unexplained strange behaviour ideas plz

K

kylee86

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 January 2012
Messages
262
Visit site
HISTORY: 10 month cob colt bought 10 weeks ago. riddled in lice infested in pin worms. both been treated still treating lice waiting for eggs to hatch.
the last week his behaviour has changed when he is eating his bucket feed he seems relaxed then all of a sudden he clenths his bum pulls it under and runs backwards with ears back. then he will return to his feed. i have seen him a few times tence up in his back end and pull his bum under him. he seems to switch legs alot. he tends to stand square with his back legs back and leaning into feed bucket. he isnt lame runs round his field reaaring bucking and playing. any ideas. i havetold vet and she just said keep eye on him
 
Hmmm that's strange

Do you know his history before you? Maybe something before has chased him away from his food. Where is he fed - field or stable?
 
Is this in field or stable? In the stable my gelding swings his bum or walks backward with ears flat bk and kicks the wall when he's food is coming.. Is it like this? Then if u go near him he warns you off his feed, ears flat back & shakes his head at u..
 
in the mornings he is fed in his field in a seperate paddock to his field companion so noone gets chased away from feed at night he is fed in his stable. he trusts me 100% i can do anything with him and he will still do it. even when eating his hay i sometimes see his bum tence up and pull under. he was taken from his mum the day he arrived and hadnt eaten hard feed till i had him. i did wounder if maybe the pin worm treatment hadnt been successful and he still has them weather there wriggling round in his bum irritating him i have cleaned his bum today so going to leave him 2 days and do a tape test to see if there are any new eggs. regarding his breeders home they did have springers running looses in his field but he didnt seem bothered by them
 
Ginger Bear said:
Is this in field or stable? In the stable my gelding swings his bum or walks backward with ears flat bk and kicks the wall when he's food is coming.. Is it like this? Then if u go near him he warns you off his feed, ears flat back & shakes his head at u..
Click to expand...

he does it in field stable out stable where he is tied up. he isnt being nasty its more something is bugging him he isnt backing up to me he is literaly running backwards doesnt matter wear im standing he doest run at me. he does stick ears back when i plonk his food down but thats all he does thats directed at me. i make him move out myspace b4 i put bucket down
 
Puzzles said:
Does he do it when alone and is he any different when you/people/other horses are nearby? Maybe it's a protective behaviour over his food? It sounds really bizarre!
Click to expand...

it is very bizarre lol. he still does it round me and he trusts me 100% he is very nervous round other people and jumpy vet tried checking to see if he had dropped to be gelded and she could get near him. think i will have problems with farrier when he comes as hes fine for me to pick feet up pick them out bang them ect but any1 else that goes near his legs he tries to kick
 
dare.to.go.bare said:
Horses who have had limited resources have real problems with food as it is one the most important things to them, u need to try and break the learnt behaviour if the food is scattered around the stable or in the field it gives the horses a natural grazing environment without having to protect a bucket
Click to expand...

i dont think hes being protective with his feed as hes running away from it i can sit nxt to the bucket and he doesnt try to move me away. his bum goes under even when tied up with no food. hes not being nasty in any way. just seems like something is annoying him and hes running from it. if that was the case i cant understand that if somethings annoying him in his backend he would run forward not backwards. and if it was something annoying him front end that surly wouldnt cause him to tence his bum and pull it under him.
 
Did his Dam not get any feed? Most foals nibble out of the mares feeds. He could have got his bottom bitten previously. Could just relate the two.

I would not have thought that the lice would only bite him when he is eating! I assume he eats through out the day and night.
 
DosyMare said:
Did his Dam not get any feed? Most foals nibble out of the mares feeds. He could have got his bottom bitten previously. Could just relate the two.

I would not have thought that the lice would only bite him when he is eating! I assume he eats through out the day and night.
Click to expand...

lol sorry not explained this properly whe he is eating bucket feed he will pull bum under then run backwards away from feed. when grazing or tied up he will just pull bum under and not run backwards. regarding his feed i donth think his dam got much as the breeder was feeding them buckets of bread so im guessing that was all he got. as said he wasnt in the best of health when he arrived. he is full of life now and loves to play in the field always on the go. just this behavior that has me confused. i think im going to video it 2moz then i can post it for you all to see maybe easier for you to see what hes doing
 
I don't know why others seem to think he's being protective over his feed, I didn't get that impression. It does sound like something is irritating his back end. You say he is lively in the field and always on the go, have you seen him grazing in a relaxed way? I'm just wondering if it's something that happens when he has his head down?
 
yes i have seen him grazing relaxed. today i stood and watched him for 30mins or more at a distance and seemed fine i have a niggling idea its something to do with stifle. as i have seen it seem to lock when hes been stood for a while but doesnt do it when hes been walking around the muscle over the stifle seems to twitch then he pulls bum under
 
kylee86 said:
yes i have seen him grazing relaxed. today i stood and watched him for 30mins or more at a distance and seemed fine i have a niggling idea its something to do with stifle. as i have seen it seem to lock when hes been stood for a while but doesnt do it when hes been walking around the muscle over the stifle seems to twitch then he pulls bum under
Click to expand...

seems worse when coming out stable in the morning. its not a constant thing somedays i dont see him do it at all other days i see him do it frequently
 
When they have a locking stifle they can be backed up to unlock it. perhaps thats what hes doing and it would be worse when he has been stabled all night
 
KrujaaLass said:
When they have a locking stifle they can be backed up to unlock it. perhaps thats what hes doing and it would be worse when he has been stabled all night
Click to expand...
would a locking stifle or stifle problem cause him to pull his butt under. i have read that a lot of young colts suffer with stifle problems and grow out of it when older
 
When I first got my horse he had what the vet call upward fixation of the platella. Never noticed him clenching his bum though, but did make a terrible click when he first did it when it went back into place. Could have returned him but kept him and he just grew out of it.
 
KrujaaLass said:
When I first got my horse he had what the vet call upward fixation of the platella. Never noticed him clenching his bum though, but did make a terrible click when he first did it when it went back into place. Could have returned him but kept him and he just grew out of it.
Click to expand...

did yours tend to shift weight alot from 1 back leg to the other. when i told vet when she came to vaccination she didnt seem alarmed and he was doing it when he was tied up while she waas vaccinated the other horse she said could be the cold but that didnt seem right with what he was doing
 
No he didnt change legs.When he did it it was very noticeable. Perhaps there are varying degrees of it. As for vet saying maybe the cold when we used to start to hose my old pony she really clenched her bum
 
KrujaaLass said:
No he didnt change legs.When he did it it was very noticeable. Perhaps there are varying degrees of it. As for vet saying maybe the cold when we used to start to hose my old pony she really clenched her bum
Click to expand...

thankyou for your replies think im just going to have to observe him for few weeks think i need to stop looking at things on net as i have just read up on shivers.
 
The mildest form of locking stifle is a subtle, delayed release of the patella, where there may be just a hesitancy or vibration as the leg is brought forward, and the medial patellar ligament is ‘strummed’ as it slides.

I wonder if as he moves forward and puts his head down to eat his stifle is locking slightly? Backing can release it so he may be doing that naturally as a learnt response. Have a look here maybe...


http://www.hoofbeats.com.au/articles/jj08_stiflelock.html
 
What are you feeding him? How much does he get? I too would agree ulcers are a likely cause of this pain. My plan would be cut out all hard feed for few weeks just hay and if he needs feed find a non molassed one then stick with that and slowly introduce and watch for any changes.
 
Sorry I haven't read all the replies but I think you may still have a pinworn problem. It can be notoriously difficult to treat. Usually they just rub their rear end a lot but if you only have elec fencing he may not be able to do that.
 
Can't comment on pinworms because I know nothing about them but I'd have his teeth checked and a physio visit. A trapped nerve can give a jolt like an electric shock as can a sensitive tooth. I have a slight overbite and off-centre jaw and the number of times I've chomped hard on the inside of my cheek or the side of the rear of my tongue is just not true. Blinking painful.

Poor little chap, bet he is glad he has met you!
 
dizzydancer said:
What are you feeding him? How much does he get? I too would agree ulcers are a likely cause of this pain. My plan would be cut out all hard feed for few weeks just hay and if he needs feed find a non molassed one then stick with that and slowly introduce and watch for any changes.
Click to expand...

he is being fed twice aday he has spillers stud and youngstock feed 2 big hand fulls and 2 hand bulls of molychop. he has hay in his field and in his stable.

he has been massivly over wormed with vet supervision in the last 10 weeks hes had equest pramox equst, a wormer up the butt and panacure 5day
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top