I'm at my wits end- need help with a super-reactive horse

[Paint_Party]

@trubandloki

Never a bad idea to have the vet out and do an exam and discuss things.

This would be at the top of my list, too. Besides an ulcer regimen, I would also have the mare’s eyesight checked, just in case.

Since the mare was already upset about being in a new environment, the pig may have been the tipping point. With my old horse it wasn’t pigs or goats. It was chickens, geese and one particular emu. He could not deal with large feathered things. Ever.

I’m also wondering if this is a mare who has always been the passive, subservient one in the herd. So she lacks confidence and the world is a scary place unless she’s protected by her more dominant herd mates. It can be tough to connect with a horse like this because they’re uncertain of everything. It takes a long time of being firm yet fair. Require her to be respectful and behave yet reward good choices. Maintain a consistent daily routine. In essence you are becoming her Boss Mare and teaching her that the world is okay, after all. (Except for maybe the pig).

[Cowboy_Girl]

Cut out everything except hay and the bit of alfalfa. She’s on A LOT of stuff for a youngish mare, she may crawling out of her skin.

[endlessclimb]

@Real_Rush

I’ve been too hesitant to ride her

I agree with adding nexium, first and foremost.

I’d put her in a program, even if you’re not riding. Lunging (I’d have a chambon or a set of vienna reins on her), ground driving, walking all over with purpose - not stop and stare at every single thing.

Like another poster suggested, you need to become her leader. “We’re going here, we’re doing this” in a calm and no-nonsense way.

I also agree with the poster who suggested to simplify her feed program. Start with the bare-bones basics, and add only what is absolutely necessary.

[ParadoxFarm]

Adding to my previous post on how many calories in your horse’s feed. I see she has free access to orchard grass hay. A typical 1100 pound horse in maintenance needs 15,000 calories a day. Yes, it goes up with added work, but for now you mention you are not riding her. She’s getting approximately 16,200 calories in feed alone. Add however much hay she is getting. Orchard grass hay is 872 calories per pound, so she’s likely getting a LOT of calories with hay alone. When I feed a hay net filled with hay, it usually weighs 8 to 10 pounds. I would do that twice a day, so up to 20 pounds of hay. If I used orchard, that’s another 17,440 calories a day. So she’s getting approximately 33,640 calories a day, more than twice as much recommended for her activity level. Yes, these are approximate, but I would try to cut some calories to see if she calms down some. It’s worth a shot.

Here is a good site for reference:

Counting Calories in the Equine Diet

[Christa_P]

Some horses will react this way to alfalfa. I tried an alfalfa based grain for my TB once and she turned into a spooky mess. I switched her off of it after 1 bag and she settled down. Just another possibility.

BTW, I am one who has 2 completely unrelated equines react to MSM (a full TB, not the one above, and a POAx pony).

[CBoylen]

@endlessclimb

Lunging (I’d have a chambon or a set of vienna reins on her),

Really really going to suggest that you do not do that on a mare that tends to go backwards. These are the type that flip over.

[seriously1]

While you are investigating physical reasons for her behaviour, which is a great idea, take a look at Warwick Schiller’s stuff. It is subscription based but you can get a trial week. His work is connection and attunement based. If you have a subscription, he will also answer questions.

[endlessclimb]

You don’t have to have them on tight. I think learning to put her head down, over time, will help this mare learn to relax. Lunging her around with her head sky-high won’t do her any favors.

[rhershock]

@Christa_P

Some horses will react this way to alfalfa

I second this. My gelding who is normally very level headed is a nut with even a flake of alfalfa in his diet. Once I removed it, he was calm and less reactive.

[trubandloki]

Have you discussed with wherever she lived last what she was fed there and what her turn out schedule was there. Add in what the general feel of that facility was.

Some horses are not fine with some things.

I would put her on whatever feed they used when she was doing fine.

There are horses who like a busy hectic barn setting (with or with out pigs) and horses who find that overwhelming. On the other side, there are horses who find a quiet barn to be stressful and horses who thrive in that environment.

[endlessclimb]

This is a really good point. I had one that did NOT do well in quiet settings - she wanted her “dots” close together, else she would invent stuff in the middle.

[NancyM]

Remove the pig from the equation. This would be the first thing I’d try. Some horses simply “lose their shit” over a pig… completely freaked out. Have seen a friend try to “get her horse OVER it”. She was NOT successful in this attempt. And I don’t know how no one was killed in the attempt.

[Ajierene]

I am another one to say look at feed. Most horses do not need all the calories and sugar we feed them. My horse was switched to a higher test feed way back when she was a 3 YO - it was September and the barn owner figured between winter and her likely still growing, she could use it. Two days later, I came to ride and she was a NUTTER - spooking at everything. We quickly switched her back. We had to be careful about her alfalfa as well.

Now she gets hay pellets, a myriad of supplements and a cup of oats since she works every day. That and grass hay and she’s fit and happy.

Also, look at magnesium - my friend swears by it for keeping horses level headed and apparently horses often do not get enough.

[Red_Dust]

LOL, that would have ME frazzled!

[Texarkana]

Things (some) horses react batshit crazy to:
MSM
Pigs

My childhood TB would react to both, basically in the manner you describe. MSM turned him into a paranoid lunatic who would flip over backwards at the sound of a car door closing. Pigs would send him bolting through fences.

Since you dropped the MSM, I guess the next thing is to remove the pig!

[MissusS]

@steelerino

Hell, even my horse would freak out when I went to ride up front and the stupid pig would come walking up through the empty lot from the back and he lived with him!

We have a pig at our barn (his name is Hamlet) and I don’t think a single horse hasn’t freaked out when they first meet him. Some chill out VERY quickly, others - like mine - take months and months to get used to it, and then still sometimes (like this weekend, 3 years into this living arrangement) spook when the pig comes out of nowhere (walking past the open door on his way to sun himself, squawking and squealing the whole way).

So - while I definitely agree with getting a vet out, I will also say it can take a LONG time to settle around a pig.

[FjordBCRF]

@MissusS

We have a pig at our barn (his name is Hamlet)

Hamlet!!

On my drive to the barn, I pass a barn that has two larger ponies and a HUGE hog that all get turned out together. This guy looks huge even next to the equines. He has fluffy ears too, he looks almost mystical when the sunlight hits him right. Those two ponies don’t mind but now I wonder what they thought when they met!

[frugalannie]

My OTTB becomes overly reactive at times. He was awful when he first arrived at our farm, but several rounds of Ulcergard helped tremendously. Since then he has become his evil twin on occasion. My wonderful vet suggested Vit E 4000 IUs per day initially and magnesium (Tablespoon of Epsom Salts in am and pm feed). He got back in his skin and became much less reactive. I taper the Vit E for the summer, but keep him on Epsom Salts and have a pleasant horse to enjoy.

His feed is Platinum GI, lots of grass hay and turnout on grass paddocks, a bucket of alfalfa cubes and his supplements. It seems to be working. He looks wonderful and has been lovely under saddle.

[rockymouse]

I agree about ulcers, and perhaps the alfalfa is a factor.

I’ll second the upthread suggestion to look at Warwick Schiller videos on Youtube. It’s not a perfect apples-to-apples comparison, but he worked with a mustang called Cody who was real shut down. It turns out the horse was shut down because he felt he needed to be ever-vigilant. What happened in the clinic with him was really interesting, and made a lasting impact on the horse.

It strikes me that your mare is ever-vigilant and I wonder if she’s getting any REM sleep because of that.

Here’s a short version of the Cody story. If you become a subscriber (like $30 monthly?) there are longer versions of this video, and another video of a mustang with a chicken and so forth that you might find useful.

Good luck!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64MtemajO0M

[Real_Rush]

Hey everyone! Thank you so much for everyone’s input, I sincerely appreciate it. Gonna try to cover all the bases in my reply…

• On my way home from work, I stopped and picked up some generic Nexium, so she’s started on that.
• I can’t remove the alfalfa from her hay because it’s mixed in in the same field as the orchard. It’s only about 25% of the content, and not surper-rich quality to begin with, though.
• At the rescue, she was just fed some generic sweet feed that was pretty high in starch, so the TC Diamond Senior is much better in that regard. Right now she needs the 1.5 scoops 2x a day in order to stay in good weight. If we drop the amount, she also drops in weight and got pretty ribby for a week or so until we got her built back up.
• To clarify, in addition to the feed, she’s currently only getting the Smartcalm Ultra, natural vit E and Vermont Blend. (gotta take care of those lovely quality TB hooves )
• At the rescue, she was only in a stall about 4 or 5 hours a day, and out in a large pasture with about a half dozen other mares the rest of the time. They’re the ones who told me that, while she tolerates a stall, she really prefers being out, so that’s why I’ve just been leaving her out 24/7 with a few other horses.
• Since she’s been with me, whenever I go to the barn, I always take her and my other mare out, lead them over to a good grassy area, and let them free graze for an hour or so. She’s been fine with this (even with the demon pig- named Gertrude- being on the prowl for horseflesh!), but over the weekend she started walking back to the gate to her paddock instead of grazing. So it concerns me that she was leaving my other mare (whom she’s also turned out with 24/7, my gelding is in a different group) to walk back to her field. I tried 3 times to walk her back to the grass, but every time, as soon as I unsnapped the lead, she’d take a couple quick bites then immediately make a beeline for the gate. At least she would walk though, she wasn’t in a panic and running back.
• And finally: I moved to a whole new state last winter due to work relocating me. The barn I’m at was the only one I could find in the time I had that not only had room for 3 horses, but was also within my budget for 3 horses. (I originally had 3, but was able to sell one right before moving the horses, so that was the # of stalls I initially needed to begin with. So now the new mare took the open spot.)

But aside from this, I also genuinely like the people. They’re understanding, caring, knowledgeable, and open to help in any way they can. The barn manager just happens to be pregnant at the moment, which lends to why she feels safer using a chain with the mare for right now, when she has to move her. While the farm is new, they have great plans for both an indoor and outdoor arena. (the indoor is already covered, working on getting base layer in) So I’m really loath to move at the moment.
It sounds like, from everyone’s suggestions, that I need to focus on getting her over her terror of the pig. If that can be achieved (in addition to treating for possible ulcers), then the future looks much better.