Sudden Behavior Change.. opinions please?

[Horsiezz]

We rescued a 5 year old grade quarter horse gelding from the killpen a few months ago. He turned out to be well broke and he would ride great with no problems. We got his teeth floated, proved to have good teeth, hes UTD on everything including shots, worming, and farrier work. Everything seems to be okay. Right now hes a little ribby from being at a bad boarding barn where they werent feeding as much as they said but overall good condition. Now heres the problem... after moving barns he started having a change in behavior, and after a month we went back to our old boarding barn and hes still not the same. He doesnt stand to be mounted, he has a huge problem taking the bit, and when you first get on he rears up and tries to buck most of the time. He never did this before... hes also starting to paw/strike out. What do you guys think? Tack issue? Health problem? Possible soreness or something out of place? I am getting a chiropractor out for him asap just to make sure because people have been telling me I should. I have let him sit the last few weeks since his last blowup under saddle... just because I dont know what the problem is and I dont know if Im hurting him. I am riding tomorrow and Im going to use a different saddle pad and saddle... just to see how he does and if he reacts the same way... what are your opinions? What should I do? I never had this problem before... any help is appreciated. Thank you.

 

[dreamriver]

Looks like you've covered the list of probabilities, about the only other one that comes to mind is now that he's feeling better his previous bad behaviors are starting to come out. Please be careful- you know it's that mom thing; still have to say it even though I know that you already are careful.

best of luck

 

[yankee'n'moxie]

Agreed. You have covered most of the bases. I would say that if the chiropractor gives him a clean bill of health, then he is probably just starting to feel better... Being up in weight, and having good muscle toning does great things for a horse! I would just ride it out (wearing a helmet, of course) and see if he does better. I think that he probably has pent up energy that needs to be released...

 

[redtailgal]

I'm glad your having him checked out.

Are you over working him? He probably hasnt been worked very much recently and may be sore.

Does the saddle fit correctly? no signs of rubs in his hair?

Have you done much ground work with him? Maybe stepping back for a week or so and working on some ground work and basic manners, like lowering the head, standing quietly etc, would help the attitude under the saddle. Does he know how to work on a long line?

I agree with the others, I expect he is starting to feel good, and is ready to show his stuff a little. Once he checks out clean, and you know his tack is ok, then yeah, ride it out of him. Ride him every day with a gently firm hand. Do simple training with him. Walk/trot in figure 8, stop and go, etc. Take him back to kindergarten while he gets to know you and you get to know him.

 

[beckyburkheart]

my first thought would be to check saddle fit.

second thought is that if he was unhealthy before maybe he wasn't so good and quiet as he was somewhat tired-ish, and he's now feeling 'fat and sassy'.

i didn't notice what you are feeding, maybe too 'hot' a feed for him, esp if you've been supplementing to try to help his health.

if he was extremely wormy and you have fixed that, he could have been anemic (tired) before and not now.

...otherwise, he sounds marginally 'studdy', are you sure he's not proud cut?

 

[yankee'n'moxie]

Good thoughts!

 

[LauraM]

If you are feeding any sweet feed (pelleted or not), the remove that from the diet. Many of the "easy keeper" types of breeds like QH do NOT handle the simple sugars in cereal grains very well. In fact, I'd have the vet check for PSSM, since certain breeds, QHs included, sometimes do not present classical signs of PSSM, but rather present sudden behavioral changes, irritability, acting out under saddle, not wanting to move out, not wanting to be saddled/bridled, and so on, all of which are caused by near constant muscle soreness and stiffness.

I would also second the advice of staying off his back and doing ground work (there is a TON of things you can do on the ground to further your relationship with him and solidify your position as dominant leader).

For sure get a chiro and a vet to do a work up. Could also be a back injury, a hock/hip injury, etc...... Always assume it's physical first and then go to behavioral.

 

[77Herford]

It could very well be a mental thing. Horses have pretty good memories and the horse may associate a new building to being seperated from his family.
My rescue horse Cassie had a wide range of things that set her off and she would be edgy for days afterward.