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.