feed and supplement advice

Laura82

Laura82

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Nov 28, 2017
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hey all! This is a bit of a long one so I'll apologise now......

Need some advice about my welshie. He's been an absolute gem since I bought him in December until a total change a fortnight ago.

William is 12 years old and was gelded late (3 years ago). Like I said he's been a star and considering I'm a very nervous rider we have fab hacks out together alone and in company and my confidence has come on leaps and bounds. Even if I cant ride for days because of the weather he's still brand new when I get back on!

A new yard manager started 2 weeks ago and things have gone downhill pretty quickly. He's on full livery mon to fri and DIY at weekends. Nearly everyday I'm getting messages telling me he's spooky, won't catch, charges at her in the field (so she smacked him with his headcollar), turns to kick and then last night I was told they are moving the mare from the stable across from him to the other end of the barn because he keeps 'screaming' at her when she's put out in a different field. Anyway I've noticed a change in him that he seems stressed and last Saturday he stayed at the back of his stable and wouldn't come near me. I spent most of the day with him and then sunday finally managed to pop his headcollar on and take him a walk inhand down the lane a bit and he went like a lamb.

I found out they had changed his feed to use up left over so he went from top chop chaf, cool and condition and fibre cubes to dengi oil chaf (?) with the c&c and cubes. when I found out I told her to put him back on to what he was on and leave him on that. What I'm now wondering is should I put him on a small dose of calmer on top to try and see if that helps him.

I'm feeling totally lost just now and I'm constantly worried.

Thanks Laura
 
I would give him a few days to let the feed change take effect before putting anything else in the mix, one of ours is like this if Oil is introduced into the diet - hopefully he will settle down - don't worry some are just sensitive to any change...
 
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thank you. I'm hoping it all settles. I spend my evenings moaning to my OH but he's never been around horses so he's totally baffled lol
 
Had the mare that was opposite him been there since you've had him? Or had she come into season? Just wondering whether hormones might be playing a part? Even our old gelding fell in love once and was like a different horse. It didn't last too long and he never bothered again so I don't know what got into him that time.

Have to say I'm not liking the sound of your new yard manager much. I hope it isn't her behaviour that's upsetting him.

Fingers crossed he settles back down on his normal feed and you get your happy calm boy back.
 
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She arrived the week before William so she was already there. He is sensitive to change and unlike the last YM it seems like she hasn't taken the time to let him get to know her and despite me telling her about his quirks and what he finds scary it falls on deaf ears. According to her he's just overly spooky and behaving like a stallion. I'm trying to find a new yard. Unfortunately I went to this one because it had everything I needed, it's small and no politics but he's my priority.

Would a calmer maybe help in the meantime? I'm trying to help his mind rather than doing it to keep the YM quiet
 
I would wait and see if the feed change settles him before going to a calmer, if in 1-2 weeks he hasn't settled then yes I would consider it short term until you find a yard with more appropriate management for him.
 
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Jessey said:
I too would only make 1 change at a time, so you can tell which one is doing the trick. I would be concerned as to why he's hiding at the back of his stable if this isn't normal behavior for him, and I wouldn't expect that to be feed related.
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it was awful to see him like that. I go up most evening anyway to spend some time with him. Friday was apparently when he went bonkers and got nasty in the field but I was working late so I didn't know until Saturday. I can only assume if she's smacked him and shouted like she said he's really got a fright
 
I wonder if the mare is about to come into season? I’ve had riggy geldings and they’re at their worst just before the mares come into season. He might also be testing boundaries and the change of feed won’t have helped. Add to that welshies are well known for taking a dislike to people and you may have a lot going on in his mind. Don’t worry, he’ll come right.
 
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my neighbour said her welshie is so similar to William. Hers cant stand her husband lol it's just been so sudden and it's caught me off guard. Thanks for all the advice!!
 
A livery on the yard says my friend's welshie hates her ever since she accidentally zapped him with the electric fence. I thought she was imagining it because he's such a cheeky chap, but maybe it's for real :eek:
 
Bodshi said:
Had the mare that was opposite him been there since you've had him? Or had she come into season? Just wondering whether hormones might be playing a part? Even our old gelding fell in love once and was like a different horse. It didn't last too long and he never bothered again so I don't know what got into him that time.

Have to say I'm not liking the sound of your new yard manager much. I hope it isn't her behaviour that's upsetting him.

Fingers crossed he settles back down on his normal feed and you get your happy calm boy back.
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I don't like the sound of the Yard Manager either! I wouldn't be happy with any of mine getting smacked with hands or headcollar. In fact, if you did that with madam she would probably never really get over it and the other two would be heartbroken:(
 
I wouldnt necessarily blame the feed. You haven’t have him long at all, only a matter of weeks and that’s no time for him to settle or to get to know you. What I have learned over the years is instead of looking for a reason, accept and work with what is in front of you. Obviously aside from glaringly obvious causes. Ultimately, he’s welsh and it’s that time of year when a lot of them get spooky and ‘fresh’. The mare may or may not have been coming into season, or he may merely just have been a wired and noone but him would know what’s going on on his wee welshie brain ;) The thing is to develop strategies and ways to manage him, there were some days I decided just to leave my Sec D in the field. One look at her would tell me it was ‘one of those days’ and yet 95% of the time she was amazing. Ive never found calmers to have any affect - the main thing you can do is stick to routine and handling, do lots of ground work and use a control halter if needs be.
 
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Echo what others say about the welshies, i have one, and have had 2 previous, sweet as pie alot of the time but Rhan my current girl has a major drama queen side and takes things very personal. Lovely breed but they are an aquired taste and need a certain type of person working with them imo.
Feed could have made a difference, it effects some much more than others, you havnt had him long so settling in etc are all things id expect but ill be honest knowing Welshies and reading your post, the new YM is causing the most problems. If my horse suddenly started hiding at the back of their stable and i was told they were lobbing headcollars at them, even if id only had them a short while and it was out of character i would be seriously questioning ALL the day to day "handling" he is getting from her.
 
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Is he hard to keep?? Does he struggle to keep weight on? Curious as to what all the feed for a breed that is generally classed as good doers?

I’d simplify the feed right down with a balancer and a handful of chaff and let him settle. My old boy is an arse with in season mares around however as soon as a human is in the equation ie handling or in reach he knows the score.

If he is genuinely being dangerous to other people then they are within their right to protect themselves. I had my eye socket fractured by another liveries horse who is a bargy idiot so I will chase horses away from me if I don’t feel safe.
 
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He's not hard to keep at all. His weight stays fairly even and the feed that I originally had him on is what his previous owner fed him with no issues. He gets ridden 4 to 5 times a week and they are decent hacks up the hills to moorland.

Unfortunately I only have the YMs side of what happened as to why she had to smack him. I have spoken to my friend that rides him while I'm working and due to not having a saddle until Saturday she hacks him bareback and has had no problems. There are various reasons that what happened last weekend didn't sit right with me and how he was acting. I understand I haven't had him long and we are still getting to know each other.

Over the past couple of evenings he is getting back to himself and stood for the farrier for his trim last night quite happily.
 
My mare has come into season and is being an idiot to handle so I sympathise. (Actually she's fine right now because she's ovulated but give it another two weeks!)

You haven't had him long and it's not uncommon for a horse to be good as gold for 6 weeks or so after they've gone to a new owner/home, then start testing the boundaries. I think you need to go down to the yard at bringing in time and turning out time and see exactly what's going on for yourself.

I'd also consider removing his hard feed or just giving him a handful of chaff if he's a good doer anyway.
 
Just sounds like he needs more work and stimulation to be honest. Is he ridden at all during the week or only at weekends when you're there? How much turnout does he get?
I totally agree with MrC about defending yourself from aggressive horses, but from the way you describe his normal behaviour he just doesn't sound like that sort of horse - he seems to be quite a gentleman for you and good-mannered etc. It just seems like way too big a coincidence that his behaviour has only changed since the new YM came on the scene. Have you seen her handling him? I would be questioning her competency if he's been a gem for you but is (apparently...) causing so much trouble for her. I'd also be concerned that his hiding at the back of the stable is a sign he may be receiving much more heavy handling than you realise :confused:
 
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