Shetland ponies suddenly subdued and clingy - foxes?

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sherbetdip

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Hi

My two little shetlands are usually quite lively but as of yesterday have been sort of subdued. Nothing I can definitely put my finger on but one of them has started being very clingy and has been sticking to her stable quite closely. She has also been following me around and sticking very close to me and needs a lot of love. They have access to their stable at night but I usually shut them out in the day. The other seems less bothered but again slightly subdued.

I found quite a bit of fox poo around the outside of their paddock fence two nights' ago, just the night before I noticed a change in their behaviour. The lower parts of the paddock are protected by sheep fencing and I don't believe a fox could get in, but just wondering if this might explain their behaviour - whether they have been scared by a fox at night. As I said they are free to come in their stable at night but yesterday morning I found the stable door had swung shut - there was no wind, so wondering if they bolted and knocked it.

They are both eating but strangely, these past few days not finishing what I usually give them in their buckets. The other possibilities are illness? Or has one been bullying the other? I've had the older one for two months, the other for three weeks but they have been settling in together quite nicely otherwise.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks!
 
I can't think that foxes would bother or upset ponies, was there any sign of the ground being churned up? My other thought was laminitis, if the grass is coming through now, pain could make them behave like.
 
millikins said:
I can't think that foxes would bother or upset ponies, was there any sign of the ground being churned up? My other thought was laminitis, if the grass is coming through now, pain could make them behave like.
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I've been really vigilant about laminitis - they are on a muddy field which is very churned up by their hooves during the wet weather, with hardly any grass at all. I give them just a small amount of hard feed (happy hooves) once every morning - and they are both a good weight. If anything they look like they've lost weight since i've had them as they were both on lots of grass before they came here. The farrier is happy with their weight and they have no history of laminitis - they are both nearly 4 years old.

Puzzling. I will keep an eye on them - I have the vet coming next week to give one of them the second round of vaccinations. will see what he says. Is there anything I should keep an eye out that would mean calling the vet out straight away?

Thanks
 
I would just keep an eye on them, ive just been out to see my minis, one of them is hard to catch,she left the carrots I gave them and came over for a mard which she doesn't normally do. They do sometimes act differently for no reason.
 
Sheep fencing wouldn't bother a fox but a fox wouldn't bother the shetlands either I'd look for something else
 
Thanks everyone,

It could be several things:

I was doing a little bit of training with them on Sunday and dropped the bowl of treats - they both wolfed them down so maybe that was it.
My older one now has a bit of a growly stomach and is making chewing noises so wondering if it might be colic?

I have kids so they're used to them.

I've had to spend a couple of days at hospital so their routine has gone off slightly - my husband fed them yesterday - plus we had a couple of new faces come to visit them so maybe that's what it is.

But I will keep an eye on them and call out the vet if I get worried.

Thanks again.
 
Mine went a bit odd after a vaccination jab recently. He was fine with it but the next day became very subdued and stopped coming over to me. In fact I couldn't get near him to catch him which was a real problem for a couple of days. After a few days we managed to re bond and now he is back to normal. So maybe they have a little virus or something making them feel a bit 'off'. Also its suddenly got very warm for them and mine still has a really thick coat. Might make them feel a bit subdued if they are too hot?
 
Lottiedots said:
Mine went a bit odd after a vaccination jab recently. He was fine with it but the next day became very subdued and stopped coming over to me. In fact I couldn't get near him to catch him which was a real problem for a couple of days. After a few days we managed to re bond and now he is back to normal. So maybe they have a little virus or something making them feel a bit 'off'. Also its suddenly got very warm for them and mine still has a really thick coat. Might make them feel a bit subdued if they are too hot?
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Thanks - yes, mine are starting to shed quite a lot so definitely it's quite warm for them.
They seem back to normal this evening, ate their food and seemed ok, if slightly sleepy.
will keep checking on them.
 
sherbetdip said:
I've been really vigilant about laminitis - they are on a muddy field which is very churned up by their hooves during the wet weather, with hardly any grass at all. I give them just a small amount of hard feed (happy hooves) once every morning - and they are both a good weight. If anything they look like they've lost weight since i've had them as they were both on lots of grass before they came here. The farrier is happy with their weight and they have no history of laminitis - they are both nearly 4 years old.

Puzzling. I will keep an eye on them - I have the vet coming next week to give one of them the second round of vaccinations. will see what he says. Is there anything I should keep an eye out that would mean calling the vet out straight away?

Thanks
Click to expand...

My horse has gone off his food in the last 10 days, but still grazing and eating hay, just can't be bothered with his hard feed... I've put it down to the grass.
 
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