Trying to decide if my horse just has a behavior problem or possibly ulcers. In general, he is a very kind, easy-going, good-hearted guy…until you ask him to move faster than a walk. At a trot (or canter), he gets very tense, starts going very fast and eventually works himself into a bucking frenzy (and yes, I stop the bucking, but he still remains very tense and has a hair trigger. This happens on the lunge line. I won’t get on him for the most part because of this behavior. My trainer has gotten on with mixed results. Sometimes he tries to buck or bolt with her; other times not. He is usually fairly tense, no matter what. When he is like this, he holds his tail up as if he has gas and he wants to poop very often. At first I thought it was because he is in a new situation. I just bought him 2 months ago. But, after 2 months and working him about 4-5 times a week, it is not improving and is actually getting worse. He only had 90 days of riding before I bought him, but was a combined driving horse prior to that, so I thought he had enough experience with training and being worked that he would not act like a complete greenie. However, he actually acts worse than several horses that I have started at 3 yrs old. I have tested the acupuncture points that tend to indicate ulcers and get mixed results. Sometimes he reacts mildly, sometimes not at all. I had him scoped for ulcers and the vet wasn’t sure. She didn’t actually see ulcers, but saw something unusual and did not know what it meant (a raised ridge in the stomach). A few weeks ago, I tried him on a 10 day course of Gastrogard and was unsure if I saw much difference (I had a couple of good lunging experiences, but also several bad ones). I am loathe to pay for a month of Gastrogard if he doesn’t really need it. Anyone have any thoughts? I know it is possible for scoping to miss ulcers. He has no other ulcer symptoms. Eats well, holds weight well, not colicky, bright & alert.
My experience in treating horses with ulcers is that you notice a drastic difference in behaviour by 10 days. By 3 days, my horse will be 75% better and by 5 days, he is back to normal (but I continue treatment anyways). The fact that your vet didn’t see ulcers on scope and 10 days of treatment didn’t make a significant difference would suggest to me that your horse is hurting somewhere else.
Your horse’s behaviour definitely sounds like pain but if I were you, I’d spend my money on additional diagnostics rather than Gastrogard at this point. I am not a lameness expert and I’m sure other people will chime in, but holding their tail up or to the side can suggest some type of back pain - maybe SI? I’d have a vet do an examination and consider doing back xrays.
Did you do a PPE when you got him? Did you ride him before you got him? What do his feet look like? Does he ever trot or canter in turn out?
I’d be inclined to investigate the issue as something other than ulcers before buying the full freight of GG. You’ve paid for the scope with a peculiar result, but nothing that indicates that this is necessarily an ulcer issue. Did your vet have any other suggestions as to what may be causing the bucking and tail flagging? Could either she or yourself confer with a specialist or another vet about this?
With the lack of ulcers on the scope, I’d not go that route…but do consider if hind gut ulcers might be your problem. A course of Succeed (they have a cool challenge program; you can get your money back if you don’t see improvement) or Equishure might really be useful.
Was he on gastrogard at the time of the gastroscope? When you start to treat ulcers they can become difficult to see on gastroscope (as told me an equine surgeon) I would make sure the gastroscope was done by an internal medince specialist. However I might get a work up done by an experienced vet clinic. I would definitely rule out pain and ulcers before considering behavioural issue. Also check saddle fit/blanket fit.
Thanks for the responses. I also had a chiropractor look at the horse, and she thought he might be mildly painful in sacroiliac area, and did adjust him. But she was actually a little skeptical about whether he was really painful or not. I do have an appointment with another chiro in January (not easy to get them out in our area!). When I bought him, I had a PPE, but no x-rays were done, as he did not seem to have any issues at the time. I did not ride him prior to buying. Just saw a video in which he seemed to be going fairly well at walk, trot, canter and even jumping some small jumps. He did seem a little fast in his canter and flagged his tail occasionally, but it seemed appropriate for a green horse. I am currently riding him in an indoor arena, which he had no experience with prior to me. Initially, I thought he was just getting used to the arena, but since things are getting worse, I’m starting to think pain. Another strange thing about him is that he NEVER does more than a walk in turnout. He is turned out 24/7. Even the very first time he was turned out there—brand new place, new horses–he never broke out of a walk. Barn owner has never seen him do more than a walk, no bucking, no rearing, no playing. When I ask for trot on lunge, he resists and I have to push to get him into it, and once he is trotting, he goes as fast as he can and sometimes bolts and bucks. He certainly doesn’t appear lame and has so far not reacted to much of anything when being palpated in various areas. He also acts this way regardless of what tack he is wearing.
Might be worthwhile, and a fairly cheapish box to check, to pull blood for Lyme and EPM. Either could perhaps explain what you’re seeing, and you might otherwise chase a lot of other options before coming back to either.
Good thoughts Simkie! He did come from a part of the country where Lyme is more prevalent than it is here.
What about doing a bute trial for a few days? If he improves on that, you know he is getting relief from some type of pain.
It is pretty strange that a horse at new place wouldn’t do even a few steps of trot or toss in a buck or two. That makes me think he is pretty sore. I hate to say this but maybe he was drugged or treated with pain meds for sale video? Or had a wreck that previous owners didn’t disclose between sale video and when he arrived at new home?
Maybe toss in vit e and selenium, too, if you’re pulling blood? Being short there can also cause some weird issues.
DunByMistake…I do have to wonder if there were issues before and they were covered up by sellers. Very hard to know, I can certainly try some bute and see what happens.
Simkie, I am going to start E/Se shortly, which is what I routinely do in the winter with my horses, once the grass is gone. Thanks!
Absolutely test the horse’s selenium before starting a supplement! If his value is okay, adding more isn’t better. Too much can = pretty ugly death, and it doesn’t take a whole lot of supplemental Se to get there.
Another possible option might be to treat with sucralfate and see what happens. It’s not a PPI like Gastrogard. The way it’s always described is that it provides a protective coating for the stomach. So could be a way to ferret out whether it’s a stomach/gut issue as opposed to something else. It’s pretty cheap, too. Best to give it three times a day rather than just two.
