Horse reared in hand

[Lolabay]

I wonder if anyone has any advice for me

I am a new horse owner been riding for years though and done the shares/loans etc

My new horse who ive had for three months has suddenly turned in to a monster,she never liked her girth done up much but now she kicks, bites, ears back,but i can deal with that,however yesterday i tacked her up but she just wouldnt let me mount her,so ok i took her saddle off to do a bit of inhand work and she reared up.which really scared me.She also when i rode her two days ago started walking backwards and when i kicked her on she kept kicking her hind legs out.

There are two things i think it could be,she has a cut on her rear leg where shes had a squabble in the field so maybe that is causing her pain?
Or maybe because ive stopped the calmer that i had been using?needless to say ive ordered some more.

Her saddle and teeth have been checked all fine there.

Any ideas would be great as now im almost too scared to ride her in case she rears with me on her.

thankyou in advance

 

[sav123]

It sounds like she’s in discomfort somewhere and the reluctance to be girthed up/mounted is her way of telling you. Is there anything else she’s started doing/not doing since you’ve had her, eg, starting to be difficult to catch, not wanting bridle on. In my experience, horses which start doing these sorts of things which didn’t previously do them are trying to get a message across!

You said her saddle and teeth have been checked. Has she seen a chiro or physio? Even if everything else is fine, she may well be tight in her back or somewhere else in her body and this makes her uncomfortable when working so she’s trying to do what she can to avoid it. Does she seem stiff or reluctant to bend or stretch? Do you know much about her previous history? (You say you’ve only had her 3 months)

Is she in season? This can also exaggerate anything else if the mare is feeling a bit ‘meh’ anyway. It may be worth keeping some sort of diary/record of her behaviour and seasons to see if there’s any connection. If she seems to suffer really badly it may be worth speaking to your vet to see if there’s any sort of hormonal imbalance – the vet can then help to get this under control.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

ETA: If the cut on her leg is only superficial and not on a joint, then that's unlikely to be bothering her. If it's deeper or on or near a joint, then possibly but she'd be more likely to show that as lameness rather than in her behaviour.

 

[Lolabay]

Thankyou Sav123
She hasnt seen a physio or chiro,i think i will book one as she does feel a little stiff on the right rein,she is a grade a showjumper although certainly not with myself,I didnt know her history when i first bought her but have since found a bit more out about her.

She is also in season,although the more i think of it,it was just after she had done some jumping that she didnt want to carry on trotting anymore and thats when she started going backwards and kicking out.

Right physio it is.

thanks for the advice

 

[shampain]

Thankyou Sav123
She hasnt seen a physio or chiro,i think i will book one as she does feel a little stiff on the right rein,she is a grade a showjumper although certainly not with myself,I didnt know her history when i first bought her but have since found a bit more out about her.

She is also in season,although the more i think of it,it was just after she had done some jumping that she didnt want to carry on trotting anymore and thats when she started going backwards and kicking out.

Right physio it is.

thanks for the advice

Definitely get the physio out just to be on the safe side.
However, have you jumped her very much since buying her, and how has she reacted?
I only ask as I know of a number of ex Grade-As that have become completely sour to jumping and are just not happy doing it any longer.
Alternatively, if she was okay jumping then possibly she may have pulled a muscle/tweaked something whilst she was working, hence the change in attitude.

 

[Lolabay]

She was ok jumping a little keen and she always wore a martingale in her previous home, I havent used one on her as she never needed one.

She wont even let me groom her anywhere past her withers and she also hasnt let me pick her feet out these last few days.

I have the number of a chiro near me which i am going to ring this morning.

 

[NaeNae87]

Def sounds like she is sore somewhere.

Let us know how you go Lolabay

 

[Booboos]

A couple of things spring to mind:
you may need to have her ovaries scanned
you may need to have her scoped for ulcers
you may need to have her x-rayed for kissing spines
you may need to put her on something like Regumate to help with her seasons.

HOWEVER you need a vet to narrow these possibilities down and decide what to check for nest.

 

[em_123]

Beings as she ahs now started not wanting you to groom certain areas or pick her feet up, I would be looking at getting the physio out too.

Do you know why she retired from jumping?

 

[Lolabay]

No not sure why she retired,we bought her from a dealer and have since found out about her showjumping history etc

 

[chestnut cob]

Echo Booboos - I think you need to get a vet out. A chiro should speak to your vet first anyway and personally I would get a vet now who can suggest whether you need chiro, physio or investigations.

Did you have the horse vetted? Did that throw up any issues?

 

[Booboos]

Try to speak to her old owners if you can. It wouldn't surprise me if there was an injury or problem that led her to be sold on.

 

[philamena]

I would agree re getting a vet tbh, though equally a physio first may help you to locate where the pain is coming from, you'd likely get answers more quickly by going straight to an equine specialist vet. This sounds like a pretty dramatic pain reaction which could be almost anything or anywhere. I am also suspicious of always reading 'keen' behaviour when jumping or doing fast work as genuine keenness / excitement because tension from pain or expected pain is often also expressed the same way.

It must be a worry for you so getting the verdict from a vet you trust will hopefully be a relief in a way. It would also be a good idea to get some history if you can.

 

[Lolabay]

thankyou for all your replies.
I have a chiro coming out monday who is highly regarded.
I had a natural horsemanship lesson with her yday (just walking in hand) and she seems to be very tight in her pelvis area,so if the chiro cant sort the problem out i will call my vet out.

 

[EAST KENT]

Gastric Ulcers?Or spinal problem like kissing spine maybe,sounds like typical ulcers to me though.

 

[Tammytoo]

A couple of things spring to mind:
you may need to have her ovaries scanned
you may need to have her scoped for ulcers
you may need to have her x-rayed for kissing spines
you may need to put her on something like Regumate to help with her seasons.

HOWEVER you need a vet to narrow these possibilities down and decide what to check for nest.

I would have a word with a good horsey vet about all of the above posibilities. If she was a competition horse she would have been under stress quite often, so it is more than likely she has ulcers. But the symptoms are also similar for KS or ovary problems, you need a vet rather than a physio to begin with. I beelieve, legally, a physio should have the vet's go ahead before treatment.

Good luck!

 

[sav123]

Glad you're getting her looked at. From other posts you've put on, you say your daughters ride her too. Is she the same with them? Is she the same out hacking?

If you are happy to share with us what the chiro says tomorrow, it woould be interesting to hear.

 

[Lolabay]

The Chiro came out today,she was recommended by a few people.

She said our horse is stiff down her right side and it was probably caused by falling in the field or along those lines.
That makes sense as she was kicked last weekend and ever since then she hadnt been the same ie didnt like being touched and very grumpy.

The chiro is coming back next week and she also said to get her saddle looked at again as since we have had her she has put on weight (she was quite skinny when we bought her).

So I am quite confident that the stiffness was causing her a lot of pain.

Thankyou for all your replies