Pearlsacarolsinger
Up in the clouds
I get mine from Holland & Barrett usually, buy one get one half price or 'the Penny Sale'.
Horse rocking backwards in field
- Thread starter Horsekaren
- Start date
I get mine from Holland & Barrett usually, buy one get one half price or 'the Penny Sale'.
catembi
Well-Known Member
Mine's on Aloeride on the yearly subscription. I have run out twice due to not getting around to renewing the subscription and both times he has had a gassy colic within 10 days to 2 weeks. On the Aloeride we have had NO gassy colics, whereas left to his own devices he has one every 2 or 3 months or so. So if you're thinking of feeding aloe, maybe try Aloeride. These powders are a lot less faff than the juice. It really DOES definitely do something!
mytwofriends
Well-Known Member
Likewise. Its the exact reason I had my oldie PTS, as he loved his flat out sleeps, and you could almost set your clock by him having his morning snooze in the field. Its when he had trouble getting up several days in a row, I knew it was time. I had to help him, and I dreaded the thought of him getting stuck if I wasnt around.
Pearlsacarolsinger
Up in the clouds
I can't say I've ever considered using the juice to be 'a faff'. Ours are fed soaked hay cobs, so adding the juice is simple, I just pick up the next bottle when I am in town anyway. I have never tried AloeRide but if I were choosing between the two, I'd be looking at price to decide which was best. I usually find that putting anything horse related into a brand name increases the price beyond sense.
little.soldier
New User
Hi there, I just wanted to add my 2pence worth, in case any of it may help you. My boy was diagnosed with sleep deprivation by the Royal Dick Vets in Edinburgh, last summer. He had been seen trying to dose in the field, but ended up either rocking back as you describe, or as his head lowered, his legs gave way and almost fell, but always righted himself before he hit the ground. Basically, horses need 30-40 mins REM sleep each day, which they can only get lying down. If they don't get this quota, then when they try to dose on their feet (which they do for about 3-4 hours a day), then they slowly become sleep deprived. I was advised on the possible causes:-
1. Feeling safe/stress/anxiety - any sudden changes to routine, herd mates, stable location/environment (even a change in bedding type), wild animals in their field at night, etc can be enough to upset a horse so that it doesn't feel safe to lie down and sleep.
2. Dominance issues - if they feel there is no other horse of suitable authority to stand guard while they sleep, some horses can feel that they can't switch off enough to allow them to sleep. Or it can work the other way too, where a horse is perhaps the bottom of the pack and doesn't feel safe enough to sleep.
3. Pain - pain preventing the horse from getting down or back up again after it has been down for a while. Or, indeed, just pain anywhere!
We worked through various scenarios ..... changing field mates, changing fields, putting him in with a known dominant mare, then finally the thing that worked for him was putting him on a bute trial. After ten days he was seen to lie down.
When trying to figure out where the pain was coming from, one of the things that was mentioned to me was ulcers. Even though my boy showed absolutely no signs of having ulcers, I was advised that horses with extreme symptoms can have very mild ulcers and likewise, horses showing no signs of ulcers can have severe ulcers, it's all down to the horse and its tolerance of such issues. My horse was scoped and had a clear bill of health in that respect.
You mention that your horse can be "grumpy" for a few days after any kind of change. You also mention that he lay down two consequtive nights after changing his bedding. I would be inclined to think this may be worth looking into. Perhaps he is the kind that needs routine, routine, routine?
Anyway, not sure if any of the above is relevant to you, but just wanted to share with you, as I felt very alone when trying to work out what was going on with my boy, as no one in our area, including the local vets, had dealt with this kind of thing before. Trust me to have a unique horse! Good luck getting to the bottom of things, I am sure you will do all you can to help your boy be a happy horse again.
1. Feeling safe/stress/anxiety - any sudden changes to routine, herd mates, stable location/environment (even a change in bedding type), wild animals in their field at night, etc can be enough to upset a horse so that it doesn't feel safe to lie down and sleep.
2. Dominance issues - if they feel there is no other horse of suitable authority to stand guard while they sleep, some horses can feel that they can't switch off enough to allow them to sleep. Or it can work the other way too, where a horse is perhaps the bottom of the pack and doesn't feel safe enough to sleep.
3. Pain - pain preventing the horse from getting down or back up again after it has been down for a while. Or, indeed, just pain anywhere!
We worked through various scenarios ..... changing field mates, changing fields, putting him in with a known dominant mare, then finally the thing that worked for him was putting him on a bute trial. After ten days he was seen to lie down.
When trying to figure out where the pain was coming from, one of the things that was mentioned to me was ulcers. Even though my boy showed absolutely no signs of having ulcers, I was advised that horses with extreme symptoms can have very mild ulcers and likewise, horses showing no signs of ulcers can have severe ulcers, it's all down to the horse and its tolerance of such issues. My horse was scoped and had a clear bill of health in that respect.
You mention that your horse can be "grumpy" for a few days after any kind of change. You also mention that he lay down two consequtive nights after changing his bedding. I would be inclined to think this may be worth looking into. Perhaps he is the kind that needs routine, routine, routine?
Anyway, not sure if any of the above is relevant to you, but just wanted to share with you, as I felt very alone when trying to work out what was going on with my boy, as no one in our area, including the local vets, had dealt with this kind of thing before. Trust me to have a unique horse! Good luck getting to the bottom of things, I am sure you will do all you can to help your boy be a happy horse again.