I have been in Florida two days and my young horse is screaming constantly. I have taken him for a walk both days and I pat him and he just keeps screaming. Today I tried saying “NO” sharply and I could keep him from doing it sometimes. It is a mess and he is scaring himself and ofcourse can not concentrate on anything. Besides which, it sure doesn’t make us any too popular with the other barn members!!! Any ideas of ways to help him???
It sounds like he is nervous and/or herd bound. Getting him out and about more either in hand or under saddle, and focusing on him going around calmly, getting him to focus on his work, and praising him for doing so will help. Disciplining him for being nervous and screaming will probably just make him more upset. Take him out and hand graze him, groom him, walk him around the property, etc. If he is completely distracted under saddle, keep his mind busy with circles, changes of direction, transitions, etc. Praise him for good behaviour. Patting him for being distracted and hysterical will not help.
My first thought is horses are herd animals and he’s confused and looking for buddies. (obviously after voiding all medical possibilities)
Are there any horses he knows that he could walk around with? Does he have stuff in his stall to occupy him (lickits, jolly ball)? Are there any paddocks he can run around in for a little while, maybe with a buddy?
A depo shot may really help you. Sometimes when horses become herd-bound (in his case he may be attached to his friends or looking for them) a depo shot will help calm down their hormones enough to let it go and get back to focusing on life. Depending on how distracted and nervous he is, be careful with him as your acclimating him, that unfocused behavior can be really unpredictable.
It has been my observation that if you occupy the horse’s mind while riding, with transitions, circles, lateral work. etc, they start focusing on you, rather than whinneying. give him something to so other than ride straight lines.
Thanks for the replies and ideas. I will go back this afternoon and give him depo and hand graze him. thanks a lot! I have depo, never seem to use it, but this sounds like a great time to do it.
[QUOTE=Claudius;7244399]
Thanks for the replies and ideas. I will go back this afternoon and give him depo and hand graze him. thanks a lot! I have depo, never seem to use it, but this sounds like a great time to do it.[/QUOTE]
Why would you give the horse drugs for a simple training and growing-up issue? This boggles my mind.
[QUOTE=CrowneDragon;7244409]
Why would you give the horse drugs for a simple training and growing-up issue? This boggles my mind.[/QUOTE]
I will absolutely second this!!!
[QUOTE=CrowneDragon;7244409]
Why would you give the horse drugs for a simple training and growing-up issue? This boggles my mind.[/QUOTE]
Because in this day and age people want a quick fix or instant gratification.
Ride your horse and keep him focused, like CrowneDragon’s way.
It’s also day two, so give him some time to adjust and don’t mind what others think. Tell them to mind their own business.
don’t- give him a drug----------- the horse has move from one place to another all he knows is you- and what do you do---------- scream at him and tell him no for whinning---------------
think horse- or think you move into a flat on your own in the middle of no where and don’t know no one----------------- are you going to take a drug
silly idea---------
horse are social animals they like company - so what have you got to help your horse keep to the same routine of work and and feed
this will give him the building blocks to say ok mum, your here it will help boost his confidence, talk to him as you would another human re assure him, use your biggest asset and aid your voice speak soft and gentle and encourage him
give him plenty of hay when in, and work him as you normally would
think if you went to a show in a horse box you would arrive and work your horse and he wouldn’t know a soul there
so think horse- horse like work they like routine, put him out for a while so he ride him out as much as possible so he gets used to where he lives
ride with a field mate in the school this will help build a relationship between the horse and if you are out with more than one------ as k them if they could ride out with you
again to establish freindship------ help him himself
[QUOTE=CrowneDragon;7244409]
Why would you give the horse drugs for a simple training and growing-up issue? This boggles my mind.[/QUOTE]
echo
work him
[QUOTE=merrygoround;7244385]
It has been my observation that if you occupy the horse’s mind while riding, with transitions, circles, lateral work. etc, they start focusing on you, rather than whinneying. give him something to so other than ride straight lines.[/QUOTE]
echo
Just to be clear folks, I did not say it was a quick fix, it is not. It will simply help him settle into his surroundings and not overly stress himself while she is continuing to flat him and keep him focused. And when your horse is disturbing the other horses who were not up until that point feeling the same herd bound-ness that can be very difficult for everyone involved and does not, realistically, go over so well at some facilities. That’s just the honest truth. I suggested a depo shot, not crack cocaine.
[QUOTE=Nikki^;7244613]
Because in this day and age people want a quick fix or instant gratification.
Ride your horse and keep him focused, like CrowneDragon’s way.
It’s also day two, so give him some time to adjust and don’t mind what others think. Tell them to mind their own business.[/QUOTE]
For those of you who think I am looking for a quick fix…you do not know this horse. I do. He is fragile emotionally. At home he had learned to be turned out alone…to survive having horses taken away from him…to be in the barn by himself…to live in different stalls and not get too attached to the same horse/stall/paddock all the time. He has made great strides.
The trip to florida was traumatic for him. He traveled very well and then the van broke down. The horses stood on the van for hours waiting for another van to pick them up. Being the fragile soul he is, he became excessively attached to the horse next to him. When they transferred the horses to the new van, they saved him for last!!! He panicked and had a van fit. He has never done that before and has shipped locally often. It took two strong men to extricate him and transfer to the new truck. When he arrived in Fla. six hours later he was in a white lather. He has been crazed and whinnying since. He is a danger to me in the stall and to himself in the field. The groom where I board is afraid to go in the stall with him.He is not eating. fortunately he is drinking. He is making manure.
SO I asked if anyone had any ideas of how I could help him. I REALLY appreciate the suggestions by other knowledgable horsemen. Why would I sit by and wait it out when this is such a horrible situation for him? If medication can bring him down to his former state of mind…then that is the kindest thing I can do. I don’t know how many of the criticizers have dealt with a horse like this, but it is very sad to see a horse in this state. Thanks again to the rest of you for your helpful suggestions.
He is herd bound. You need to treat him for ulcers and turn him out by himself.
But…in my experience, Depo is not a “quick fix”–it is a hormone and may take time, repetition, etc. to build up enough to do…what? I have an older horse who does this screaming Mimi routine at every show we go to. It is annoying and distracting, as he attaches to whatever horse is next to him, if his big gray buddy is not along. He’ll scream at any gray horse he sees. What do I do? Put him to work, give him hard things to mentally work on, ignore it and occasionally give him a whack and a sharp “no!” if he ignores ME.
In the short term, ace would be a better choice to calm him and make him safe–just like you would with a horse being handwalked during a stall rest situation. Perhaps you should consult a vet for their opinion before simply giving him Depo? Do you know the dosage?
In my experience, the best “fix” for an unfocused horse is to focus him, put him to work, and then when he’s been a good boy-- put him away. This is just part of learning to be a big boy show horse and it’s normal. When he calls out, go to a schooling ring that’s quiet and school him. Anything to get the brain working. Don’t punish the screaming, just give him something else to think about. It will get better!
It sounds like the horse is fairly traumatized from the trip… and this may not be the right environment for him to learn. Can you go to a smaller/less busy place? I would probably start with day trips to schooling shows, not just ship down to Florida. But now that you’re there, is there a more chill part of the show where you can hang/school? If he is really, truly worked up-- I’d suck it up, skip the show, ship him to a low key place nearby, turn him out… and start over once he settles some.
In my experience depo takes about 1-2 days to start seeing a settling and lessening of herd-bound behavior and while you may choose to repeat it, I have not found needing to build it up in order to help in the manner that the OP’s original post suggested. Now hearing the further details of the trip and situation, I too, suggested Ace depending on what she is in Florida to do and whether she can use it (which I assume she can). After all of those things and getting him settled then you can think about turning him out by himself, but I certainly wouldn’t recommend trying that in a strange place that’s not your facility until you feel he’s calm enough to not kill himself. I think treating him for ulcers is also a very good idea as the stress of his trip was clearly significant.
[QUOTE=Calvincrowe;7244802]
But…in my experience, Depo is not a “quick fix”–it is a hormone and may take time, repetition, etc. to build up enough to do…what? I have an older horse who does this screaming Mimi routine at every show we go to. It is annoying and distracting, as he attaches to whatever horse is next to him, if his big gray buddy is not along. He’ll scream at any gray horse he sees. What do I do? Put him to work, give him hard things to mentally work on, ignore it and occasionally give him a whack and a sharp “no!” if he ignores ME.
In the short term, ace would be a better choice to calm him and make him safe–just like you would with a horse being handwalked during a stall rest situation. Perhaps you should consult a vet for their opinion before simply giving him Depo? Do you know the dosage?[/QUOTE]
He is being treated for ulcers, pre trip and now still. He has been shipped to many schooling shows and with careful management, he has been able to settle nicely, go in classes and behave admirably. I did not have Ace, so went to a friend’s barn and he gave me a bottle. I talked to a vet who recommended three cc in the muscle as he is a very big colt. I gave him that tonight and waited until it seemed to affect him. Then I went back into the stall and talked to him and smoothed his brow…what else can I say to him…good boy. He is not in fla. to show…he is here by default as the other horse meant to come had a lameness issue pop up and we decided he had better stay home and be treated and rested. Just being here and eventually walking to the show and walking around will be quite an education for him. And doing that is my favorite part of making a horse.
A question for the experienced horsemen among you, could this be a result of being improperly weaned? That situation was that the mare owner called and said the colt was weaned and ready to go. We made the three hour trip to pick him up and there he was in the stall with the mare. Skinny. Wormy. and with a cough. We stayed over night and weaned him to the saintly gelding we had brought along to ship with him. We could tell he would not do well if we left him and that the BO had either no idea what weaning was, or no intention to do it correctly OR just didn’t give a damn about the foal. so better solution to a bad situation was to bring him home and get him well. It took three months to get him well. He had severe ulcers, was worm infested and was trying to fight a respiratory infection. Poor little guy. but finally he was well enough to go out with other weanlings, and was paired up with a submissive one and then introduced to the rest of them for the winter. We had never had a horse raised on our farm that exhibited the separation anxiety that he still does and we always wonder if it may have stemmed from the improper weaning.
