anxious horse - what am I missing?

[aquabrwn]

This has turned into a ridiculous novel of a post but I can’t figure out how else to describe the situation. I am totally stumped and hoping to crowdsource some ideas about what I might investigate with my horse’s behavior. I’m concerned both because I don’t like to see my normally calm horse anxious, and because very practically I’m 6 months pregnant and really don’t love handling him right now. In a perfect dream world I’d find a half leaser or something while I’m in the thick of pregnancy and new motherhood, but that’s totally off the table given his current behavior.

If you make it through, thanks in advance for any advice. Consulting with vet and we’ll pursue other diagnostics as necessary (vision is probably next on my list even though he was totally fine during his last physical) - but I thought I’d see what ideas this group might have, or if I’m overlooking something!

Background
Horse in question is a coming 12 year old OTTB; raced in California and retired in 2012. Has evented at the lower levels, been trail ridden, etc. Generally level-headed, not hot - goes 3 phases in a snaffle. Has traveled regularly and historically hasn’t had any problems settling into new situations. Great eater, never refuses food, good in group turnout, no stable vices. No previous behavioral issues to note under saddle or around the barn. Can be a nut on stall rest but that is not our current problem :o Treated for ulcers after leaving the track and retired with some soft tissue damage but otherwise no significant medical issues.

Recent History
Horse moved from California to East Coast in July of 2017. Was originally at a barn in NJ and settled beautifully - more turnout than he ever got in California, regular work, even used in lessons or for the occasional half-leaser when my schedule got too crazy. Traveled off property a handful of times without drama. In summer 2018 we moved to a new barn because I moved; new place is in the Hudson Valley, 5 minutes from my house and a low-key but competitive eventing facility. Originally after move horse settled well, could be hand walked and grazed around property, hacked out on trails, was going beautifully under saddle.

Problem / Current Status
Horse has been increasingly nervous, spooky, and anxious since late summer / early fall. He is relaxed in his pasture and gets along well with his two buddies. Nervousness seems to when he gets closer to the barn; he has also started spooking at objects next to the outdoor. Indoor arena is a house of terrors, takes him quite a bit of time to become rideable. Often doesn’t want to walk into arena. Can be difficult to lead, especially anywhere that is not toward his paddock - think prancing, spooking. Recently has been nervous in his stall, too - he does eat, but is tense, circles a bit, and spends a lot of time staring anxiously out the windows. Has started dancing and pawing in crossties. We’re about halfway through a course of ulcer treatment (working with a vet, will keep repeating this ;)), so far zero change.

Other Context
(aka things I always consider when thinking about behavioral changes)

• Plenty of turnout - currently out with two low-key friends from ~6am until 3 or 4pm daily (for comparison, this is more than at his last barn and FAR more than he ever got in California, land of dry lot pipe corrals)
• In regular work 4-6 days per week
• Eats mostly forage - free choice grass hay 24/7. Not currently on alfalfa.
• Maintenance amount of low-starch grain and limited supplements - SmartPak with SmartDigest, MSM, and Tri-Amino
• Current on teeth, shots, etc. Had a physical exam in late summer, all normal. Gets maintenance on his hocks ~once per year - would be due late spring/early summer. Currently sound, moving the best he has since I've owned him.

[B]Potential Factors[/B]

• Pigs [LIST]
• Things first started deteriorating around when horse discovered that there are pigs living on property
• One had to be brought into a quarantine stall next to the indoor arena; main barn is not adjacent so pig could not be seen but I'm sure horse could smell the pig. Brain left his head completely during this time.
• Pig is no longer near barn and has not been for ~6 months; still on property but far away.
• Horse is fine in turnout and sometimes in stall / crossties.
• Is he still just panicked by the pig?

Stall

• Horse is in a stall with two windows, but cannot stick his head out into the aisle or outside the barn - windows open but are not designed for horses to stick heads out
• Moved him to this stall because he is friendly and likes activity and it's in a prime location - plus good ventilation with windows
• It does have a high wall, though, and while he can see out the windows he cannot directly see the other horses in the barn
• Does he need a different stall configuration to be comfortable?

Weather

• This is only his second winter on the East Coast and it is COLD - colder up in NY than it was in NJ; weather has also been all over the place with wild swings day-to-day
• Is he just still adjusting?

Barn Environment

• Does he just not like this location? I'd hate to move him because the turnout and care are good, the training is good, it's close to my house, and I'm about to have a baby - but I would consider it if I could have my horse back.

Ulcers

• Per above, halfway through a course of treatment. So far no change.

[/LIST] If you've made it this far, thank you :lol:. What am I missing or not thinking about?? (again yes, I am also working with a vet)

[cnd8]

My first line of thought would be ulcers, but then you said that you were treating. What are you treating with–Gastrogard?
Next, the stall situation does seem less than ideal. All of the barn environment factors you explain could certainly be making him nervous. Is it a possibility to have him outside more? It sounds like he is not accustomed to full turnout though, so that may actually make him worse.
Have you tried anything to calm him? CBD pellets, or any of the other ones out there? If it’s not ulcers, this nervous behavior could certainly create them soon.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

He’s only been at the new barn for a little over six months. My guess is its a combo of the alien pig, the weather, the closed-in stall, and being in a new place.

I believe fully in horses being able to see their neighbors, the aisle, the outside, etc. and be able to poke their head our of their stall. Being completely boxed in may also be contributing to anxiety. Is there another stall there that gives him any of those options (or all of them?).

For my older (27) horse, cows are his “Oh my god, I’m gonna die” trigger. We’ve lived here for 16+ years. We have a neighbor who has Angus, about 75 head and another neighbor with a few Jersey’s. When the Angus are being moved down the road to a different pasture or the Jersey’s come on to our property looking for a snack, he totally goes bananas. Like the world is coming to an end… even after 16 years. Go figure. Just a bellow or mmmooooo from a distance gets him going to investigate to make sure they aren’t in his pasture and there’s usually prancing and snorting involved.

So while you know the pig is distant, he doesn’t know that it might come trotting around the corner any minute… and eat him. Some horses are just averse to other farm animals.

[CanteringCarrot]

Well, nutrients could have changed with location and forage sources. Maybe pull some blood and see what you’re working with. Perhaps he needs magnesium, or selenium.

[aquabrwn]

Thanks for the responses :)!

He’s being treated with omeprazole paste, standard course. Blood work was pulled a few months back but that’s also on the list if the ulcer meds don’t do anything.

I’ve had similar thoughts about the stall and was curious what others would have to say. He’s always been in barns before where he can hang his head fully out into the aisle and he’s the kind of horse that loves to see what’s going on. May not be the only thing but perhaps it’s making things worse. I’d be thrilled if he could handle 24/7 turnout but he’s historically gotten himself into trouble - having someone give him a once-over and treat whatever new scrape or cut he gave himself during the day is really important (also, the person checking him over can’t be me since I live in NYC half the time so I’m not at the barn every single day).

[blob99]

@CanteringCarrot

Well, nutrients could have changed with location and forage sources. Maybe pull some blood and see what you’re working with. Perhaps he needs magnesium, or selenium.

Yes, was going to suggest this as well. Given that this is your first fall/winter in a new location there might be some nutrient he’s lacking/missing.

[Victorious]

Is he out with geldings? Sometimes a love affair can ruin a perfectly level-headed horse as he will search for his beloved all the time! My TB is hot for my mare and its such a colossal PITA. And I also think the pig could have done it, too. He will probably never forget that there was a pig threat earlier and stay on guard for another pig at all times. If you can redirect his behavior to focus more on you than whatever else, that might help. But at 6 months pregnant, you definitely don’t want to get yourself into a jam with him. When you do decide to re-focus his energy, try using treats(I use german muffins-they go nuts for them). It will help him keep his focus on you(and those treats)

[Amy3996]

Not sure if the barn configuration is something that would allow for this, but… could you potentially see about putting a stall guard up so the stall door could be left open for him to put his head out? It might be enough to settle him if he can see what’s going on outside his stall.

Also, ditto the suggestions to pull blood and check vitamin/mineral levels.

[Foxglove]

In the minority here --but pigs. Now that he’s seen them, he feels he needs to watch for them --in the wild, pigs are a danger to horses (slash legs). I loaned my stock trailer to a neighbor to move his pigs. He returned it beautifully washed --but none of my horses would load until we washed it again (and again) with a strong bleach solution to remove the scent of pigs. Once you are able to get back in the saddle or on the ground on a regular basis --work on desensitizing --lots of videos and YouTube --but at the end of the day they say the same thing —when the horse is agitated by whatever [location, plastic bag, water bottle] move his feet until he stands still and shows submission (dropping head, licking lips, cocking foot) then allow him to rest (reward). Do this until the horse figures out that it is ok to be afraid, but when you are afraid, standing still is the only solution --otherwise --you have to work. It may take awhile --possibly a desensitizing clinic could be added.

fyi --half the horses in the hunt field --real troopers who put up with ANYTHING still have a jitters when we pass an old sheep shed that hasn’t been used in a few years —but when there WERE sheep there --they would run around and each wore a bell. Drove the hunt horses nuts!

[wsmoak]

My first thought was “what are they feeding him?” because I moved my almost-20-year-old horse to a Big Fancy Eventing Barn while we were getting settled in, and he turned into a fire breathing dragon. I wasn’t paying attention… and they were feeding him like a competition horse. Purina Ultium I think… the stuff was rocket fuel. I’ll third the bloodwork suggestion, just to make sure nothing is off.

The pigs could definitely do it, unfortunately. A friend’s TB was unhinged by mules. We overnighted in pipe corrals before a clinic and there was a mule in the row. “Surely he’ll get over it” we thought… nope, in the morning, he was still pacing around. At least he was calm and pliable for the clinic, having worn himself out overnight.

[IPEsq]

As far as the leading goes, either he is still remembering the alien pig or there is something bothering him about work such that he has more attraction to his happy places (paddock) and an aversion to the arenas. And then the anxiety and/or pain manifests as spookiness.

I think it would be worthwhile to try a magnesium supplement, although they are arguably not as effective when given in conjunction with ulcer meds. This last move could have been a bigger diet change than you think, as others have suggested.

So, is it pain or pig or some other external trigger? That is the question. My horse HATES bird season. He remembers at a previous barn how they used to pop up underneath the door in the arena right into traffic. The birds hanging out around the door and windows of the current arena are surely pterodactyls. Barn cat that would randomly jump out? No problem. Bunnies? No problem. Tiny barn birds? WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE! Even outside they are not to be trusted because they appear behind bushes and out of tall grasses. The bunnies that live under the judge’s stands? Again, no problem. If your guy was that undone by the pig, it could take a really long time for him to get over that. Horses have very good memories!

That said, I’ve seen brave steady eddies turn into spooking lunatics because of a pain issue. With a sound horse, ulcers are a reasonable guess. But if ulcer treatment is doing nothing, there could be something else. Had a client’s horse that went from total ammy friendly to randomly bolting. Would also sometimes be so anxious that he would stand trembling. Might start out that way when you got to the arena, or it might just come on suddenly. Things that he focused on were the kinds of stuff that typically didn’t bother him at all. A benign animal (not something like a pig which does upset many horses). The neighbor’s horses. Then he developed a shifting lameness. Turned out to be neck arthritis getting the better of him. With my own horse with neck arthritis, one of the symptoms that made us look there in the first place is that he went from the average looky baby warmblood to spooking big time at what appeared to be nothing, and more out of one eye than the other, to the point we questioned his vision, EPM, things like that first. Which, in your case could be the issue too (EPM, Lyme, vision, etc.).

[Simkie]

I vote for the pig. He may never view this barn as safe again. That he can’t see other horses when he’s in might really be ramping up his “pig” stress. They’re herd animals and he might not be resting at all because there’s no one else who can watch out for pigs. He could just be in this hypervigilant state all the time, only viewing time with his friends as safe.

Have you seen ANY change on the ulcer meds at all? Good, bad? If his hind gut is bothering him, omeprazole might actually make that worse…so if there’s any chance you think he might actually be worse with it, it could be worthwhile to add in something for the hind gut, like equishure or succeed.

But really…this totally reads like he’s just terrified of the possibility of pigs and he’s only okay when there are other horses who are very obviously telling him with their body language that everything is safe. Is it possible at all to move him into a part of the barn where he can see several other chill horses? Curious how that might change him.

Btw, great write up. Thanks for including all that info in such an easy to follow and concise way.

[Mango20]

I also think the pigs may be a major factor here. I would ask if you can use a stall guard or gate that he can stick his head over when he’s in the barn. It might help a little.

[whbar158]

You said a physical exam but how thoroughly were his eyes checked?

[aquabrwn]

Ya’ll have given me a lot to think about! Thank you again.

My gut has been that it’s not pain (or at least under saddle pain / lameness) related because he resists when going into his stall, not just the indoor arena - and the spookiness extends to just being led around any time he’s not on his “safe” trail from barn to pasture. He’s also moving beautifully and if he’s not spooking under saddle goes like a million bucks. I always keep pain in the back of my mind after many experiences with arthritis, kissing spine, etc. but in this case - touch wood - it seems more behavioral / mental.

He’s turned out now with geldings; in the past has been with mares with no issues. He’s highly social and friendly but submissive and is never high on the totem pole. This group is low drama, but he’s always happy to be caught and typically will wander up to you in the pasture, curious and happy.

My takeaways so far:

• Pull blood (nutrient imbalance, EPM, Lyme) sooner rather than later - this is a good call, and I'll follow-up with the vet
• Explore changing the stall - ideally so he can hang his head out, at a minimum so he can see friends
• It might "just" be pigs - yeah :no: - if we exhaust all other options the idea of finding a pig-free barn is definitely on my mind, but that will be a last resort
• I'd already been thinking that some kind of desensitization training, especially while I'm not in the saddle; will look into this more seriously. Would benefit him even if we get the anxiety under control.

[TWH_Girl]

I vote pig. Can you take him out of this environment for a while and see if he changes instead of spending $$ on very likely unnecessary diagnostics on an otherwise healthy horse? My other thought was eyes, but I really think it’s the pigs.

[paintedpony]

I would feed only grass hay for at least 2 weeks, then reassess. No grain, no supplements just hay and water.

It is possible your horse is experiencing an adverse reaction. My personal story is related to MSM. Sweet mare, with history of behaviour that was nothing but cooperative and pleasant. You know, the mare who arrives at a show, unloads and then spends the day sleeping on your shoulder as the crazy world unfolds around you.

One dose MSM and she became a dangerous nut case. Totally lost her mind. Trembling, and obviously terrified, agitated, spooking repeatedly at monsters only she could see. It was like we had given her LSD and she was on a bad trip. (Do a search, others have experienced similar events, and no this is not listed as a potential adverse effect of the supplement). Similar experience again when she was given one dose of Sputilysn (spelling) for a cough. I did not give either item again as a test of cause/result as I would never risk a repeat.

It is easy to remove everything but hay, to rule out grain and supplements as the origin of the issues.

[stressgirl37]

Could be several things contributing: pigs, magnesium deficiency, stall configuration.

[alterhorse]

I once worked with a sale-horse that developed ulcers and had high anxiety after being imported.

It turned out this horse “hated” one of the other sale horses. Everyone knew they could never be turned out together or they would try to kill each other. But other than that, they both behaved normally in the barn, even if you led one horse past the other in a grooming stall.

But the horse with the anxiety issue was just always wound up, and absolutely not himself.

The ulcer treatments helped a little, and he had scoped positive for ulcers. But ulcer treatment did not solve the issue.

This was long ago and I was a working student at that time. It occurred to me that having these two horse in adjacent stalls might not be a great idea, so I asked the trainer in charge if I could move the anxiety horse to another stall. That did help a lot, but it did not fix the problem.

One day someone came and bought anxiety horse’s arch nemesis… “the other horse”. And took him away.

Almost the day after that horse left, anxiety horse became his old self again. One of the sweetest nicest calmest horses you could imagine.

So after that experience I do believe that some horses can have issues with something or someone in their world that just makes them very unhappy.

It could be the pig, it could be another horse, it might be a person, it might be the sound of cars going over a bridge a mile away that nobody else can hear but the horse. But yes I do believe that there can be something particular about one certain barn that can just give that one certain horse an anxiety disorder.

OP, I’ll echo testing for Lyme and EPM as you stated, just to rule that out.

Just a thought… Only try if you feel it’s safe for your horse… You could try an experiment by getting a pair of those pom-pom horsey ear plugs (if the horse will tolerate them) (some horses with sensitive “untouchable” ears won’t). Put them in somewhere safe first to make sure the horse is ok with them in his ears (might need to desensitize the horse to the ear plugs slowly). If you’re sure the horse is ok with ear plugs. Take the horse outside, and see if you notice any improvement in his behavior and disposition…

[mroades]

I vote pigs. Pigs are natural enemies of the horse and while some are fine with them some never get ok with it.