Cocky Mare - Advice or supplement recommendation please x

[kellyanglin]

Just really want to find out if anyone else has a mare who has recently totally changed personality... The only way I can describe it is that she is feeling rather pleased with her self (also much fitter) so is being really cocky. My mare is normally the real laid back type, usually wont do anything that she isn't asked to do, quite lazy actually. Not a spooky horse usually pretty easy going and hard work for my legs to keep her going!
Over the past few weeks she has really changed, first noticed by chewing her bit (this is a habit anyway but massively increased), she is really tense and hyper sensitive (compared to normal) to ride and has started spooking/staring at anything she can to avoid giving me her concentration.
I really want her to just chill out, she is not the stressy type and her recent antics definately do not seem to be because she actually is scared or nervous, just pushing her luck and trying to ignore me.
We have very lush grass at our yard and i am restricting her grazing to 4-5 hours a day as quite a fatty already and is not on any hard feed other than chaff and a sprinkle of fibre cubes. I have had her back checked which is fine and dentist coming tomorrow just to be sure. She was in season approx 3-4 weeks ago and was not like this then.
Does anyone else have a mare like this?? What do you do to get round it? Are there any tried and tested calmers/supplements that have helped??
I am hoping that with the extra fitness I haven't created a monster! (hee hee)

 

[Grumpy Herbert]

I use Hormonize with my mare when she gets like this, but her scatty behaviour is linked to her seasons. She has been a bit of a handful for the past couple of weeks which we've been putting down to the spring grass and weather! If it's just a general calmer you're after, Valerian is good.

 

[kerilli]

the spring grass has a lot of sugar in it and is very energising, i would be surprised if it wasn't that.
can you put her in a small pen/paddock and give her hay for a while, see if she goes back to her calmer self?
i'd keep her out all the time too (if you aren't already), see if that helps.
if she's chewing her bit that's a sign of tension, so something's caused it. have any of her friends been moved or anything? anything else you can think of?

 

[ajn1610]

My eventer did this but only for one year although his fitness was similar for 3/4 years. He is normally brilliant but for a period of a couple of months at the begining of this one season he was a nightmare, tanking off on the roads, jumping out of the arena, generally being an utter tit it was bizarre! Once he was well into the season and had a few events under his belt he settled.
I've used Nuprafeed which I found helps, also does she need to be as fit as she is? Might be that you've over done it a bit! You could also mess about with management a bit ie turn out at night she'll eat less but might be a bit more chilled. Try riding after she's been out, giving her a nice massage before you get on, stuff like that. Good luck!

 

[Bettyboo1976]

Sounds like my mare,

She is driving me potty at the moment. Its almost like we have lost our bond.. she is completely ignoring me.. we have "our" little routine in the morning which i thought she loved.. and is now not liking it.. she reared at the gate to get in the field this morning and went tanking off.. normally she stands and waits for her carrot!!! she is too tense at the moment.. its starting to scare me a little!!.. lets hope she calms down soon... ARRGGGG!!! (never given a calmer before but deffo thinking about getting one.. are they expensive?)

 

[Grumpy Herbert]

Hormonize is £18.99 at my local tack shop - lasts about a month, I think. (haven't used it for a couple of years)

Valerian cordial is £9.50 and lasts ages as you don't need to use much.

 

[H-J]

[ QUOTE ]
the spring grass has a lot of sugar in it and is very energising, i would be surprised if it wasn't that.
can you put her in a small pen/paddock and give her hay for a while, see if she goes back to her calmer self?
i'd keep her out all the time too (if you aren't already), see if that helps.
if she's chewing her bit that's a sign of tension, so something's caused it. have any of her friends been moved or anything? anything else you can think of?

[/ QUOTE ]

Unfortunately sectioning off isnt really favoured at our yard! (am on Kelly's yard)

You could try the sick paddocks for a bit? Although grass is just as thick in some of them!!

I think just beat her definitely!!

 

[H-J]

I also do agree with the chewing of the bit is tension as Dexter was doing that last week when I was tacking him up (I thought maybe he had been talking to Fi!!) but obviously was a sign. Hopefully having her teeth done will help

 

[RuthP]

I've had such issues with my mare over the years I've had her. Kelly_Fi how long have you had her? Was she like this last summer?
I find that my mare is absolutely terrible when coming into season, then when she is in season she settles down and becomes herself again but for a week or so she is a completely different horse, very tense, tries to drag me everywhere and constantly calls for her friends.
It's probably a combination of her coming into season (as you said she was in season 3/4 weeks ago) and the spring grass and increased fitness. With my mare I've just learnt how to manage her, for example, I don't ride for a few days as she finds it very painful and I take her everywhere on a chifney.
She's also on Oestress which works a treat and I up the dose when she's coming into season. Also it might be worth getting her ovaries checked to make sure theres nothing else going on in there! Tis important to remember mares are 'entire' so they have a great deal of hormones flying round!