Strange behaviour what could it be?

[Poppys_mum]

In need of help! I have a TB and she is usually bombproof and isn't bothered about anything but recently she has had a change in her behaviour and she is jumping at most things for example the tractor moving about the yard, birds flying out of the bushes, loud noises and the sound of footsteps. when i ride her now I nearly come off as she cat leaps away from things.

what could it be? she has recently had a change in food and I now feed her linseed alpha A oil and speedy beet. I feed her this as she doesnt keep weight on very good so I am really stuck in a rut.

Helppppp!!!

Thank you

 

[rockysmum]

Have you tried a magnesium supplement. Magnesium deficiency causes these symptoms, its why magnesium calmers work, but only if the horse is deficient.

A change of diet could have affected the balance.

 

[Poppys_mum]

I havent tried it but I thought it would be the change in diet but we tried to keep the change very small and we moved from calm and condition to speedy beet and linseed!
thank you for the suggestion I will keep it in mind

 

[AmyMay]

I expect it's the fact that she's now getting more grub, and more suitable diet - so is feeling well.

I wouldn't be adding a calmer to her diet just yet, as she'll probably settle to the diet and loose the silliness. If she doesn't, you may have to re-think some of the ingredients.

 

[maggiesmum]

Some horses do react badly to alfalfa, maybe stop the alfa oil for a a week and see if you get a change in behaviour?

 

[Poppys_mum]

Some horses do react badly to alfalfa, maybe stop the alfa oil for a a week and see if you get a change in behaviour?

she has been on alpha a oil for about 2 months and didnt react badly we just recently changed from calm and condition to linseed and speedy beet.
feeding is really confusing and its about getting the right balance and thats the difficult part!
thank you i will keep that in mind too

 

[AmyMay]

How much linseed are you feeding and in what form?

 

[TigerTail]

I would think she's just full of the joys of frosty grass and a happy tum so being a bit silly.

Remember to phase the alpha oil out as you dont need the extra oil with the linseed thats oily enough

Mines a bit silly at the min, specially with a howling gale under her tail!

 

[catkin]

I wouldn't be adding a calmer to her diet

Magnesium is not just 'a calmer' - it is a rather important mineral in a balanced diet. I don't know the exact mechanism (sure someone on here will explain) but if a diet is high in calcium then it can block the uptake of the magnesium so it often has to be supplemented to get the ratios balanced again. One of the signs of possible lack of magnesium is nervy behaviour hence the 'calmer' tag.

 

[Poppys_mum]

I feed her about two handfulls and in the powder form could it be the linseed thats making her act strange?

 

[Poppys_mum]

I would think she's just full of the joys of frosty grass and a happy tum so being a bit silly.

Remember to phase the alpha oil out as you dont need the extra oil with the linseed thats oily enough

Mines a bit silly at the min, specially with a howling gale under her tail!

I was thinking about just going on to the regular chaf instead of alpha oil!
and thank god im not the only one!
Thank you x

 

[Miss L Toe]

Calm and Condition should have kept her weight on target imho, try weighing how much you were giving her, I think Speedy beet is a good feed but you must add mins and broad spectrum vitamins.
Feedmark Steady up is good, it takes ten days to kick in.
I would cut the alfa right back, it packs quite a punch.
Try micronised linseed [100gms]l to give her slow release energy
Equimins sell linseed , supplements, and minerals, advice is excellent, science based.
I feed Dengie non molassed chaff [lo alfa one], it is expensive but I find the porridge of linseed meal and Fast Fibre or C&C goes down better, I put a double handful in each feed.

 

[AmyMay]

Calm and Condition should have kept her weight on target imho, try weighing how much you were giving her, I think Speedy beet is a good feed but you must add mins and broad spectrum vitamins.
Feedmark Steady up is good, it takes ten days to kick in.
I would cut the alfa right back, it packs quite a punch.
Try micronised linseed [100gms]l to give her slow release energy
Equimins sell linsead and minerals, advice is excellent, science based.

C&C was not working in anyway for this mare.

Without an updated picture of the mare, I would not recommend cutting back right back on the Alpha. If she has plenty of turnout and exercise, then the Alpha should not be causing a problem.

Agree that a vit supplement may be needed..

 

[AmyMay]

I was thinking about just going on to the regular chaf instead of alpha oil!
and thank god im not the only one!
Thank you x

But what would you be feeding for condition then?

 

[Poppys_mum]

I do feed her micrognised linseed but not sure how much i actually give her, the calm and condition didnt seem to work you may have seen a thread by 'poppys nannan' on there it shows you a picture of my horse and her codition.
As i said we are stuck in a rut.
thank you

 

[Poppys Nannan]

Just transfering her diet to eventually be

Readigrass, micronised linseed and the sugarbeet and then perhaps the pro hoof supplement.

Anyone any preferences between graze on and readigrass x

many thanks

 

[PooJay]

Magnesium is not just 'a calmer' - it is a rather important mineral in a balanced diet. I don't know the exact mechanism (sure someone on here will explain) but if a diet is high in calcium then it can block the uptake of the magnesium so it often has to be supplemented to get the ratios balanced again. One of the signs of possible lack of magnesium is nervy behaviour hence the 'calmer' tag.

^^^^

This.

edited to add that Alfa has a high calcium content in it so if she was ever deficient in magnesium, alfa would compound that. Also, winter frosty grass is exactly the kind of grass that would exacerbate the issue.

Magnesium is not a calmer, very annoyingly it's called a calmer. Basically, if it works on your horse, your horse was deficient in magnesium. If it doesn't, then the balance for that particular mineral is fine

 

[giveitago]

Id change from alfa oil to dengie unmollassed hi fi, also supplement with soaked alfa nuts or grass nuts.

Readigrass, graze and all of those blew my TB completely so he now has simple systems lucie nuts soaked. I add oil to the diet when we need the extra calories, usually corn oil of veggie oil, whatever is cheap in tesco. He has thunderbrook feeds balancer for all the vits.

 

[Cuppatea]

the weather has caused all of ours to go really spooky this last week - even a few days before the storms, animals can sense the weather coming in....

 

[teddyt]

Apart from feeding (your diet is low starch, starch is usually the culprit for jumpiness- so its possible but unlikely) does your horse spend more time inside? Less exercise? Eyesight? Hearing?

 

[jhoward]

Just transfering her diet to eventually be

Readigrass, micronised linseed and the sugarbeet and then perhaps the pro hoof supplement.

Anyone any preferences between graze on and readigrass x

many thanks

I use just grass, if weight is an issue may be worth leaving horse with a bucket of it at night too,

re feed wise but not wanting to heat up, then some thing like equi jewel or blue chip can work wonders, fed along side the grass.

the alpha a oil contains a huge amout of sugar etc and could well be blowing neds mind.

change in weather too it is now much colder, and we are getting that chrisp feeling, exersise rug when riding and if needed a few mins on the lunge or even in hand to get body warming up.