New Personality

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Koda

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I have a mare that I moved to a new yard 3-4 weeks ago. She was always a very calm and uncomplicated mare, very laid back. The other yard was not feeding her properly so I moved. In 3 weeks, she is a new horse. She has started getting spooky, squeely, strong. She tore around a showjumping course with me yesterday. I love to see her with so much life and energy, but after yesterday I think it needs reeling in a bit
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She is already on nuts rather than oats. Do you think its more than just the feed causing this big change? Could it be the new place also? She's so different, and getting very cocky and strong when jumping. I've never seen feed change a horses personality so completely
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What do you guys think?
 
Spring is coming - most of the horses at my yard have the devil in them these last 2 weeks, including mine, she's "bunny hopping" and having great fun. Also, 3-4 weeks in a new "herd, even in adjoining fields or stables, means she's still limit testing the others. Also, some of those at our yard have come into season. We've all noticed it tbh.
What are you feeding?
 
She is fit as a fiddle at the mo, and she's about to get clipped which will likely only increase her energy levels, GULP! She was pretty fit at the other yard too though, just not as well fed.
Her breeding isn't recorded, but I think I detect a good amount of TB in her. The change seems to be coinciding also with us jumping higher. We are taking on larger course now, she could jump a house, and her confidence is sky high at the mo.
I'm not complaining, I just would like to harness the energy a bit :-)
 
My mare goes beserk on pony nuts. Shes on oats and thoroughbred calmer. shes so chilled shes horizontal, but she has energy too, forewards energy not explosive energy
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Well getting her clipped won't help with the energy at the moment. Can you really harness energy or should you be looking at ways to improve concentration and expelling energy with increased exercise?
 
Mine is a fizzy type, Tb 16hh. Difficulty in maintaing weight.
I use low mollasses/starch speedibeet with some succulents, a calmer and multivit, Ad lib hay, Ride and Relax hard feed, linseed oil for calories/coat, mint and garlic for taste, & low mollass chaff.

If she hasn't been ridden for 3 days, I wouldn't ride her without lunging for 20 mins beforehand. However, I long rein or lunge for small amounts of time most days to keep her ticking over if I can't ride. This expels the energy/keeps her fit.
 
My ish goes mad on nuts, so poss worth looking at her food. Is she needing to put weight on? Seems a large quantity of hard food? Regardless of that though, at the moment my legendary safe as houses hack/generally sweet lady has turned possesed. An absolute horror! She has just come into season for the first time this year and there is a bit more grass about now. I'm attributing her personality transplant to that! Just hoping she changes back asap though as I would merrily shoot her just now!
 
Her work has increased with the competing etc. That's why she needs to be clipped, she's working up quite a sweat with her work. She pulled the arms off me yesterday competing, having only been up the mountains the day before for 2 hours. was sweaty as anything after it. Its definitely not a lack of excercise.
Guess I just wondered if anyone else had found a personality change after a move? Or has anyone found their horse getting strong and cocky as they start to compete at a higher level? Anyhoo, at least she's happy, confident, and certainly enthusiastic about her jumping! :-)
 
Yep, she wasn't being fed properly at the last place so she needed to put weight on. Its coming back very nicely, soon enough I'd say we could start cutting her back a bit. But when I first got her in the summer her weight was great (a bit too great) and she was very mellow. She was living off grass though.
Maybe its a 'full of the joys of spring' thing plus the food.
 
I use feed from 'Simple Systems Feed' for my TB mare and she is going really well on it. It is a high nutrient feed with slow releasing energy so the horse doesn't have moments of fizzy-ness followed but moments of laziness. (Same as a human getting a sugar high then a low).

The website also allows you to email the company nutritionist and she is really helpful. She designed a feed programme to suit my horse, and you don't have to pay for her advise.
 
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