Horse started spooking - please help

[Moss_1975]

Hi all, I’m new on here and never posted before so sorry if I’ve missed anything but I’m looking for some advice.

I’ve had my horse for over 5 years now & he’s always been what I would call bombproof. I do a lot of hacking on him, both alone and in company, and he’s never so much as looked or even flicked an ear at anything. Bikes, lorries, big farm machinery, other animals especially pigs and donkeys (which all the other horses are terrified of) road signs, ditches, things blowing in the wind, literally anything, he’s never been bothered. Until now.

A few months ago he just started spooking, at everything! And not just little jumps but really big scary spooks. I gave it a week to see if he settled down but when he didn’t I pulled out all the stops to try and find the cause. I’ve had the dentist, physio, farrier and vet out to check everything. He’s clear on all fronts, in addition to the obvious (back etc) I also had him checked for ulcers and had his eyes checked but both came back clear/normal.

Absolutely nothing in his routine has changed. I am the only person who rides and handles him so it’s not down to anyone else. We haven’t been on any different hacking routs and I can’t name one thing that is different about anything in his life. I’m now running out of ideas as to what could be causing this sudden extreme spookiness. Does anyone have any ideas about what on earth could have caused it?

 

[KittenInTheTree]

What is he fed, including supplements and/or balancers? Is it possible that the recipe has changed for one or other product?

 

[Barton Bounty]

How about giving him some magnesium, its very inexpensive and worth a try ?

 

[Moss_1975]

What is he fed, including supplements and/or balancers? Is it possible that the recipe has changed for one or other product?

I’ll look into this thank you

 

[catembi]

Mine has gone from the most laid back horse ever, who wouldn't spook even if fully entitled to, to a spooky monster over the last month. I have stopped hacking and we have retired to the arena, and even then we have to stay at the 'safe' end, & last night he was spooking at the dressage letters. Sighs. Mine has PSSM though, p2/p3/px & they tend to be affected by the change in the weather. I've only had him since Feb, so not sure if he will go back to normal in the spring/summer.

I feel your pain. It's depressing. I just don't trust him at all atm, when the whole reason I bought him was that he was literally bombproof & didn't care about anything whatsoever, no matter how scary!

 

[Moss_1975]

How about giving him some magnesium, its very inexpensive and worth a try ?

thanks, how does magnesium work to help?

 

[stangs]

thanks, how does magnesium work to help?

Magnesium is required for muscle and nervous system function. A deficiency means neurones don’t work like they should, horse gets cramps, and thus you end up with a stressed/worried mentality.

(That’s the theory behind it anyway. I don’t know of any studies proving that line of thinking, just that there does tend to be a correlation.)

 

[catembi]

Mine started being spooky a couple of weeks after going on triaminos, so I have stopped them to see what happens, & started magnesium. I also have some vit E, but one thing at a time. I should have waited a bit longer to see if discontinuing the triaminos would help before starting the magnesium but I am fed up of him literally being scared of his own shadow.

 

[J&S]

If there is no physical reason (pain/saddle etc) then has his environment changed? Different field, different herd or companion?

 

[Birker2020]

Is turnout less? Is he now on haylage instead of hay? Are there new editions to the herd?

Mine went through the same and ended up very spooky and i found she was being given the run off water from the boiled barley that was cooked for the hunters. She had an intolerance to Barley anyway, she came out in terrible hives after eating some when we hacked around the edge of a field full of the stuff. She'd grabbed a mouthful, by the time we got back from our hack she had hives everywhere including under her saddle and exercise sheet.

 

[Red-1]

Big spooks in a horse who has previously such a calm domeanour does usually mean pain.

Have you had his suspensories scanned? They can often seem sound with this, but still be in pain and having to compensate. Mine had an injury and it was only barely detectable with some loss of balance for a few strides when changing rein as we went onto the new rein. Spooky behaviour was one of the issues it threw up.

If he was scoped for ulcers, it could still be hind gut ulcers. They don't show on scope. It may be worth treating for hind gut ulcers and seeing if that helps. That said, I also think ulcers, like spookiness, originates from pain elsewhere.

What about giving him a few months off, then starting in-hand walking to see if rest and rehab helps? If I couldn't find the issue, with the horse's history I would still presume there is one. I would rather rest and rehab now, not just for his benefit, but also because it is pants weather, and he would be coming back into work in spring!

How old is he? Did the vet run bloods? Have you done a 'bute trial?

 

[Barton Bounty]

Magnesium is required for muscle and nervous system function. A deficiency means neurones don’t work like they should, horse gets cramps, and thus you end up with a stressed/worried mentality.

(That’s the theory behind it anyway. I don’t know of any studies proving that line of thinking, just that there does tend to be a correlation.)

What stangs said ?

 

[little_critter]

I assume his turnout hasn’t changed? Mine is a laid back guy but turned into a spooky nutter last winter due to reduced turnout.

 

[Flamenco]

I'd try magnesium and brewers yeast. There's a good explanation on magnesium above. Brewers yeast is a probiotic or prebiotic (can't remember which) it helps digestion, with loads of other benefits.

After a drought all summer, grass is/was growing fast. Fast growing grass is low in magnesium and high sugar, so it may have started with his tummy struggling to adapt to the changes when the grass started growing.

Mine needed magnesium and brewers yeast each spring and autumn. After seeing a miraculous difference I fed it all year round as it prevented issues. Magnesium and brewers yeast are main ingredients in many "calmers' Its much cheaper to buy them seperately on ebay.

 

[Dexter]

How old is he?

 

[Moss_1975]

If there is no physical reason (pain/saddle etc) then has his environment changed? Different field, different herd or companion?

No nothing at all

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Hi all, I’m new on here and never posted before so sorry if I’ve missed anything but I’m looking for some advice.

I’ve had my horse for over 5 years now & he’s always been what I would call bombproof. I do a lot of hacking on him, both alone and in company, and he’s never so much as looked or even flicked an ear at anything. Bikes, lorries, big farm machinery, other animals especially pigs and donkeys (which all the other horses are terrified of) road signs, ditches, things blowing in the wind, literally anything, he’s never been bothered. Until now.

A few months ago he just started spooking, at everything! And not just little jumps but really big scary spooks. I gave it a week to see if he settled down but when he didn’t I pulled out all the stops to try and find the cause. I’ve had the dentist, physio, farrier and vet out to check everything. He’s clear on all fronts, in addition to the obvious (back etc) I also had him checked for ulcers and had his eyes checked but both came back clear/normal.

Absolutely nothing in his routine has changed. I am the only person who rides and handles him so it’s not down to anyone else. We haven’t been on any different hacking routs and I can’t name one thing that is different about anything in his life. I’m now running out of ideas as to what could be causing this sudden extreme spookiness. Does anyone have any ideas about what on earth could have caused it?

My mare is magnesium sensitive, the more mag the worst she is with spooks, so now on a mag free diet. Different horse also she has added tyrosine or tryptophan which helps

 

[mariew]

I'd also get his eyes checked just to rule out any sight issues.

 

[Landcruiser]

No nothing at all

Has anything changed in your own life? Any extra stress or tension? (Apart from "Fear Of Being Chucked Off By Spooky Horse")

 

[Widgeon]

Have you done a 'bute trial?

If absolutely nothing else has changed I'd talk to your vet and give this a go. My horse's arthritis flared up recently and I think it was partly triggered by the change in the weather to cold and very wet. He started spooking and bucking in canter so I knew something was badly wrong (he's a saint). As it is I knew his history so it was clear where to look, but if I hadn't, bute would've given us a first clue.

I'm not saying it's necessarily arthritis, and if he doesn't improve on bute that doesn't mean it's not pain - but if he does improve then that's a partial answer and you can start looking for the cause. It's a cheap thing to try, anyway.

 

[catembi]

Mine has now been on magnesium for 5 days & seems to have made a return to super laid back. We were up the spooky end of the arena tonight & he couldn't have cared less. Let's hope I haven't jinxed it by saying so...

 

[sprytzer]

Ours went like that. Had vet run checks and he had gone blind in one eye so maybe get vet to check eyes !

 

[suffolkp]

I feel your pain. Mine has just nearly spooked me off AGAIN. He used to jump occasionally but now it's everything. He moved yards over the summer which is where the problems started and I'm hoping against hope that moving him again (this weekend!) will restore equilibrium
I'm a week into trying a calmer which has magnesium and chamomile in it - in people's experience, how long do these take to either work or make them worse?
(And yes, mine has also been scoped, albeit a few months ago now, recent saddle fit, physio, etc. )

 

[Barton Bounty]

I feel your pain. Mine has just nearly spooked me off AGAIN. He used to jump occasionally but now it's everything. He moved yards over the summer which is where the problems started and I'm hoping against hope that moving him again (this weekend!) will restore equilibrium
I'm a week into trying a calmer which has magnesium and chamomile in it - in people's experience, how long do these take to either work or make them worse?
(And yes, mine has also been scoped, albeit a few months ago now, recent saddle fit, physio, etc. )

Usually a loading dose of about 10/14 days I would say

 

[LaurenBay]

Mine started to spook at everything and anything and turns out she was in pain. Horses feel more vunrable when they are hurting.

can you do a bite trial and see if behaviour changes?

has the feed changed recently?

 

[Gallop_Away]

Might be a daft question but, when was the last time he had his old boy cleaned? I was having a chat with the bean lady recently. If something is catching him "down there" then it may transpire in a spook. It was quite eye opening how much a dirty willy can affect a horse's behaviour.

 

[suffolkp]

Might be a daft question but, when was the last time he had his old boy cleaned? I was having a chat with the bean lady recently. If something is catching him "down there" then it may transpire in a spook. It was quite eye opening how much a dirty willy can affect a horse's behaviour.

Interesting - my vet used to say that horses had managed for thousands of years without having sheaths cleaned and it was not a problem for the majority.
It would be a pretty major problem for whoever attempted it, though...

 

[Gallop_Away]

Interesting - my vet used to say that horses had managed for thousands of years without having sheaths cleaned and it was not a problem for the majority.
It would be a pretty major problem for whoever attempted it, though...

True enough but then if left natural, horses would remain entire and would be covering mares regularly, thus natural cleaning.
It's probably worth eliminating from OP's list of enquiries in any event.

 

[onemoretime]

I'd try magnesium and brewers yeast. There's a good explanation on magnesium above. Brewers yeast is a probiotic or prebiotic (can't remember which) it helps digestion, with loads of other benefits.

After a drought all summer, grass is/was growing fast. Fast growing grass is low in magnesium and high sugar, so it may have started with his tummy struggling to adapt to the changes when the grass started growing.

Mine needed magnesium and brewers yeast each spring and autumn. After seeing a miraculous difference I fed it all year round as it prevented issues. Magnesium and brewers yeast are main ingredients in many "calmers' Its much cheaper to buy them seperately on ebay.

^^^ This, I feed Brewers Yeast to my mare and very quickly noticed how much more chilled she is. The magnesium should also help your horse. I buy the Brewers Yeast from Horse Herbs, both are pretty cheap.

 

[PurBee]

I feel your pain. Mine has just nearly spooked me off AGAIN. He used to jump occasionally but now it's everything. He moved yards over the summer which is where the problems started and I'm hoping against hope that moving him again (this weekend!) will restore equilibrium
I'm a week into trying a calmer which has magnesium and chamomile in it - in people's experience, how long do these take to either work or make them worse?
(And yes, mine has also been scoped, albeit a few months ago now, recent saddle fit, physio, etc. )

Just to mention i wouldnt use chamomile daily unless the horse was very dangerous spooked and needed some natural all-round sedation temporarily.
Try magnesium on its own first.
Chamomile is sedating for a few hours - 1 teaspoon sedates a human so a horse would need 3 tablespoons roughly for same effect. Its not recommended for daily use, as its a member of the ragwort family, there are some side-effects to longterm use. Its definitely not toxic like ragwort though.
Me and OH always have a ‘hangover head’ after chamomile tea night before, so the sedating aspects arent pleasant, and can make a person/animal grumpy.

A very weak dose of chamomile for a horse, 1 desertspoon, will be a very mild sedative without the cloth-head side-effects.