# Horse suddenly very spooky/nervous



## gaby2615 (11 March 2013)

My horse seems to have had a personality transplant overnight, he's gone from being a fairly calm non spooky horse to a nervous wreck and I have no explanation for it. I have owned him 6 years and have never seen him be like this, even though he has frequently done silly things that have scared him like going through an electric fence but he has been back to normal almost instantly. He has become very headshy and extremely jumpy, especially when tied up, even if the rope moves he jumps and tries to pull back. He gets nervous when I put the rug on and pull the neck cover up his neck he backs off even though this has never been a problem. He's very tense and keeps blowing through his nose at nearly everything, every little noise he flinches at. He is not his normal self as he's usually very bolshy and can be grumpy but he is not like that now. He's been like it for the last 3 days. I think I will get the vet to check his eyesight etc. Any advice would be appreciated as this has never happened before, he is a 12 year old irish sports horse.


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## Luci07 (11 March 2013)

Definitely check his eyes first. Any feed changes recently?


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## LouiseG (11 March 2013)

Obvious question but have you changed his feed?


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## HBM1 (11 March 2013)

My first thought would always be to wonder if anyone at yard is mistreating him when you are not around. Have any of the other horses had a change of character?


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## scardycat (11 March 2013)

Just a thought, if he`s stabled could rats have recently infested his stable?


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## gaby2615 (11 March 2013)

Thanks for the replies. No his feed is the same as always and he mostly has just chaff anyway and yes he is stabled. I did think maybe someone had hit him in the face when I wasn't around, it is a horrible thought. He's a very calm horse though and doesn't tend to get spooked or upset by anything usually which is why this is so strange as nothing in his routine has changed .


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## gaby2615 (11 March 2013)

He is on shavings and I move them about frequently and haven't seen any rats. All the other horses seem fine, I have asked if anyone has seen anything go on whilst I'm not there but nobody has, but I wouldn't put it past some of the people there to do something horrible.


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## Sprig (11 March 2013)

It sound like he has had a fright. Maybe something happened to upset him while he was out/in his stable while you were not there. Hopefully it was a one off and he will soon calm down.


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## Tilda (11 March 2013)

I would also get his poll checked as this would make him careful of his head and perhaps cause him to tense through his neck. He may have banged his head or moved in a certain way and pulled a muscle. Definitely second the eye sight my boy can be very wary of things suddenly appearing on the right and it turns out he has 2 tiny blind spots in his right eye. Seems quite a sudden change with your boy so I would rule out pain in his head/ neck first.


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## Gingersmum (11 March 2013)

Or some sort of head trauma ? 
Thorn stuck in his face ?
Any soft swelling around the head or face ?


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## 1Lucie (12 March 2013)

My horse went like this, he too is an ish. He has been stabled with small amount of turnout all winter. He had just lost his confidence and soon came back to himself with a bit of extra riding.


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## Megibo (12 March 2013)

When we had the 2 week snow and I couldn't ride one of mine became very very silly/nervous. She is naturally a bit suspicious of life  but that just made her worse. Once back out and in work she's back to normal


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## RainbowDash (12 March 2013)

Are you on a shared yard? If so could he have been struck by someone?  Is he the only one to show a behaviour change? Has any work been done around the yard (drilling/tree work etc) that is out of the ordinary? Does he calm down if taken out in hand? Any change in work?

Sorry for the twenty questions but I have a wee pony who gets spookier if something out of ordinary is going off in the yard - he was a nightmare when the school was being resurfaced..


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## Jnhuk (12 March 2013)

Would you describe his behaviour as over-reactive and panicky or just nervous? 

I would see if something has happen to his neck/head/poll area. It could be a pain reaction and he is now worrying about you making him sore.


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## Elsbells (12 March 2013)

Could be any of the above tbh OP and a case of you trying different things. Your best placed to help him as you know him best.

Just wanted to say, poor horsey and poor you. They worry us sick sometimes and often I think it's deliberate!

I hope you find the problem soon.


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## gaby2615 (14 March 2013)

Thanks for all the replies they are very helpful. Luckily he seems to be improving every day and is nearly back to his old self. He is still very wary of certain noises like when I undo the velcro on his rug but with reassurance he is ok. I was dreading riding him but he was fine so this hasn't been affected. He had his back done a few days before he started acting strange so maybe was feeling some pain or was sore, but this isn't usually a problem. He seems to trust me again now which suggests someone frightened him and made him scared for a few days and he associated it with me. Hopefully he will continue to improve .


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## MagicMelon (14 March 2013)

Get his back checked too.  Once of mine went very out of character and jumpy which turned out was due to his back.


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