Hyper hyper horse- diet?

[4horses]

My normally chill 3 yr old is going though a stage. Rebellious. Bolting off when asked to lunge… this turns into free lunging him while he gallops and bucks. The putting him back on the lunge once he settles.

Recent changes: switched from Tifton hay to orchardgrass.

The grass is coming in so he’s out at night on pasture and in a drylot with hay during the day.

He has lost some weight, so I have increased his grain to 4lbs per day (1 lb ration balancer and 3 lbs Buckeye Safe N Easy). He also gets 1 flake of alfalfa per day.

I’ve been wondering if he has ulcers or if this is just excessive energy from his diet.

[PaddockWood]

Is it buck and buck and buck and buck?

[4horses]

Galloping with lots of bucking. Not non stop bucks but he definitely throws some bucks in there.

[PaddockWood]

That is so interesting. Exactly what my new guy did and I said to my husband, “That ain’t right.”

Sure they get excited and let one rip, maybe two. But not more…normally. Not every time they go to canter/gallop.

What other odd/interesting observations have you noted?

[RhythmNCruise]

It could be the hay change. Orchardgrass is higher in sugar (and protein?) than Tifton (bermuda) hay. That plus the addition of fresh grass could be lighting him up, and then adding extra grain on top of it could be exacerbating it further or possibly irritating some ulcers.

The only time I’ve had mine get uncharacteristically anxious and difficult to deal with while losing condition was thanks to ulcers. I messed around with feeds and forages and every other thing except addressing ulcers for far too long with marginal success, and when I finally treated him for ulcers…bingo. Old horse was back to himself.

[endlessclimb]

Exactly what I was thinking.

You jacked up the sugar in two, maybe three ways.

Also, it is normal for a 3 year old horse to want to run and buck.

[JB]

@RhythmNCruise

Orchardgrass is higher in sugar (and protein?) than Tifton (bermuda) hay.

In general, maybe, but I’ve seen plenty of OG cuttings that were safe for an IR/EMS horse

I would point to the grass before the hay, while not entirely ruling out the hay

@4horses when do you work with him - before or after his dry lot time? Before he was out nights on pasture, was he only on a dry lot? Were you working with him then? Has he always gotten the alfalfa?

[4horses]

I usually work him first thing in the morning after he has been out all night on pasture. It has been extremely hot so he is not moving around very much during the day.

I added the alfalfa in because he was looking ribby. I’m thinking of treating for ulcers just because he has been more spooky then usual. Normally he is not a worried horse.

[4horses]

Before this he was out on a dry lot track 24/7. The same track he is on during the day now. Not that he runs around much in this heat, unless it storms.

[JB]

Ok, so since he’s getting worked after being in a bigger pasture all night, excess “confinement” energy isn’t the issue

When did you add the alfalfa? Some horses are sensitive to it, and it makes them “hot”. And for sure if he’s somehow developed ulcers, that could cause his behavior

[tabula_rashah]

Is the ration balancer soy based? My one Morgan mare turns into an everlovin’ lunatic on anything soy heavy

[PaddockWood]

I’ve tested 2nd cut orchardgrass in my area (Central Ohio) for 10 yrs or more and it’s been consistently low in sugar and starch and good in protein. Just for what that is worth. Anecdotal.

Have you had a good dentist using a speculum and headlamp examining each tooth? Have you checked for beans - We found 3 big ones when my new guy arrived 3 yrs ago.

My journey started with first finding a bad tooth that was extracted (and under sedation also finding the 3 huge beans) thinking ok that’s it…Nope. Then finding a FEC of 2100, then needing a root canal on an incissor, then finding PSSM2 (MIM) dx’d via biopsy…what else… He was also tight, short in the shoulders and tight, well, everywhere. Laser, red light, bodywork, chiro and… no more buck after buck. At all.

What a journey. This horse was meant to find me.

[RhythmNCruise]

Yeah, if the alfalfa is a new addition, that could be partly to blame as well.

There have been so many changes (addition of pasture, change in hay, addition of alfalfa, addition of Safe N Easy feed) that it’s going to be tough to know which of those (if any) is the culprit. You might have to do an elimination diet to get to the bottom of it. If none of parts of his diet seem to be the trigger to this behavior, it’s probably time to address possible ulcers.

[PaddockWood]

I will add we also scoped for ulcers and none found. However, we know they are SO prevalent not finding any was a big surprise.