Super super spooky horse!!

indie1282

indie1282

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I have a Tb x WB who I have had since a foal. He is a lovely chap but VERY babyish! Always been the type to spook a bit and generally trip over his own feet or walk in to a ditch as he's staring off in to the distance at some flowers or a bird... But has recently become so spooky its starting to be slightly worrying/annoying.

He has gone from being spooky and a bit of a fairy to jumping out of his skin at any little thing. If I go to put his headcollar on, sometimes good as good or sometimes throws head and legs it like he's never had one near him. Also leading he can barely take a step without snorting, flinging his head and creeping along. Inthe scool he is on edge and spooks at everything and anything. He is no different if he's on his own or with my other horse. He is fine left on his own both in the field or stable so not a company thing.

He's not in much work at the moment but he's never really been in regular work and was fine before, he has started to have "teenage"moments when he's had a strop hut I always get him through it and theres not really any malice behind them, more like " nah I dont want to do that thank you" to which I say " yes you are" and he says " ok mum, sorry!"

Generally he is a sweetie but its almost like life and everything in it is terrifying - he is even like it at liberty in the field, spooking at hedges and what might be behind them, spooking at my other horse and flinging and tossing his head.

He's had all checks, teeth, eyesight ect.... and all fine. He is out 24/7 with no hard feed.

Any ideas on something to chill him out? Just want him to relax and enjoy life rather than always being worried poor chap.
 
Hi - how old is he now? Mine got super spooky when he started with Cushings, but unlikely in a youngster (although mine was only 14)
 
My lads 7 and very slow to mature, since moving yards a few months ago he went from being able to drop a bomb next to him to spooking at everything, leaves blowing in the trees, his shadow walking next to him, wouldn't go in the school. You tell him to get on with it and I get the look of sorry mum and then spooks at something else. I've had him on naf magic and it's really helping he's still got his sparkle when working and it hasn't made him like a zombie but it's just helped him settle back down and deal with things more level headed at the min
 
Does he head shake at all? Mine is similar but his change in behaviour has coincided with a small amount of head shaking, head flicks when ridden, sometimes to the point where both forelegs come up off the ground to his nose, tense facial muscles and eyes that seemed dull and less open than usual (despite being on high alert all the time). I am convinced with mine it is severe pain in his head making him hyper sensitive to sound and sight, more so than his usual levels. He is currently on a bute trial (well, danilon, 2x a day for 2 weeks) and has had 2 cranio sacral therapy sessions. His eyes are brighter and more open, the muscles in his forehead are starting to soften, he didn't headshake at all yesterday (they say pollen levels have dropped but I am still sniffing away!) and he seems generally more relaxed. I am waiting for the vet to call today so we can discuss how to proceed, perhaps with stopping the danilon and seeing if he reverts back, in which case we need to do more diagnostic stuff. Possibly a totally unhelpful reply but thought I would share.
 
I have been in an identical situation with a horse I had since a yearling and by his breeding and management he shouldn't have done this but he did and it got worse as he got older. He had always been kept in the same way, similar hay, same fields, similar feed however he was deficient in something and when I corrected that he became a normal dream horse. For mine it was vit E. The knock on effect of deficiency was I believe muscle damage (vit E deficiency myopathy) The knock on effect from that was then pain and due to the he was constantly spooky as he was constantly in a state of "high".

No amount of training made any difference. He couldn't absorb it due to the pain.

For yours if he has no hard feed I would look at what he has eaten over the years. Whilst there should be sufficient vit E in grass all day there is little in grass in winter nor in hay. If most of his diet is grass then whatever the grass is deficient in he may be especially if you has lived for 6 years on the same regime ie the deficiency would be building up and be ongoing.

I think that some horses, especially unridden pasture pets, can cope with low levels of whatever is missing but some cannot.

I would try and recall his feeding over the years, has he ever had supplements, supplementary feeding etc. What has been in them? You may see a pattern or you could consider a decent supplement, salt, perhaps micronised linseed and some vit E (OIL)

One sign with mine was that he would never look at me if I was holding him. He looked into the distance and looked at anything but me. This was a very noticable sign. He should have been perfect based on his breeding and training but he was on another planet. For him just a few days of a high dose of vit E oil and he was a changed horse.

I see this is very similar to what horsemad has suggested. If it is a deficiency it doesn't get any better, just worse and cannot be resolved with training.
 
Barnacle said:
Work in-hand (even take him for a walk) and groundwork. He needs to trust you more. But it'll pass with time anyway.
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I do alot of groundwork with him and ive stopped riding him for now to re establish some basics. He trusts me and we do have a good relationship, if hes scared he always looks to me and he is a horse that get confidence from the rider/handler.

Hes like it aswell in the field when nobodys there which is why I was wondering if anyone had a horse whos personality had changed quite dramatically for no apparent reason.
 
paddy555 said:
I have been in an identical situation with a horse I had since a yearling and by his breeding and management he shouldn't have done this but he did and it got worse as he gdeficiency Arlinghamd always been kept in the same way, similar hay, same fields, similar feed however he was
deficient in something and when I corrected that he became a normal dream horse. For mine it was vit E. The knock on effect of deficiency was I believe muscle damage (vit E deficiency myopathy) The knock on effect from that was then pain and due to the he was constantly spooky as he was constantly in a state of "high".

No amount of training made any difference. He couldn't absorb it due to the pain.

For yours if he has no hard feed I would look at what he has eaten over the years. Whilst there should be sufficient vit E in grass all day there is little in grass in winter nor in hay. If most of his diet is grass then whatever the grass is deficient in he may be especially if you has lived for 6 years on the same regime ie the deficiency would be building up and be ongoing.

I think that some horses, especially unridden pasture pets, can cope with low levels of whatever is missing but some cannot.

I would try and recall his feeding over the years, has he ever had supplements, supplementary feeding etc. What has been in them? You may see a pattern or you could consider a decent supplement, salt, perhaps micronised linseed and some vit E (OIL)

One sign with mine was that he would never look at me if I was holding him. He looked into the distance and looked at anything but me. This was a very noticable sign. He should have been perfect based on his breeding and training but he was on another planet. For him just a few days of a high dose of vit E oil and he was a changed horse.

I see this is very similar to what horsemad has suggested. If it is a deficiency it doesn't get any better, just worse and cannot be resolved with training.
Click to expand...

Thats really interesting paddy555, he sometimes wont/doesnt look at me and always seems preoccupied. I had him tied up in the yard today and he saw a horse coming up the drive and he did a massive spook and scared himself so bad his heart was racing so hard I could hear it beating like a drum!

I feel bad for him that hes so wound up all the time :-( I think i will give the vit E a try. He is on a different pasture and come to think of it, it may have started when he moved so he could be a deficincy.
 
I blood tested mine for vit e and he was deficient (typical for a horse with polysaccharide storage myopathy), so perhaps blood test before buying lots of supplements? Mine was fine for selenium so I didn't supplement with that. Sadly he hasn't improved with supplementation. Mine sounds almost exactly like yours, I'm coming to the end of my tether knowing what to do, he is so unhappy. I so much as sniff and he hits the deck.
 
KatPT said:
I blood tested mine for vit e and he was deficient (typical for a horse with polysaccharide storage myopathy), so perhaps blood test before buying lots of supplements? Mine was fine for selenium so I didn't supplement with that. Sadly he hasn't improved with supplementation. Mine sounds almost exactly like yours, I'm coming to the end of my tether knowing what to do, he is so unhappy. I so much as sniff and he hits the deck.
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Kat, You might remember I mentioned my Clydesdale mare who had to be pts because of a ruptured tumour - I remember her jumping once because while riding I adjusted the Velcro fastening on my glove! At the time it made me laugh but with hindsight.......
It sounds as if your horse is responding to either the danilon or the s-c therapy, thank goodness!
 
I have a similar problem but the horse I'm riding at the min but he had an accident as a youngster. He got his leg through a 5 bar gate and ripped it straight of the hinges and then went galloping down the field with the gate still attached. He was cut to bits but made a full recovery physically but mentally he is crushed. He is petrified of everything and constantly snorting and jumping out of his skin. The accident was nearly ten years ago but much hasn't been done with him since. He is a very loving horse and loves company. Any suggestions? I have done a lot of desensitizing with him but it only works for one day and then he's straight back to where he was the next day.
 
Get equi mins natural vit e oil - you need to phone up it's not on their site. It's the cheapest natural (very important) oil we've found in the uk.

Also a magnesium deficiency could cause this behaviour.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
Kat, You might remember I mentioned my Clydesdale mare who had to be pts because of a ruptured tumour - I remember her jumping once because while riding I adjusted the Velcro fastening on my glove! At the time it made me laugh but with hindsight.......
It sounds as if your horse is responding to either the danilon or the s-c therapy, thank goodness!
Click to expand...

There has definitely been some improvement but I may have spoken a little prematurely. Yesterday I brought him in just for a feed and a groom and everything made him jump. Usually in summer he is at his most laid back and then in winter gets a bit hyper but this is definitely a change in behaviour for him. I was so hopeful after I had his sacroiliac medicated and his pssm diagnosed that he would be a whole new horse. For 10 weeks he was the best ever. It makes me wonder if the steroid in those sacroiliac injections had a short term positive effect on something else. Good luck to everyone dealing with this. I'm sure all of our horses have a different cause, hopefully most will be more simple than mine! but we will get to the bottom of it!
 
Been following this with interest. If you start the vit E will you post back to tell us whether it worked or not? I have no advice I'm afraid other than I second what a previous poster said about trying a Mg calmer. Good luck with Mr Spookipants!
 
FfionWinnie said:
Get equi mins natural vit e oil - you need to phone up it's not on their site. It's the cheapest natural (very important) oil we've found in the uk.

Also a magnesium deficiency could cause this behaviour.
Click to expand...

for around 500kg you are looking at giving around 8000iu a day. I put it on bread in a sandwich to make sure it goes down (too expensive for them to waste in feed) I clearly have a deficiency due to my horsekeeping and had very obvious results with 2 problem horses. The results came quickly but to get that you have to give the high dose. If you give a lower dose it takes a lot longer and the results are not as quickly conclusive.

OP.
I think that for my 2 the lack of vit e caused muscle problems, (one tied up and we were thinking along the lines of PSSM but thankfully I think it may have not been but it was where I discovered vit E) I think the muscle problems caused pain so the horse was very spooky, very reactive to sound and also neither liked being touched as in hand massage and especially around the back end. Both were irrationally spooky. One ridden would plod along one day but on the same ride the next day would be sky high for no reason. Even getting off, leading, doing ground work at that point and he was still sky high.

Try massaging your horse from front to back. Does he stand and purr and enjoy it or would be really rather you were not there? It may give some indication if he is pain and spooking because of this.
 
paddy555 said:
for around 500kg you are looking at giving around 8000iu a day. I put it on bread in a sandwich to make sure it goes down (too e
xpensive for them to waste in feed) I clearly have a deficiency due to my horsekeeping and had very obvious results with 2 problem horses. The results came quickly but to get that you have to give the high dose. If you give a lower dose it takes a lot longer and the results are not as quickly conclusive.

OP.
I think that for my 2 the lack of vit e caused muscle problems, (one tied up and we were thinking along the lines of PSSM but thankfully I think it may have not been but it was where I discovered vit E) I think the muscle problems caused pain so the horse was very spooky, very reactive to sound and also neither liked being touched as in hand massage and especially around the back end. Both were irrationally spooky. One ridden would plod along one day but on the same ride the next day would be sky high for no reason. Even getting off, leading, doing ground work at that point and he was still sky high.

Try massaging your horse from front to back. Does he stand and purr and enjoy it or would be really rather you were not there? It may give some indication if he is pain and spooking because of this.
Click to expand...

He is quite fussy when I touch him which is different to how he usually is - he is usually very cuddly and soppy. He also can lack energy and tire quickly when ridden and can be uncoordinated then next time
be pinging round the school wound right up.

I will definitely try the vit E and keep everyone updated!
 
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