Has anyone dealt with a grumpy horse only in the winter?
7 y/o OTTB gelding. I’ve had him 4 years and every single winter he awful to be around. Hates being brushed and tacked up. I have to watch my back with him because I don’t trust him this time of year. Any other season, he’s SO sweet. I treated for ulcers the first winter I got him. Checked for kissing spine. Checked for Lyme and EPM and it’s none of that. He’s currently on gutx and magnagard. His diet was checked out by a nutritionist. We do believe he could be ulcery every winter but it’s extremely expensive to have to treat ulcers every single winter. I’ve had one person say they believe he just hates winter. Suggestions?
Yes, both of my mares. I think they just hate the cold. Maybe get a back on track sheet to put on him a few hours a day (or overnight)? Mine seem to like theirs - I think they might just get cold and stiff and the BoT works wonders.
3 Likes
He might be sensitive to static. It drives my guy nuts in the winter.
13 Likes
Awww poor bug. Are you somewhere cold? Is he blanketed? Does he come in a stall part of the time? I am assuming you are in a cold zone for winter and otherwise wouldn’t ask this question but if he’s not blanketed, I would consider that and coming into a stall at night if possible. Back on Track products can help warm up the back and muscles. Sometimes it doesn’t have to be as nefarious as ulcers or kissing spines for them to dislike the cold.
All my Walkers come from the south to WI so it takes a good winter or two to get used to things.
Adding electrolytes for increased water consumption could help too. Maybe find some fun obstacles or other exercises to vary things up for him too.
I also love red light pads! They can help warm and loosen up muscles.
1 Like
My horses get a bit grumpy in the winter and generally don’t want me around. I second the suggestion for a back on track sheet. My old guy wears one overnight as a base layer some cold nights and he seems to appreciate it. Last year I also added uninsulated neck covers to their wardrobe and I think those make a big difference in keeping them warm. Horses seem much happier with them on, which surprised me because I thought they’d hate them. Even the mini who tries to bite and kick me when I blanket her, doesn’t fuss when I’m putting on the blanket with the neck warmer.
4 Likes
Grumpy TB in cold weather would have me investigating PSSM2 (MIM) variants.
What’s his diet? If the nutritionist didn’t consider MIM, you need a new one
5 Likes
Is he not outside as much in the winter? That will make them bored and cranky. Or if he’s out: having to tread carefully on frozen ground can cause their muscles to get tight and uncomfortable; slogging in deep mud can make them feel sore.
6 Likes
Consider a low grade vitamin E deficiency. That can cause them to be reactive and jumpy. If he’s mostly on hay with limited grass, about now would be the time they run out of vitamin E.
I would try 5,000IU or so of natural vitamin E per day, see if you have a new horse in two weeks.
6 Likes
I’d love to hear more about this correlation. I can go look, but is the PSSM2/MIM diet the higher fat diet or the higher protein?
3 Likes
We are in New England. Starts to get pretty cold in January. He comes inside every night to a barn that has stayed around 50° so I don’t blanket him. We do have a BOT sheet that i should use more and luckily he’s good about drinking water no matter what season it is. I will have to look into red light pads though thank you!
1 Like
PSSM2 Has always been something I wondered about but no vet or nutritionist has ever brought it up. Something to look into more… thank you
He gets vitamin E!
1 Like
How much and what type? For how long?
What did the nutritionist calculate when she evaluated diet?
Started with 5000 IU of Nano liquid vitamin e about a year ago. I recently switched him to elevate and he gets 1000IU of it currently. Over the course of a year I gradually went from 5000 to 1000.
My physiotherapist is also a nutritionist… She liked his diet for the most part just had me switch grains I didn’t get a calculation from her.
Have you done a blood test to confirm his actual levels?
That would allow you to at least rule out a deficiency, and perhaps save you some $$ on unnecessary supplements.
He’s out everyday in a paddock. Doesn’t get out to the pastures in the winter though. He’s still the same in the winter even with 24/7 turn out in a pasture
Yes only thing he was lacking was Calcium so we added alfalfa to his diet
WHEN does he start getting “grumpy”?
I had a horse who, starting when she was about 10, developed muscle related problems every October, which started getting better in February, and she was fine by May.
After going down several other rat holes of potential diagnoses/ treatments, we but eventually put her “under lights”, starting in August, and the problem went away completely. We did that every year from then on and she never had any other problems with it for the rest of her career (and I was competing her into her mid 20s)
6 Likes
I have a mini who is grumpy in the winter if he gets the least bit chilled. I have to start with the blankets when it hits 45 at night or he’s a grouch. He does what we call the “humpy-bump” to voice his level of discomfort re: temperature. If I feel under his blanket and he’s warm he doesn’t react, if he’s chilly he does this buck/bounce the rump straight up in the air thingy. The bigger the buck/bounce the colder he is. It took a bit for me to realize it wasn’t an odd behavioral thing but rather a cold reaction. I waste a lot of time rearranging his clothes 
.
9 Likes
Bingo.
My OTTB, who loved being groomed most of the year, turned grumpy in late fall early winter when the air started to get dry and he would get zapped by static. Also, blankets, especially ones with nylon liners, tended to give him micro zaps. I’d be grumpy if that happened to me day in and day out.
Solution was pretty easy, just wet brushes a bit when grooming or rub anti-static drier sheets on his body now and then. No more zap and a much happier horse.
4 Likes
