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Discussion on Is it just a behavioral problem? | |
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Posted on Saturday, Apr 29, 2000 - 7:21 pm: My sweet, five-year old Trakehner gelding developed a stall kicking habit a few months ago. When he kicks he gets very angry and bites his sides at the same time. He shows this behavior about every 4 hours, mostly through the night. He also (I think)chews funny sometimes at the beginng of a meal. The vet was out and floated his teeth which did not seem to have any effect. We x-rayed his skull and teeth but nothing showed up. It was thought that he may have had a concussion because shortly before the behavior started he hit his head on the ceiling really hard a few times. That was however a few months ago and the kicking hasn't stopped. We tried kicking chains which did not work. He is now living out side to avoid injury. We also tried a course of liquid dewormer for five days, feeding him Ration Plus(digestive agent), and massage therapy. He has gained weight but contiues the kicking, pawing and biting of his sides. Help! |
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Posted on Sunday, Apr 30, 2000 - 9:56 pm: Mike , some horses hate stalls , my older mare will flat chew her way out of them , she gets mad which you can see in her quickly , I have her in 24/7 pasture and she is the sweetest thing ever , but put her in a stall and she is major unhappy. She can tolerate any weather the the midwest US can throw at her but she just isn't a stall horse ,once they taste more outdoors or a herd they will not want to be there. Might help if you companion him with somebody he likes. The more restraint you apply the more resentment you'll see.Good Luck |
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Posted on Sunday, Apr 30, 2000 - 10:14 pm: Hi there!From what you've told us I don't think it is behavioral. Did it all begin after he hit his head? Have you ridden him since? Have there been changes in his care or environment that could have triggered this behavior? Since he did hit his head, I wonder if it is physical, maybe neurological. Has you vet done a full exam on him? ~barbara |
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Posted on Monday, May 1, 2000 - 7:50 am: Hi Mike,Does he bite at his sides or just generally snap at anything? Is he still doing this outside, or only when in his stall? I agree with Barbara that you should continue to investigate this with your vet. I also agree with Richard that it sounds alot like your boy doesn't want to be inside! If you do have to put your horse in a stall, you might want to consider putting stall mats on the walls. 3/4 inches of rubber not only protect the horse from injury, they also protect the wall from being kicked in. From the horse's perspective, kicking rubber just doesn't appear to be as much fun as kicking wood. I have seen cases where a 'padded wall' has decreased if not stopped kicking completely. |
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Posted on Monday, May 1, 2000 - 10:57 pm: Thanks for the response! The kicking began after he hit his head. I ride him 5 days a week and he is going great. He was moved from the stall where he hit his head the day afterwards. We thought maybe the stall move had something to do with the kicking but he has been moved to different stalls before and it did not bother him. He bites at his sides in a very specific spot close to his flanks. He shows this behavior outside as well. The vet has done a full exam and does he does not think that it is neurilogical although a German man who rode my horse at a clinic seemed almost certain that my horse had a neurilogical problem. A different vet is coming in a few days for a second opinion. |
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Posted on Tuesday, May 2, 2000 - 9:08 am: This is very interesting. I hope that you continue to post on your progress after you get a diagnosis. I wonder if the kicking and biting of the sides is caused by anger (since he can't bite another horse, he bites himself) and if pain of some sort is causing the anger. Did you say he still bites and kicks when outside also?The reason I am interested is that I have a horse that wants to bite at one side of herself and sometimes does it even under saddle. Because I can't find anyplace itchy and the tack isn't the cause, I have assumed it was nerve related. |
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Posted on Wednesday, May 3, 2000 - 6:19 am: Just a thought, but is it possible that he is stabled next to someone he doesn't like? I have seen horses act revoltingly in their boxes, until they were moved next to another neighbour, even though the "villain" did not seem, to the human eye, to be doing anything wrong.I also agree that biting the sides could be anger. My boy knows that if he bites me, he'll get bitten back, but he can't resist when I blanket him, so he either bites his chest, or kicks the stable. |
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Posted on Wednesday, May 3, 2000 - 4:51 pm: Mike,I had a horse that did this a few years ago - he was a arabian stallion and had been shown and hauled all over the country and was very good about it, but one evening on the way home from a show (thank goodness we were only a few miles from home) he started to kick and jump around in the trailer and tried to grab at his sides and he even bite at me when I opened the escape door to check on him. We unloaded him to check him out, thinking he might be collicky? He had plently of stomach sounds and he wanted to eat grass and seemed better once we got him out of the trailer. We decided to load him back up and he loaded just fine. As soon as the door was closed and we started on our way, he started again even more severe to where the trailer was rocking. We stopped got him out and gave him some Ace to quiet him. Tried again and he started the same thing. I had to ride this horse home. We had the Vet to check him and he said that he felt it was a chemical imbalance/possible neurological. Did blood work on him, nothing really showed up, but we tried to load and haul him again and he went nuts. After all these years he became claustrophobic. As soon as we cut out the lower section of the divider in the trailer where he could spread his feet wide apart, he never gave us a minute of trouble again. I'll tell you, things like that can really scare you - this horse was like he was posessed that night. He was always a very gentle horse. Since your horse is doing it outside too, I would bet on it being a nerve thing, since he did hit his head. Check it out. |
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Posted on Wednesday, May 3, 2000 - 10:07 pm: My horse has been moved to different stalls, beside different horses, and even put all by him self in a small barn. None of the moves made any difference to his behavior. My horse is very sweet and kind natured so its really hard for me to watch him get so upset. If only he could speak! The new vet is coming out tomorrow so I'll hope for the best and keep you posted. |
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Posted on Monday, May 8, 2000 - 10:48 am: Hey Mike,If your second vet isn't able to come up with anything, you may want to try acupuncture or chiropractic care. Results from acupuncture are immediate -- it works primarily with the nerves and muscles. Chiropractic is also pretty fast (works on bones, which then affects the nerves -- for example, if his spinal column is pinched in any way, it would put pressure on certain nerves, which could affect major parts of his body). If he's misplaced a bone in his neck or back (from throwing his head) then it may take a couple of treatments to correct it. |
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