My Horses Behaviour Is Progressively Getting Worse. Help!!!!!

[hf.eventing]

My horse Danny who is a 16hh, 8yo, Homebred TB (never saw racetraing or race track or anything along those lines) was so quiet and perfect when i brought him roughly 3 or so months ago. Nothing phased him and when i got him i had had a year off riding so my riding was shocking. He took everything like a pro and i was quite confident (i have a tendency to be quite nervous and cautious due to an anxiety disorder) then one day out of the blue he was jog jogging around and wouldn’t stop (feed/paddock/saddle nothing had changed at all) i didnt take much notice just thought he was having a bad day. Then he started rushing over poles and jumps, then he starting bolting, then he started bolting and pig rooting and today when i was lunging him was rearing so high he nearly flipped. He acts like this with or without saddle/bridle so its not that, his feed has not changed since we got him. His feed is -chaff, hygain balance, hygain showtorque (although very little), magnesium, digestive supplment called digestrite, tumeric,flaxseed,salt and garlic. Im very worried now that he might start rearing like he did today when im on him and if i was im sure we would flip (hes going that high lol) and obvioubly that is seriously dangerous. We are in conatct with my coaches e.t.c but this is a very puzzling mystery as there doesnt seem to be one constant between all his bad behaviour and its quite eratic. One day ill be quite nervous and he will be an angel and other days ill be nervous and he will be bad (understandably) and then ill be confident and he will be a right devil and visa versa. I dont think its physical but we are getting that checked out. Now i can only walk and trot in an arena and before all this i was cantering and doing XC. I will not sell him as i love him to much. If anyone has any ideas no matter how strange i would greatly appreciate the input.

p.s it is not directly linked to me and my nervousness although i am aware it doesnt help the situation so pls don’t say that its because im nervous its a lot more complicated than that. He acts the same for my mum and shes very confident.

[Sansena]

Scope him for ulcers, then treat with omeprazole for min. 30 days if positive. Heck, even if he’s not positive, I’d still do a 10 day ‘trial’ omeprazle treatment to see if it has any impact.

[furlong47]

Start with having the vet look for a physical cause. Even if you think there isn’t one, you need to rule that out. Yes, ulcers could be one possibility. Secondly, were there any major changes in his lifestyle when you bought him? I assume he’s living somewhere different now? Does he have significantly less turnout, a major atmosphere change (like going from a quiet backyard to a busy show facility), etc? You say you haven’t changed the feed since you got him, but did you change it WHEN you got him from what his previous owner fed? If he’s a homebred and was still with his breeder at age 8 it’s possible he’s never known anything in his life except for that one location.

[Magicboy]

Was he drugged when you first got him? Some sellers use meds that take a long time to wear off

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

If he’s like this with or without being tacked up, I think you’re looking at a physical issue. When you lunge him w/o saddle or bridle, I’m assuming you’re still using a lunge line with halter - do you use a chain? Or are you seeing this behavior also in the pasture, at liberty?

Has anything recently changed in terms of his environment - stablemates that have left (or arrived), a new person who comes in contact with him regularly, even construction or something in the area that could be causing him to be spooky?

If not - again, physical issues have to be ruled out. Ulcers, teeth, flexion tests for arthritis or unsoundness issues. Also, check his ears for ticks, and possibly run a Lyme test. Alex had a tick in ear once and went batcrap crazy until we got it out.

[hf.eventing]

He is in a very similar environment e.g still paddocked alone (out 24/7 like his old place) e.t.c our place is probably a little quieter. We have other horses like the old place. his feed is very similar to his previous owner and slowly introduced anything new and he was absolutely fine on this feed for about a month and a half. Nothing has changed on our property since we got him and for example we have dogs that sit on the side of the arena (they are never around the horse yards or anything) he has always been fine with them and even had dogs all around his feet at his old place and now finds them terrifying but he has not had a single bad experience with them. Its like he is hyper sensitive to his surroundings. I will check his ears for ticks. Also he was sold from his breeder at 3 then at 8 he went to another person to be sold on behalf cause his rider broke her back (not on him) and was sold to me. We are getting our physio out for him who saw him the first day we got him so he will have a good gauge. We brought him from a person who has a very good reputation and so i doubt he was drugged as it would damaged her reputation as she makes her living from selling horses, but i won’t rule it out how long can drugs take to wear off? We had a horse previously with ulcers so we are very aware of all the symptoms. All the ‘points’ around the tummy and back that u can put pressure on to see sensitivity are not sensitive at all. Thanks for all the advice i really appreciate it as im one very worried horsey mum

[LookmaNohands]

If he was here in Virginia I would suspect Lyme first and EPM second.

[OneTwoMany]

@hf.eventing

My horse Danny who is a 16hh, 8yo, Homebred TB (never saw racetraing or race track or anything along those lines) was so quiet and perfect when i brought him roughly 3 or so months ago. Nothing phased him and when i got him i had had a year off riding so my riding was shocking. He took everything like a pro and i was quite confident (i have a tendency to be quite nervous and cautious due to an anxiety disorder) then one day out of the blue he was jog jogging around and wouldn’t stop (feed/paddock/saddle nothing had changed at all) i didnt take much notice just thought he was having a bad day. Then he started rushing over poles and jumps, then he starting bolting, then he started bolting and pig rooting and today when i was lunging him was rearing so high he nearly flipped. He acts like this with or without saddle/bridle so its not that, his feed has not changed since we got him. His feed is -chaff, hygain balance, hygain showtorque (although very little), magnesium, digestive supplment called digestrite, tumeric,flaxseed,salt and garlic. Im very worried now that he might start rearing like he did today when im on him and if i was im sure we would flip (hes going that high lol) and obvioubly that is seriously dangerous. We are in conatct with my coaches e.t.c but this is a very puzzling mystery as there doesnt seem to be one constant between all his bad behaviour and its quite eratic. One day ill be quite nervous and he will be an angel and other days ill be nervous and he will be bad (understandably) and then ill be confident and he will be a right devil and visa versa. I dont think its physical but we are getting that checked out. Now i can only walk and trot in an arena and before all this i was cantering and doing XC. I will not sell him as i love him to much. If anyone has any ideas no matter how strange i would greatly appreciate the input.

p.s it is not directly linked to me and my nervousness although i am aware it doesnt help the situation so pls don’t say that its because im nervous its a lot more complicated than that. He acts the same for my mum and shes very confident.

The most common causes for you fellow’s unwanted behaviour would would be physical pain, his management program or his rider. You’ve asked readers not to weigh on the rider aspect. You don’t think it is a physical issue although it isn’t clear what has been done to rule that out. It might be helpful if you provided more information on that aspect.

What does your trainer say? How involved is your trainer in the day-to-day management of your horse?

[Sueby]

Did you get a PPE when you bought him? I wonder about his teeth and how his tack fits. Most people say their tack fits, but have no idea if it really does. I’m going through this now, thought saddle fit but does not and will not even with a refit so now saddle searching, sigh…

As to ulcers, you don’t always get touch reactions to ulcers. There are other behaviours that manifest because of ulcers, so don’t rule them out. Getting a scope is your best avenue to confirming/ruling them out, but I think an entire work up with a vet will help you a lot. But that costs money and I’m not sure where you stand financially. My thought is it’s pain related, which could be from a lot of things.

[Synthesis]

Ulcers first, look up the Nexium thread in the Horse Care section.
Saddle fit? Hell try a bareback pad if you can do it safely.
Nutrition? Is he on grass? Too much sugar in it making him high or possibly sore feet with sub-clinical laminitis?
Lyme area? Are ticks an issue where you are?
Rider issue? Is he picking up on your worry and reacting to that, getting progressively more reactive? That’s a thing, and there’s no shame in it!

Also, you said he’s been there 3 months. I find it takes that long for a horse to get comfortable enough to start acting up/out and that they don’t really start feeling at home until at least 6 months. The rearing part is quite concerning and needs to be corrected when being handled. Regardless of discomfort, acting out dangerously is unacceptable and needs intervention. Yours if you have the skill set or an experienced pro if you don’t. (Again, no shame if you don’t. None of us can handle everything!)

[findeight]

What is a " physio"? Have you had a DVM, vet, look at him. I know you said it’s not physical but…

Sorry, no other ideas since you said not to suggest the rider lacks skill, strength or ability.

[Jealoushe]

Pain first, and second your riding. You said yourself you are tense, anxious, nervous etc. In three months, a rider like this can undo a lot of training on a good quiet horse. Over time, the horse may act out, and become what it is now. Not what you want to hear but that is reality.

[OneTwoMany]

@Jealoushe

Pain first, and second your riding. You said yourself you are tense, anxious, nervous etc. In three months, a rider like this can undo a lot of training on a good quiet horse. Over time, the horse may act out, and become what it is now. Not what you want to hear but that is reality.

I agree. First thing that came to my mind.

[OneTwoMany]

@Jealoushe

Pain first, and second your riding. You said yourself you are tense, anxious, nervous etc. In three months, a rider like this can undo a lot of training on a good quiet horse. Over time, the horse may act out, and become what it is now. Not what you want to hear but that is reality.

Agreed.

[Scribbler]

@Jealoushe

Pain first, and second your riding. You said yourself you are tense, anxious, nervous etc. In three months, a rider like this can undo a lot of training on a good quiet horse. Over time, the horse may act out, and become what it is now. Not what you want to hear but that is reality.

I’ve watched this happen myself.

Training is not a static thing. Every time you get on a horse you are training him to do something and often enough it is not what you intended. A well schooled horse that is continually fiddled with and checked by a nervous rider will get frustrated and will even learn that a ride is meant to be a fight.

[findeight]

Small detail but in your opening post, you refer to the horse as a “Homebred TB” then you said you bought him 3 months ago? Which is it? Homebred means you bred and raised him yourself.

How do you know hes a TB but never raced? Is that what seller told you? Maybe they weren’t as clear on the details of the horses life before you got him. It is buyer beware.

[Buckshot1]

Is it the spring sillies? My otherwise sensible gelding who is around your horse’s age turns into a whirling dervish for a couple of weeks when the new grass comes in.

How long has this been going on?

[hf.eventing]

we live in the in the southern hemisphere its autumn but very cold like 35 Fahrenheit . I say not to dwell to hard on the rider because my trainer has riden him as well as some very experienced riders and all got the same behaviour. By physio i mean like body work? not sure if its called other things in other places but its all the muscle stuff is probs the best way to explain it. We have a chiropractor and dentist coming out this week even though his teeth were supposedly done 5 months ago. What i mean by homebred is that here in NZ most Tbs are racers i.e got brands/been trialled that type of stuff. By homebred we mean that he wasn’t bred at like a racing place or seen any type of racing training. He was bred at the old old owners house and has been raised like a sporthorse not a racer. Every racehorse here who is trialled/born at a racing stable is branded and he isn’t. I know as a rider where i am lacking e.t.c and im not ignoring it i was just trying to get other aspects. We are not ignoring any possiblities we are getting dentists, chriopracter, physiotherpist, reviewing his feed and getting his bloods taken. I was just wanting to check i wasn’t missing anything/gets some alternative opinions. I saddle has been professionally fitted twice now and he is showing no pain in his back. But if all else fails we will check the saddle out. My mother is doing groundwork with him and we are very clear with what is okay and not okay. My trainer is very involved and will be seeing him this Saturday. She’s been away for the past 2 weeks (when the behaviour has gotten particularly dangerous). I am not scared of reality e.t.c i know my anxiety (which i can take meds for) can affect it but i have improved heaps and with meds have not been experiencing much at all. I know that it is my responsibility what has happen and i will see it through. Thank you for all ur advice. im really appreciating all these great opinions

[hf.eventing]

(i hope this is all making sense lol)

[Altag]

@hf.eventing

(i hope this is all making sense lol)

PLEASE use paragraphs! Take pity on those you want to read and respond to your posts. I simply don’t have the patience tonight to wade all the way through that block of text without paragraphs much less take the time to craft an answer for you. :eek::no:

Or maybe it won’t be so daunting after a decent night’s sleep… :o