Jekyll and Hyde with temperature - ideas please?

cptrayes

cptrayes

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I have a young horse who has a split personality. If the temperature is above tend or so degrees, he is a delight. He seeks to work with me, go forward to the bit, is relaxed in his back, bends on the bends and stays straight on the straights.

If the temperature is lower than 8 degrees he is spooky, doesn't keep straight on the straights, doesn't bend happily to the right (his worse rein) and is just a completely different horse.

I have tried a test with a good whack of bute, to see if this was pain related, but it made no difference to his behaviour at all. He is completely sound, no lumps or bumps anywhere, no heat, no reaction to any tests of his back or joints.

Has anyone else got one like this? Any ideas? He's still a superstar mover even on the bad days, but he's such an absolute delight on warm days that I'd obviously like him to be like that all the time.

All suggestions welcome no matter how daft they may seem :)
 
There's a dressage horse on our yard whose owner is a bit obsessive about keeping him warm and how it affects him. It is a bit OTT by most people's standards but she is very vigilant and wouldn't have invented the problem, so it must make a difference to the horse.

He's always unclipped and worked in an exercise rug unless it's warm.
 
My WB is like this - at first I thought it was my imagination, but he is definately much much happier when the sun is out. I actually wondered if he suffers from that SAD syndrome I don't know whether horses can?

My horse does have SI dysfunction, so I imagine that it will be sore in the cold and not with the sun on his back.
 
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If there is an underlying facial nerve issue or tooth nerve issue or possibly a sinus issue, the cold will make it much worse. I'd imagine if this were the case then a still cold won't be as bad as a cold wind.

eta - bute wouldn't touch these sorts of pain.
 
YasandCrystal said:
My WB is like this - at first I thought it was my imagination, but he is definately much much happier when the sun is out. I actually wondered if he suffers from that SAD syndrome I don't know whether horses can?

My horse does have SI dysfunction, so I imagine that it will be sore in the cold and not with the sun on his back.
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Now theres a thought, I know several horses who go depressed in the winter!!!
 
My horse is affected by the temperature. He always has more energy in the cold and less when it is hot. Must be the same as people I hate the heat and would love it to be about 18-20 degrees all year round !!
 
For the depressives, try giving your horses vitamin D. In humans, SAD is often caused by a vitamin D deficiency in winter.

Thanks for the replies, I will try a rug on him (haven't got a 1/4 sheet but I'm sure we can improvise with a thermatex for today). And as it happens, he doesn't do it when we hack, and when we hack he has a flourescent mesh 1/4 sheet on - wouldn't do much to keep him warm, but maybe it makes the difference, who knows, he is a sensitive little flower (only 17 hands :) )
 
montyforever said:
Could you be tensing up because you are cold?
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I try and start each session on a loose rein and there is a very big difference, so I don't think it's me, but I will check carefully. He is a very sensitive, gentle horse so it's not impossible.

cm2581 said:
If there is an underlying facial nerve issue or tooth nerve issue or possibly a sinus issue, the cold will make it much worse. I'd imagine if this were the case then a still cold won't be as bad as a cold wind.

eta - bute wouldn't touch these sorts of pain.
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Interesting thought. Dentist is due soon, so I'll put in a call and see if he can spot anything. Wind is just a given where he lives - 1100 feet up in a national park, but I will make a careful note of whether he is worse in a higher wind than a lesser one.
 
I've ridden now.

Well that was interesting! Of course it is not quite so cold today, but then again we've just had a massive hailstorm so it wasn't exactly nice. I made an exercise blanket out of an old sleeping bag and I made sure that I did not leave his back uncovered at any time, I even brushed him under his turnout rug :)

And he was very sweet. He set off with a couple of little shrugs, which are usually bigger, and usually indicate that he's not going to be happy. Then he just swung into the best relaxed walk he has ever done.

D'ya know, I'm going to feel really stoopid writing this, but it just never occurred to me that he was cold! I put it down to him being young, until there was such a glaring difference between how he worked in February (freezing) March (sunbathing weather) and April (freezing again) that it was clear it was the temperature.

Sod's law it will warm up now and I won't know until next winter whether this is the answer.

Thanks for the help.
 
Wel thankyou everyone who answered this thread. How amazing - even though he has only a belly/bib clip, he was feeling the cold. I am kicking myself that I had a winter of riding in a body protector myself when I needed to put him in a quarter blanket! What a dork I feel :D

I took him to a competition today and when the blanket I made out of an old sleeping bag was on, he was fine. The moment we took it off, in a bitter wind sweeping across the Staffs Moorlands, he was jumpy. The sun came out for a few minutes and it was like he melted in it and went all loose.

How odd, I've never had one like this before! Just off now to try and buy a thermatex or fleece blanket.
 
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