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Horse not too interested in grain but eats hay. On Nexium

Horse Care
#1

Hi all,

About a month ago my new filly arrived, and I ended up starting her on Nexium for a few different reasons. One being she was used to free-choice hay, which is basically unheard of where I live (we do weight hay/grain and use hay nets and she is getting the right amount for her weight), she is being turned out alone instead of with a herd (the horse she was supposed to be out with decided she hates her and there are no others she can be paired with), and I recently found out the Ulcergard I had purchased to administer prior to and during her trip was never given. I was worried about all these changes, so I decided to try Nexium rather than wait for Ulcergard to arrive.

Long story short, she seems spookier now than when she arrived and she seems to have a very lackluster reaction to her grain. She much prefers just to eat hay, which she really inhales, and will just pick at her grain back and forth until it’s gone. She has normal manure, and is not touchy for grooming at all, except for her ears. Coat and weight are good. I am wondering if she does have ulcers, despite the Nexium? It seems odd that the ulcery symptoms are worse than when she arrived, though. With all these changes I wouldn’t be surprised if she HAS developed ulcers, but I am surprised the Nexium hasn’t given a more obvious indicator. A poor appetite and random spooking were the exact symptoms one of my mares had years ago after moving barns, so I’m on alert.

Does anybody have any insight? Anything management-wise I might want to try? I have scoped and treated horses for ulcers several times in the past, so I would do it again, but I’m not sure if I’m overlooking something else before I already start running to the insurance so soon after purchase. Thanks to all who read through this!

#2

You don’t say how old, but I’ll assume not yet a yearling.
So basically you have a baby, who’s gone through some Major Changes very recently.
A month doesn’t seem like enough time for her to get completely settled.
As long as she’s eating hay & eventually finishes the grain ration, why worry?
If grain is a New Thing to her, it may take a while before she gets enthusiastic. Or she may prefer a different mix. Or never.

4 Likes
#3

Sorry, I should have given more information. She’s 2.5 years old, and she has had grain, but it was from a feed mill, so obviously not totally equivalent to what’s offered as far as brand names. I tried to match certain levels as best as I could. It’s just odd to me that she seems more edgy the longer she’s here, since I’d expect her to settle in more over time.

#4

So, not a baby :wink:
But still, a month is not so very long for some to settle in.
If she’s still spooky after 6mos, I might worry.
And some never really get settled :roll_eyes:
I have a 22yo Hackney Pony, had him for 12yrs & he’s still very much the Sentry on Duty & flightiest of my 3.
The 8yo mini has been here since he was 2 & has always been very What-Evs about everything.
Which works in my favor as he’s my Driving pony. :grin:

1 Like
#5

I agree that I would give her more time to settle before getting too worried.

Some other things to consider:

If she really did have ulcers, she might need more time on the nexium for the ulcers and their symptoms to go away? How many pills are you feeding her. When my pony had ulcers he needed 4 pills a day to clear up symptoms and eventually ulcers. So, you might need to experiment with a higher dose.

Are there other big changes like amount of turnout? If she was used to more turnout than she’s getting now, I would imagine that is also playing a big role in both appetite and behavior. Being turned out alone instead of with another horse can be a big issue for some, especially if they are young and have never been alone. I might try to see if you can try to find her a pasture buddy asap. One of mine is an absolute wreck in solo turnout–not necessarily running around, but very unhappy about the situation and it impacts appetite, behavior, performance, etc.

1 Like
#6

Thanks for your response!

To answer your questions, I was giving her 3 pills a day. I did this for a month and I just started a tapered dose. She is about 1000lbs I would say.

She is getting more turnout now, as in more time outside, but she’s in individual turnout with horses all around her instead of in a herd or with a buddy. Aside from the first few days where she would trot up and down the fence line here and there and seemed really distressed by the bugs, she doesn’t seem frenzied or anything like that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she was internalizing stress. A buddy isn’t an option because the only horse available was aggressive with her and wouldn’t allow her to use the run-ins or eat/drink. She does strike me as a thinker, and a gentle soul.

Normally I would just let her be, but it is strange how she seems more edgy now than her first week or two here. The shipper walked her down two streets at dawn because of the narrow roads, through all kinds of Halloween decorations and she was really relaxed. She would literally walk though, instead of around, dangling decorations at the barn, with just a sniff. Kids were handling her. Now she’s snorting and spooking at bags of shavings, car doors closing, trash barrels, etc. It just seems like a personality change. No possibility of any foul play or anything like that, as my friend has known her since she was 1.5 years old and confirms this is out of character.

#7

Ugh, I hope she’s not one of the ones who never settles in! I have dealt with that before and it’s a nightmare to have to tell a barn owner you’re moving because your horse seems to hate their facility. I had a mare like that who HATED the barn where we boarded, even after 5 years. It was a horsey dream, too. Each horse has a dry lot with a run-in shed that opened to their own pasture. For those who liked friends, the pastures could be conjoined. They all also had a stall in the barn for storms, injury, rehab, etc. Free-choice hay, whatever grain we wanted, you name it. She was a total nut job there, and I thought it was just her personality. I had to move her to a different facility that had no grass, no stall in the barn, small turnout, no buddies, less access to hay, and was super busy and loud, and she turned into a new animal. Calm, quiet, easy to handle, etc. I eventually had to move her back to the other barn, and she went back to being a nervous freak. Sometimes this stuff doesn’t even make any sense, after all we read about proper equine husbandry.

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#8

I know people have cleared up ulcers with their 16hh horses at 3pills a day. But my 14hh, 800lb pony needed 4 pills. So, if you do think it is ulcers you could try a stronger dose. Also could be worth having a vet do an evaluation. Could be that she needs something like sucralfate that addresses the hind gut as well.

Also worth looking at over all diet. Is she getting noticeably more starch, sugar, protein, or overall kcals than she was getting before? This could be from different feed and different hay quality.

#9

I don’t find this a glaring symptom of ulcers? She wants to eat more hay but you aren’t offering it to her and are feeding less hay in a net to slow it down . Sounds like she isn’t thrilled with the feed you are offering either.

You have changed her diet completely, moved her and maybe changed her living conditions as well? Turnout times and pasture mates ( if any) are different as well as her handlers. Add into that cooler weather.

That can be a lot for a 2 year old to get used to all at once.

Find a feed she likes and do all you can to give her the hay she wants as long as she isn’t overweight.

#10

FWIW my ten year old gelding/wannabe chestnut mare will hunger strike over the most ridiculous things.

If I haul him out, even with proper ulcer preventative, he won’t eat that night or the following morning.

Last week they got a hay hut, he was more concerned about going to eat hay than eat his grain.

This morning utility workers were working at the neighbors near the very far side of his pasture and he was too busy watching them to eat, when I tried to stall him he was quite offended.

The list goes on, but you’re not alone

#11

I’m also dealing with a case of “is it or isn’t it ulcers” with one of my own horses and it’s very frustrating. Similar symptoms. Nexium did not do much for her, but I weaned her off about 3 weeks ago and now she is MUCH worse. I only share this because the Nexium might be taking the edge off but not truly enough to facilitate any healing.

2 Likes
#12

If your horse is 2.5 years old she isn’t a baby. She is, however, still growing… Her height won’t change much. Bones and joints reach full height in a couple of years. She won’t get much taller. She will continue gaining weight as muscles and soft tissues develop unitl age 5-6 depending on the breed.

Horses should have free choice, which is constant access to forage. They shouldn’t be standing around with nothing to eat, but not more than 4 hours. Their stomach is always making acid because they are designed to wander around constantly, nibbling forage. If they are an easy keeper most people these days use a hay net or slow feeder to control their rate of intake. I’ve seen articles recently that say a wad of leftover hay in a net is a sign they had a full serving.

I have one of those unusual horses who definitely aren’t easy keepers but they aren’t hard keepers either. He needs free choice hay. He eats what he needs every day and never gained beyond his normal 1125-1150. I had to move to a new barn when he was 27 after 20 years. Lingering effects of the BO’s stroke. The geldings’ round bales were running out 3-4 days per week. The new BO kept hay in front of him and he gained back the missing 150 lbs.

The new barn went on the market. 90 days later a rookie BO spent a million bucks to “try the farming lifestyle.” She could not, or would not, listen to a horse owner about free choice hay. She said she figured out how many flakes to give him. Should be at least 6-8 daily. He remained 25-50 lbs below his normal weight. His butt gave it away. His arthritic knee gave out and I had to put him down in July.

A young growing horse shouldn’t have hay rationed. Nor should a retired senior. Nor should any horse. That’s what counting flakes is. 2% of normal body weight is guidance. Flakes are around here weigh 4-5 lbs. Don’t assume every horse is an easy keeper. Your mare might benefit from a ration balancer for the nutrition with her free choice forage. A lot of horses don’t need grain. Keep an eye on her so she doesn’t get fat. She has 3 more years to develop her adult body.

Let her be! Back off and let her relax. Sounds like she looks at you and wonders “what’s next.”
She should be happy, well fed, and enjoying herself hanging around in peace and quiet. If she is edgy, she is telling you she’s not happy. Turn her out as much as possible. Walk out there. Stay on this side of the fence. Just watch her, maybe call her name once. If you don’t get a response leave her alone. If you’ve had a similar experience with other horses or at other barns, it is you, not the horse. You shouldn’t expect her to make decisions about grain or anything else. Let her figure out what she likes on her own.

#14

Thanks for your input! I covered a lot of what you have said in some of my other posts. She is on a ration balancer already, as that’s basically what she was on before, along with some hay pellets. It is definitely possible she might not like the taste of something, but as I had said, my priority was trying to match the food she was on with the seller since she seemed to be doing really well. We do not feed by flakes; I said we weigh all our grain and hay, which is actually almost totally unheard of around here, even at high-end show barns. She has a hay net now and she had one at her old barn too, but they did whole bale nets while we have nets for flakes. They grew their own hay and I think it was poorer quality, because she has gained weight since she arrived. That or she is not being chased around by other horses, which I assume happened because she had bite marks. No barns around here feed free-choice hay, though it might be possible to have the barn owner put out another bag during the day if I purchase some of my own bales. Unfortunately the bigger problem seems to be overnight, as I usually don’t see her totally out of hay during the day. Sometimes, but not often. We also do not have access to round bales or anything like that. I really hate limiting hay for any horse, but unless I send her out of state, I don’t know what else to do. It’s very frustrating, as you can imagine.

She is definitely NOT looking at me like “what’s next.” All I have done with her is groom her and hand graze her since she has arrived, or hang out with her in her paddock/stall. I’ve been having some health issues, so I really can’t do much more even if I wanted to. The Halloween decorations were only because they were already there, all over the barn and the yard because there was an event. I meant let her be in the sense of giving her more time to settle before involving a vet, not that I’m messing around with her or pressuring her in any way. I’ve owned horses my whole life and I have only had 1 other that ever seemed “unsettled,” (aside from when my gelding had a spinal fracture and had a major behavior change) but she came to me almost completely unhandled, and this behavior went away with a change in barns (she did end up having ulcers at that barn, for what it’s worth). To say it might be a “me” issue with nothing I’ve said to warrant such an assumption, seems odd to me. She seems happy to follow me around and calls to me when she sees me, so I have no reason to assume otherwise. If anything, she’s a bit clingy and wants to be close to me, but I want to give her much more time before I start doing anything substantial with her.

#15

This is what happened to me. Me iim took the edge off but my horse had a lot of very painful nasty ulcers on scope and needed 8 weeks gastrogard treatment. It’s only a couple hundred bucks to scope I highly recommend it.

#17

I suspect something similar might be going on. I know the seller told me she was very stressed whenever he took her away from her buddies towards the end. I am wondering if the change in barns put her over the top, despite the Nexium. The mare that I mentioned prior was treated with generic Omeprazole, because insurance wouldn’t pay for another round of scoping and treating. I ended up paying out of pocket for a scope anyway because she was still so off, and she had grade 4 ulcers, both squamous and pyloric. The only thing that healed them was a compound of Fenbendazole and Omeprazole. Thankfully, she qualified for a trial and I didn’t end up paying anything AND it cleared everything up!

#18

My horse actually has an appointment Thursday. I suspect that’s what we will find, as she is a stoic thing.

#20

A couple of thoughts

Stress due being solitary. Some horses need another horse to share watch duty, or they don’t get enough sleep. Young horses are still learning social skills, and play also uses up excess energy which can show as spooky behaviour. And if you are doing less than she was getting from the people you got her from, that’s another source of excess energy.

Something in the new feed is an issue.

Either could cause ulcers as well.

1 Like
#21

Thanks for your input! I do think a big issue is probably that she’s alone. She does lay down to sleep when she’s in her stall, but unfortunately she seems to be one of those horses that seems to be more relaxed in her stall than outside. She doesn’t run or beg to come in or anything, but seems more edgy, despite being surrounded by other horses. It might even have to do with the woods bordering the side of her paddock. I really don’t know what to do, because there is only one other horse that is available to be turned out with my horse, and that horse bullies her and runs her off of food, water, and run-in.

The person I bought her from didn’t do much more with her, aside from things I can’t do right now, like baths, and she was long-lined twice. But it was a very busy show/training stable, so perhaps she was more emotionally tired by being there. Current barn is a backyard private boarding facility, and is overall very quiet.

#22

I’ve been through this exact situation, only my gelding was 11 years old and had spent his entire life on my private farm. His older buddies were laid to rest, I sold the farm, and he moved to a boarding barn.

At first, he was okay. A little looky and squirrelly, of course, but nothing too worrying. But as time went on, he got worse and worse until he became an absolutely anxious wreck whenever he was taken out of the pasture. He hated the barn (luckily he was on pasture board, but it was still the place I needed to groom, tack up, etc.) He spooked at everything and became nearly uncontrollable on the ground.

This is a horse that I raised, broke, and trained myself. A horse that I started hauling out to large multi-day indoor horse shows when he was 2, and showing him in them when he was 3. A horse that could certainly spook and gawk, but who always got over it and was never dangerous or irrational.

Now he was a total freak. Completely checking out and going bat-crackers over the tiniest things. Totally inconsolable when something would set him off. He was becoming a danger to himself and those around him.

But it was only sometimes. He had days when he was okay, but they were the exception instead of the rule.

There were a lot of things that happened, and many of them dealt with changing his diet. The BO didn’t check with me before changing him from the ration balancer she fed to a super-high NSC sweet feed (yikes!). He was dropping weight as the pasture died down, and rather than start feeding hay, she switched his feed to this high-octane feed (which is something I never would have fed him), and really poured it to him. I began noticing him being so antsy that I could hardly mount him, and my normally sleepy, poke-a-long kick ride horse was jigging sideways instead of walking. And he developed diarrhea…with oats in it (my first clue that his feed had been changed without my input).

Add to this the fact that this place didn’t feed nearly enough hay (and my horse had been on a completely forage-based diet at my farm), and it was a recipe for disaster. He’s never been scoped, but I believe ulcers were probably developing (and may still be there for all I know).

It took feed changes and me supplementing his hay with soaked timothy/alfalfa pellets, adding Smart Calm Ultra (which works beautifully for him), and eventually moving him to an adjacent farm where more hay was fed in order for him to return to semi-normal.

I now do self-care, and he’s getting much more hay than either BO fed, and what do you know? I’ve got my sleepy, reliable critter back.

Now, whenever I hear about a horse that is getting spooky and tense for “no reason”…I suggest more hay, less grain (which it sounds like your horse is doing on her own), and maybe a healthy dose of magnesium (the main ingredient in Smart Calm Ultra). And time and patience. Lots of time and patience.

Oh, and Probios treats. I swear when my guy doesn’t get his Probios treats he’s a bit more wiggly and looky. Totally anecdotal, but when you’ve dealt with this type of personality change, you notice how every little thing affects them. I keep Probios treats in stock. He gets two a day.

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