applying cream was quite alarming so I'm desperate to get rid of it, particulary as he succumbed to cellulitis from a small cut previously!! If I haven't shifted it any in the next couple of days I'm pretty sure its going to be a vet job tbh (at least they can sedate him lol).

Yes we had lots of rain, however he's already out on very good grazing and has been for the last 3 months so shouldn't really have made much of a difference....but certainly a possibility I suppose.
 
Just a thought: could it be vasculitis instead of mud fever? If you've had no mud and it's not clearing up it could well be vasculitis which is quite painful/irritating and may explain the behaviour.
 
Booboos - quite possible although not sure what it is exactly so am off to google it now....

Whatever it is it has been a right pain in bum to get rid of and has spread quicker than I would expect mud fever to normally, hence why i thought maybe ringworm....the area is probably about the size of 2 cm's wide by 5cm's down...started off as a tiny nick on the side of his fetlock no bigger than half a cm really. Since I have been poulticing it has stopped it in its tracks and would appear to be more comfortable as he is less resentful of me giving it a little wash in between dressings.
 
We had this type of problem once and we gave antibiotics to get ride of it from the inside -out, as my vet thought bacteria had got in and was causing a lot of irritation, easier and quicker to go down that route, it clears up really quickly then you can clean it all up after the infection has gone.
 
Vasculitis (as I understand it, and I am not expert!) the horse's own immune system going into overdrive and attacking the skin and surrounding tissue. It can start with a small cut (even too small to notice) and then looks very much like mud fever with scabs that just don't want to clear up. If he gets small cuts in other areas it looks like it has spread, but again the immune system is over-reacting to the original injury.

Topical steroids usually clear it up but you would need your vet to prescribe them.

I think it might be worth a call to the vet as it does sound like it could be vasculitis or at least he can rule it out.
 
From my google search one thing that kept springing up was it occurs on white legs on the outside, and his is on a white leg and on the outside of the fetlock.

Calling vet now....even if it just turns out to be mudfever hopefully they can leave me with some ab's to clear it up quicker....and hopefully that will make him a happier person to be around again!!
 
My chesnut has had vasculitis on all three white legs and I thought it was mud fever and kept treating it but it just would not go away! I think he was quite irritated by it, and he seemed very relieved when I put the steroid cream on. It has taken about 5 weeks of the steroid cream to clear it up completely.

Good luck!
 
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