Agitated horse

[QChickieMama]

We board horses, so I don't pretend to know much about them.

This morning, the gelding greeted me, all shiny and sweaty from running around in the pasture. I thought that was odd early in the morning. I hosed him down to cool him off. But he doesn't seem right. He's holding his head up high (higher than usual) like he's alert about some danger. He's jogging back and forth along the fence line nearest the house. He stands there and looks at the house like I'm supposed to know what he wants. The other horse seems fine and is calmly munching in the pasture.

THoughts?

 

[Bunnylady]

You say the horse was sweaty from running; did you see him running, or are you assuming that that was the cause of the sweating?

My first thought with a horse that is unaccountably agitated is colic, do you know the symptoms and causes? If nothing else, agitation that is severe enough can cause colic.

Are there any weird weeds in your pasture? Eating certain toxic plants (like locoweed; I don't know if it grows in your area) can cause this sort of behavior.

Other than the higher than normal head carriage, do you notice any other stiffness or oddness in the way he moves? With that thought in mind, has he had any wounds (particularly on his feet) lately, and is he up to date on his shots/worming?

At the very least, I would keep an eye on him, and make his owner aware that the horse is acting "off." If it were my horse, I'd be considering a call to the vet at this point. It sounds to me like something's up, but so far, it doesn't add up to any one specific thing for me. (also, have you posted this on the Backyard Herds sister site? There is a horse sub-forum, and a lot more horsey people over there

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[QChickieMama]

He was trotting/cantering back & forth along the fence line, then circling into another pen and back out. Not exactly running per se.

I'll research colic.

Don't know about the weeds here. He's been here for 1 year w/o any problems so far. Same pastures.

No obvious wounds. I'll check his feet. Seems to be moving normally otherwise. NOT up to date on anything. Owners don't exactly care for them too well. They keep promising and not providing. We like these horses but we're not willing to spend on vet bills since we don't own them.

Didn't know about the horse forum! Thanks!!

You say the horse was sweaty from running; did you see him running, or are you assuming that that was the cause of the sweating?

My first thought with a horse that is unaccountably agitated is colic, do you know the symptoms and causes? If nothing else, agitation that is severe enough can cause colic.

Are there any weird weeds in your pasture? Eating certain toxic plants (like locoweed; I don't know if it grows in your area) can cause this sort of behavior.

Other than the higher than normal head carriage, do you notice any other stiffness or oddness in the way he moves? With that thought in mind, has he had any wounds (particularly on his feet) lately, and is he up to date on his shots/worming?

At the very least, I would keep an eye on him, and make his owner aware that the horse is acting "off." If it were my horse, I'd be considering a call to the vet at this point. It sounds to me like something's up, but so far, it doesn't add up to any one specific thing for me. (also, have you posted this on the Backyard Herds sister site? There is a horse sub-forum, and a lot more horsey people over there

)

 

[Gryphon]

Something could have scared him too, although if the other horses aren't reacting it could be he's just seeing imaginary cougars. Check his breathing, is he blowing hard and fast after standing still a while? That can be a sign of pain or fear. Usually horses don't run when colicing, they tighten up in their gut area and sometimes try to roll (which is BAD, don't let them do it if they're colicing!) Bunnylady's right in that certain weeds can cause problems, and if you've only been boarding for a year the horses might only now have gotten the opportunity to eat them (some weeds only come up during certain times, or the horses might not have been tempted to eat them before now if the grazing was good).

Sometimes horses do silly things though. I'd try putting him in a smaller paddock if you have one and see what he does then.

 

[MallardDuckling]

Keep a close eye on him, you may even want to have a vet handy and on call just in case it is colic.
Other than seeming agitated, sweaty, and pacing, is he rolling, pawing, kicking or biting at his abdomen?

Has his feed been changed, or has he gotten any medication that could cause this?

You may even want to look into EGUS, which is Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome. It has some of the same sympotoms as Colic.

 

[QChickieMama]

He's seemed calmer during the day today. Still keeps looking off to the R side of the pasture like there's something there. Would a fox lurking do that? (Had my chickens out all day w/o a problem, so maybe horse THINKS he's seeing a fox?)

No change in feed or meds. Checked his hooves, looked for wounds. No problem visible to me.

I'll keep watching him...

Keep a close eye on him, you may even want to have a vet handy and on call just in case it is colic.
Other than seeming agitated, sweaty, and pacing, is he rolling, pawing, kicking or biting at his abdomen?

Has his feed been changed, or has he gotten any medication that could cause this?

You may even want to look into EGUS, which is Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome. It has some of the same sympotoms as Colic.

 

[Gryphon]

Might want to go over and take a look to see if he HAS found anything, could be anything from a fox jumping out and spooking him to kids throwing rocks.

 

[Bunnylady]

Horses can be scared by things that seem to us totally innocuous. Case in point - last night, someone left a folding table leaning against the wall at one end of the barn. I walked past it twice without noticing it (it had been there, set up on its legs, for at least a week). All 10 of the horses noticed the table as I walked them past it. Some just pricked their ears and "blew" a bit, but didn't miss a beat as they walked by. One planted all four and jerked back, another bounced two steps sideways. Stupid me - one old mare's reaction caught me totally flat-footed. She threw it into reverse so suddenly that it pulled the lead rope through my hand, and I wound up with rope burn blisters on three fingers. They had all seen this table before, just not looking like that, and to a prey animal, different can be dangerous.

I believe you have said before that this gelding is a bit on the "high" side, energy wise, at least compared to the mare. If his anxiety seems directed toward one particular spot, there is a good chance that something happened to him over there, or at least he thinks something happened. It could be something as simple as a bird flying up, or an unexpected sound. I knew a police horse that was as good as gold about crowds and gunfire, but his brain would fall out if a grocery bag blew under him. I'm with Gryphon - if he's "pointing" to one spot, go see if there is something there. If you can account for a mental cause, you can stop worrying about a physical one.

 

[QChickieMama]

I sure appreciate hearing the voice of experience. I did drive the golf cart around the whole pasture perimeter yesterday, looking and looking for anything odd. I guess I wouldn't necessarily see a snake, but I didn't see any sign of larger predators. We did have a gray fox last week, but he's gone now. Mr. Gelding seemed fine for 5 days after we saw the fox.

What exactly does a fox do to a horse? Just startle?

Horses can be scared by things that seem to us totally innocuous. Case in point - last night, someone left a folding table leaning against the wall at one end of the barn. I walked past it twice without noticing it (it had been there, set up on its legs, for at least a week). All 10 of the horses noticed the table as I walked them past it. Some just pricked their ears and "blew" a bit, but didn't miss a beat as they walked by. One planted all four and jerked back, another bounced two steps sideways. Stupid me - one old mare's reaction caught me totally flat-footed. She threw it into reverse so suddenly that it pulled the lead rope through my hand, and I wound up with rope burn blisters on three fingers. They had all seen this table before, just not looking like that, and to a prey animal, different can be dangerous.

I believe you have said before that this gelding is a bit on the "high" side, energy wise, at least compared to the mare. If his anxiety seems directed toward one particular spot, there is a good chance that something happened to him over there, or at least he thinks something happened. It could be something as simple as a bird flying up, or an unexpected sound. I knew a police horse that was as good as gold about crowds and gunfire, but his brain would fall out if a grocery bag blew under him. I'm with Gryphon - if he's "pointing" to one spot, go see if there is something there. If you can account for a mental cause, you can stop worrying about a physical one.

 

[Gryphon]

A fox really doesn't pose a real threat to a horse, but it SMELLS like a predator, and that's enough. Hell, DEER are enough to give some horses the jibblies. You might want to do a test and lead him over to that area. If he reacts, back up a bit until he's calm again, then move a bit closer. If nothing else, it might calm him down having you there as backup and he'll realize that nothing's going to eat him and he'll stop acting like a fool about it.

BunnyLady, a tip on leading horses. I know that the most common way to lead/lunge a horse is to have the rope come out of the top of your hand, by the thumb, but I've found that you have a LOT more strength and grip of you have the rope come out the BOTTOM of your hand, by the pinkie. There's a moment of flex that you have in that direction over the other that gives you an extra second to react before the rope goes flying. Try it out if you haven't already.