Anyone here have any ideas about what would cause a
sudden behavior change in a gelding?
I
have a 14 year old gelding that I have owned since he was 4. About five
months ago, we had some foot issues and he was given 4 months off to get fully
sound. The vet cleared him to ride, so I started him slowly back. The
first two weeks were just fine. He was a little spooky, but nothing more
than what you would expect out of a high strung horse coming off a vacation. The
last two weeks have been a whole 'nother ballgame. Under saddle, he's
getting stronger and stronger. He fights me constantly if I ask for a
slow speed. He has bolted and ran with me. He seems worried to
me...and when he's worried he goes faster. This is NOT normal behavior
for him. He's always been forward, but he's always been controllable. We've
done a lot of dressage type work, and I can normally sit down and say
"whoa" and he stops. Not now... He is spooking constantly
at everything. He is getting harder to control on the ground. Twice,
he has yanked the lead rope out of my hands and run off. He actually bit
one of the other horses while being led a couple of days ago (which I have to
add is very much forbidden in our barnyard, and he has never offered to even
pin his ears at another horse before). Last night, I couldn't get him
out of the barn yard because he was spooking at a bale of hay. He was
spinning and bouncing, and throwing his head around so bad, I got off before I
came off. I then put him in the round pen and let him run it off...except
he didn't. He ran with no prompting from me other than to change his
direction for 45 minutes...and he was still a handful and spooking and acting
like an idiot. He is getting hard to catch, and he's always been the
first horse to be caught.
He
has had NO recent changes to diet. He is currently getting 1.5 cups of
oats and barley, and 1/2 cup of whole flax twice a day, as well as Selenium/Vit
E and a multivitamin. He gets free choice grass hay, and about 1/2 flake
of perennial peanut hay in the evenings. This has been his diet for the
last year and a half. We can't find anything sore on the horse (we being
Alpine's massage therapist and I). His saddle fits, his back isn't sore,
he is 100% sound. I have thought about his vision, and the vet is going
to come check it for me. There have been no changes in his living
arrangements. He is outside 24/7 except to eat. His herd is the
same. Our resident mare is in heat, but that's never caused an issue
before. The ONLY thing new is we bought our grass hay from a new grower about 5
weeks ago, but it 's coastal bermuda......I don't see that causing any serious
behavior changes. I have sent some off for nutritional testing, so I will
answer that as soon as we get the results back. He is current on
vaccines, deworming, foot care, and teeth floating.
Any
other ideas? I'm inclined to think it's more than him just being a
turkey. He's gone Turkey
on me before, and it's never been this drastic...it normally involves
"sneaking" into a canter and a bit of spook, And he seems agitated
and worried to me. I'm kind of worried about it to be honest. I
guess I can try buting him and seeing if it is a pain issue. If I can't
find anything else, I guess I'll try the wet saddle pad method of training and
take him out for a good long ride where I know he (and undoubtedly I) come back
tired. Of course, that's providing I can get him past the hay bales in
the yard. Sigh....
Any
thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated. I will bounce them off my vet
and see what she thinks....
Juli
(who currently has nothing fun to ride and is consequently going crazy)
and the Herd Alpine
(who has recently gone insane and is not much fun to ride at the moment) Merlin
(who is too young to ride yet)
