Weired symptoms - vets scratching their heads

I take it he does it without a rug on too? He almost looks a bit shocked after he's kicked out, like he almost doesn't know he's doing it. Does he also do it in the stable or only when turned out? Hope you get to the bottom of it.
 
could it be discomfort from something internally still? Has the vet ran blood tests? I noticed you said treated for colic but painkillers didn't work.There are some causes of colic that won't respond to normal colic treatment although I'd have thought if he had something like a lipoma he would have gotten worse in the time he has shown signs.As you are in NZ is there maybe some sort of plant that could be causing the symptoms he has? Maybe have a look around in his field and see if you can identify all of them and especially note if there is anything new growing in there.
 
I would be asking for scans of his spine seeing if anything is un-toward there. Also look to poisons/neuro issues as well. It's almost stringhalt in a severe form. As mentioned, his face is as surprised by the movement as the OP!
 
At one of my old jobs a horse I looked after started doing something similar - not kicking out quite so violently, but with the same sort of frequency and with the circling/pacing too. He was eventually diagnosed with a Urinary Tract Infection. Apparently hind-end irritation like kicking and tail-swishing are common signs of UTIs and associated issues like bladder / kidney infections and kidney stones, so this could be an avenue worth exploring.
 
joosie said:
At one of my old jobs a horse I looked after started doing something similar - not kicking out quite so violently, but with the same sort of frequency and with the circling/pacing too. He was eventually diagnosed with a Urinary Tract Infection. Apparently hind-end irritation like kicking and tail-swishing are common signs of UTIs and associated issues like bladder / kidney infections and kidney stones, so this could be an avenue worth exploring.
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Hmm - good shout. I know how uncomfortable it feels for me when its happened and while I don't kick out I can pace but I can see why a horse would kick out instead. Would also explain the 'episodes' rather than a constant action.
 
joosie said:
At one of my old jobs a horse I looked after started doing something similar - not kicking out quite so violently, but with the same sort of frequency and with the circling/pacing too. He was eventually diagnosed with a Urinary Tract Infection. Apparently hind-end irritation like kicking and tail-swishing are common signs of UTIs and associated issues like bladder / kidney infections and kidney stones, so this could be an avenue worth exploring.
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Will pass on this to owner - thank you
 
joosie said:
At one of my old jobs a horse I looked after started doing something similar - not kicking out quite so violently, but with the same sort of frequency and with the circling/pacing too. He was eventually diagnosed with a Urinary Tract Infection. Apparently hind-end irritation like kicking and tail-swishing are common signs of UTIs and associated issues like bladder / kidney infections and kidney stones, so this could be an avenue worth exploring.
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^^^This. Also, have his sheath and penis been checked out?
 
I think it looks like discomfort too. As well as other suggestions there's hind gut irritation to consider.

ps. I remember reading of a horse with colic symptoms who was eventually treated successfully for migrating bloodworms.
 
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Nugget La Poneh said:
I would be asking for scans of his spine seeing if anything is un-toward there. Also look to poisons/neuro issues as well. It's almost stringhalt in a severe form. As mentioned, his face is as surprised by the movement as the OP!
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Not stringhalt as it lasts for a period of time then stops. Stringhalt tends to be relitively consistent and also without the kicking out
 
Toxins/poisonous plants have been know to cause very similar symptoms to stringhalt for as long as in blood stream - I did say it was like it, not definitively it.
 
The only time I have seen something similar is we had a TB given to us who started doing this a couple of weeks after he arrived and it turns out he had maggots in his sheath and obv them wriggling = very itchy
 
My horse did something similar when he was ridden in the school when he was younger.. he almost used to kick my foot in the stirrup at times.. took a while for the vet to get to the bottom of it despite him going to new market and having full scans, they in the end pinpointed it to his stifle and said he needed more time to mature and i had to turn him away to do so. Thankfully it worked! I hope you get to the bottom of it!
 
Can Australian Stringhalt (flatweek toxicity I believe) be intermittent like that? Just a thought, especially due to location
 
Just a thought as I have seen two horses do this over the years, the latest last summer. Is his sheath clean? I had an older horse who`s sheath was cleaned reguler but he showed signs of colicking all bar the temperature and lack of appetite. He was treated for colic but he kept sweatng up and kicking his belly. I put on some rubber gloves and got my hand right up his sheath and he had flystrike (maggots).

Just read twomanyhorses ^^^^
 
I have no idea what this could be but agree with others who have suggested cleaning his bit's and pieces! Does he only kick out with one leg or does he do it with both? The ferocity of some of those kicks in the video is alarming and surely will make him sore. I would ask the owner to consider moving the hay away from the gate as I would hate to think he got his leg stuck in it.
 
My WB did this prolifically - he has chronic sacro illiac dysfunction. It is a common symptom kicking out behind and bucking to release the ligaments around the sacrum. Worth asking your vet. He looks to me like he is trying to release something.
 
toomanyhorses26 said:
The only time I have seen something similar is we had a TB given to us who started doing this a couple of weeks after he arrived and it turns out he had maggots in his sheath and obv them wriggling = very itchy
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This ^ is exactly what I was going to say. Had a TB who'd be hospitalised and when we picked him up he was doing this mildly but it got worse over the next day - he had maggots up in his sheath. He was sedated for everyone' safety, had it cleaned out and it stopped just like that.

I hope it could be that simple for you, keep us updated.
 
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