Stress

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Thunderbirds R Gone

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This may seem like a stupid question ...

My 5 year old warmblood is a real stress head. When I take him out he is just beside himself with worry and every little thing makes him jump out of his skin. He is on Nupafeed which seems to have settled the travelling side of it and stopped him breaking out in sweat over everything.

So, my question is - is it worth getting him blood tested? I just can't get my head round why he is so wound up all the time so I'm wondering if there could be a medical reason?
 
Yes possibly, or you could have him on a feed that translates into more energy than he needs (think child on a sugar high!) try cutting out anything high in oil, molasses, oats etc and perhaps try adding a magnesium supplement?
 
He is turned out through the day and in at night with ad lib hay. He is given a handful of HiFi light in a morning as he is on Nupafeed so needs something to put it on, and he gets no other hard feed.
 
There was a thread on one of the forums here a week or so ago about spring grass making horses insane because it has a magnesium deficiency (something to do with growing so fast). Not sure from your post if the problem is long term or recent. However I know from my vet you can't test for magnesium deficiency, you just supplement for 2 weeks and if there's no difference that is not the problem.

You don't give a lot of background but if the horse is only stressed on outings this may be behavioural not physical. Also you don't say if this is your first WB and if he is imported. If so, the continental management is so different, in that horses always seem to be in a herd, ie a lorry load going to a show, not just one alone; living in huge yards; working in schools surrounded by others, etc. Our English ways can be very stressful for them. I have had 3 now and mine (2 with Voltaire in the bloodlines and one German import) definitely have much stronger herd instinct than my UK / Irish bred horses.

Sorry if I'm completely off the page here, but no doubt you will have stopped reading by now if I am!
 
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Sorry if I'm completely off the page here, but no doubt you will have stopped reading by now if I am!

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Not at all!! All input welcome
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I bought him in November last year and he had been imported in the May. I have owned a warmblood before and have friends who own warmbloods.

He has been on Nupafeed which is a Magnesium replacement for about 4 months now and he has much improved in that he used to be dripping wet when I dropped the ramp when he travelled and that stopped with a week of putting him on the Nupafeed. I have a camera in the lorry and he travels absolutely fine, just gets stressed about it.

It doesn't seem to make any difference if he goes out with another horse or by himself either.

He's settled well in the yard and hacks out fine and schools fine, although I did have to put a stable mirror (he also has one in the lorry) so that he didn't stress when he had to come in from the field by himself.

He just doesn't seem to cope very well with arriving somewhere new and it upsets me to see him like that, it can't be nice for him, and it doesn't make dealing with him very easy! It may just be a case of just persevering and hoping that he learns to cope with it.
 
It looks like perseverence is the key. Try posting the problem in competition riders, more people look at those posts, and it does sound behavioural not physical.
 
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