Over energetic and fizzy horses

Overly energetic and fizzy horses are difficult to handle and ride, and can often be dangerous, possibly bucking, rearing, blotting off, and spooking for no reason. There are many reasons a horse could be over-energetic.

Symptoms

• Too many calories in their diet - in some cases a horse’s diet contains more calories than they need to maintain their weight at the level of work they are doing. These excess calories can be the cause of fizziness. This can be especially prevalent in horses that are struggling to maintain a good weight - feeding a balancer alongside a high-quality slow-release high-fibre feed will help a horse maintain a healthy weight without providing excess calories.
• Check for pain - often over-energetic or fizzy behaviour can be a side effect or symptom of pain. Check for ill-fitting tack, tooth abscesses, and any other potential injuries. If you are ever unsure always consult an expert such as a veterinary surgeon or dental technician..
• Limited exercise or coming back into work - Horses that are not being consistently ridden will often be over-energetic or fizzy when being ridden. Increasing the horse’s workload, providing more turnout, or feeding a calming product whilst the horse comes back into work can help with this.
• Behavioural issues – Sometimes excess energy and fizziness is a behavioural trait, especially in younger horses, although in most cases they grow out of this. Feeding a calming product can help limit these behavioural traits.
• Change in grass quality - A change in grass quality can cause horses to come overly energetic and fizzy, especially in the spring when the calorie and sugar content of the grass is greatly increased. To help this, limit turnout to lush spring grass. This can be achieved by either introducing a track system or grazing muzzle.

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