Help Please!!!

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WelshCobs

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Hi Guys,
I am wondering if someone can help me.

My mare is a nightmare, she has her ears back when I walk in to her stable or go near her door, she tries to lunge at me and bite my face and is generally nasty to me.

I have had her since she was 4 months old and she has just turned 3. I am just sick of this behaviour.

She is great with my other horses it is just to me and my sister she is nasty to!.
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Anyway has anyone tried any hormone type supplements and if so did they work?
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Just this last week (never in the 3 years I have had her) she has started pulling at the front of her rug.

She has always been moody but she is getting worse.

Thanks in advance

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. xx
 
Okay, here it goes... the inevitable.... have you had a vet out to ensure she's in no pain? teeth done regularly etc? The rug pulling could be down to pain, ie the rug may be pulling fowards by her shoulder and hurting her back?

is the yard busy? does she get enough privacy if she wants it? is she made to work each time you go into her stable? I have a gelding who will not let anyone in his stable and pulls nasty faces but his is down to fear (having been walloped in the past). A friend's gelding lunges and bites but he's always done it and nothing will stop him.

I would try putting her in another stable, in a quiet area, and se if that improves things.

Or ignoring her lungeing and treat her each time she DOESNT do it. When she does do it just carry on with what you're doing and don't even acknowledge that she's done it.

whatever you do don't try and retaliate, as that just makes things worse.
 
Hi,

I have my own yard with 3 horses her being one of them.

She had her teeth done for the first time 2 weeks ago.

I have checked the rug and it is fine.

I have tried ignoring her but when I am putting her haynet up she is behind me lunging at me. tonight she launched at me with her teeth and reared!.

She is in the middle stable with her 2 best friends beside her so it is quite for her as I just have my 3 on the yard.

She is booked in to go to be broken in 2 weeks.

I have not had the vet out as not sure really what to say to him?

Thanks for your reply xx

I dont hit her but I did raise my voice and this made her worse. I have tried ignoring her (but after this amount of time it is not acceptable behaviour to ignore).
 
I use pheromaid on my stroppy mare and it's good. Saying that mine isn't aggressive like yours but without it she's a lot more uptight, may be worth giving it a go. You could also try Molli Calmer instead of your usual chaff, it has magnesium and camomile in it. Good luck
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[ QUOTE ]
Hi,

I have my own yard with 3 horses her being one of them.

She had her teeth done for the first time 2 weeks ago.

I have checked the rug and it is fine.

I have tried ignoring her but when I am putting her haynet up she is behind me lunging at me. tonight she launched at me with her teeth and reared!.

She is in the middle stable with her 2 best friends beside her so it is quite for her as I just have my 3 on the yard.

She is booked in to go to be broken in 2 weeks.

I have not had the vet out as not sure really what to say to him?

Thanks for your reply xx

I dont hit her but I did raise my voice and this made her worse. I have tried ignoring her (but after this amount of time it is not acceptable behaviour to ignore).

[/ QUOTE ]

I would probably ask the vet for advice when he's next out, and just tell him what she's like and ask if he can suggest anything.

Until then I would remove her from the stable when you're working in there. I always remove my gelding before any of us go in the stable, I allow him to view his stable as his personal space, and it's improved things no end. It's also alot safer!


It may be hormone related, but then again it may be just a behaviour thing. The vet is the best person to advise you, as they know you and the mare best. They won't think you're being daft, they hear stuff like this all the time.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
 
I read your post, and it gave me the feeling that your youngster is trying to establish her place in the pecking order with you, and she wants to be on top.

Think of it in human terms, small children see 'mummy' as a god, can't do anything wrong and look up to her with adoring eyes. As they get older they start to rebel, make their own decisions and assert their independance, think 'stroppy teenager'.

Now that you have had her checked over for physical problems I think you need to make it clear to her that you are the herd leader, and biting and kicking out at you is not acceptable. I'm not suggesting that you beat the crap out of her, but you need to do something to teach her some manners, and respect for you or things are only going to get worse.

Try biting her back, somewhere squidgy that hurts. Teach her that NO means no. You may find that you have to hit her (or a poke somewhere soft works too) once while saying NO the first couple of times, but if you are consistent the word in the right tone should be enough.

If you think you are being nasty, look at how the horses are to each other in the field. The one at the top of the pecking order won't stand for any nonsense, he might bite or kick the first few times, but after that, faces and threats will be enough and he will be left in peace. The horse which takes no action is at the bottom of the pecking order and is constantly harrased by the others.

Don't forget to make a fuss of her when she is good, and remember to stay safe.
 
sounds like my gelding!
if i am nice it doesnt help if i raise my voice it makes him worse!
i am just trying to ignore him but its hard
good luck
 
Does she get any turnout?

Is this only in the mornings when she is waiting for food?

My mare gets grumpy when she spends a lot of time in in the winter and particularly in the mornings when she is hungry, not to the extent of your mare though, I only have to growl at her and she looks guilty!
 
Have had this problem with our youngster- he has always been a face puller which i can ignore but when he started to get a bit physical it had to stop. I respect that he hates his personal space being invaded at food time.

I found that turning my back on him and threatening to kick has the effect of him jumping back, looking very surprised and then he lowers his head and comes meekly up to you- maybe worth a try...

IMO this may have something to do with his hoodie
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I agree with shazzababs, she needs to respect you as leader of her pack and clearly she doesn't at the moment. Often when you have had them from foals you have not needed to make a stand as they are quite meek as foals but there must come a point (better sooner rather than later really) in their early years when you show that you are boss. Like children thay have to know this and thay behave far better when they know their boundaries and learn respect. Follow shazzababs advice and good luck
 
Hi,

She is turned out at 9 am in the morning and comes in at 5.30 on a night. She has haylage all day in the field and comes in on a night for her feed and haylage.

When is say NO in a sturn voice she rears and lunges at me. I have never known anything like it. She then walks to me and tries to push me against the wall as if to say go away. This is really upsetting as I have had her since she was 4month old and i am finding it really hard to bond with her when she is doing this. I might ring my vet and see what he thinks.

I am going to try her on a naf hormonal supplement aswell to see if it makes a difference.
 
Every person I've ever known bring up a foal has had trouble with them as they become "teenagers". Familiarity really does breed contempt. Think how a mare disciplines a foal - hard! You really do need to sort this out as you will end up with a large animal who doesn't take no for an answer and will try to dominate you, and sorry, but that is dangerous. I suspect that fillies are worse for this sort of thing as their hormones dictate their moods, but I'm happy to be proved wrong.
 
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