What would you do?

[councillor]

I am having real problems with my girl so thought I would see if any of you bright folk could come up with suggestions.
So I will give you a quick background on her.
Cob x WB, 12 yo, 15.1. She is a very very good do'er. Is out during day on not a lot of grass, in at night on soaked hay,her feed at the moment is 1/4 scoop of dengie molasses free with her sups (pink powder and msm) .She is 15 weeks post PSD op so I have to take time building work up but is hacking out most days for at least an hour, mostly walking, hills, with a little trot on flat straight lines.Prior to her op she had 7 months off.

She is very highly strung and is giving me a huge cause for concern. She goes out in the morning around eight, she shares a field with my daughters TB who she loves dearly. For the first two hours or so she is fine, looks content either nibbling on any grass she finds or having a sleep, then it is as if a switch goes off, she starts pacing up and down the fence line and she gets faster and faster and more and more stressed looking like she is going to jump into part of field with good grass on it. She is like a horse possessed. Her field is not bare, its just not lush like the others, but it is farm land next door! I have tried putting some hay in with her, but she will nibble for a bit then go back to pacing. I am so worried as she is putting a lot of stress on her hocks doing this that they really don't need.
When she is doing this she looks so angry and it is as if she is in a trance, usually when I call her she looks up straight away and comes to the gate and waits for me, the last few days when she has been doing this she doesn't react to me being there till I touch her. Then when she see's me she instantly calms down. If I stand in the field she will relax and nibble, but as soon as I go away she will be pacing within half an hour again. If I take her in she is quiet in her stable and looks content, however the other horse wont stay out without her, so I end up having both horses in from silly o'clock and that causes an entire new set of problems.
I just don't know what to do, I cant drastically up her work and use up more energy due to her being post op. I don't want to stress either her or the other one out by taking her in on her own as they are both so used to going out together and in together, only time they leave each other is when one is taken away to work, this happening is not a problem.

I know I am just rambling now, but I am so worried, why has a horse who was in a routine of out at eight, in at three thirty, worked, groomed, and bed for the night by five thirty suddenly turned into a crazy angry horse??? Only change that ever happened was if the weather was lovely I would leave them out till five and then take them in to work and bed.

Anyone else had anything like this??

 

[Montmorency]

Was she box rested post op? Maybe she's now slightly agoraphobic? Sounds insane but I've always said my mare was agoraphobic- she came to me straight off the boat from holland and had obviously never been turned out. She would be happy for a few hours then suddenly start running around and wouldn't stop until she was brought in.
Now after 7 years she'll finally stay out until about 3- as long as its not too hot, too cold, too wet or too flyey!!
She'd prefer to be in 24 hours a day than out full time.
Don't know why yours should suddenly start unless possibly trauma of op??

 

[FfionWinnie]

I would teach the TB to stay on its own. Since your one is recovering from injury you will have to pander to her a bit I think. I'd probably try bringing her in before the behaviour starts, leave her in for an hour then try putting her out again and so on until you lengthen the time out very gradually. Time consuming and annoying tho.

 

[councillor]

Thanks for your answers. That's the thing, she wouldn't do box rest after op. We were at another yard and she and one other were the only ones stabled at night. The owner of the other stabled horse was coming in at midnight to feed and groom her horse (why?) and was putting on every light making a lot of noise, watched her on CCTV, and upset my horse so much she was climbing the walls and trying to climb over the door, so she was better off out in tiny paddock where she wasn't disturbed, moved her to the yard we are at as soon as vet gave go ahead to do so and she instantly settled till this kicked off the other day.

Im not willing to try make the TB stay out for two reasons, first one being she had a mild touch of Lami in the past and I don't want to stress her, and two, after all this rain the ground cant take her charging around cutting it up or jumping out as she is capable of doing this.
I haven't got her at home or your suggestion of lengthening her time out every day would be good, it is a little yard and only YO there, she has teaching commitments most days so there will be nobody there to do this. Wouldn't ask other liveries to handle her when she is like this.
Sorry sounds like I have wrote your suggestions off instantly, it is things I have thought off, but then I will end up with two stressed horses and I have reasons for needing to keep the other one stress free.
if she hadn't had an op I would leave her to get over herself till she worked out I was not giving her the lush grass.