My Arabian tends to be quite “hot” at times. Everytime we leave “home” its like someone handed me a time-bomb. One minute he is calm and the next minute I’m holding on to a fiery beast! :eek:
What are somethings I could do to help calm him?
Check his B1 levels, it has done wonders for my horse. Otherwise just get him out ALOT!!! Make like its nothing and keep your self calm, if he feels your nerves then he is just going to get worse. Good Luck
[QUOTE=CinderellaDoesDressage;3504192]
My Arabian tends to be quite “hot” at times. Everytime we leave “home” its like someone handed me a time-bomb. One minute he is calm and the next minute I’m holding on to a fiery beast! :eek:
What are somethings I could do to help calm him?[/QUOTE]
More turnout and feeding changes, most likely.
rabicon - What exactly are B1 levels? I take him out on relaxing play-days. I just go to a horse-show and hang out with my friend at the show. So it’s not like I am super nervous (especially bc I’m not riding lol). Its always when I am completly relaxed. I can be standing there with him (hand grazing) and he does his “freak-out” on me.
Dazednconfused - He has 24-7 turnout (unless the weather is horrible). As for feed thats been changed all ready. No improvement.
It’s just as bad on his back minus the rearing. He tends to try and bolt, a little buck, and lots of side-stepping (But you best belive he could excell at the half pass!).
Put him to work. If he’s going to be an idiot pick up a nice forward trot, take up contact, get him on the bit, and go somewhere like you mean it. Trot circles, serpentines, turn left, turn right. He’ll spook less if he’s got his mind on his business.
[QUOTE=CinderellaDoesDressage;3504247]
rabicon - What exactly are B1 levels? I take him out on relaxing play-days. I just go to a horse-show and hang out with my friend at the show. So it’s not like I am super nervous (especially bc I’m not riding lol). Its always when I am completly relaxed. I can be standing there with him (hand grazing) and he does his “freak-out” on me.
Dazednconfused - He has 24-7 turnout (unless the weather is horrible). As for feed thats been changed all ready. No improvement.
It’s just as bad on his back minus the rearing. He tends to try and bolt, a little buck, and lots of side-stepping (But you best belive he could excell at the half pass!).[/QUOTE]
Ah yes, but are you feeding him the right thing in the right amounts for his workload. What’s he getting, what type of hay and what type of grain? Have you put him in professional training?
I can’t remeber everything he is being fed. I know he gets Timothy hay, and alfalfa cubes. As for feed wise… I cannot remeber for the life of me know. My BO is a professional trainer. We are going to try new exercizes on him to see if we can calm him down.
shakes head - I’m a somewhat ‘green’ rider. I have a couple of years of riding under my belt. He is a fairly green arabian himself.
Don’t assume he’s just being bad or is an idiot. There is usually a very good reason for behavioral issues, just hard to find them sometimes. Have you had his eyesight checked, maybe there is an issue there that sets him off. Alot of time bad behavior can be an indication of pain, does the saddle fit, does he need his teeth checked, does he have joint pain somewhere, ulcers. There could be alot of physical answers to his problems. Check out some of these things before you just start trying to “work” him through it, if it’s a pain issue it’s likely to worsen. I heard a quote once about getting a horse comfortable in his body before he can be comfortable in his mind
[QUOTE=roadaple;3504299]
Don’t assume he’s just being bad or is an idiot. There is usually a very good reason for behavioral issues, just hard to find them sometimes. Have you had his eyesight checked, maybe there is an issue there that sets him off. Alot of time bad behavior can be an indication of pain, does the saddle fit, does he need his teeth checked, does he have joint pain somewhere, ulcers. There could be alot of physical answers to his problems. Check out some of these things before you just start trying to “work” him through it, if it’s a pain issue it’s likely to worsen. I heard a quote once about getting a horse comfortable in his body before he can be comfortable in his mind[/QUOTE]
At first I thought it could be something physical, so I had everything checked out. I don’t think he is doing it to be ‘naughty’.
I have had Arabians for a really really long time.
Most need to stay busy when you are working with them. Like a previous poster said, get him moving, keep him busy with forward work, forward lateral work, changing directions, transitions between gaits, within each gait. Asking for his attention every second.
Reward him a lot. Voice – “GOOOODDDD BBOOOYYYY” and a pat, and keep on working.
Don’t be afraid to keep a consistent light soft contact with your leg. It provides security he may be looking for. Offer a light soft contact with your hand as well. And reward with release.
Then stop. Tie him up. Put him in a stall or turnout. Don’t keep pestering.
One flake of fresh alfalfa can make some horses impossible. I had thoroughbred that just couldn’t eat it without becoming a fiery devil. he alfalfa cubes could make him extra hot.
Timothy has a lot of nutritional value and fairly high in carbs and protien … might add to making him hot, but it is a very good hay for balanced nutition.
Some horses just need to be on a low carb, low fat, lower protien diet than others. But they still need a balnced vitamin, mineral protien diet. Just a bit more “low key”.
Proper minerals and vitamins will help everything balance out and get digested properly. That is where the B-1 levels come into the mix. Vitamin B-1. Amino cids, electrolytes and probiotics should be considered also.
The B1 or Thiamine is the same thing. If his levels are low than it will really put the spook in spook :yes: and the as* in as* :yes: My boy couldn’t go to a show without screaming constantly and popping up when it was time to go in the ring, or backing into whomever or whatever. He would pitch royal fits on or off his back. The B1 has made him a completly different horse. He rarely ever spooks (its has to be something major, like the other day the neighbors shot a gun 30ft from my arena :eek:) and he is a total angel and is now kicking butt at the shows, never screams and loves to go into the ring. He is a different horse.
Alfalfa can make a hot horse hotter also and so can timothy but not as bad as the alfalfa can. I’d change him to a coastal grass hay. Also my guy eats regular ole sweet feed :yes: Forget about the performance feeds for him :no: and takes his vitamins.
My hot guy eats plain old crappy grass hay and one scoop of TCC once a day. He’s just hot. It’s who he is. He’s out 24/7.
The biggest change in him has come from me…if he gets silly…we just continue working. Maybe I increase the complexity of what I’m asking for, like a shoulder-in if just honoring the bend isn’t complicated enough…or crisp turns on the hinds or fores. Or trot cavallettis. I completely ignore the upset-acting silly/idiot/name it what you want…if you will focus on the good, the bad happens less an less. He had a total and complete melt down a few weeks ago- complete with rearing, plunging his head to the ground, freaking out…all b/c a different horse was with us than usual, and they were leading the way back to the barn. He was so rude I got off him before I went with plan A, which was murderous. I just made a crop from a nearby bush and we worked on shoulder in from the ground. It’s pretty new to both of us so it made us both think. It took a few tries but he opted to start thinking and let go of reacting. In a very short while I could remount, and except for one more attempt to bolt home, easily averted…he then agreed he could walk the entire mile home, on the buckle.
It comes from you.
Ground work, ground work, ground work. Make sure he knows YOU can move his feet in all directions at whatever speed YOU want… not him. Then the same when in the saddle. Move those feet. Make him think… if he’s busy, working and moving, there will be no time for bolting, rearing or bucking. If you feel a rear or buck coming, bring his head around to the side and get those feet moving… Make sure he’s soft and supple in all directions, lateral and vertical flexion, and lots of it. Groundwork has made a major difference in my hot, bucking & rearing crazy horse. Now he walks quietly, nose to the ground… never ever spooks or misbehaves. He trusts me and I him… lots of groundwork and communitation. Make the right thing easy and the wrong thing difficult - work him like crazy when he misbehaves. Leave him alone when he’s listening.
What she said! I have a “worrier”… we put her on a B1/Thia supplement and she’s still a worrier, but stopped the weaving and pacing that went with it…:yes:
[QUOTE=CinderellaDoesDressage;3504192]
My Arabian tends to be quite “hot” at times. Everytime we leave “home” its like someone handed me a time-bomb. One minute he is calm and the next minute I’m holding on to a fiery beast! :eek:
What are somethings I could do to help calm him?[/QUOTE]
I’ve got one of those, too, and it’s just the way he is – reactive and sensitive. When your horse loses it, you have to help him focus – sit up, sit back, ask him to work, and, above all, try to head it off before it happens. My horse takes me by surprise with his antics sometimes. But 90% of the time, I KNOW he’s looking to be an idiot. So I work on flexion and circles at the walk, using my inside rein to encourage out and down, release his back and r-e-l-a-x.
If he does get a spook in on me, it’s the same thing, only a little harder for me to pull off. 
I think of my butt as his security blanket: Sit down on him like my cheeks are two saddlebags, be as relaxed as possible, use one rein to ask him to flex at the poll and step under. Once he knows I’m there and in charge, he’s OK.
For awhile, anyway. :lol:
It comes from you.
Absolutely.
Keep him busy with lots of transitions into and out of gaits, as well as within the gait, and lots of lateral work. Quick changes to keep his attention on you, not the surroundings.
I gave my horse Quiessence for awhile. I did notice a difference. Then she went into training and I found with consistent work, she was much calmer, more focused. Probably just getting more mature helped her too. You might want to check it out though. Here’s a link that tells about it:
My Arabian is a pretty typical “hot” Arab, even at 25! She will be dead calm one minute and a spaz the next. What works well for us was to limit the amount of alfalfa and give mostly timothy hay. She is also on a vit. B/magnesium supplement and receives only a little senior feed. She has to get out every day and is lunged for 10 min before a ride if necessary. I change up our riding routine if necessary to keep her mind interested, and work on transitions and bending to keep her listening to me and not watching for the scary monsters outside the arena.
In terms of supplements you might like to try him on brewers yeast. About 2 Tablespoons per day is a good amount for the average arab.
There are also options in aromatherapy. When you are riding at a show it will help you settle also. Bach’s rescue remedy is a good one for calming the mind.
I feed my arab timothy hay, beet bulp and the occasional sprinkle of flax seed. Arabs are usually easy keepers with plenty of endurance and energy to burn. No grains, no need. 
