Just running this past you thoughts please

welshcobabe

welshcobabe

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HI hope you are all well

I have kept my shire x in a routine of in at night out during the day but he has CPL and the advice is that they are out as much as possible so he is now been kept out 24/7 been brought in twice a day for his supplement etc. So he is with the other horses all the time now. as apposed to been away from them for 12 hours.

I know it is the spring but he as always been quite well mannered but I am finding him getting bolshy and bit inpatiancent with the farrier etc or in when doing stuff in general

He comes to call and leads in fine but is then after his meal wanting to be back out. I am nursing a knee ligament damage at the moment and recovering fine so this routine has fitted in with both things.

My worry is he getting a bit herd orientated as apposed to before been just doing his own thing and been quite content what are you thoughts do I carry on in as with this routine ? as it is it is better to be moving all the time for his CPL but risk him getting a bit feral or go back to his old routine ?

Also due to my injury is not been ridden as often. The grass in the field like us all at the moment is quite sparce and he gets very little feed just enough to get his marigold and cleavers in and mally mash also as recommend for this condition. He has his feathers clipped all off etc as well.

Thanks
 
Mine has cpl and he comes in daily for a few hours (with a few other tubbers!) so when I go down about lunch time he gets some ground work or ridden or grooming etc. it keeps him entertained and moving for the most part.

A few years ago there was a spot on the yard he got seriously bolshy at for some reason, I got the Lemieux prosafe halter and it really helped keep him in check. He only needed it for a week then it was rehomed to the next horse who decided to be a prat lol
 
I would suggest that horses tend to doze for a few hours anyway, so can't see the difference between a doze in the field and a doze in the stable.

I would go back to bringing in if that's what works. Perhaps for a lesser amount of time, but still some semblance of a routine.
 
If the switch from 12hr stabled eating hay to 24/7 sparse grass field with not much fibre to eat, was sudden - maybe the sudden stopping and lack of fibre/hay has him hungry and therefore wound-up?

ETA - if so, are you able to give some hay in the field until more grass comes through? If not, maybe revert to brining in for a few hours to chomp on a massive net of hay? A shire x is a stamp of a horse I imagine so would need appreciable fibre. I can’t see a sparse field shared with others providing enough.
 
Should have also mentioned he comes in to a massive hay net but is not touching it. The field in question is 9 acres with five horses in total and normally has loads of grass but at the moment is like the rest with lack of rain his weight is staying around the same.
 
welshcobabe said:
Should have also mentioned he comes in to a massive hay net but is not touching it. The field in question is 9 acres with five horses in total and normally has loads of grass but at the moment is like the rest with lack of rain his weight is staying around the same.
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Thanks for clarifying - evidently he isn’t famished otherwise the net surely would be eaten.
Maybe it’s the change to herd life and him really liking it, going through the sticky phase of not wanting to be taken from there? The field sounds lovely and big with just 5 horses on it, so imagine it’s a liberating change for him.
Hopefully he’ll understand the idea that when he’s taken out he always gets put back into the field. Maybe he thinks if being taken to the yard for farrier/riding etc he is going to be stabled again as the yard triggers that memory for him? But eventually he should realise he goes back to the field.

Or if he has mares nearby now more than before, their spring seasons may be affecting him? My gelding, chilled-out usually, can be behaviourally more animated and playful when the mare is in season - in fact it’s his behaviour that alerts me to her seasons as I can never tell from her!
 
Agree with what PurBee wrote.

Additionally, with the time of year (spring having been in the air) and the more herd-based life, is it possible he has been a bit more playful with the others and has tweaked himself somewhere? Not enough to cause lameness, but perhaps enough to cause lasting tightness in an area of soft tissue, especially if that area of tightness feeds into a headache, which is causing him to feel a bit more 'wound' than normal?

The impatience with the farrier always points to potential discomfort somewhere for me, and the wanting to get back to the field could also be related. That alone wouldn't always make me consider discomfort, but in conjunction with difficulties with the farrier it tends to. Being in discomfort, especially with a headache, the safest and calmest place is with their own kind when they are free to move around or rest at will, and when someone else can be aware of the surroundings and alert to any issues. Coming away from this pace of safety can affect them alot more when they are uncomfortable, especially with a headache, as they have to start having to consciously think about their surroundings which 'costs' them a bit more than just being on 'auto-pilot', so to speak.

It could also be that you're guarding yourself a bit more given your knee injury? (Sorry you are suffering!) So perhaps he doesn't feel as secure and needs you to re-assert the fact that he can trust you to 'have his back', so to speak?

It's odd that he's not interested in his hay, especially given that the grass is sparse. Perhaps he just isn't hungry - is he maintaining his weight?
 
My cob and our highlands do come in during the day for a few hours and snooze. They are then in for groundwork, any appointments etc. They literally really do sleep - our ground is extremely hard outside so I think they enjoy the comfort of their beds. Last week for various reasons, they did not come in each day as there was a nice breeze and they were happily grazing and I did notice my old cob getting a bit bolshy but I think he was tired - he loves our yearling and spends a lot of time making sure he is ok, so I think he does need to come in and quietly rest, so I am going to stick to our normal routine, he does have mild CPL. I think the hard ground will also affect them if they have arthritis etc

My young cob at rehab, comes in for the morning and then he is out again and does seem quite tired too when I visit him and is purely rehabbing at walk but he loves a snooze in his stable too.
 
Hi weight is fine he has lost a bit but to be polite he did need to, he was always happy at his 12 hours in and out which I needed to do as the grass here in normal circumstances is very good. I think now after reading your comments that a lot of what you are saying is correct and it may be a mixture of bits of them all. This is his first couple of weeks so I shall see how he goes in the next few weeks. Hopefully I will be back to full strength with the injury as well so can get back to riding we do have mares in the next field and also a few changes on the farm, I have to remember the good character he is at heart and stop beating myself up for not riding as much and go with the flow. But many thanks for all you helpful and useful comments.
 
welshcobabe said:
Hi weight is fine he has lost a bit but to be polite he did need to, he was always happy at his 12 hours in and out which I needed to do as the grass here in normal circumstances is very good. I think now after reading your comments that a lot of what you are saying is correct and it may be a mixture of bits of them all. This is his first couple of weeks so I shall see how he goes in the next few weeks. Hopefully I will be back to full strength with the injury as well so can get back to riding we do have mares in the next field and also a few changes on the farm, I have to remember the good character he is at heart and stop beating myself up for not riding as much and go with the flow. But many thanks for all you helpful and useful comments.
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Gosh, definitely don't beat yourself up for being injured! Or busy, or anything else - life happens!

What you've written is right in so many cases I think - it's not just one thing, it's a combination of lots of factors. Often just takes a bit of unravelling.

Hopefully over the next few weeks a new balance will develop and this worry will all be ancient history :) .
 
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