Yeah maybe it irritants in the rainwater or something?
My fourth horse didnāt like getting chilly. It made him weird until he warmed up. Even if he wasnāt cold when I brought him in, if he had been chillier than his comfort he would be unhappy and weird. So much so that I learned to longe warm up, and see it in how he moved so I could tell when he was warmed up.
My second horse needed a ridiculously long warm up for arena work if he was a bit chilly. Neither horse was actually cold, shivering, cold ears, what have you. When their bodies had to work harder to stay warm they needed longer warm ups.
Fourth horse was my neuro horse, second horse had no issues and didnāt behave weirdly - he just needed to walk for at least 20 minutes before trotting in the winter. Warmer blankets made both horses happy.
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Iām wondering if this is it and itās the rain that just makes him unable to warm up as quickly (even though we arenāt talking freezing temps, the low being maybe 55 )
Unfortunately blanketing/sheet in June is really hard but maybe on these unusually chilly days Iāll just have to throw a back on track cooler on him and then lunge to warm up. Maybe thatās just his thing he needs!
Today he was absolutely fine- still on zyrtec though. We did a pole work clinic and he was pretty normal acting. He did stop to itch his nose on his leg but only once. It has been dry the last two days. Not warm today but no moistureā¦
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As someone that is allergic and constantly itchy - the wet skin itchiness makes sense. Wet skin is more permeable than dry skin. One summer I had a terrible reaction to the barn. It was hot and my face was constantly wet from sweating. I got a bacterial infection from an allergen on my wet skin. I looked like I had leprosy. An antibiotic and allergy shots got me over it so I have sympathy for itchy animals.
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Well my vet was out today to do mesotherapy so we chatted about what was going on. I gave my horse a bath right before she got there per her instructions and he was quite antsy afterwards.
She agreed with me that it wasnāt likely no-see-ums given the area/current weather. But she was thinking that maybe this unusual rain pattern for the area is causing something different in the environment that bothering him. So for now, we are sticking on the Zyrtec. She did say maybe try giving him a bath once a week for a bit in case itās something heās physically rolling in thatās upsetting his skin. She also said that there is a chance that the small amount of steroid used in the mesotherapy could potentially help too.
Sheās perplexed but didnāt think that it was sweet itch or mites given how his skin looks right now. She also doesnāt think itās pain.
So we will see. I think the forecast is calling for a warm up. Of course then weāll be actually dealing with bugs. Lol ugh.
Well I went for a walk in my neighborhood this evening, and there were gnats everywhere. And my horses were shaking their ears at gnats today during our rides in sunny weather (flies werenāt too bad so I didnāt put bonnets on). So, they are definitely out there in our area!
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Yes the warm up in the weather now after such moisturize is definitely going to bring them out quickly!
Update! Today we went out mid morning, dry and 80 degree weather. Definitely some flies out and about (although not bad ā¦yet) but no weird agitated behavior or crazy stomping/itching. Heās still on zyrtec but yesterday and today he only got a dose once a day instead of twice.
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Update again. Itās blazing hot and muggy and buggy! No crazy stomping or itching. Heās on just ten pills of Zyrtec a day. But of course with the weather change itās hard to know If itās the Zyrtec or if it was in fact something to do with the rainy cold! I think Iāll keep him on Zyrtec for the rest of the week and maybe I see about tapering off just to see.
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Heās been doing great but this morning I saw some of that behavior but mildly. Last night we had one heck of a thunderstorm plus lots of hail. The barn was a wet mess this morning.
Heās still on the Zyrtec but I do think he didnāt get it last night (my bad timing)
That being said heās doing a lot better I still think itās weird that it coincides with this type of weather. Not sure I understand it lol but I think we have an under control so farā¦ This is the first incident heās had with it in a few weeks.
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That was quite a storm! I was glad the hail stayed small (at least here it did). I hope it was small for you as well.
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We got pretty decent sized hail at the barn, apparently! Quarter sized! No damage thankfully, just lots of water. It sure moved in fast and hard though.
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It really sounds like heās affected by getting chilly. Things like summer storms may not be occasions you can do anything to prevent it, but you could experiment with different warm ups.
With mine I used to throw a blanket on him for a couple of hours while I rode my other horse. I realize this would be difficult with one horse, but maybe putting a cooler or BoT sheet on while you groomed might help loosen his muscles. Or perhaps ten minutes in hand walking over poles or up and down slopes before grooming could start the warm up process gently.
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Yes, I think thatās what it seems like too. I have a fleece cooler out there and have used a BOT saddle pad if it is a bit chilly.
Lunabear, howās he been lately?
My horse has just started doing this this week. Very emphatic and annoyed stomping w front and back hooves, kicking the back leg repeatedly, holding a hind leg up and kind of pumping it before kicking out, stomping front feet. Not to the level (yet) that your horse exhibited on June 5. No flies in sight, no signs of bites on his sheath/hind legs. Heās fine when Iām riding.
Prior to this week, heās acted like he has a little mild itchiness (winter & summer; coat looks fine) - heāll itch his flank/point to his chest and shoulders with his mouth for me to scratch. He has occasionally broken out in hives from his flyspray (Equiderma horse spray, which has a history of causing hives if applied to liberally). Barn manager texted me this morning to tell me that he was stomping again; yesterday I sprayed him with Ecovet, though, so maybe that rules out a reaction to Equiderma. Heās been rubbing a spot on his dock for a few weeks but the stomping only started this week.
Heās grey, still shedding a little, (weāre in Michigan). Heās out during the day, in at night, and we havenāt had rain.
Iāll be reading your post/experience again very carefully! Thanks for documenting it so thoroughly.
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I have a friend locally that her horse started exhibiting this behavior but even much more extreme than my horse. I think they determined that her horse might have a neck issue.
My horse has not displayed the behavior in awhileā¦ Even though we had a crazy, cool rainstorm and I rode in the morning the next day!
He has still been on a very low dose of Zyrtec which might be whatās helping? Itās really hard to say. I just ended up keeping him on it for now because it does seem like it helps with the reaction to fly bites in general (they donāt seem to get as big and swollen when heās on Zyrtec.)
Good luck! I think some of them are just more sensitive tooā¦
