Not too sure...

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caoilin_

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My horse has been acting a little bit strange these past few days and I'm not too sure why. At tea time she is usually really hyper and ready for it but she seems to be just standing in the corner of her stable then walking slowly to get it. Also, I think she has a little bit of heat in her hoof and bottom half of her legs, but I'm not sure if that's due to her feather. She is only eating a small amount of hay when her haynet is large and packed full. She doesn't seem to be lame at all, she's not got a limp or anything. She's also started biting a bit, but not in a bad way because she has the kindest heart. It's just when I put my hand on her face she has a little nibble and I'm not sure if that's something to do with mouth pain or something? Please help!!!
 
Not eating, being miserable in the corner of her box suggests she is feeling unwell rather than lame, if you have no one on the yard to look at her and advise then you really need to get the vet straight away, it could be so many things, some minor some more serious which require urgent treatment, if you are not experienced yourself you need expert advice in person, it is not something that can be diagnosed on a forum, I would not even want to make an educated guess with the limited information you have given.
 
Similar thing with my horse last year, he is very characterful and became withdrawn, was chewing and yawning a lot as though he was trying to de-stress, not eating as well as usual just really not himself - definitely get a vet check. Mine wasn't conclusive (with my horse it never is!) but vet guessed viral/bacterial infection. If she has changed temperament that much she must be feeling pretty awful, vet said my horse was stoical but clearly very uncomfortable. Said not to ride or push him to do anything he didn't want to do and they also took bloods and found very raised fibrynogen (probably spelt that wrong) levels resulting in 3 weeks off work, some bute and antibiotics they re-tested again after 4 weeks bloods were normal but it took him ages to get back to his usual self.

Have you changed fields or feeds recently? Might have ingested something that disagrees with her and she has tummy ache.....

Let us know how you get on.
 
If it's a new field with lots of grass, she might be stuffed full. My greedy guts had no sense of proportion on a new field and would stand at the back of the box looking a bit post-Christmas-dinnerish.

If it isn't a new field / too much grass, then vet.
 
Hi, she has been a lot more perky tonight however quite tired. Think she just needs a rest so will give her a few days off. What do you think?? Less heat also and no biting.
 
I think if she's not right maybe a phone call to the vet to describe what you are seeing would be worthwhile, a change of temperament means something could be brewing, best to nip it in the bud, especially if it could be a possibility of low grade laminitis or an infection which may need you to act quickly.
 
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