Horse increasingly spooky

[tbchick84]

Like the title says, my normally cool cucumber of a horse has been becoming more progressively spooky over the past month. At first I chalked it up to our very rainy spring and the fact that we didn’t get to do any early schooling. Now it’s gotten to the point where I get whiplash riding him. Today he turned inside out at every single jump we rode past, the very same jumps he jumped a week ago. Nothing is new. It’s all the same stuff that was sitting there last week / last year etc.

I do not think it is behavioral, since he normally becomes very agreeable once I get after him a bit. He’s normally, the “I’m sorry I’ll be good” once you tell him to knock it off. Today he just kept getting worse.

I’ve called the vet to test for Lyme since we’re in the home zone for that one. I’m thinking check his eyes too. I don’t know if 15 is an age where eye problems could be expected yet. He has had no food changes in the past few months, so I do not suspect that as a contributing factor. I added Magnesium as a supplement about 6 weeks ago when this first started. He is showing no other symptoms other than running our of breath twice over the past week when I attempted to let him gallop. Both times he initially took off only to run out of gas about 10 strides later. Otherwise he’s good. No reluctance to work. Moving well. Not girthy or any signs of being cranky.

What else can I check or test for? Is there a blood test that will show nutritional deficiency? If it matters, he’s a TB and not a typical one. Very easy going customer. I do not imagine ulcers as even a vague possibility. I’ve had him for 10 years, mostly at the same barn. He is top dog in his herd, so nobody is pushing him around.

[IPEsq]

Lyme, EPM, ulcers (I know you said you didn’t think this could be it, but I’ve seen this new out-of-their-mind spooking out of a couple horses who were having ulcer issues, mine being one of them), and neck or other spine issues.

[JeanM]

Pain. Somewhere, something. Have your farrier do a real re-check of your horse’s feet - is something out of line? only takes a millimeter to make a difference. Lameness exam from a competent vet. Then, I’d certainly look into IPEsq’s suggestions

[SolarFlare]

Mine did the same thing, getting progressively worse over a few months. I had the vet out, tried a number of things but couldn’t put my finger on what was causing it. Like IPEsq said, they can get really weird spooky with ulcers (been through that before, caused by Previcox) but that wasn’t it this time.

Finally had my long-awaited saddle fit appointment last weekend. First ride with the adjusted dressage saddle, and the behaviour was gone. Totally gone, and has stayed gone all week. Also found out that my CC saddle had popped two rivets, so it turns out that BOTH my saddles were causing him discomfort, which is why I didn’t put it together before. The CC saddle is currently in for repair.

I’ve never had him react like this before, but we started dressage lessons in the winter and he’s been changing shape. Clearly something was bothering him enough to turn him from my normally happy, willing horse, into a spooky, reactive, crabby horse.

[candyappy]

@tbchick84

He is showing no other symptoms other than running out of breath twice over the past week when I attempted to let him gallop. Both times he initially took off only to run out of gas about 10 strides later.

This would concern me.

Is it possible that it could be related or contributing to the spookiness?

[NancyM]

Try treating for ulcers anyway, even if he shows no symptoms other than the spooking. It’s cheap, half a bottle of generic omeprazole will do the trick IF this is the problem. I had one like this, SO spooky over nothing, and NO other symptoms of ulcers, and treating for ulcers made him a different horse in a few days. The generic stuff worked fine, no need to spring for gastroguard. Half a bottle of generic cost $100. Cheap to try.

[tbchick84]

@NancyM

Try treating for ulcers anyway, even if he shows no symptoms other than the spooking. It’s cheap, half a bottle of generic omeprazole will do the trick IF this is the problem. I had one like this, SO spooky over nothing, and NO other symptoms of ulcers, and treating for ulcers made him a different horse in a few days. The generic stuff worked fine, no need to spring for gastroguard. Half a bottle of generic cost $100. Cheap to try.

Do I have to get that from a vet?

[IPEsq]

Compounded omeprazole you will need a prescription for, as well as Gastrogard. You can try ranitidine or Nexium otc or buy Ulcergard (and give the whole tube). If you are thinking trying ulcer meds, I’d give it at least 10 days to see if there is a change.

[LookmaNohands]

Pain. Does your saddle fit for sure? That can do it. Lyme and EPM too.

[SaratogaTB]

The shortness of breath is a concern to talk the vet about asap. Maybe he’s having an asthma like reaction like heaves? Maybe that is also causing spookiness? Is he coughing at all?

[Crazy4aOTTB]

Is the magnesium supplement only magnesium? I started my horse on smart breathe to help with her coughing at the beginning of our rides and she turned into a spooky mess. I thought, EPM, Lyme, ulcers, and even her having a hard first heat. Turns out it was the MSM in the Smartmare supplement.

[theresak]

With the out of breath symptom, I’d be looking for systemic causes such as lyme, EPM, immune issues (allergies?)…

If he’s not as fit as usual at this point in the year, then I’d move the out of breath down on the symptom list. His age might start making him a bit more sensitive to the sugar int he grass if he’s out on pasture, and if you’ve had a lot of rain it might have a lot of sugar still.

Also consider treating 2-3 weeks for ulcers. I’ve done the Abler but couldn’t get my horse to eat them this time, so switched to Nexium. It made a huge difference and we are in the last few days of the taper.

[millerra]

out of breath and ticks in the area? Test for anaplasmosis/erlichia. (ok, my spelling is likely bad).

My horses have had it more than once- mine always had also high fevers but a friend of mine’s first symptom was loss of breath and exercise intolerance. It doesn’t fit your symptoms really well, but if the vet is drawing blood, it’s an easy additional check.

[tbchick84]

@millerra

out of breath and ticks in the area? Test for anaplasmosis/erlichia. (ok, my spelling is likely bad).

My horses have had it more than once- mine always had also high fevers but a friend of mine’s first symptom was loss of breath and exercise intolerance. It doesn’t fit your symptoms really well, but if the vet is drawing blood, it’s an easy additional check.

Oh if it was anaplasmosis, I would have known very quickly. Poor horse has had that one twice over the past 5 years. Both times he had legs the size of tree stumps and 105 degree fever. Luckily the doxy works quickly.

[tbchick84]

@theresak

With the out of breath symptom, I’d be looking for systemic causes such as lyme, EPM, immune issues (allergies?)…

If he’s not as fit as usual at this point in the year, then I’d move the out of breath down on the symptom list. His age might start making him a bit more sensitive to the sugar int he grass if he’s out on pasture, and if you’ve had a lot of rain it might have a lot of sugar still.

Also consider treating 2-3 weeks for ulcers. I’ve done the Abler but couldn’t get my horse to eat them this time, so switched to Nexium. It made a huge difference and we are in the last few days of the taper.

Yes he is most certainly out of shape, so I am not overly concerned about his heavy breathing. Usually we’re doing our canter sets in April when it’s nice and cool. This year, due to a very rainy spring, we just finally got to open field conditioning the past week or so. Both times I turned him loose, he was on anaerobic air which he always runs out of quickly. His longer sustained aerobic air is much better. He can go all day as nice trot / slow canter. It’s the gallop that he can’t do anymore once the temp is above 50 degrees or so.

[tbchick84]

@Crazy4aOTTB

Is the magnesium supplement only magnesium? I started my horse on smart breathe to help with her coughing at the beginning of our rides and she turned into a spooky mess. I thought, EPM, Lyme, ulcers, and even her having a hard first heat. Turns out it was the MSM in the Smartmare supplement.

Yes, straight magnesium. He had a spooking issue a few years ago that came out of nowhere and it helped him then. This time it is much more pronounced. Yesterday, he frooze and spooked at a gate where we enter his favorite field. He’s been past is a zillion times. It just makes no sense.

[tbchick84]

@SaratogaTB

The shortness of breath is a concern to talk the vet about asap. Maybe he’s having an asthma like reaction like heaves? Maybe that is also causing spookiness? Is he coughing at all?

No coughing. He did have a grade 2 heart murmur which disappeared the past few years. It’s possible that has started to become a factor again. I’ll have the vet take a listen to his heart and see if it’s back again.

[tbchick84]

@LookmaNohands

Pain. Does your saddle fit for sure? That can do it. Lyme and EPM too.

Saddle fitter was out 2 months ago. This behavior has been happening in 3 different saddles and also with no tack at all. He’s just seeing ghosts. He can still hang onto himself in the ring closest to the barn. I rode him there Sunday, and he was moving very nicely. His stretchy trot was so good, he chewed almost all of the reins out of my hand at the end of the ride. Other than early ride stiffness, which has always been there for the 10 years I’ve had him, there is no sign of pain. If I could get him anywhere near the jumps he now will not come within 10’ of, he would happily jump them.

[sdlbredfan]

@candyappy

This would concern me.

Is it possible that it could be related or contributing to the spookiness?

You need the Vet to check for heart rhythm problems, aka arrythmia. You certainly do not want to risk that the horse is going to collapse while you are riding. That shortness of breath is, IMO, a MAJOR red flag, that would have me stop riding the horse until a thorough veterinary workup was done. (if you stop riding, remember to reduce grain intake)

[sdlbredfan]

The shortness of breath is not something to shrug off. You need the Vet to check for heart rhythm problems, aka arrythmia, You certainly do not want to risk that the horse is going to collapse while you are riding. That shortness of breath is, IMO, a MAJOR red flag, that would have me stop riding the horse until a thorough veterinary workup was done. (if you stop riding for awhile, remember to reduce grain intake so he won’t get laminitis)
Oh good, I just saw post 17, that mentions this horse is already known to have some cardiac issues. I am glad you are going to check that further.