[mxf1045]

Exactly a month ago, my neighbors opened a new boarding facility that my trainer is managing and offered to help me out while I am at school by keeping him there to keep the first boarder horse they had in there company (she also loves my gelding and really wants to ride him while I'm away). The barn is just across the street, but my guy has not been himself since he's moved. He is stressed in the paddock especially in the afternoon and he's grumpier than normal. He also is my go everywhere do everything kind of horse and I tried to ride him this past weekend when I came home from school and we could barely even walk because he was so anxious and hot. By the time we were done riding the amount of sweat he had on him made it look like I had just worked him hard when all we did was walk. I also noticed right off that he was extremely tucked looking. He is drinking his water like usual, but I'm afraid the tucked appearance could be stress related and don't want it to lead to ulcers. What's troubling me is my trainer see's no problem with how he's looking or acting. She thinks he looks great and says he hasn't been stressed at all and has settled in well, which I disagree with. He's being fed plenty and four times a day, kept on a schedule, so I know he's being cared for, I just don't know if I should give him more time to settle in or if he's had plenty of time and should just bring him home instead. It's puzzling to me as to why he wouldn't settle because he's been hauled everywhere and just recently we went to Georgia for the NBHA Youth World Championships and he didn't have any sort of problem being away from home. I go to my trainer for everything and where she doesn't see he has any sort of problem it's hard for me to decide what to do. I want him to stay there, but I don't want his health or sanity to be put at risk. Should he have more time to settle in or is there more than likely some other underlying problem that could potentially hurt him in the long run?

 

[mxf1045]

I think I'm going to try ulcer guard to start with and see how he is this weekend when I go back. He is in a stall like he always has been (and he loves his stall) and he's outside for about 10 hrs a day just like he was at my house. The only thing that I think could be rattling him is the fact that there isn't as much activity at this barn. He goes out in a significantly smaller paddock by himself (more like a traditional boarding barn in my area) where as he is used to larger paddocks for turnout at my house and being turned out with my three mares (two of which are still across the street I don't know if he knows they're still there and misses being with them). He has been turned out alone though in a paddock about the same size for an entire summer at home because he kept getting into brush at one part of the paddock and scraping his legs up. He seemed to prefer being alone doing his own thing, so I'm not sure why he's so anxious over there. He's still turned out right next to the other horse they're just separated by the fencing.