HELP - My mare has attitude - long sorry :o(

[FoxhillBelle]

Belle has gone from the sweetest natured thing you could ever wish for to a boulshy mare with attitude over the last few weeks & i cant help but feel its all my fault, perhaps i have not spent enough bonding time with her, i just dont know how to handle her anymore

I know some of the reason could be that we changed yards before xmas, however she is one of those horses that takes everything in her stride and she seemed to settle in more or less straight away, you'd think she had always been there. The transition from old yard to new yard was helped by Belle's best friend also moving to the new yard with us.

Our routine i.e. riding, feeding, bring in/out has all remained the same, there has been no change to her feed.

She is very attentive & behaved when riding, however the attitude starts when you try to groom/tack up.

She has started to turn her bum towards me, and follow me with her bottom, when she has had enough of grooming or whilst i am trying to tack her up. Up till now Ive been turning my back in response, ignoring her, in which she will eventually turn and face me so i can start grooming/tacking her up again

However tonight is the first time i have ever felt threatened by her, we both were standing in the stable & i was trying to get her to streach, i think she got really fed up, started scraping her front feet causing her bed to lift, i tapped her shoulder (she had a rug on) & shouted no, then tried to walk away, the next thing was her bum spun round & her back leg came out and just missed me, leaving me shocked & speachless

How do you correct this behaviour, she is only 5 (6 next month), Could she be going through some type of hormonal change i.e. Teenage angst? Or does she just hate me for moving yards?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[dwi]

She doesn't hate you, you're just very soft with her. She's testing your boundaries.

 

[cellie]

Sounds like she trying to work out who is more dominant.Do some inhand work with her and make her move over back up and generally look to you for instruction.Its what horses do in the wild to find out pecking order.

 

[NeedNewHorse]

She certainly doesn't hate you for moving yard!

I would definitely recommend buying a book on how horses think and maybe pick up some tips on body language, as nine times out of ten you are having a conversation with your horse without you even knowing. All the little movements (her probably gently pushing you around) has come to the point where she either does not feel safe around you (i.e she is not sure who is in charge) or she does think she is the boss.

xxx

 

[WandaMare]

It does sound as though she is testing you, but might be worth getting her back and saddle checked just in case she has some pain somewhere and this is causing the change to her behaviour

 

[Sal_E]

You need to be sure that she's not doing it through discomfort - have a think about what you're doing each time - is it when you're approaching a certain part of her body or asking her to do something in particular.

It sounds like she's trying to assert herself & in which case I'd personally be very firm with her if you've satisfied yourself that this is the case - I'd have shoved a broom up her bottom for kicking out.

 

[Cop-Pop]

Could she be in season? One of mine gets v grumpy being handled during her first season of the year

 

[YorksG]

How long have you owned her? Mares can get quite stroppy when they think they have their feet under the table

My mare had been owned by the previous people for just over 6 months when they decided that she was too much for the slight teenage girl she had been bought for. She didn't put a hoof wrong for the first six months with me, then decided that she would see how far she could go, both on the ground and when ridden. She was set very firm boundaries and we get on just fine now, she needed to know that I was not a push over.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

I empathise with you - see my post - "I'm no longer his girl"
I am also having problems after moving to new yard - can't really offer any advice but perhaps we underestimate how much it affects them and just need to give them consistency and more time - good luck

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

Whatever else you try hun you have to sort that kicking thing out pronto or you could get very badly hurt. I know what I'd do if I was in a stable with a horse and it turned it's backside to me and kicked. The words "crop" and "whack" and "hard" spring to mind. Give her a surprise. You need her to respect you before you can start on anything else.

 

[Finns Mum]

I would get her checked out, something may be bothering her and she is trying to tell you.

Once that is ruled out lots of inhand work, asking her to move her feet around (back / forward / sideways) just to get some respect back.

As she has thrown a leg at you be really careful and if you are not already doing it, tie her up whilst you are handling her in the stable, and don't get yourself in any tight corners.

Hope everything settles for you both

 

[OrangeEmpire]

If stretching caused this reaction and grooming/tacking up I'd be having a good look at her back. It may well be a pain response.

However having said that, my mare recently got rather cheeky and was kicking out in the field when she thought I was too slow with her bucket feed. I gave myself a stern talking to and realised that my body language is far too submissive. I now stand up straight and if she does something I don't like, I stamp my foot and growl. This makes it very clear that I disaprove. I also make her move over on whim to assert my right to stand where I like. Since i started this new attitude, her behaviour has changed markedly. I haven't needed to resort to any kind of physical punishment at all, the stamp and growl speaks volumes to her.

Ground work and touching her all over to gain her respect again may well make all the difference. hope you see an improvement soon.

 

[Rouletterose]

I have always had mares so know them pretty well, i would say that if this is totally out of character as you say then she is either in pain somewhere or it is a sudden lack of confidence issue in you or her surroundings or both. Take control yourself and be firm with her but also very kind, ride a lot and give her more of your time for a few weeks, it should improve if it's a confidence issue. Good luck

 

[begentle]

Hi , is she out with other horses or on her own , how much time is she getting in the paddock ? Going to new yards and mixing with new horses can take a lot of time to adjust and this may be her way of saying she isn't happy.There also could be the possiblity that she is experiencing pain somewhere , if you are grooming and something twinges , or stretching and that hurts , her pawing could be a sign of this .You telling her off for it could have just been enough to push her over the edge.Is it possible to get your vet to recommend a good physio or chiropracter to you.I would definately get her checked out.I also would have a chat to your vet to see if he thinks it would be worth while him coming out and checking her over.
Are her feet , teeth , saddle all in good shape and fit ?
One thing I would definately say it isn't her trying to be dominent over you , she is trying to communicate with you the only way she can , it would be great if they could speak in our language but until they can we have to learn theirs

, good luck and I hope you get back on track.

 

[_HP_]

I would first of all make sure she isn't in any pain...she may have got cast and tweaked her back or something.
Does anyone else handle your horse? Has someone maybe been teasing her/winding her up/telling her off?
Any kids on the yard?
Is she overlooked by other horses and is that annoying her?