The towel is poised for launch :-(

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smanf

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Just a bit depressed really. I have turned my world upside down for my beautiful 6yo Anglo Arab (who turned out to be a helluva lot greener than I ever imagined,) including moving him to a new yard 30 miles away which has meant moving back in with Mum :eek: but nothing is working, the end is nigh where I think he will have to go to someone that can sort him out, and it breaks my heart cos I love him so much :(

I have had his wolf teeth out, his teeth checked, spent a fortune on a saddle fitter, chiro practor and vet because he was showing signs of back pain (none of whom I think knew what they were doing). I have spent money hand over fist on lessons, and he is just getting worse, he is getting nappier and nappier in the school, and more and more nervy out on hacks, and having managed to build some confidence up with him, it is practically non-existant again.

I am going to have one final stab at trying to work out what is wrong with his back, hopefully with someone that knows what they are doing, and then once he is sorted, will probably have to find him a new home. I could cry, it wasn't meant to be like this! I feel like such a failure, I thought he would be mine forever.
 
I was reaching a similar point with my mare - she was so spooky and inattentive riding was becoming a real chore. As a last resort I tried her on Equifeast and its really helped. Might be worth a go just in case its a nervous thing?
 
Thanks for your replies, he now lives in Thursley in Surrey, I have had him on the Equine America Magnesium / Calcium clamer for about a month, he is on next to no feed (literally a handful of Hifi original and Spillers horse and pony nuts) I'll look up Equifeast...
 
I'm in the same boat dont worry, mine was bought as slightly spooky when I tried him but he is getting worse and worse, he's getting sent away in a week for some professional help.
 
Just read some of PaddyMonty's threads, are there really people out there that just want to ride? Especially green horses that can barely put one foot in front of the other in a straight line?? Doesn't seem fair?..
 
Have you had the vet out to assess him?

The only other thing I might possibly do at this stage is to perhaps start him on a feed balancer/general vit and min supplement to make sure hes getting his daily requirements.
 
wench said:
Have you had the vet out to assess him?

The only other thing I might possibly do at this stage is to perhaps start him on a feed balancer/general vit and min supplement to make sure hes getting his daily requirements.
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Hi there, tbh, I have lost all faith in the vet, I called them to look at his back, and they did three lots of acupuncture (with sedation) for the tidy sum of £240 and it hasn't made the blindest bit of difference. I now have an appointment booked for Wednesday with the physio and will see what they say I guess. How would I know which balancer to give him?
 
weebarney said:
I'm in the same boat dont worry, mine was bought as slightly spooky when I tried him but he is getting worse and worse, he's getting sent away in a week for some professional help.
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Sorry to hear of your troubles. I have considered this, but again, it is yet more money, and he takes ages to settle in new places with new people, having only just moved him to a new yard, I don't want to upset him all over again, also I feel like even if a schooling place were to make some headway with him, I'm certain he would revert back to his old self the minute he came back.
 
Ok if you have lost faith in the vet have you considered getting a thermal imaging scan done? This should highlight any hotspots/problem areas that your horse has.

I have often found with vets that if you dont tell them excatly what you want doing, they wont do it. It could well be worth getting the horse into a good equine vets for a full work up. It sounds to me like there is possibly some pain related issues going on somewhere. Theres also a possibility it could be ulcers.
 
We had a TbxWelsh who could not tolerate grain and sugars, became what appeared to be psychotic. The current Appy (with a lot of arab blood) cannot tolerate alfalfa, at all! I would recomend that you stop all feed, (other than perhaps grass nuts if he is a poor doer) for at least three weeks, do nothing demanding of him in that time (do not try and ride), spend time with him loose in the field if he copes well with that. We found such an amazing difference in both of ours with intolerances, once the feed was removed. (as a total aside, I have a friend with food intolerances, who was suicidal and self harming until she discovered what the problem was!)
 
What about getting Richard maxwell or Michael peace out to take a look? They both take a very holistic approach to problems and often it is something so simple that can be easily addressed :) Good luck, it's very hard when things go wrong x
 
I'm not sure what sort of time frame you're talking about here but this might give you heart...
My story is that I moved my 13 year old ISH, who I've owned his entire life, from Ireland to the south of France and he became a nervous wreck, having been 100% safe & sensible all his life. If I had been a new owner, I would have been convinced he was drugged before he made the move, such was the difference in his personality. It took more than three months and there are still some things that freak him out (donkeys in particular) but he's now back to being the horse I knew for 13 years.
It was entirely caused by the stress of being moved to a new place. Only the fact that I knew him so well made me confident that he would return to normal.
You mentioned that your horse is upset by being moved... could it be as simple as that? He just needs more time? In which case, the advice given by YorksG is very apt (he could have ulcers caused by stress too). Cut out all feed but forage (no alfalfa, no beet pulp) and spend time handling him & working him on the ground. See if there's a change in his demeanour and then think about riding him again.
Good luck.
 
Have you had his eyes checked? Might be worth a try. Its a fairly cheap thing to rule out that as a problem.
We had similar problems with our beautiful Connemara and I tried so hard to persevere but in the end he became dangerous. We knew he had an eye problem but the vets assured me it was absolutely not the cause of his behaviour.
Eventually It was removed and its still a very on going project but he's so much better so far without it.

I hope you get to the bottom of your issues, Its really heartbreaking when things go wrong with a loved horse.
What about getting someone to help you from home- someone previously has suggested Richard Maxwell who would be amazing but also very expensive and id maybe look more along the lines of a professional who could ride, advise and school for you.
 
Have they Xrayed or MRI'd his back? KIssing spines? Have you tried a soft treed saddle such as heather moffetts?

Id also be checking your forage analysis to see if you have any big deficiencies - pointless using a balancer unless you know what its balanced too!
 
smanf said:
Thanks for your replies, he now lives in Thursley in Surrey, I have had him on the Equine America Magnesium / Calcium clamer for about a month, he is on next to no feed (literally a handful of Hifi original and Spillers horse and pony nuts) I'll look up Equifeast...
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Please take him off all this feed. I know that the amount isn't that much but the ingredients can be horrendous. Many horses can't tolerate alfalfa and H&P nuts contain sugar and cereals, which some horses simply can't tolerate. Give him 3 weeks on just grass and hay and if there is no difference, then consider giving up on him but please, not until the end of the 3 weeks.
I had a mare whose behaviour was horrendous, we found out that she was intolerant of sugar and cereals and her behaviour and physical symptoms started to change within 3 days. If you would like to know more feel free to PM me.
 
Thank u all so much for your replies, I am taking it all in and will keep referring back to the thread. To apache warlord, he is out for about 7 hours a day and yes seems happy in his stable, I get to the yard quite late from work so he still has interest after bringing in time I.e. isn't stood in for hours. To the people that have suggested ulcers, I have had a conversation with the vet and he has said we can investigate this. I went there this evening and he just seemed strange, he was really nervy (possibly because of the oppressive weather), I have noticed him rubbing his gums on things on a couple of occasions (maybe he had an itch), he doesn't like me touching the sensitive part of his belly (always been the case), his belly was rumbling loudly (but he'd pooed), maybe I am just reading too much into stuff and he is just a git, or maybe there is something up. Thanks again for all the interest x
 
i think there are many factors that could be affecting your horse. you both sound in an awful state and neighter is helping the other! a horse always has a reason for doing something and quite often its due to source of pain, however small or low grade it can build up.

1. (please dont take this the wrong way) but you are part of his problem... you sound very worried and restless, which is totally normal in your sitiuation, but will not be helping your horse. you're almost putting in to much effort to get him right and this will be stressing him out, losing his confidence and generally making him nervy. you're looking for things that arent there (i do this too! after a few serious problems i panic about silly things) but you need to make a conscious effort to step back, take deep breaths and relax around him - its easy to say behind a screen, but ive bee there/done that! just take time to give him nice itches, grooming etc - no pressure just a relaxed time

2. use the regional boards to find a vet that is trust worthy!!! make clear what YOU have seen/felt of your horse. i wouldnt bother with physios etc right now - you need a diagnosis not treatment.... a good/great vet will then suggest what treatment will be best and stay involved

3. let your horse relax - stop work, simple feed, as much turnout as possible... let him do horsey things.

4. if you get the all clear from the vet/ or you get treated, instead of lessons together, or lessons for your self... get lessons for your horse! boost his confidence with a calm and confident person with no emotional attachment to him. emotions are the bane of all horse owners

finally - we wish that nothing would ever go bad with them - but it does - and you havnt failed him in any way, you have tried your very best but people you have put your trust in have let YOU down!
 
smanf said:
I went there this evening and he just seemed strange, he was really nervy (possibly because of the oppressive weather), I have noticed him rubbing his gums on things on a couple of occasions (maybe he had an itch), he doesn't like me touching the sensitive part of his belly (always been the case), his belly was rumbling loudly (but he'd pooed), maybe I am just reading too much into stuff and he is just a git, or maybe there is something up. Thanks again for all the interest x
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I don't think that you are reading too much into stuff. I've found over the years that with children and animals, if those close to them start to comment on small changes, there is usually something going on. It sounds to me as if his gums are itchy and that again points, ime, to problems with feed. have you tried making a note of everything that worries you and trying to link it to your routine/changes you have made.
I hope you manage to get to the bottom of it. It is horrible when you know that there is something wrong and can't work out what.
 
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