Spring and summer heartache...can anyone help?

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Kat6969

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Hi folks I'm at my witts end with my boy and his weird behaviour.
Every spring right through to summer is the same and I've tried and tried all sorts but still cannot get to the bottom of why he does it....heres the story.
Soon as better weather arrives like most Dee goes out to pasture 24/7 soon as he's out he changes into a scared,nervous terrified boy..litrally terrified of his own shadow...he was literally onto his belly yesterday,with fright over 1 of his neighbours,who he's been next to for months,Was near to the fence by him,he turned and took off over 1 of the yard dogs running by,who he's been around again for months....during winter we never ever have this problem and he's the perfect boy nothing fazes him at all,never jumps,spooks,or takes off he seems terrified of literally everything.....my first thought was sugar in the grass so put him on to Epson salts that seemed to help but not a long term fix as I was very worried,this was not good for his kidneys (any advice on that will be greatly recieved)....i now have him on placid calmer from Dodson and horrel....as last year I tried this and seemed to work to some extent...but....id rather get to the bottom of why he's like this and if there's anyway of dealing with it or maybe what on earth is wrong with my normally happy calm boy....its awful seeing him so scared all the time 😔 and really isn't like him at all.....sorry for the long post but needed to explain best I can....xthankyou for reading
 
Try mag ox, when the grass first comes through there often isn't enough in it, it's relatively cheap and you should see a change in a week or two, a couple of teaspoons in a low sugar feed/chaff.
 
This behaviour sounds extreme. What happens if you keep him in and don't let him have any grass? I think I would be looking at potential grass allergies if he was mine. Or the possibility that he gets no sleep if he's out 24/7 - what's he like if you keep him in for the night, or the day?
 
ycbm said:
This behaviour sounds extreme. What happens if you keep him in and don't let him have any grass? I think I would be looking at potential grass allergies if he was mine. Or the possibility that he gets no sleep if he's out 24/7 - what's he like if you keep him in for the night, or the day?
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My first though was lack of proper sleep, is he alone in the field, having a neighbour is not having company to look over you while you rest, one of mine became stressed when he shared with a wimp who never allowed him to rest, moving him to be with a more equal horse made a real difference, if you cannot let him have company try bringing him in every day so he can lie down and rest or keep him in over night and see if he relaxes.
 
Your both right on the lack of sleep idea you know...hes ok when he's on through the winter and also last year he showed this behaviour and was also on his own in his paddock....during winter he goes back to his calm loving self...maybe because he's in every night....im going to test this theory tomorrow...and see how he gets on...he has a field mate a mare,but maybe this isn't enough for him...thankyou so much I'm going to try it out over the next couple of days.
 
Kat6969 said:
Your both right on the lack of sleep idea you know...hes ok when he's on through the winter and also last year he showed this behaviour and was also on his own in his paddock....during winter he goes back to his calm loving self...maybe because he's in every night....im going to test this theory tomorrow...and see how he gets on...he has a field mate a mare,but maybe this isn't enough for him...thankyou so much I'm going to try it out over the next couple of days.
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Please come back and tell us? I know what lack of sleep does to me!!
 
Kat6969 said:
Where can I get mag ox? And what is this and it's purpose please x
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Fast growing grass is low in magnesium. Lack of magnesium jangles the nerves.

You can by it on eBay as Magnesium oxide powder, or from Forageplus.co.UK. If you decide to keep using it, the cheapest form is calcined magnesite from agricultural merchants.
 
I will keep you all posted I feel for him as he seems so terrified all the time...thankyou so much for your help xx
 
Put him out with another horse definitely, I was just having this conversation the other day. When my big chap was on his own for a few weeks, despite being surrounded by other horses, he was more spooky, as soon as he went back in with another horse he calmed down again.
 
Kat6969 said:
Where can I get mag ox? And what is this and it's purpose please x
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As above you can get it off ebay or Forageplus - get good quality with a high concentration of magnesium for diagnostic purposes, (calmag isn't the best form) a couple of weeks should make a significant difference if magnesium deficiency is the problem and will only cost a few £££s - well worth trying for elimination if nothing else.
Magnesium suppresses the action of adrenaline in the system so the presenting symptoms of a deficiency are permanently running on adrenaline, which sounds like yours. Mine was - he couldn't cope with any of the sort of things he should have been well used to because he was permanently on high alert. If anything a little too late back on magox :)
As a matter of interest is your hay bought it as opposed to harvested off the same land as he grazes? If so it could be okay for mg so account for the difference
 
get good quality with a high concentration of magnesium for diagnostic purposes, (calmag isn't the best form)
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there is no problem with calmag, calcined magnesium. It delivers magnesium oxide just like any other form of the mineral, and the strong stomach acid in the horse releases the magnesium. In twenty five kilo sacks from an agricultural merchant it is far and away the cheapest way of feeding magnesium to a horse.

I sieve it to remove the coarser stuff as it can be a little gritty otherwise.
 
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Just some idea's I would try, find another horse who he gets on really well with so they can share and enjoy turnout together
Keep him in his winter routine until all is calm and he is enjoying himself with his companion or companions
Next routine visit by the vet for jabs or whatever just ask them to have a quick check on his eyes
 
Just following on from what others have said.

I didn't think magnesium was doing anything for my mare, so took her off it. A week later we went out on a ride and her behaviour was awful. Her head was in the air, eyes on stalks, running backwards at her own shadow. She's not the easiest hack, but this was something completely different - so she's back on it & will stay on it. I also add a tablespoon of salt so they get their sodium intake.
 
SEL said:
Just following on from what others have said.

I didn't think magnesium was doing anything for my mare, so took her off it. A week later we went out on a ride and her behaviour was awful. Her head was in the air, eyes on stalks, running backwards at her own shadow. She's not the easiest hack, but this was something completely different - so she's back on it & will stay on it. I also add a tablespoon of salt so they get their sodium intake.
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My boy was unridable by his previous confident experienced rider in the spring, we didn't find this out for a long time. If I miss the odd day there doesn't seem to be a problem but if I leave it out for longer than a couple of days the mad behaviour returns.
I also add salt, their feet are better too.
 
Update......i brought equine America magnesium..brought him in with the normal terrified approach to walking through the yard....gave him the recommended dosage for his weight in just a handful of happy hoof by this afternoon he was sleeping soundly not bombing around his stable like he normally does...now wether this was due to being in or the magnesium,it's to early to tell,but I like to think which ever one it was he's now resting and not terrified of his own shadow anymore,we will see what tommorow brings as I'm turning him back out to normal winter routine in the morning,I agree the problem defiantly seems to be down to hypermagnesmia I'm convinced this is what's wrong.....so my next question is...do I give him a tablespoon of the Epsom salts as Well or is the magnesium enough?or will he be lacking in sodium as well as magnesium?
Thankyou to everyone for your comments so far you've been a great great help and Dee Dee thanks you all to as he's now settled in his stable,taking a very well earned sleep ����
 
He could well be having a severe reaction to the grass. I imagine it is in full flush over there at the moment.

Check out this site, it is NZ based but has some good information on it, including checklists etc.

www.calmhealthyhorses.com

Good luck and post an update.
 
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