Dominant Mare ... need help!

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ajauncey

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Hey i was wondering does any one have experience with dominant mares?

I have recently purchashed what i was told to be a 'moody mare'. She often puts her ears back, pulls faces and will swish's her tail at you... all of which i can deal with.

I was told she was a bitch in the field... i personally thought she would be hard to catch, run away, or perhaps bully others. When i questioned the old owner on this she said she didn't know as had never approached her in the field as her yard was open onto the field and the mare would wait by the stable to come in and reassured me that she would come to call as long as you had tip bits or a bucket. However she did say the mare would not be happy for me to approach her in the field, i would have to let her come to me.

However, i have turned her out and she really is a bitch in the field! I tried to walk acrossthe field to my young filly who she is now turned out with and the mare chased me out the field... like a bull! She had her head down teeth showing, running flat out at me and then kicked out when a few feet away! I know that i should of stood my ground with her, but it being a new horse i wasn't too sure how far she would go! she was like a stallion protecting its mares!

I have heard of dominant mares before however i never witnessed it! I can deal with her on the yardand she respects me and will go back, move over on word command ... she just pulls faces. I reward her when she does as she is told and has her ears forward with treats as tghe old owner told me to, and this works.

My problem is i have to walk through the fields to get onto my yard... and passing her through the field is a no go! I would catch her and lead her from the gate down to the yard, but often i have my yopung son with me who i would like to escoirt down to the yard... but now i can not do this as i have to get through the field with this crazy horse which i can not catch to lead across first as i don't want to have to leave my son!

The mare is lovely to rid, and i can deal with the stoppy moodiness but the dominace in the field is unbearable!

I was curious if there were any supplements i could give her to stop the dominace, or if any one had any tried and tested that they could reccomend? I have even considerd getting her injected to stop her coming into season, to perhaps stop any hormonal problems. However is the dominace even related to hormones? Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

She's 15.2hh 14 years old- is that too old to change? plus she's a chesnut mare--- should that of said it all?

It;s such a shame as im worried if i cant stop this i will have to sell herm but will i find her a new home. She was just what i was looking for and fab in all ways other than this stupid field habbit!

please if anyone can help or have ideas please let me know!
 
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I think I'd rule out any physical causes myself. I'd suggest getting her to respect you in a safer environment first, that way she is more likely to respect your space in the field. And i'm sure you won't but please don't take your son in the field under any circumstances. I'd be very careful with the treats too, last thing you want is her charging after you in the field with the expectation you will have treats with you. I agree standing your ground is best, but I would never tell anyone to do this without seeing both them & the horse myself.
 
It may be worth talking to vet about regumate? I don't know whether it would work but might be worth a try-given that she is seemly so aggressive.

I hope you manage to sort it out!
 
I'd pop her in a small paddock on her own, and leave a leather headcollar on her (and short rope) to help catch her.

Either that or a bullet.
 
Before randomly trying supplements/herbs (which can work for some and not for others, so very trial and error finding what works for yours) I'd have your vet out and explain the severity of the problem. It's obviously been a long standing issue so needs to be resolved. The vet will be able to examine and test your mare for any physical problems. She more than likely will need to be scanned and most equine vets have portable scanners which are quick and easy to set up at your yard. This is what I'd recommend as your main course of action.

Secondly, I'd invest in some electric fence equipment and create a segregated area for your mare until she's been seen by the vet and a course of action planned. It is not safe for you or anyone else to have to cross a field with a mare behaving like this. I speak from experience. Don't continue to put yourself at risk. She may also be being protective of another horse out with her and keeping her segragated for a while will establish if this is the case. Even if it proves the case, it is not normal behaviour and still needs to be addressed by a good equine vet.
Good luck.
 
My filly was a horror for a while, she'd chase me down and double barrelled me several times.
The last time she got me, I sprung back up and booted the bitch back as hard as I could. She's never done it since and is an absolute joy now.
I basically estabished myself as the dominant one in that brief moment.

I wouldn't have done it if I'd had time to think because who knows how a horse will react, so I had no time to be afraid of worried of the consequences.

Also know a gelding the same, well he's only chased me once, he got cracked with the leadrope and head collar across his arse and chased up the field by a very angry 5'2" monster - again he's very respectful now.

In every experience I have found they only do it because they think they can, chances are this mare has been owned and handled by someone that never stood up to her.

I agree with others, put her in her own fenced off part, but remember in a small space it may be more difficult to escape and also may make her feel threatened and bring out the fight mode if you stand up to her and she can't run.
 
I have a dominant mare, however I have owned her since she was a yearling (she is now 8) and so I have had plenty of time with her! I found the key at the beginning is lots of ground work, i used (and still use when necessary) a control headcollar (dually) and a short whip and always wore a riding hat and gloves when handling her, I make sure she does not invade personal space and have found this continues in the field where she often follows me but remains at a safe distance. She did used to charge at me like a bull on the lunge, until I was advised by an experienced horseman to stand my ground (bit scary!) and use a short whip to give her a tap on the shoulder when she got too close to remind her to respect my space. I have tried many things with her, and now find we have respect for each other, the worst thing was to do nothing as then she got worse!

It's difficult for you having to go though a field to get to the yard with a little one, could u make a walkway down the side maybe with electric tape so she can't get to you?

I have never used the supplements available for stroppy mares as I understood these were more suited for mares having problems during their seasons? I knew someone who had regumate for her mare who was terrible during her seasons and would became so distressed and difficult she wound most of the other horses on the yard up! She has been like a different animal since though so worth investigating!

Good luck with ur mare!
 
Nightmare. My own dominant mare nearly killed itself by kicking out at others through an electric fence and getting 'snared' on the connector. That was dominance against horses though. I have owned a (chestnut) filly who did as you describe at me and I thought she looked like the monster on 'Alien' the way her neck moved with bared teeth. It was a total nightmare as all of the fluffy brigade said it was fear (it soooo wasn't).

For my dominant against horses mare its just a question of not putting her in fields adjoining others which wouldn't be possible unless I owned my own land. For the filly it was 6 months of hard work teaching her who was the leader. Truthfully by then we were both so scared of her we sold her (totally honest sale). When we went back to see her 2 years later, she locked onto my husband and chased him out of the field.

This is probably not what you wanted to hear however I am still in touch with the filly's owners and she's doing fantastically well. I guess its just a question of what you are willing to put up with. You'll have to make your personal safety priority though.
 
Hey thanks, yea i have left a headcollar on her and i won't be taking my son through the field whilst she is there for sure! She is in an electric fenced paddock now, however it will restrict the grazing for her due to lay out of the land and where the entrace of the yard is.. so i don't really want to keep it this way.
I have been looking at supplements and i think i'm going to try Naf Five Star Oestress, and brewers yeast... hopefully that might calm it down a bit!
She does respect me on the yard and on the ground, everything is done through voice commands and body language... she is very well trained that way... in regards to treats, i have never given them before, but the old owner insisted rewarding her this way for good behaviour and it obviously is working as she is well behaved on the yard just a little moody. The nice thing about her too is that she doesn't expect or hunt in your pockets for treats it just makes hr happy to recieve them which i suippose is a good reward for possitve behaviour.
thanks again all comments are appreciated!
 
i think your right in a way, i will just have to stand my ground with her and not let her do anything wrong... pick up on the slighest bad look ect.i just hope that she hasn't got stuck in her ways from getting away with it for so long!
 
Welshie Squisher said:
Also know a gelding the same, well he's only chased me once, he got cracked with the leadrope and head collar across his arse and chased up the field by a very angry 5'2" monster - again he's very respectful now..
Click to expand...

I've done exactly the same, the person I rent my summer field off decided to put other horses in with us last year. I didn't mind too much as it is a massive field, room and food for all of them... until this one gelding asserted his dominance over everything and everyone! He chased my mare out of the herd constantly, kicked her, bit her, basically everything he could. And as she was the dominant one normally rather than back down she fought back and when that didn't work she segregated herself from the herd.

When I used to go and check on her in the field, to change rugs, catch her etc he used to run straight at me! Bucking, going to bite me, he nearly kicked me in the head at one point but luckily my boy come in front of me and took the blow in his chest.

It was totally getting out of hand and I never seen the other owners to say what is wrong with your horse?

Until I fought back, I was giving mine tit bits by the gate and he barged over and booted my mare in the shoulder. So I got my leadrein and whipped it around in the air, running at him, screaming and shouting, basically if anyone was watching they would have thought I was some sort of crazy women and phoned the police. But it worked, I chased him off, and the herd dynamics changed from then, Ok he was still a little bugger towards my mare but he kept his space from me in the field, avoided eye contact, whenever I was in the field he out the outcast.

I was never cruel to him, I just used to chase him out of the herd when I was there!
 
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I have to agree with everyone else, you need to stand up to her. She clearly has been let to be the dominant one towards humans in the field and by the sounds of things the last owner just let her get away with it. It is unacceptable in any case as it could be quite dangerous for you and others around you!
Its clearly not a problem in any other respect as she is fine on the yard as you say so I, personally, would try and do it without the aid of calmers etc first. I also think ground work would only take you so far as she is fine in every other respect so it isn't an all round issue.
I have always gone on the basis of if they you bite, bite them back. if they kick you, kick them back and so on and 9/10 it works! You need to assert you dominance towards her, take a lunge whip if you have to, stand your ground, give it a crack and chase her away! Persist with it and soon she will realise YOU are the dominant one, not her!

I am not saying go in and beat her, first try cracking it on the ground and chase her. If this doesn't work then crack it on her bum once and chase her!

I would also speak to your vet, behaviour like this definitely needs to be sorted ASAP!

Good luck :)
 
get her scanned - mine was dominant - had a tumor on ovary that was excreting testosterone - had ovary removed at liverpool - now lovely.
 
Have you (or anyone) performed any join-up with your horse.
I find it so effective even when working at a distance, I am able to ‘cut’ a mare out from 60-100 meters away and in doing it you will find they then want to respect you so they can be let back in under your terms.
When working with clients who have awkward mares I find they have got the upper hand very early on and have no intension of giving it up until challenged in a language they understand.
 
Is it a good idea to label all aggressive behaviour directed towards people as "dominant"? It implies that there aren't any other causes of aggression and that the solution is that YOU have to be the dominant one, regain the upper hand by e.g. chasing or joining up, and instill "respect".

Any aggression directed towards humans is unacceptable and dangerous. Ajauncey's mare's aggression may be have something to do with dominance (depending on how you define dominance). However, I feel it is unhelpful to stick a label on a horse that presupposes that dominance or respect is at the root of the problem rather than, say, hormones, or pain, or fear, or specific behaviours the horse has been allowed (or inadvertently trained) to acquire. Each of these causes would suggest a different approach from "challenging them in a language they understand". Yet the assumption of "dominance" seems to be made all too readily.

Rant over...
 
moorman said:
Have you (or anyone) performed any join-up with your horse.
I find it so effective even when working at a distance, I am able to ‘cut’ a mare out from 60-100 meters away and in doing it you will find they then want to respect you so they can be let back in under your terms.
When working with clients who have awkward mares I find they have got the upper hand very early on and have no intension of giving it up until challenged in a language they understand.
Click to expand...

I was just going to post suggesting an Intelligent Horsemanship RA when I saw this, and that would be my first port of call. They would assess her for you very quickly and be able to work through the problem if it is possible to do that. I used one for our aggressive boy, he was at the point of being PTS because he was so dangerous, to be fair the RA didn't really see any of this with him but she worked with him and he never did it again. The thing about you standing up to her is whether you would know what to do if it made her worse, it could be dangerous for you, where as they really know what they are doing and would know how to deal with the situation if it arose. Good luck with her, it seems such a shame when she is so good in other respects but is also frightening to deal with.
 
Hi I would defiantly make a walk way so you can go through without worrying especially if you have your little one with you. I would suggest a lunge whip then you can keep her back end far enough away and chase her when she comes at you and don't back down wear a hat whenever going into the field and take a phone just incase she does get you. She has just been allowed to get away with it for to long mine use to double barrell me when I first got her but I chased her away every time until I decided right come here now we are going in I used a dually head collar just so I had a bit more control if needed and I lead her on a lunge line so I could get out of range whilst pulling her round worked for us I can now catch without problems along as she has a head collar on otherwise she runs circles round me. Hope you manage to sort it as she sounds brill in everything else.
 
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