18 month old colt has gone crazy

Question
I have an 18 month old welsh sec c colt, he has been fine to work out, his behavior was reasonable, he live at home so he has no contact with other horses, but has a sheep for company, 10 days a ago i change his feed, as grass is getting low, and his whole behavior has changed, he is bitting anything metal gates, posts, rearing, i went to walk him out yesterday and he was out of control bucking standing up on his back legs a real danger, he has not been like this before, he is stable kept at night, is this a reaction to the feed, or is it because he is a colt, he acts like a bomb waiting to go off, any ideas regards Nicola

Answer
Hi Nicola!

Colts can be full of beans at times and usually when you least expect it!

You did not say if he was gelded and if not, that plays a huge role in his acting out.  Caring for a stud colt is a totally different procedure than that of caring for a gelding.

As for this being because of the feed....read the bag.  He should not be getting a lot of corn or high protein, anything over 12%.  Good hay and plenty of it is far more important than allot of feed.  I prefer a well made pellet feed over a grain mix also.  It sound like he does not need more energy right now!  LOL!

Turn him out with flakes of hay for him to chow on and he should be longed regularly to burn off the excess energy.
At his age he should be able to W-T-C on the longe line and if he isn't...well, you need to start.  If you cannot do it yourself, find someone in your area who has experience with babies and get this colt's hooves on the right path.

Good Luck and remember to always wear an ASTM/SEI approved helmet!

Solange