Just wanted to say good on you for doing your due diligence with him. Not that anyone who can’t or won’t do an involved vet workup isn’t a good horse person, but I think it’s commendable to try what you can.
Don’t be afraid to put a limit on it though; be it money, or minimum probability of being a safe horse to ride, or simple “I don’t have the resources to rehab that”. Rabbit holes are dark places, and rarely do you come out the other side with any clarity.
If this is indeed an attractive horse that is just okay enough to tempt people to risk it, I think it’s valuable to put what you can into finding some answers (vs just rehoming a big question mark). Answers give you something concrete to tell potential new homes, should that be an option. Even if it’s as simple as “he has to be out 24/7 and on tons of vitamin E, has XYZ issue that needs surgery/rehab/workload limitation”. That’s better than letting him go to someone who thinks he will be their fancy ticket to the big time and them getting hurt.
Jingles for answers, at least, and please update us if you can - you never know if someone will be dealing with similar issues later down the road!
The keys to ulcer management are 24/7 turn out, 24/7 access to good quality forage and a diet low in concentrates. Alfalfa also helps, esp in winter when naturally occurring forage is low.
All of those conditions are hard to replicate in a commercial boarding barn.
My own special snowflake is even more difficult in that he can not be turned out in a big herd or with an overly dominant horse because he’s at the bottom of the pecking order and it stresses him out. He frets if confined to a stall to eat, and if fed loose, can’t have an aggressive horse run him off his feed.
It can be done but it’s not cheap. Caveat that my horse is Queen of the Universe so she doesn’t have a lot of herd stress apart from making sure everyone is eating from the pile she chooses for them, and insisting that there be no fraternization with new herd members until she gives the Royal Assent after a couple of days. Even the new herd member thing isn’t bad. She communicates very clearly, “You! Over there! And you! Over there! I will let you know when you may approach. Oh, hey, new girl, you may have sorted out that there are some rules in this group. Let’s chat.” LoL
Anyway, they can manage being stalled but it takes extra $$ to ensure the right hay, the right feed, the right supplements, and meds always on hand for when they are required due to a stressful event like shipping out, getting sedated, a course of NSAIDS, etc.
And as much as all that - daily vigilance. A “repeat offender” needs owner eyes on them every day. Barn staff are not necessarily going to see the subtle signs of the beginning of a problem especially in larger stables. That is a huge commitment. But, it can be done in a boarding stable.
The wonderful horseperson who gave me my special snowflake did a lot of things right.
I know she checked me out pretty thoroughly before I came out to try the horse. (We know lots of the same people and use lots of the same professionals, so it wasn’t hard.)
She was absolutely forthright about the horse’s issues and that she had lost confidence in him. She shared her exhaustive vet records and treatment history with me and her belief that he just couldn’t be managed well at her boarding barn. She gave her vets permission to speak to me, but I didn’t feel it was necessary to since I had all the records.
I came to her barn and tried him and then came again and clipped him and tried my saddle on him.
I had her come to my place and look it over, and I then took him home on a 30 day trial. (There was a written agreement for the trial.) At the end of the 30 days, we executed a bill of sale for $1. For the first couple of months afterward, she would come by and see him occasionally, and I was fine with that, she was very unobtrusive.
I send her photos of him doing his job as often as I can.
Most of what I would suggest has already been mentioned. Adding that I had one that suddenly started to act borderline dangerous on the ground - running you over when leading after spooking at nothing - and was difficult in the saddle from balking, rearing, bucking, and spinning. 97% of the time she was fine and well behaved but the symptoms on the ground started to escalate. Had the vet out and tested for EPM and Lyme at my insistence despite the vets repeated assurance she couldn’t have Lyme. Horse was positive for both. After treatment all the symptoms on the ground disappeared and she settled under saddle (still had her moments as 4yr old).
I do want to add that if he improves with ulcer treatment or has something come up on a scope that it may not account for 100% of the issues. IME ulcers are typically hand in hand with other issues (some form of pain).
While I don’t believe it would account for the behavior you are describing, I didn’t see any mention of what feed he is on?
It could be something “big” like EPM or Lyme or could be a snowball effect of smaller things - slightly behavioral compounded by ulcers made worse by not ideal for him management.
Coming in late, but as someone who had a very similar horse who was put down due to suspicion of EDM (and ended up being chronic edema and vascular lesions in the brain on necropsy), this screams neuro to me. A neuro and ophthalmology consult would be #1 on my list. It is rare that an ulcer horse would be fat, shiny, eating well, fine with being touched all over/saddled/girthed with the only symptom being dangerously explosive under saddle.
An ulcergard trial may or may not tell you anything, my current ulcer horse took the 4 full weeks on gastrogard, sucralfate and misoprostol to begin to be less grumpy, and is on her 3rd round of treatment after 2 rescopes, in spite all of the best management in the world. It will also cost you $600 in meds, which will have been useless if ulcers aren’t actually the issue.
I’d bet money this horse has wobblers, EDM (not EPM) or serious vision loss. Maybe also ulcers, but def secondary to whatever is going on in his neuro system.
PS- you are doing all the right things. Including not rehoming this horse. I’m sorry you are going through this situation.
I had a horse who acted similarly. Fine sometimes, explosive others (broke my back when he bolted out of the blue). Started getting dangerous to handle or even be in the stall with him as he would run you over as if you weren’t even there, and started becoming ataxic. No fun since he was 18 hands! Did the ophtho exam, EPM titer, all sorts of tests, but it took a myelogram to detect that he had Wobblers (he was 12 at the time). Didn’t show up on plain films or even the straight-neck myelogram, but when they flexed his neck, bingo! Multiple pinch spots in his spinal cord. Put him down on the table.
I use to be that person, the one that took any horse because I thought I could fix them. Until I found one I couldn’t fix. There are people out there that are young and stupid (which is what I was) who would take the horse. But I’m not sure that’s the right answer here, because as you have already said, you have addressed the behavioral and it’s probably physical and may be something that can’t be fixed. IF it was just ulcers, that would be one thing, but I suspect there is more to it.
So why would this show up now and not when he was a lesson horse? There are physical things that get worse with age. Neck arthritis and things like that. Even some forms of PSSM get worse with age. Also, there has been a change in management. Maybe he needs to be out 24/7. Changes in living arrangement can cause ulcers and his behavior is not inconsistent with ulcers.
One of the things that make me think it is something else is the stall issue. Why would he NOT go into a stall. What is possibly in his stall that freaked him out? Stray voltage from an automatic waterer? Insect nest? Rats biting his coronary bands at night (this does happen) Or is it dark in there. If his vision is compromised, that might make him afraid of it. Or does he associate it with discomfort? Some muscular issues get worse on stall confinement, as the horse needs to keep moving to be comfortable.
I think you are on the right track here. A good veterinary exam to rule out physical issues is a great start. I hope you find some answers.
If it comes down to putting him down, you have given him the best chance. I don’t think passing him off is doing him any favors. I used to think they could all be fixed, but it’s just not true.
You have already been hurt by this horse. If you just pass him along, what if he hurts the next person even worse? And if they have a better lawyer than you do, they may try to pin it on you!
Hopefully you can find something fixable with this horse, but if not, euthanasia would be better than just passing him along.
To be clear, there’s no chance of my passing him on without finding a resolution (not just a diagnosis) first. I only mentioned that in response to another comment suggest I rehome him now-- I was saying that yes, that would be great, except I don’t see how it can be done practically or ethically.
I agree he can’t be passed on, even though there are people like the younger-you who would probably take him on. I’m not going to risk having it on my conscience if they get hurt.
Refusal to go into his stall was one time only, and seemed to be the manifestation of his anxiety on that day. There was another incident where he slammed someone around in the stall, but that wasn’t nervousness about the stall itself. It was indeed dark, and I came to the same conclusion that it might indicate a vision problem.
All the best to you. This is a really tough situation to be in. I recently had one of my horses euthanized because of her dangerous behaviour. I suspect it was a neuro problem. She was always a handful, but in her old age it got progressively worse, and she became unpredictable and quite dangerous to herself, my other horse she was turned out with, and people. In last weeks, she could only be turned out alone. She was unhappy no matter what. It was very tough, but I think I made the best decision for her under the circumstances. She was nearly 21, I had her since she was 3.
When my horse deteriorated neurologically he became very weird about going through gates and in and out of his stall…and we’re talking 14-16ft gates. There was really no rhyme or reason to it except his brain was not normal.
I put one down at 13 who was born on my farm. We suspect she had a malignant pituitary tumor because she responded very well to pergolide, but kept needing ever increasing doses to maintain her good behavior. Her only symptom was extreme aggression on the ground. Wonderful undersaddle. Did all the diagnostics. Pergolide, consistent handling and exercise and she was great. But she went lame and they quit making the flavor of pergolide that she liked so it all fell apart. I had to carry a lunge whip just to feed hay. It was sad to put her down, but it was also a relief. Hugs.
I am still waiting on an appointment at the vet hospital (have to talk to one of their doctors first, and we’ve been playing phone tag). In the meantime, my vet at home tested for Lyme and EPM. His Lyme test was negative, but his EPM titers were high (1:4000). The vet said that in her experience in our area, titers indicating exposure are at most 1:1500 or so, and usually less. Additionally, he had blood in his manure, though she thinks that any ulcers are probably secondary to something else.
He has not had any gait abnormalities or stumbling. His feet were done yesterday and the farrier said that there were no balance issues. The vet said that the EPM might be causing pain in the back, which causes his reactivity, though it would be unusual in her experience. We will most likely do a spinal tap at the hospital. Curious if others have experienced similar symptoms with EPM (i.e., no gait/balance issues, just behavioral issues like the ones I have mentioned)?
My horse has EPM and has had some odd behavioral issues. The first indication was his refusal to go forward despite being a very forward horse. There was lots of ear pinning and head tossing. He threatened to buck when asked for the canter. He then showed some uneveness in gaits with slight, unexplained, lameness. My regular vet did not see it and he was diagnosed by a second vet.
He was treated last year, but had a relapse, so I am keeping him on a low-dose regimen of Protazil forever. It has been reported ulcers are one of the first symptoms of EPM. (See link below.) Before my horse was diagnosed, I treated for ulcers and he improved. I do treat him occasionally for ulcers with omeprazole and keep him on G.U.T daily. The ulcers may be the cause of the behavior issues you are experiencing. Blood in the manure is not something I have seen before. To me, that would indicate really bad ulcers.
EPM can cause so many strange problems. Behavior can change if the parasite crosses the blood/brain barrier. Eyesight can be impacted. Nerve damage can cause mild to extreme lameness that moves to different legs. It’s an awful, awful disease and very expensive to treat.
Friend of mine was always battling ulcers with her horse and hind gut issues. And his titers for EPM were borderline. But his gut has done a lot better since completing the EPM treatment. He was also never off, but he’s performing so much better now.
