problem horse

Question
QUESTION: I bought an eight year old quarter horse almost a year ago. She is my second horse. She is very sweet and gentle but now seems to spook at the drop of a hat.
When I first got her she was skittish but then after working with her and riding her she calmed down and didn't seem to have any problems. But, now, she is like a completely different horse. I do not know if she has been abused before, she does have scars on her neck where it looks like she was caught in a barbwire fence, I don't know if that is part of her problem. If anything is out of place from the last time I've ridden/or even led her she spooks and tries to run. With a little work and reassurance she will eventually go up to whatever it is that scared her and snort at it then be ok. Also, she has become really flighty when other horses are working around her; like come cantering up behind her or passing her. She has never been like that before either. The weird thing is that you can toss the lead-rope around her, take a plastic bag and touch her with it and she has no problems what so ever. I'm baffled and do not know what to do. I do get after when she does something she isn't suppose to but I don't beat her by any means and once I get after her she is fine. When she freaks out it makes me feel like I am doing something wrong and that bothers me. I'm calm around her, keep my voice low, and she still seems to just freak out randomly. My other horse isn't like this and she use to be an ex-race horse for crying out loud. I know all horses are different. I want to keep her but if she keeps this up I don't think I will be able to because I don't know if it will get worse or not. Can you please help me? Do you have any suggestions?


ANSWER: Megan,

There can be a lot of things going on here.  Is she kept at home or do you board her?  Is she stall-bound most of the time or does she get out in a paddock/pasture where she can run and be a horse?  How much feed is she getting?  I would first off cut her grain back to almost nothing if she's getting grain and give her all the good quality hay she will eat.  Too much grain and not enough work/turnout can turn a lot of horses into certifiable cases.  If you are boarding her has anything changed there?  If not, have you changed anything in your horse care?  

Get her thoroughly evaluated by a vet as to vision capabilities.  Make sure she's got no visual problems.  I would have an animal communicator talk to her and see if they can find out any issues she's having.  

From your post it seems that this has been developing over time since you state that she wasn't this way when you got her.  Something is going on here to cause these changes now it's up to you to figure it out.  I've given you all the things I would look at and do if I had this problem.  I hope this gives you some help with your mare.  It's the best I can do remotely.

Lyn

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Lyn,
I'm not sure if giving you more information about my mare would be able to help you out more. I wasn't quit sure what information to give when I was first asking you about her.
I board her and she is always out in a paddock that has a lean-to she can go in. To be honest, I'm not sure how much grain she is getting. They say they feed them once a day. I know she always has hay. Its ok hay, it could be better, I think. They do put all the horse out together in one big pasture for almost a two months; to give the paddocks time to grow  more grass and for them to repair anything if it is needed. They do this every years. But, when I bought her she was always out in the pasture with other horses. She was never put in a stall. I haven't change anything with her care or my other horses care.
I will say she is a little over weight because she always eats the hay. But, again, she was a little over weight when I bought her.
Again, I don't know if giving you these other helps. If not, thank you for your time and pointing me in the right direction. I'll get ahold of vet and see what she says and try to find an animal communicator. I'm not sure if they are any out where I'm at. Thank you again.

Answer
Megan,

She probably doesn't really need any grain at all.  It's a necessary evil, along with shoes, that go along with using the horse.  Find out how much grain she's getting, and if it's been changed at all.  If she's already a little overweight and gets all the hay she can eat then she doesn't need the grain, she's getting enough calories from the most natural food source: forage.  Grain is used when the horse eiher is working too hard and has higher energy needs than plain forage can provide or they don't have access to enough forage.  Lots of horses don't have access to hay/pasture 24/7.  Mine don't.  So grain supplements that. Remember, horses evolved over millions of years living only on the forage they could find.  Today's feral Mustangs and other "wild" horses still do.  Their guts are designed to process forage, not grain.  

But there's definately something going on here for her to exhibit this behavior.  You don't necessarily have to find an animal communicator in your area.  Lots of them work over the phone with you.  Usually you send them some pics to work with but I know a couple of them who don't need the pics.  Do an internet search, see what comes up. I think you'll be surprised.  

You might want to check out herbal supplements designed to calm horses down.  They take a little while to work but can be very effective. And are not drugs.  The herbal supplements seem to work better with mares.  I get mine from my good friend, Loryhl, who is "Herbs of the World". When I am looking for some ideas on herbs I talk to her.  I used one product that she suggested, originally it was for my old gelding, on both my competition horses for the rides they did this fall.  He's a high stress horse, I treat him for ulcers, who I was looking to chill out a little for rides.  I also used them on my mare, ex-racehorse, Stdb, who is very competitive in company and can be difficult at rides.  I didn't feel they really helped Ahab much, he still blew himself up at the ride, cramped up in his rear because he wouldn't settle and just walk and trot but had to jig along, in the deep sand where we stopped to walk.  Anyhow, I did notice a real difference with Sailor.  She was much easier to rate, willing to go at a slower pace and fairly reasonable to ride when Ahab was acting up.   So I need to try something else for Ahab.  Herbs are very useful, but sometimes you have to experiment a little to figure out what will help your horse the most.  That's why I work with Loryhl.  I can call/email her with a description of the problem I am facing and exchange ideas with her.  She'll make a suggestion if she has a product that she thinks will work, or will concoct something for me to try, sample sized, until we hit the right combination.  

I think if you know more about the issues she's facing you'll better be able to help her.  She's got some history, it's sort of obvious.  Keep me posted, please, on what you do and how she fares.  This is one of those times I really wish I was there.

Lyn