Any ideas?

[shoo]

On what to do with a lovely 7 year old TB mare who is a bit spooky and has the memory of a goldfish!!!
She has been race trained but never raced, she had a year off to chill out and was brought back to work slowly starting at the beginning, she can school and jump lovely and is happy doing it but that all changes the next day! She is never the same horse to ride one day to the next.
Some days a pole on the ground is a major event, circles become triangles and everything in the world is out to get her.
Shes a lamb to handle one mintue and a nightmare kicking holes in walls the next.
So without being mean has anyone got any ideas???
Thanks for reading

 

[Divasmum]

Have you had her very long? If not perhaps she needs a bit longer to settle into her work.

 

[MrsMozart]

What feed? Any words of advice from a vet or trainer? Saddle, back, teeth checked?

 

[Paint it Lucky]

Definately look into her diet, are you feeding her anything that might make her fizzy, anything she's intolerant of? eg barley, alfalfa, mollasses. Are all her vitamins and minerals balanced?

Could it be her coming into season? Or prehaps she has irregular or painfull seasons which makes her grumpy/unpredictable? Might be worth having a vet look at this.

Check her back/teeth etc. Maybe consider putting her on a calmer to see if this helps. Is she in a nice regular routine? It may be she is just unsettled.

 

[MissGem]

Had the same problem myself with a mare I had for several years. She was very dominant and would transform from angel to demon in the space of about 5 seconds. Tried changing everything from diet, bit/bridle/saddle, different training methods and unfortunately nothing made any difference. There are some good calmers available now (e.g. Top Spec, Science Supplements). It may be a hormonal problem - so worth investigating that. Possibly also worthwhile looking into Parrelli/Monty Roberts techniques. Would be very interested to hear how you get on. PM me if you like.

 

[shoo]

Thanks for the replies, we've had her 4 years now she has had back and teeth checked, shes actually pretty well behaved when shes in season and she does have rescue remedy when shes really stressed, the main problem seems to be when riding its seems any advances we make she seems to go a hundred steps back the following day!