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HorseAdvice.com » Training, Behavior, & Conditioning Horses » Behavioral Problems » Fear of Specific Objects » |
Discussion on Analyze this | |
Author | Message |
New Member: dvjl |
Posted on Tuesday, Feb 13, 2007 - 1:03 pm: I am hoping for some input to understand my horse's psychotic behaviour last night. Trying to make this short – so, here we go.Come to the barn at feeding time – horse is happy in stall awaiting feed. Put him in the arena for a run while doing his stall. 10 min. later I get him, clean him up and put him in his stall. He begins eating happily and all of a sudden he starts stomping, then kicking the walls, then jumping around in his stall and finally almost trying to jump over the half high stall door. With much effort I get his halter back on and he almost jumps over me to get out of his stall. In the hallway he is still stomping with his hind legs, but not jumping around. I think he is crampy, which he has been before, and walk him around in the arena for 5 minutes. Put him in the stall again – same deal. Get him out again, lunge him for 20 minutes, love him up, back in the stall – he is freaking out again. He had DrOpped manure in between so I wasn’t worried about colic plus he didn’t display any signs of pain. So, back out again, check him over everywhere, clean his sheath in the hallway while another girl was holding his feed bucket in front of him, love him up some more and try again to put him away – he just went ballistic. I tried to just leave him in to see if he would calm down but he was just thrashing around, kicking, stomping and I was really worried he would hurt himself. So, after 1.5 hours of this I call the vet and she said that he will need help to calm down. I put the horse in the arena with his girl friend and DrOve to the vet’s place to pick up a tranq. The shot took effect after about 15 minutes and he went in his stall with his head hanging down. This horse will pace in the stall when his paddock buddy leaves for riding and he has displayed stomping before, but nothing like this. He was totally freaked out. He is 7 years old and doing very well in every other aspect. Any ideas or thoughts would be much appreciated. |
Member: canter |
Posted on Tuesday, Feb 13, 2007 - 6:43 pm: Did you check his stall for anything that might have bitten him? Is there a source of electricity that could have shorted out and shocked him? Perhaps a loose nail or something that was poking into him? Those are the first things that quickly come to mind to maybe explain his odd behavior. Did you try another stall to see how he would react there? |
Member: savage |
Posted on Tuesday, Feb 13, 2007 - 6:48 pm: Delia, did you do a check in the stall to see if there was maybe a snake or some kind of other critter hiding in the bedding or feeder or maybe some bugs in there that are bitting him? |
Member: freshman |
Posted on Wednesday, Feb 14, 2007 - 3:46 am: How does the horse behave if he is put into a different stall?If he only reacts that way in his certain stall, then I'd be inclined to beleive that there is something about it that is spooking him. Hard to tell, though, since he could be reacting to the smell or memory of something at this point. Do other horses behave strangely when placed in this stall? Good luck with this one, I've never really seen something like this from a horse that is used to being stalled. Some will have vices like weaving, cribbing, etc, but not be freaked out. |
New Member: dvjl |
Posted on Wednesday, Feb 14, 2007 - 4:49 pm: Thanks for the responses.It's currently -15 degrees Celsius here in southern Ontario, so no snakes or bugs are moving. Discussing this with others I figured that the only explanation is a stray current. The horse was fine the day after. Thanks again. |
Member: pbauer |
Posted on Wednesday, Feb 14, 2007 - 5:20 pm: Dear Delia,I'm not sure I understand? Are you talking about a long-line current source? Would you please elaborate... Thank you, Tonya |
Member: canter |
Posted on Wednesday, Feb 14, 2007 - 7:50 pm: I'm with Tonya -I'm confused! If this was caused by a stray current, then I'd be very anxious to figure out what caused it and then get it fixed. I wouldn't want it to shock the horse again or worse, cause a fire. |
Member: sonoita |
Posted on Wednesday, Feb 14, 2007 - 10:42 pm: Did you put a blanket on? Sometimes blankets have static?Was his buddy next door and does he like or dislike his other neighbor? Happy Trails |
Member: judyhens |
Posted on Thursday, Feb 15, 2007 - 10:06 pm: We had a horse do this once in a stall at a show. It was a brand new arena. Suddenly he was rearing, bucking, trying to climb the walls. Turned out they had electric outlets hanging down from the ceiling by the front of the stalls. Definitely NOT a good idea. He was tall enough to stretch his neck and bite it. Anyway, we moved him to another stall and he was fine. Tied the electrical outlet out of the way and had no further problem. Sounds like a similar (and frightening) experience. I have come to believe that when a horse suddenly behaves totally and completely out of character, and is fine when moved to a different environment, something probably hurt the horse when he or she was upset. Glad yours is happier. I can't imagine the temperatures you are living with!!!! We are all bundled up, shivering, and the temp is in the 30s!Judy....in Texas 0 0 \_/ |
New Member: dvjl |
Posted on Friday, Feb 16, 2007 - 8:39 am: Thanks for your input.The horse continues to be happy in his stall since this incident. I hope it remains a single occurrence. From my understanding an electrical stray current is not something steady, but more like a jolt that somehow short-circuits and much like lightning is a sudden release. I checked all electrical connections, but couldn't find anything unusual. He does have two heated buckets though and dunks his hay, hence is very messy with his water. Maybe he happened to stand in a little puddle and somehow the circuit connected. I just can't make sense of anything else. Wanda, he is blanketed, but that particular day I didn't even take it off because it was a no riding day. It's also a super nice blanket and I have never felt any static handling it. Judy, interesting, sounds exactly like what my guy did. And yes, it is cold, brrrrrrrrrrr. I am riding until -20 C, after that I chicken out. |
Member: sonoita |
Posted on Friday, Feb 16, 2007 - 10:23 am: Delia,I have heard that after awhile the electric buckets can start to shock horses. I was told to only keep them for a year or two at the most. I did stick my hand in my horses one time and got a good shock. It was changed that day. I am glad he is doing better. Happy Trials pS and you be careful too. |
Member: pbauer |
Posted on Friday, Feb 16, 2007 - 5:45 pm: Dear Delia,Thank you for your timely reply! The problem of stray currents caught my attention! I've been doing some research, and found a very interesting website: National Electrical Code explanations, training and tips... www.mikeholt.com. There is a lot of important and very useful information...especially in the links section. In the link section...go to Code Check and download: Featured Download of the Week...poor Benjamin Franklin! Again, thank you for helping me to understand how important electrical safety has to be. My Best, Tonya |
Member: liliana |
Posted on Friday, Feb 16, 2007 - 8:16 pm: DaliaI was just thinking that perhaps if you dunk the hay in a haynet before you give it to him he might stop making his little soup |
Member: jmarie |
Posted on Saturday, Feb 17, 2007 - 10:36 am: Wow! What an interesting thread!I had an experience once with a mare who freaked out while I was bathing her in an outdoor wash rack at a boarding farm. I didn't notice the hot wire on the other side of the fence she was tied to. Apparently we were somehow completing a circuit thanks to the puddle I was standing in, and the charge was running right through her despite the rubber mats she was standing on. I'll be curious to hear what you learn about the situation with this stall. Did you change the heated buckets? Is everything back to normal? There was a lot of research done a few years back about EMF's and dairy cows. The fields were being emitted by the wiring for the milkers, and although no shock or current could be felt, production was significantly lower in cows standing in stanchions within the fields. Could this be something similar? |
Member: dvjl |
Posted on Monday, Feb 19, 2007 - 7:45 am: Hi all,great to get so many responses - I didn't expect that. Wanda - my two buckets are just one year old, but I have heard the same thing. I put my hand into both of them and they were fine. He also wasn't drinking when all of this happened, so I doubt he was actually shocked by the buckets, but I am thinking that the buckets could be contributing to the bigger picture here. Tonja - thanks for the link. I will check it out at lunch. ;) Liliana - we call it making hay tea around here. I actually don't mind it because it keeps him well hydrated and is easier on his somewhat sensitive stomach. I am also terrified of horses getting tangled in hay nets, especially with horses that move around a lot. Joanne - yes, everything is back to normal, has been since that one incident. It's amazing how many people had or have heard of experiences like this. I haven't changed the buckets as I have no other way of keeping liquid water in his stall. I did check everything else and couldn't find anything unusual, but I have a call into a friend electrician to hear more about stray current, how to check for it and how to prevent it. I'll keep you all posted. Thank you very much for you interest in this. |
Member: jmarie |
Posted on Monday, Feb 19, 2007 - 9:30 am: Thanks for the update, Delia.I once had someone come into my house with a Gauss meter and read the stray EMF levels. My daughter was having a hard time healing from an injury and was feeling tremendous anxiety. I was astounded to find that there was an outrageously high reading in the corner of the ceiling over her bed. We checked outside and found that that was where the main power line came into the house. The wire was old and the shielding had cracked and come off. The power company came and replaced the wire, insulators, and connectors. I'm not going to say there was a noticeable improvement in my daughter's recovery rate, but I felt better. A small aside: My farrier once worked for the power company. He told me that when he started the supervisor gathered the newbies and did a demonstration. He held a lightbulb in the air within about 100 feet of a high-tension tower. The bulb lit up. I'm beginning to think that my grandmother's irrational fear of electricity leaking from empty light sockets wasn't so far afield after all! |