Q&A

YOUR EQUESTRIAN QUESTIONS ANSWERED

My horse has become very aggressive suddenly with others in his paddock. The yard owner wants to separate him, but he was absolutely fine until recently. What could be the cause of this? The onset of, or a significant increase in, aggression towards other horses can have a range of causes, although the most common tend to be pain, feeling unsafe and competition over food.

It’s best to get your horse thoroughly checked by your vet. Aggression can be caused by anything from arthritic pain to gastric ulcers and your vet will be best placed to work out what is going on. Often in these instances, once the pain has been resolved the horse will return to ‘normal’.

Similarly, a change in availability of grazing or food can contribute to aggression within a group. Alternatively, if his food has been cut he may now be in greater competition for grass intake in the paddock to make up for this and this too could result in aggressive behaviours. In this case, if his food is increased or he is given greater access to grazing or forage the behaviour is likely to disappear.

Other changes in the environment can also have a big impact and these should be considered. Are there new horses in the group in his paddock? Are there particular horses that seem to trigger the aggression? Are the horses all male or are there mares in the vicinity that might have come into season? Is he in the same paddock with the same amount of space as before or has something changed? Has the amount of work he is doing changed? If you are unaware of any changes, it is also worth chatting to your yard manager as she may have insight into other changes in management that are not immediately obvious. Some horses are very sensitive to change and any small disruption can cause an increase in their basal stress levels, making the triggering of aggressive responses more likely. Again, once these issues have been dealt with, and your horse is made to feel more comfortable again, he is likely to return to his normal behaviours.

If, after thorough investigation, none of the above factors seem to be at play, your vet is likely to want to do more investigations into the sudden change in behaviour. There are some rare conditions that can cause rapid-onset aggression, but these are very uncommon.

Finally, if all health and environmental issues are ruled out, you will almost certainly need the assistance of an animal behaviourist to help you to tackle the issue.

GOOD TO KNOW

In the walk and trot the horse’s footfalls should be in an even rhythm with no rushing or toe dragging.

I have realised that I really cannot see lameness and it makes me worry that I don’t see issues with my own horses. How can I learn to get better at this so that I don’t miss something important? Lameness is not always easy to spot, especially when it’s mild. A lame horse may appear to take a shorter stride on the lame leg, swing his leg outwards instead of underneath him or bear his weight unevenly by, for instance, putting more weight on the outside or inside of the hoof wall while walking.

To spot lameness you’ll need to watch carefully and have someone else walk and trot the horse away from and towards you, preferably on a flat and hard surface. When the horse is being led away from you, look for the hindquarters dipping an uneven amount on each side as he moves and look whether one hindleg swings out to the side or is snatched up. You should also look for indications that he is dragging his toes. When he’s led towards you, you might spot him nodding his head. It’s also worth looking to see how evenly he picks up his front feet. Some vets ask for the horse to be trotted past them side-on as well, which can help them to see any shortness in the strides.

Another good way to spot lameness, can be to watch your horse walk and trot on a circle, as this can accentuate any issues and make it clear where the problem is. Make sure to circle on both sides and to ensure that the horse is calm when moving. If you are struggling visually to spot the issue, it can also help to close your eyes and listen to the rhythm of the gait – it can sometimes be easier to hear unevenness in the rhythm than to see it.

Finally, don’t be too hard on yourself about this. Lameness detection is something that you get better at with practice, and even the most seasoned observers can sometimes miss something. Try and learn what you can by listening to other knowledgeable people and by observing as many horses as you can, but if you have any concerns about your own horses, just call you vet – nobody will laugh at you and it is always better to be safe than sorry!

NOTE: It goes without saying that if your horse is at all lame you should always call your vet for an examination to help you to get to the bottom of what is causing the lameness. If you do call your vet out for lameness, ask them to explain what they’re seeing. Most vets will be more than happy to help you learn more.

NOTE

If you suspect your horse has seedy toe, contact your farrier and ask them to take a look. Seedy toe can be serious if left unchecked and you need to ask your farrier to help you to start treating it as soon as possible.

What is seedy toe?

Seedy toe is a fungal or bacterial infection found at the bottom of the hoof wall in the toe area. Quite often it’s associated with a breakdown in the laminae, which connect the hoof wall to the pedal bone. If left untreated, the infection and the separation can spread further up the hoof wall.

The condition commonly presents itself as a frayed and damaged portion of the hoof wall around 2.5cm high. There may be areas that appear black from bacterial infection, and there can be a pungent smell.

There are a number of ways that you can keep seedy toe from occurring: • Regular hoof trimming will help reduce any distortion in the toe, keep the white line tight, remove hoof wall flare and remove any bacteria that may be present. • A low-sugar diet will help reduce the chances of laminitis and subsequently seedy toe developing. • Grass and hay analysis will help to formulate a feeding plan, potentially with mineral and vitamin supplementation, that’ll ensure hooves are kept strong and healthy. • Topical treatments can include regular application of diluted iodine to help to destroy any of the bacteria present.

My horse has competed at a high level previously. I bought him to improve my confidence, and to teach me the basics. I’ve never had a ‘schooled’ horse before and he was meant to be my treat to myself. However, since I’ve bought him the other liveries at my yard are making horrible comments about the fact that I’m wasting his potential and that I’m riding him at a much lower level than he should be ridden at. This is all starting to really affect my confidence and I feel so bad for him. Should I sell him and get something more of my level or how can I go about moving beyond this? The first and most important thing to remember is this is your life and your journey, nobody else’s. You need to put yourself first and think about your own goals and what you want to achieve. Everyone is on a slightly different path and at a different point in their life – so there really is no need to compete with anyone else or worry about anyone else’s opinion. What’s important is your happiness and that of your horse.

With regards to your point about your horse being unhappy to do low-level work, we would say that no horse ‘needs’ to compete and certainly does not ‘need’ to compete at a high level. Yes, some horses enjoy competing, but no horse comes out of a class saying ‘Fantastic – I won the 1.50s. I now feel like I’ve achieved something’. Horses thrive when they can be happy partners with their human, and the level at which you are competing is irrelevant in this. If this wasn’t the case, and horses could only feel fulfilled if they were in the top levels, there would be an awful lot of unhappy horses in the world.

It is also worth noting that new partnerships take time to establish, so you’re absolutely right to be riding at a lower level to begin with. You can learn from and get to know each other without putting yourselves at risk or under great pressure. The most important things are that you are enjoying riding your horse and that the two of you build your relationship at your own pace. It doesn’t matter if you reach the high levels tomorrow, next month or never but instead that you enjoy yourselves and find satisfaction in your partnership.

Finally, people who talk about others are usually just jealous. It is likely that there are other people at your yard who wish they had your horse, and just don’t express this in a particularly nice way. If this is a huge issue, and you feel isolated because of these individuals, it is worth looking at another yard where you’ll be happier, as ultimately your horse will be happier too. However, if you are able to ignore these people and get on with enjoying yourself with your new horse, then put these nasty comments behind you and know that you are on the right track for you.

The best piece of advice we can really give you is not to let a few people’s snide remarks lead to you passing up the chance of building something special with this talented horse. It’s an exciting journey you are on – don’t let the naysayers tell you otherwise!

Do certain coat colours predispose a horse to having more sensitive skin?

A horse’s response to skin stimulation is theoretically the same, regardless of coat colour. Skin pigmentation (not coat colour itself) does, however, influence skin sensitivity to UV radiation.

De-pigmented skin types (pink skin), as is often seen in Appaloosa, cremello and albino horses, do not contain the photo-protective pigment melanin. Melanin helps to protect the skin from UVA and UVB rays and blue visible light present in sunlight. It operates as a shield to prevent direct UV damage to the DNA of skin cells and reduces stress on the skin.

UV-RELATED SKIN DISEASE

Horses can get two skin diseases related to UV light exposure. One is sunburn and the other, called photosensitization, looks like sunburn but is much more complicated.

Photosensitisation is related to the eating of photodynamic plan material. If a horse eats a plant containing a photodynamic agent, the agent enters the blood stream and reacts to UV light from the sun as the blood travels through blood vessels in the horse’s skin, causing the skin to be more sensitive. This typically affects white skin due to the increased UV penetration. Plants containing photodynamic agents include clover, St John’s Wort and buckwheat.

For animal wellness My horse has recently had surgery. What signs would suggest his wound has become infected?

The appearance of the surgical site may vary significantly depending on its location on your horse’s body, the surgical technique used and the way the wound has been closed (e.g. glued or sutured). A neat, small incision used for keyhole surgery, for instance, is a very different entity to a large midline incision for colic surgery.

Infection in a wound is usually easy to spot, and the signs to look out for include: • Redness • Swelling, which is usually found around the scar, in the limbs or under the abdomen • Heat • Pain when you touch the area around the incision or pain when your horse moves • Loss of function e.g. lameness • Discharge from the wound, which is usually thick, smelly and non-transparent • Gaps between sutures, which usually appear 4-5 days after surgery if infection is present (even if there are no other obvious signs).