Why is my horse so weird?!

[Leo Walker]

This is a completely new phenomenon to me. I bought my little mare in autumn last year and she was fat as a pig. I assumed that she was a typical good doer, piggy pony and dieted her and worked her appropriately and now shes a good weight. She still needs to lose a tiny but and muscle up more, but I'm more than happy with her. We've swapped to summer fields this week and I was having a nervous breakdown about the grass, so shes been going out for a few hours and then back to the winter field. Yet shes not bothered. She eats a bit then takes herself off for a canter round, then has a rest and repeat.

Its so odd. She doesnt walk anywhere. Its either eating/standing or trot/canter. Its not an excited canter either, its a heavy on the forehand lumbering canter that makes me cringe! So shes not bombing about excited, it genuinely looks like shes out jogging, making herself exercise. I got a message last night from one of the other liveries saying that she was lunging herself in the field. So its not just me that thinks what shes doing is a bit weird. She looks perfectly happy doing it and stops if you call her over.

I am as sure as I can be that there is nothing wrong. Teeth were done on Friday, physio a few weeks ago and no issues at all, she looks sound, is shiny and well looking, feet like iron, barefoot and sound over any surface. And she is so radiantly happy. Shes a lovely natured pony anyway but she really loves this yard. We did have a bit of a row about ling reining the other day, but there were some mitigating circumstances and otherwise her ridden and driven work is outstanding and I'm thrilled with her. She has lovely soft muscles and no signs of PSSM or the like, but does get extra vitamin e 9 months of the year anyway.

She didnt do this last year, as my friend was on the same yard she was. I genuinely dont think there is anything wrong, and I am the first to say things have a physical cause, but it doesnt feel like that in this instance.

Does anyone else have a horse who does anything similar??

 

[Auslander]

I had one last year who used to exercise himself, to a point where he wore a 20m circle in one par tof the field. Turned out to be midge related - he stopped when I put a fly rug on him, and plastered him with spray

 

[meleeka]

I wish I had a self exercising horse!

Could it be to escape flies? A horse next door paces round in large circles in the evenings. I wondered if she had something wrong but it turned out to be when the midges were out. She doesn’t do it at all in winter. She was treated with Deosect but it seems more out of habit now, like part of her daily routine. It is fascinating watching horses that live out. Mine too have a strict routine of resting and moving. Half past 10 is their nap time which I usually witness, then there’s another at 1pm.

 

[lauracwd2]

I had one last year who used to exercise himself, to a point where he wore a 20m circle in one par tof the field. Turned out to be midge related - he stopped when I put a fly rug on him, and plastered him with spray

I have one that does this, perfect circle in the field as he walks round and round (usually taking a friend with him for swishing) it seems to be the midges that bother him rather than bigger flies. From a distance he doesn't look distressed and it's generally always at a walk.

 

[Leo Walker]

I dont think its flies. Shes been deosected and gets powerphaser on and she did have a fly rug/no fill turnout on when it was colder and wetter as shes clipped, but it seems to make no difference. Shes been doing it for a couple of months at least, certainly pre flies, but I didnt think too much of it at first. I watched her yesterday deciding to go for a drink, and off she went in a lumbering canter to the trough, quick drink, then lumbering canter back to the grass. I've been sitting in the car watching her to see if I can see a pattern or trigger but nothing I can see. The other ponies just carry on grazing.

Shes done next to no work the last 3 weeks, and it does seem to happen more, but I dont know if thats just because I'm not working her so more time to sit about and watch her. It only struck me as really odd when she was put out onto the good grass and carried on.

I will try the fly rug again just in case, and then sit and watch her a bit more.

 

[PapaverFollis]

One of the little retired ponies at the yard doesn't go anywhere in walk... well... he much more likely to trot or canter to get where he wants to go rather than walk. Their field is next to my stable so I see them quote a lot and he's always just popping off into canter to the water, the hay or the next patch of grass. It seems to me like he just wants to get there quicker. Lol.

 

[milliepops]

Salty tends to canter between water and grass in the current field. But other than having some random zoomies I'm not aware of her doing it at other times, with her I think it's just her dorky brain that thinks "oooh! water....zoom!!" and then "oh! yay grass! ... zoom!"
rather than anything else

 

[DabDab]

Pebbles rarely walks anywhere, she either stands eating/sleeping or breaks out her native pony power trot. I had just put it down to being a habit she has developed from being in a field with 2 horses that have big walks and them constantly giving her the hurry up when they're moving around as a group.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Could it be that she is feeling a bit gassy and knows that if she moves vigourously, she will move the gas along - and thus avoid colic/pain?

 

[Leo Walker]

Seems very unlikely as she is a total drama queen and would be rolling about on the floor and shouting for help if something hurt or was uncomfortable, but she has that sort of smart, problem solving pony brain so maybe

I'm wondering if its because pulling the carriage in walk is hard work so she prefers to trot and canter and now is habit. Its a bit of a jump to get to that though.

She cantered over to me this morning, walked round to the summer field on the lead rope, then cantered off and started eating. She just doesnt walk anymore! The self exercising in the field is not all the time, but its enough that other people have noticed, but I wonder if thats just the general wandering ponies do, just shes doing it in canter. It is still very weird though.

 

[TPO]

Not quite the same as yours but my mum's cob has started doing a lot of cantering in the field of his own accord.

Mum took him in last July (free to good home because he has "issues") and he was grossly overweight and barely moved. Mum's TB and my QH used to give him a wee chase when he first arrived and they were sorting out the pecking order and he was on the verge of keeling over after even the shortest of canters. He was really stiff and held himself funny.

He's still overweight but he has lost a fair amount of weight, had physio and in-hand work and over the past 6wks or so he's taken to going off on a jolly by himself cantering around the field. He also instigates a lot of the play fights with my horse and can be the ring leader setting them all off on a mad 5 minutes. He'll canter down to the water troughs alone too and then have a wee trot until he finds where he wants to graze.

The grass is being managed due to his weight, they are in during the day for a few hours off it and only in the summer fields for a couple of hours when they go back out and then graze the big winter field at night (with hay). <touch wood> flies aren't too much of an issue yet (my horse is v. allergic and even he's fine) and cob is happy to be sprayed with repellent as long as there's a treat at the end of it.

The change in his whole demeanour is really noticeable. I don't know if it's a combination of finally relaxing into a stable home and the weight loss or what but he's definitely appearing a lot happier these days.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

My Exmoor is the same-he was always used to having more animated company than the Fell so maybe that was part of it but he rarely walks anywhere. The Fell often joins in but from his face you can see he feels its all a bit unnecessary lol.

 

[Leo Walker]

he was on the verge of keeling over after even the shortest of canters. He was really stiff and held himself funny.

He's still overweight but he has lost a fair amount of weight, had physio and in-hand work and over the past 6wks or so he's taken to going off on a jolly by himself cantering around the field. He also instigates a lot of the play fights with my horse and can be the ring leader setting them all off on a mad 5 minutes. He'll canter down to the water troughs alone too and then have a wee trot until he finds where he wants to graze.

The change in his whole demeanor is really noticeable. I don't know if it's a combination of finally relaxing into a stable home and the weight loss or what but he's definitely appearing a lot happier these days.

Thats it exactly, apart from she came from a very loving home with no issues, but the rest of it is her. Shes such a different pony now. Loves work and is slowly finding more gears as she does more.

 

[Chippers1]

If I turned my old pony out into the field that had jumps in it he'd take himself off and jump them. He also once escaped from me when I was lunging (which he did often, naughty boy) but proceeded to jump the jump I had up multiple times on both reins at a very fast canter with the lunge rein still trailing behind him, my heart was in my mouth but I couldn't get near him to catch him he was a funny boy that clearly loved to jump!

 

[SEL]

If I turned my old pony out into the field that had jumps in it he'd take himself off and jump them. He also once escaped from me when I was lunging (which he did often, naughty boy) but proceeded to jump the jump I had up multiple times on both reins at a very fast canter with the lunge rein still trailing behind him, my heart was in my mouth but I couldn't get near him to catch him he was a funny boy that clearly loved to jump!

My friends little Sec C used to do this! We never actually jumped him because he didn't have the best feet after a bout of laminitis but he'd happily pop himself over jumps when put in the outdoor for turnout.

 

[Mule]

I've a recollection of mine doing this at some stage. It was because of flies. I thought they were right oddballs too!

 

[TPO]

Thats it exactly, apart from she came from a very loving home with no issues, but the rest of it is her. Shes such a different pony now. Loves work and is slowly finding more gears as she does more.

This one had a lovely home as the spare so done very little. He came to us via a trainer so it all seemed ok on the surface but there was a quick turnaround of him arriving and my horse going to same trainer. I visited 11 days later as I wasnt happy with some videos I was sent and was extremely upset/angry at what I found so brought him home.

My horse was only under the trainer for 11 days and now it's 8mths later and I'm still dealing with the repercussions. With the advantage of knowing my horse so well and therefore the change in him we (mum, dad and I (horses kept at their home)) can see similarities in Chip's "post trainer" behaviour/mentality and the cob's

I digress, sorry. Now Bailey is handled daily, brushed, feet done and doing groundwork. Even my non-horsey long suffering SuperDad makes an effort to chat to Bailey and give him a pet. Bailey was unsure for a long time but he's really coming into himself.

It's actually really nice to see him playing in the field and just being a happy horse

Said Bailey beast going for a jog a few months ago