Any experts on mares out there???

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miss_wilson

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Hi
My fab mare that I have owned for 3 years ditched me good style this week! She is normally fab, we hack for miles, sj,dr, event and generally have fun!
On Wednesday night we went for a tootle around the farm, with our full ride on fly rug on. When we got to a field that had been opened to ride in we walked around, had a little trot, she was a little agitated but nothing worth worrying about, then I asked her for canter.... She put her head between her legs and bronco'd till I came off!! Ouch! Then proceeded to canter the mile home up the farm track back to the yard!!
Thurs night not to be beaten we walked round the field with another horse and she was a bit agitated!
Tonight popped up to a friends yard for a play with the ponies, couldn't get her to trot, lots of tail swishing and not much else!! Running backwards, calling to her friend, and wickering away! All very odd behaviour as she is normally very stoic!

Back is fine, teeth are due but don't think this can be explain sudden change in behaviour, so am thinking hormones or abdominal pain??
Am at a loss as obviously don't want to be decked again, but this is a horse that's main aim on life is to look after me as the rider?

Any suggestions?? I am going to give her a few days off then reassess!
Thanks
 
Could be just down to hormones, few days off sounds a good plan. If she doesn't return to "normal" then other suggestion would be problem with her ovaries - but unusual to have come on so sudden.
 
Horsey want MAN HORSE mine does this once a year turns into a massive ragging hormone of a dirty bint I leave it alone until all over as cant do a thing with her when in need a man mode x
 
I have 5 pony mares, my oldest is a pony club schoolmaster and has been ridden for most of her life by children, she has only been reluctant to be ridden once when she had the start of laminitis .She is a bit touchy when in season and since being badly bitten by a horse fly is needle phobic . The ground has been really hard, has she got a touch of concussion laminitis she may not be lame at the start.
Mares are so clever and have long memories.
 
Definitely sounds hormonal to me, bet after a couple of days she is back to being as good as gold.. Mine is more unpredictable this year not sure why but definitely being more difficult when in season.
 
Sometimes they get a big follicle that doesn't come away.This can make them very tender over the loins and really grumpy. I've had this with my mare and twice she went really badly eventing. She was lacking in magnesium, and I now keep her on it, and no problems.
 
If she doesn't normally act like this when in season (ie this behaviour is totally out of character) then don't just brush it off as her being 'marish'. You must rule out pain, injury, ulcers etc... first.
 
My mare turns into an evil, tanking, ducking and spinning nightmare when her teeth need doing, so don't rule out the teeth. But definitely get everything else checked too :)
 
Faracat said:
If she doesn't normally act like this when in season (ie this behaviour is totally out of character) then don't just brush it off as her being 'marish'. You must rule out pain, injury, ulcers etc... first.
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This. I would get a vet if I were in your shoes. For example, a friend's mare started getting really nasty and difficult in her seasons when she hadn't done before. Friend got the vet to examine the horse and the vet found that the mare had ovarian cysts, which caused her pain, especially when she went into heat.

My mare always acts like a daft eejit during her first strong heats of the spring but then the nutty behaviour tails off by mid-summer. But she's always done this. No change there. During the first year I had her (about 14 years ago) I spoke to my vet about Regumate and my vet told me Regumate was really dodgy stuff and advised me to man up and just deal. LOL. Horse was a pain to deal with and had the attention span of a gnat , but not dangerous and always returned to her usual sweet and sunny self within 5 or so days.

a big change in behaviour would be more worrying.
 
Faracat said:
If she doesn't normally act like this when in season (ie this behaviour is totally out of character) then don't just brush it off as her being 'marish'. You must rule out pain, injury, ulcers etc... first.
Click to expand...

I would second this - I have met a fair few mares who have had sudden personality changes and 'quirks' put down to being mareish when they have genuinely in pain somewhere, and their owners have been understandably devastated when the real cause was discovered. You are the one who is best placed to judge whether this is normal behaviour and if you don't think it is then go with your gut and get her checked out. I would also say that mares in particular do seem to be more clingy to other horses when they are feeling vulnerable (thought the vulnerability can just be caused by a sudden hormonal change), but I'd say it is best to put your mind at rest.
 
miss_wilson said:
Hi
My fab mare that I have owned for 3 years ditched me good style this week! She is normally fab, we hack for miles, sj,dr, event and generally have fun!
On Wednesday night we went for a tootle around the farm, with our full ride on fly rug on. When we got to a field that had been opened to ride in we walked around, had a little trot, she was a little agitated but nothing worth worrying about, then I asked her for canter.... She put her head between her legs and bronco'd till I came off!! Ouch! Then proceeded to canter the mile home up the farm track back to the yard!!
Thurs night not to be beaten we walked round the field with another horse and she was a bit agitated!
Tonight popped up to a friends yard for a play with the ponies, couldn't get her to trot, lots of tail swishing and not much else!! Running backwards, calling to her friend, and wickering away! All very odd behaviour as she is normally very stoic!

Back is fine, teeth are due but don't think this can be explain sudden change in behaviour, so am thinking hormones or abdominal pain??
Am at a loss as obviously don't want to be decked again, but this is a horse that's main aim on life is to look after me as the rider?

Any suggestions?? I am going to give her a few days off then reassess!
Thanks
Click to expand...
I can think of a few things that could have gone wrong.



She could have had a horse fly or warble underneath
girth could be pinching
pain or discomfort
skin caught in girth
in season
in a bad mood
saddle cloth curled up
back out
saddle slipped back
Myopathy
New gelding moved in
a rig or stallion nearby
gelding showing more amorous advances to her

some of the above you covered, I got on my boy back in 2007 right leg over and off he went into a bronc, bronc 5 times, I was in western saddle so did a lot of damage to me. Physio said I should have been 6 ft under. Broke ribs bruises etc. Took months to get confidence to get on him. Even now ( tho lame) i think about that day, all we found in the July was his back was out that is it nothing else and accident was the may.

With a mare it can be hormonal or discomfort during the season cycle. Can cause them to buck continuously or intermittently. If the mare suffers like this, contact your vet who can give u Regu-Mate. This will drastically reduce this behaviour.
 
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Thanks for all your suggestions, I agree that I think it's hormonal and do plan on contacting the vet next week for advice on whether she should be scanned. This mare just gets on with things and rarely causes any issues for me. Her back is fine and is checked regularly, actually checked in the last couple if days.
Today when I brought her in from the field this morning her abdomen looked distended and her back looked flatter as if she was holding her tummy, also when I touched her tummy she gave me the 'I'm giving you a nice warning' look.
Plan is to give her the weekend off then speak to the vet on Monday
Thanks
 
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