Hot Horse, what to do?

^^^ good point.

i just wanted to add that it would probably be a good idea to get her on a complete supplement of some kind. if she was malnourished when she came to you then there is a chance her body is well behind in trying to catch up with everything. if she is getting all the right minerals and nutrients she will be able to put the weight on and keep it on better because everything is working how it should be :) all 3 of my horses were in bad condition to varying degrees when i got them and less than a year later they are all in great condition and i put a lot of it down to the supplement.

it also contains vitamin b1 which is great for calming high strung "hot" horses.

good luck with it all

edited to add: by adding the supplements you can afford to be a little less picky about the quality of hay you give them as they will get the extra nutrients they need from the supplement.

Have you tried feeding her beet pulp? That might not make her so hot and still put weight on her. How often are you riding her?

Rice bran and/or beet pulp will let her gain weight without getting her hot.
Also make sure she is not in a stall...being in a stall and getting lots of protien will make her crazy. A pasture is much healthier for a horse, and they can get excess energy out of their system

Feeding straight alfalfa/lucerne is also not good nutritionally, as it suppresses calcium & magnesium. It's a good idea to suppliment with dolomite if feeding much of this.

Welcome to the forum!

I wouldn't lunge her at all--it's too much freedom, I'd keep control of her head at all times with a standard leadrope or a pair of reins until you get know each other better. I'd take her out on trail rides at a walk only, until you can trust her, then at a trot. No cantering until you two are in sync.

Thanks everyone!!! any suggestions on a "complete supplement"? Also I was thinking about the beet pulp, someone also suggested "Dyne" to me, is that any good?

I am riding her several times a week both in the ring and on the trail, she was pretty good until just a few days ago. She was in a stall at night but is now turned out full time (started about a week ago full turnout)

I appreciate everyone's help and will give you an update. I didn't ride her today, just a bath and she was extremely agreeable and easy to handle. Going to try to start riding her daily, just short, easy rides or light ringwork and see how it goes.

well Arrow should have listened to you. Because of weather and time was not able to do much with her until I tried lunging her in round pen today. At first she seemed fine and the only thing wrong she was doing was trying to eat grass (yes we have grass in the round pen, lots of rain lately) and so I snapped the whip a bit to get her head up. At first she seemed okay and started walking then I asked for trot and she was throwing her head and acting a bit bad, I told her to stop. Then snapped the whip a bit. She lost it and took off again a few bucks, not many but she was going at a full gallop and it was dangerous because there are some spots of deep sand on the "track" in the round pen. Nothing slowed her down or calmed her down, I am going to ask the trainer what her stop or WHOAA command is but really it was like she just had to run, just had to get it out.

I really think its the alfalfa and increased pellets, its a shame because she looks so much better but if I can't exercise her or get her to behave its kind of a wash.

She wore herself out and finally stopped after a few minutes at a full blast gallop.

Tmrw going to just get on her and walk her and see how it goes
thanks again for all your help.

Yeah, lunging hot horses can get pretty crazy at times, but I still think that's a better idea then her walking all over her when you have control over her head. Because when you have a rope connected to her head all she can do is come closer because there is more pressure when she moves away, but when you lunge here then you have the option of sending her away from you.

Lunging, like anything takes time for a horse to understand, and even longer for a hot horse to understand. Galloping around like an idiot is a common response so don't get too upset, just don't get hurt and be careful. Eventually she'll get used to it.

But I do believe that lunging is an effect technique when done right. At first you can't really do a whole lot of work on her listening to you, but later you want her to listen to just your body language.

Just because a horse is hyper is no reason NOT to lunge them. In my opinion. When they have freedom and choose to listen to you, then they usually make better horses in the long run then horses that are forced to listen to you. That's just what I've learned through experience, and thought I'd share.

thanks so much for your suggestions. She was lunged with side reins on a regular basis for years, so she knows what its all about. She is just "hot" I think. I have ridden her for three days in a row on the trail and she is okay at first but it was hot and buggy and if they tried anything more than a walk she tried rearing, (another thing she has never done before)

will keep you all up to date on how it goes!

OK, I'm back on my nutrition band wagon. As stated, Alfalfa is horrible for a hot horse. Not to mention the corn syrup, carrots, and treats....all sugar to ad to her already hot headedness... This mare could also have some internal reaction to sugar as well.

Stop all the sugar and high carbs. I feed Safe Choice by Nutrena. It's a one stop shop for all of my horses and their individual needs. Low carbs too!

Can she just be on pasture for a little while until her system gets cleaned out of the toxins created by all the sugar?