Bad manners or typical mares behaviour?

L

Len

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Hi,
I have had my mare for 7 months now - she is a steady safe ride and enjoys her work. I am a sometimes nervous rider and she looks after me brilliantly.
However.....I am having some issues with her on the ground. When she first arrived she was nervous in the stable and didnt like to be tied but over the next couple of months she settled in well.
She can be marish - in her first season of the year she was very attentive to the geldings and quite vocal and OTT about most things but again still good under saddle.
Lately when shes in the stable and I walk to her with a brush or with tack she pins her ears and glares at me! She lets me tack her up fine but she just seems so insulted by it all! I laugh at her but it is making me wander whats wrong.
If I have her outside her box and tie her shes not so bad. I dont know if shes had a bad experience in her stable she isnt head shy etc or if its just her bossing me.
I'm trying not to take it personally! She whinneys and whickers to me on the yard and in the field and is always happy to work once shes tacked up. I dont think she has any physical issues, it can be when I bridle her or walk towards her with the saddle or even her boots!
Does anyone else have this type of experience? I have met some very marish mares but I wouldnt say mine is like that she enjoys being fussed and likes attention. Is she just having the odd moment?!?!?!
 
Thanks MM - she can be a bit bolshy she doesnt barge etc but she will try to shove me about again in the stable - not sure how to address it - I try not to react or if she gives me a shove she gets one back just a nudge and a 'No' - we recently went for our first hack without company with just my husband walking out with us - she went well but the fact that she seems to see herself as the boss worries me as I want her to be able to look to me if shes anxious etc.
 
I agree with madam_max just ignore it as the more you draw attention to it the more she will make a fuss. She is just being a typical mare just laugh and carry on.
 
Well I would smack her for that with a voice command, then ignore her again. But truthfully, my mare is very dominant and I usually ignore her unless she does something very naughty, ears back is fine. My mare is actually better with voice commands.
 
Thanks damsel - though I think the laughing aggravates her more! Nice to know its not just me though!
 
My mare regularly tries to take chunks out of me when I bring a saddle in to sight, I have learned to ignore her and dodge the teeth. She goes from raging hell demon to sweetheart as soon as the saddle is on, not issue with the bridle, opens her mouth and pricks her ears all keen on going out. Mares are strange beings, I have got past the stage of trying to figure them out
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As long as she isn't physically going for you - bites, kicks, pushing past etc, then I don't see any need to tell her off. She's just being a moody moo. Any real aggression though and she needs a firm reprimand.
 
Thanks Silverspring - I get similar comments from my husband ref to the fact he gave up trying to figure me out yrs ago! Maybe I should just concentrate on the fact shes a good riding horse and enjoy that!
 
Hi mowgli - she does try to shove me usually if I am not paying her attention but she is a greedy mare too so not sure if this is food orientated as shes on a diet at the moment - prob not helping her mood!
 
Hi MM,
She seems totally mortified if shes told off like she really cant see what she did - I usually shove her on the shoulder or make her move from me and speak sharply to her - I have started moving her around the stable too so she pays me attention and moves out of my way rather than blocking me and looking for an argument!
 
Just a small point - mares can experience some discomfort, if not pain when in season, especially just behind the saddle. Anticipation of a saddle being put on, girth tightened etc. can give you all the behaviour that you mention. Mares are entire and have hormonal swings like humans!!
 
I have three mares...two youngsters aged 3 and 4 and a 19yr old TB...so have some experience
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I would say that any horse, mare, gelding or stallion, has to respect your space. If she pushes into you in the stable, push her with the flat of your hand til she moves back to where she started, saying 'stand' once she is there. If she won't move to the flat of your hand, use the point of your knuckle to create pressure enough for her to want to move away.
When she stands, remember to say 'good girl' and make a fuss of her.
I would say, though, that a lot of horses feel at threat in a stable and become overly defensive - if she is happier tied outside then do that!
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Why look for trouble....?
It would also be worth using a softer brush on her (my old TB mare tells me when her summer coat is through, that she doesn't like brushes with hard bristles, although she doesn't mind them on her winter coat).
I would check the fit of bridle and saddle, and make sure she has no back pain.
Silverspring - do keep trying to figure out what is wrong with your mare - there is something badly wrong with the fit of your saddle/the girth/her feelings about work if she is a 'raging hell demon' who 'tries to take chunks out of you when you bring a saddle in to sight'. Horses are rationale animals who don't do things without reason - she is trying to tell you something, if only you'll listen to her.
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S
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There is a world of difference between a horse looking a bit put out to be tacked up and one actually trying to bite or take other extreme action.

Horses are herbivores - they don't want to burn any more calories than they have to so if they are active rather than passive it's because they have good reason, either positive or negative. They are also very social and put a great deal of stock where they are in hierarchy BUT this is rarely done with any real attack, merely with warnings and threats.

The OPs mare does seem to be "threatening" her but in a "I'm the boss, you don't have the right" sort of way - very different from an attack. I don't generally let horses make faces at me, not because I think they're necessarily going to up the ante, but because I'm the boss and you don't make faces at the boss. They wouldn't threaten the boss mare so they don't get to threaten me. Try a look or a warning sound to start - that SHOULD be enough if your relationship is on tap. If she pushes it and threatens you harder, moving into your space (even with just her head), use your knuckle as S suggested, or a tap with the flat of your hand and use a calm reprimand. Don't lose your temper or make a fuss, just react in a way that tells her you're not threatened and you won't stand for it.

Now, that said, don't give a horse a reason to feel it needs to threaten! Absolutely check your tack, your procedure, the horse's health etc. Many horse object to certain brushes (VERY common) or even pads and girths so try to be a good owner and exhaust the options before you assume she's being a cow. It escapes me why so many people say a horse has to "take" a brush it obviously finds uncomfortable - what's the point? It's not important and it just tells the horse if it tells you politely that it's not happy you're just going to ignore it so better to go for a more extreme reaction right off the bat. Not the lesson you want to teach!

People forget that mares are entire, like stallions. They have social and personal/physical pressures on them that geldings don't. which can make them more reactive. But this does not give them the right to behave badly towards their people, if only because we are too small and weak to be on the receiving end of horse justice!
 
Agree 100% all you said.

I have had mares for years - one I did put up with grumpy faces - she had been badly treated - but not more than ears back.

Fleur nipped me once - I realised she hated the sheepskin girth sleeve, Stopped using it and never nipped again.

Mares require some tact, but never should be allowed to have the upper hand. I am always boss mare with my mares and my geldings.

May be putting my mare skills back into practice next week as all being well, Andy is getting a 4 year old clydie. Will be nice as I normally prefer mares - just that spark that geldings don't often have.
 
Could be as simple as seeing the tack, bringing back memories of perhaps the girth being yanked up too quickly, hence nipping her skin, bit being banged on her teeth, or like you say she may of been roughly handled in the past, now she is getting more comfortable with you, hence why she's not nervous...she may be testing the water a little.

Mares tend to be 'thinkers' its in their nature, part of survival and sometimes they are little more vocal and expressive in there faces, more sensitive lets say, some horses just shut up and put up, some show there disapproval more than others.

I think as long as your mare is in no pain, not suffering with her hormones, you master her in a fair and rewarding manor, don't give her mixed signals or instructions....work round her in confident and relaxed way, don't feel intimidated by her scowling, make sure she enjoys her work, then she'll be fine and you wont have anything to worry about.

I do think its good that you are exploring why she is like this though, if only everyone wondered why there horses were displacing certain sign of whatever before they tried correcting it etc and I think everyone has covered some good reasons or suggestions for you to explore.
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Silverspring - do keep trying to figure out what is wrong with your mare - there is something badly wrong with the fit of your saddle/the girth/her feelings about work if she is a 'raging hell demon' who 'tries to take chunks out of you when you bring a saddle in to sight'. Horses are rationale animals who don't do things without reason - she is trying to tell you something, if only you'll listen to her.
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S
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She's 22 and has been like that her entire life.

She's got a reactor free 'n' easy that is checked yearly (not that her confirmation changes!) she has a full elastic girth with real sheepskin girth sleeve and hasn't had a single problem with her back in her life (yes I get it checked by the vet when I vaccinate)

I can assure you there is nothing physically wrong with her she is just a highly strung Arab chestnut mare that has the most dramatic mood swings I have ever seen. I have only every met one mare that doesn't at least pull a face at getting a girth done up, my mare just happens to enjoy a little more drama, where's the fun it putting your ears back when you can add a fly nip in whenever possible
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