Grumpy, bolshy "I wanna be in charge" mare

[Jinx94]

One of the mares I look after is an absolute saint most of the time, if a bit dippy

The other has always been very "forward" when leading, but in the last week or so (I am putting some of this down to spring grass) she has definitely been a lot more "I wanna do this so screw you".

When working her in hand, she's taken to trying to drag me towards the gate, which I never allow. At first she would huff and drag her feet, but now she puts her ears back and tosses her head about, tries again and when I don't let her get her own way, she pulls to the end of the rope and bucks.

She lives out 24/7, is thought to be about 17 years old. All she gets feed wise is half scoop nuts, half scoop of chaff and a joint supplement.

I'm wondering if it could have something to do with me actually making her do work now? Up until a couple of months ago, she was just a field ornament; I now work her in hand for 15 - 20 minutes a day actively walking around the paddock, throwing in some serpentines and circles, I don't like working her in trot though as she just tanks off

I will be doing ridden work with them both soon, but owner is away, and they can both be pretty crazy under saddle and I'd rather someone was around if I fell and knocked myself out

Any advice???

 

[tallyho!]

The first thing I would do if bringing a horse back into work that hasn't had any "formal" exercise for a while is have a thorough check that she is healthy physically.

Living out 24/7 doesn't mean she is 100% sound and can work.

Have you thought about having the usual back, limbs and teeth checked? Even ulcers can cause a change in behaviour. Just incase there is a physical problem there? Could be that her pelvis is out or she's got a bad neck. All of which can be done just getting up and down from a sleep in the field.

If, as you say, it's a bit out of character for her, I would investigate. Especially if riding soon. Then at least you can rule out physical issues and deal with the behaviour effectively by your consistency.

 

[Jinx94]

The owner had everything checked out about two months ago as she had got really snappy and sensitive about her back, there was a problem, but its been sorted - I will be mentioning this to the owner once she is home though.