Help please:Nightmare Mares-is it 1st season?

FrostyFeet

FrostyFeet

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Hello all,have lurked for a while and now posting in desperation! I took a Connie x mare on part loan for my 11 year old daughter,approx 7 weeks ago. Her owner is at uni, so wanted someone to ride & generally fuss-her mum has
another mare at the same yard,so was going down to do jobs anyway. I was happy to do both when we went down-muck out,feed,turn out etc-as reasoned not much extra effort. Turned out pony is very nappy,got away with it for years,but having explained to daughter that it will take a very long time to get any better, allowed her to make the decision to continue-happy learning stable duties,grooming,fussing etc as she is/was placid in stable.
It also became apparent the mum's mare is not the easiest-gave her owner a nasty bite recently,is bargy,difficult to lead & generally untrustworthy-so I have been slightly regretting the offer to do both.
However! Will get to the point-last few days have been awful. Both mares almost impossible to lead,to the point of being dangerous. The owners brought them both in & almost floored on Monday & the same happened to me today; they put them both out this morning & were a bit whizzy apparently,but not too bad. I went down after school with my daughter to get them in. I was a bit wary as no-one else around & knew had to bring in separately ,so left daughter in yard with strict instructions to get into tack room & stay there if I shouted or she saw ponies bombing up-thank God I did. Managed to get daughter's pony out but immediately started snorting,mini rears, trying to take off. Managed to wrap lead rope around nose to hold her,but she kept snorting,lifting feet off ground & pranced & pulled like a lunatic. In the meantime, the other mare jumped 2 fences to escape & kept winding up even more-eventually got both into stables & had delayed meltdown!
Apparently, both mares normally have very 'quiet'seasons,hardly noticeable & owners completely perplexed. There are 4 colts on the yard,all rising 1,none yet with bits dropped & owners waiting until they do to have them castrated. The mares don't seem overly interested in them when pass stables-until the weekend,they were in fields next to each other & having to be lead through the colts. Not ideal & apparently a temporary measure until the field set up could be altered-& had been ok until all hell broke loose at the weekend with the colts prancing around & the mares going mad trying to drive them off. Hence,separate field fenced off well away from them-& not electrified until tomorrow,which I presume is why mare jumped it. Although thinking about it,she would probably have done so anyway,given how nutty she was..
The question is-could this be mares in season & behaving like this due to presence of colts? When getting out of field today,if I didn't think otherwise,would have sworn pony very spooked & on edge,trying to get away from something as much more settled in the stable.
Completely mystified & would be very grateful for some expert advice-thankyou :)
 
I don't think it's being in season. You already mentioned they're bargey. Think is with mares everyone is quick to blame hormones. If these were geldings what would you think? Not you directly, just in general. Although around here when geldings start acting like that my mares 3 fields away get the blame.

To me they just sound a bit mannerless. The weather is driving some batty. I have 4 mares and no one gets a pass for hormones. They can learn to deal with it. So I don't notice any difference in handling them. They do tend to be less tolerant of each other sometimes but that's their business.

None of this I'm blaming you for but really these 2 should be brought in together however you can work that out. But ultimately they aren't your horses so I don't know how you go about this tactfully.

Sorry, not much help.

Terri
 
I wouldn't say it sounds like seasonal behavior. Has it been windy there? Only it sounds more like a reaction to the high winds & general awful weather than anything else. Really I expect any horse to have the manners to respect my space & choice of speed (eg it can prance alongside me instead of walking) regardless of outside environment, but if they aren't yours there is little you can do. It's possible they are worse because they sense you aren't wildly confident, but from what you say they aren't much better for the owners. I'm not exactly a stickler for h&s, but I'd have to consider whether its the ideal set up for an 11yr old to learn the basics in.
 
Thankyou-voice of reason! Up until last couple of days though,mare 1 was fine to handle-happy for my daughter to lead her etc-but very much a complete change in behaviour for her,the other a tad unreliable at best of times.
And you right-if doesn't improve over next few days then probably best to move on than take on someone else's problem.
Thankyou :-)
 
Crossed with you Littlelegs-one thing I can't abide is bad manners in horses,too dangerous,which is why thought pony ok for daughter-very placid up until now. But the way things are going I don't want her near at all-even though mare calm in stable I feel very different to how I did this time last week.
In answer to question,yes,very windy.
And thankyou :-)
 
My normally well manner and trustworthy mare is always an utter twit at this time of year! Have had her since 6, now 19. No more moods helps! She starts bucking/galloping & rearing in field the second she sees me coming to get her. Rears on lead and attempts to drag me in. Once she has had her 1st season of the year, she returns to her normal lovely self, but for now she is the devil incarnate!

On the upside, she never displays this behavior under saddle.
 
Thankyou Piebaldsparkle-it sounds just like daughter's loan pony-placid & gentle changed to demon. The other pony doesn't really surprise me as had got to the point where I felt I would have to say not happy to handle her-I can't really see the point of bad tempered ponies tbh! Think will just see how things are in a week or so & make a decision-am sure something else will come up & much as will upset daughter,her safety paramount.
 
Yes 4 young colts on yard can affect them and I have a mare that comes in season every ruddy month, just because they haven't dropped their balls doesn't mean there is no testerone in the air. As I have a young colt that has only dropped 1 as yet and waiting till this rotten weather clears up so he can go for major op. Mares can be difficult, I've had 5 in the past 40 odd years and they have all been different in temperament and how they like to be handled.:)
 
My connie mare was awful today as well, there must be something in the air!

I can't stand bad behavior on the ground, the rearing, pulling away & galloping off to way too dangerous. Our mare will be going out & coming in, in a chifney until she can behave again.
 
Echobravo & HazyXmas-thankyou! Had mares when younger (& currently share a TBxID now) but am a classic mum with a long time away from horses & doubt myself with EVERYTHING now. Also,as an adult,you realise just how much you don't know & all the books in the world don't help.. Never known mare with such a rapid & huge personality change,but you are all giving much food for thought.
Thankyou so much to you all :-)
 
I would say it's probably a combination of the above 'weather and season'. My mare has not reacted well to her first season (or 2) this year, although remaining well mannered on the ground, as this is something I always insist on, she has become virtually unrideable whilst she is in season, which never happened previously! She has also become incredibly moody in her stable pretending to bite at people that walked past, which I have to say I was furious about even though she never actually bit anyone.... to me it's just as bad! I started her on Oestress 4 days ago and so far it seems to be having a positive effect, although the jury is still out as it's obviously only early days! Good luck!
 
Sg-had wondered re Oestress or similar-sounds may be worth a try.
Also HazyXmas-Chifney had occurred to me but wary that need experience of using one or
may cause problems-could be worth asking daughter's instructor..
 
Yup I have a long leadrope - Clip to the ring on the cheek on offside, thread through the square ring on the nose on the offside, through her mouth (like a bit) and back out the nearside. She doesn't pull and will threaten, but not rear in this set up (she just barges through a rope round her nose).

Yes a chiffney would work, but this works for us and means if I get to the field to find her in a rude mood, all are kept safe!

Roll on April when I get my sweetie back!:D
 
Pardon me being a bloke and mentioning this but if your mare is in season she will be er...hmmmm winking at the boys - standing and in many cases - dripping, if she's doing some or all of that - you have bang to rights - if not, think of something else.

My lovely sweet natured girl who weighed in at about 1600lbs and 16ish hh - would crush me with her bum if I wasn't very careful and utter little sqeals when I groomed - and there's many a time that I've had to wash my hair in the trough after forgetting myself and picking her back feet!

It could be just a reaction to a change - so whatever you do try to stay calm - the last thing you want is to convey even more stress.

Good Luck.
 
1stclassalan-love the hair in the trough!
When talking to owner earlier she did mention wet bum,so thinking squirting.
Re staying calm-keep doing the singing thing but you know how your mind goes blank when a little stressed? The only song could recall today was -whisper it-One Direction's Little Things. No hope..
And thankyou :-)
 
FrostyFeet said:
1stclassalan-love the hair in the trough!
When talking to owner earlier she did mention wet bum,so thinking squirting.
Re staying calm-keep doing the singing thing but you know how your mind goes blank when a little stressed? The only song could recall today was -whisper it-One Direction's Little Things. No hope..
And thankyou :-)
Click to expand...

Ah, I often used to sing Rod Stewart when riding ....." steal my father's cue and make a living outta playin pool .... or find a rock and band ... that neeeeeeds a helping hand......" And my mare used to turn round laughing and say - "That's the story of your life isn't it?"
 
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