Behavioural changes.....help??

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moodymare_1993

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So my mare is a tb and 7 in April. And I've had her nearly a year in a few weeks.

The past couple of months her attitude has changed to the point I know something is bothering her....but I don't know what it could be. I can't afford to have hundreds of different tests done so was wondering if someone could shed some light as to what it might be.

I fell in love with her temperament and so you can understand my concerns when I say something is upsetting her.

So usually she is a very chilled out mare, not your typical tb, she hasn't been worked at all over winter due to weather and no facilities and an operation on my wrist. But when i first got her ahe wasnt in work either so although know this could be a factor.
So i know not working is not the full picture. But basically she has started to canter about but is constantly bucking, and kicking her back legs out. Almost annoyed at something? She also 99% of the time has her ears back which isn't like her and she starts shaking her head and ears back when I approach or when she sees me which is another reason why I think something is wrong. It's like she's frustrated an trying her hardest to tell me something is wrong.....

I don't know if something is unsettling her but don't see what could be unsettling her?

I didn't know if it was possible for her to have a Uti or something?

Incase people Ask, she is in a coral Type area at night, since the last couple of nights and turned out in the morning. (She has been out 24/7 all winter) She has bucket feed in morning and night, some chaff, bit of calm an condition and some carrots and hay, so nothing heating,

Please help, losing the will to live!!! Lol
 
Possibly ulcers or issues with her ovaries? Give your vet a ring and discuss her symptoms - there may be some general supplement you could try to see if they make a difference if you can't afford expensive tests.
 
It could be many things, it does sound like like a pain response though. Are you able to get the vet out to look at her? They may be able to pinpoint something.
 
Get the physio out. My ex racer needs to be seen every 3-4 months as if she goes longer, her back gets too tight and she starts to hollow out and buck, especially on canter. The visits get less often as she stays more relaxed now, but it is a common thing. I betcha she is feeling pain somewhere. A physio will be a fixed charge and could hopefully sort her out. If it is not that...then you can have the vet out as could be other issues as other posters have eludes to. TB's really can hold a lot of tension and also, it is quite possible she could have even put her back out playing over the winter.

Good luck.
 
Does she spend any time out socialising with other horses? Is she getting frustrated with being inside and underworked over the winter?
 
Gloi said:
Does she spend any time out socialising with other horses? Is she getting frustrated with being inside and underworked over the winter?
Click to expand...
Hardly, OP says the horse has been out 24/7 until the last few days.

Obviously it's worth having the usual back/teeth/saddle checks done, especially as she may have changed shape over the winter with not being worked. But I would look carefully at the diet. Give her nothing but hay/lage and grass for a few days and then gradually reintroduce each ingredient and monitor the response. I would be particularly careful about carrots and alfalfa but literally anything could be the culprit, I know horses which react badly to calm & condition. It does not have to be something which you have just started feeding, sometimes it can be the build-up which causes the problem.
 
She isn't really Inside tbh, only since Monday she has been going in a yard area that's probably about 35ft x30ft with stable door open and its only to rest the grass a little and only at night then she's out All day. I have been lunging to build up fitness for the past couple of weeks and she does settle down afterwards cuz the energy has been taken away but she still throws her head about etc. the way I explain it is when horses play, they lower their heads and shake but she has her ears back, her general attitude is grumpy. Also don't really have any problems with her when it comes to hormones really. I thought it might be a Uti or something? Is it even possible? I am defo gunna get a physio out tho as think it will do her some good, I have noticed she does tense up and hollow in her back, but in the field when she's having a hoony, all she does is kick out with her back legs almost like she's trying to kick something off we legs, I thought it might be her leg Straps rubbing but she even does it without a rug on, I'm worried she's gunna kick out and smack her foot on wooden fencing, she's have a few close calls with getting her legs tangles in electric fencing
 
I have heard that carrots hold a lot of sugar? Is this correct? I might have to stop givin them, she does get quite a lot... :S I haven't ridden her properly since before Christmas so saddle hasn't been on since then, I don't want to ride until I have had a physio out I make sure it's that, but if she hasn't been ridden, I don't see how she could be sore anywhere cuz she has literLally just been left to chill all winter....unless she's pulled something
 
As well as looking at cutting out all feed for a week or so, it may also be worth cleaning her udder. I know this sounds ridiculous, but my mare gets a little grouchy if she is grubby between her teats, tend sto lift a leg or swish her tail. I have found that she has been very mucky there the last few weeks, I think she has got warm and sweaty there. Do be careful that she doesn't kick out when you do clean her up.
 
Carrots have more sugar than apples, surprisingly!

Agree with YorksG, we have one who also gets cross if her udder needs cleaning. It's amazing just how much gunge you can find up there and yet her fieldmate is always as clean as a whistle. Ours asks to be cleaned and its usually OH who gets the job, he gets some 'interesting' looks and comments from YO while he does it lol.
 
What you describe sounds to me like tightness over the SI region. Muscles there get really tight in some horses and it is something I see a lot of.

Don't rule anything out, just eliminate things by investigation. Good luck and please keep us updated :-)
 
There seems to be something in the air for mares ATM - Our yard is also a RS and the most docile RS mare (even the most experienced riders can't get her to canter) has tanked off and galloped with a client past the escort on a hack :eek: way out of character for her..

If all usual health checks come back negative - could it be a combination of on or about to be on season, new-growth grass smells and reluctance to go back to work after a lazy winter?? Try also lunging in tack for a few minutes before riding to take the edge off her and to check for obvious signs of discomfort/lameness etc.

Remove the carrots from her diet - they are like giving sweets to a child - hyper!! Give feed after a ride and cut up carrots into small pieces for training and stretches...:D
 
I thought that too GG. Would a physio be able to "loosen" the tightness do you think? Sorry for stupid questions, never had to have a physio out for my horseS. I think she is tight on her left side as have done the tail pulling test and she seems to be weaker on that side than on her other and also when she kicks out in the field, it is significantly more on the left hind than her other hind....
 
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