' if you don't want her pts' WWYD?

[Darcydoo]

I agree with honey08 an over fit horse can be a nightmare to deal with. And you will never win as you will tire 1st.(lesson learnt myself) Take some pressure off and ride or ground work every other day and turnout as much as possible . Sounds a similar temp to mine who is now on pure easy and a remarkable difference is clear . Its taken a year to get to grips with each other ( and we can still wind each other up as we are both stubborn and highly stung),So don't be so hard on yourself and only you know wether you can become a team . Good luck X.

 

[indie999]

Indie, i have already said she would not be pts. It is what the prev owner said to me, not what I want or intent to do

Ok thats good. But seems like you have some good advice re feeds. The main thing too is that you enjoy her and good luck sounds like she is lucky to have you. Didnt meant to offend just gets on my nerves if ex owners state XYZ then dont want to deal with it themselves ie pull the trigger. Good luck though. No probs.

 

[smellsofhorse]

Cant you contact the previous owner and explain.
They may agree a new home would be better.

Why are you bir happy?
Is it this particular horse or you no longer want a horse?

5years old is still young, horses still has losts of learning to do.
If fit and healthy give horse a chance.

 

[SNORKEY]

Winergy feeds are very good and even my nutty boy calms down when he's on winergy. I couldn't give him alfalfa and pasture mix he'd kill me!
I think it would be very cruel to put a healthy horse down, just because the old owner told you to. Change her feed and advertise her.

 

[SNORKEY]

Btw I think riding a 5yr old 5/6 times a week is too much, as others have said an over fit horse can be difficult especially if you don't compete or anything. Give as much turn out and reduce her riding to 4 times a week.

 

[zigzag]

She is not malice in any way, I just thought I'd point out as everyone is now drifting she is not dangerous in anyway, she is bred to do a job which she is not doing and I feel she needs to be doing.

She IS NOT BEING PTS under ANY circumstances! As I say it's more me than her.

I am 99% certain of her treatment as a yearling to the present day, education wise and veterinary as she was a one of my allocated horses I have been the one that has broken her and educated from a 3yo.

She is not usually Marish or particularly difficult at a specific time of each month, part of her is being over opinionated I think!!

But my conclusion is that I will change her feed ASAP and perserver for another month/two and see how we get on. If things haven't started to improve I will consider a sale.

Thanks,

So if you are the one who has broken her in and educated her, you have caused her problems? Maybe get a professional assessment.

 

[Shysmum]

Oh dear, I can see where this is going.

 

[mandwhy]

Defo yours to do with as you please. Can't believe people who are prepared to put down a horse for no good reason.

I think you will see an improvement with diet, I recommend simple systems or similar.

A balancer and no alfalfa or molassed chaff would be great. It may not cure her but its a start!

Even my fairly sensible haffy changed for the better when I took her off alfalfa, and the only alfalfa she was having was hifi light! She was just very spooky and tense though, not sure if your mare is spooky as such.

 

[FfionWinnie]

Give her hay and a mineral lick and work her harder. If you don't want her sell her for a nominal sum...

 

[Equilibrium Ireland]

Honey 08, yeah, balancers no matter how "lite" I have found can be tricky for mares. Soya can be a disaster. Your info is very good. My mare barely draws a deep breath and is extremely long winded. If I tried the wet saddle blanket approach I'd have a mare too fit. Even SJ we have her fit enough for the job but that would be half fit. 20-30mins max. Less is more. That with the feed she gets keeps her pleasant.

I'm too tired to try and explain the above. But it's basically what Honeypot says.

Terri

 

[meandmyself]

Simple systems lucie nuts, horses will become sharp when getting fit then they will peak off to a normal fitness she could be going through this period, change feed, if you really dont want her sell her, but it would be nice if you could be happy again and enjoy her, life is short.

Lucie nuts are alfalfa.

 

[Toast]

Give her hay and a mineral lick and work her harder. If you don't want her sell her for a nominal sum...

Working her harder than she already is is counter productive. The mare will just end up far fitter and subsequently harder to handle.

 

[Queenbee]

Working her harder than she already is is counter productive. The mare will just end up far fitter and subsequently harder to handle.

I see where you are going with this but agree less calories and more work may help.

5 is a tricky age... She will mellow from whatever she is now
Pm and alfalfa... I'd have her off it, personally on a Timothy chop and supplement
As for more work... I'd agree, but I'd be doing 'brain work' not physical work. Try some clicker training with her op.... It mentally calms and focuses them...

When Ben was a brute and a troublesome Bolshy two year old, I decided to invest in a clicker, watch a few clicker vids on you tube, read up on it and got clicking. We worked on ground manners, leading, backing up, moving from pressure, halt, forward, not trying to eat children over the stable door (they are chewy).

Behaviourally the change was significant and fast, and not just because he was learning new things but because mentally he was having his energy siphoned off, at two I couldn't work him hard physically so I went the mental route... May be just the ticket with your mare because the principal is to get them to control their emotions/behaviour, it teaches them calm, focus, sensitivity and self control... And it's actually rather fun

 

[Toast]

^^^^ a good point well made actually.

 

[Queenbee]

^^^^ a good point well made actually.

I do have my moments

 

[popeyesno1fan]

I would contact her previous owner and tell her what you have told us, and if she doesn't want her back then at least you can go forwards with a clear conscience.

Yeah, ditto, I would contact her and if she doesnt want her back, then you can sell her with a clear consience. If it's not fun, it's not worth it. xx

 

[jeeve]

If you can find an owner that can handle her quirks then sell on. There is no reason to put to sleep a horse just because it does not suit you. The previous owner did not PTS, they sold on. Why should they expect anything else from you. If she is dangerous, cannot be found a capable confident rider then a different story - but does not sound like that.

 

[Dukey]

Calmer? My 6yo is currently stuck in his stable due to weather (yo has stopped all turn out) he would be a nightmare to ride without some calmer. He too can get over uptight.
Also I used to feed my old boy pasture mix when he was doing novice BE as it had the same effect on him as competition mix

 

[LadyRascasse]

I had a mare like yours, perserved with her for 5 years, last year she started headshaking and it was eventually diagnosed that she had a compression vertebra in her neck. Not saying your mare has this but its worth considering she may have an underlying problem that you or your vet are not yet aware of. My mare only showed signs of her issue in the last 6 months of her life. I was told by a lot (and I mean a lot) of people (professionals included) that she was dangerous, evil nasty ect ect and in the end the poor girl was just trying to tell us she was in pain.

 

[Stephani]

Hi Klix - would it be possible for you to get a trainer to evaluate her for you - if you had a professional opinion on her it may help you to decide what to do. If she is a healthy horse it may be that she will do well in different hands, and therefore it would be sensible to sell her on to someone who would be able and willing to bring her on.

 

[FfionWinnie]

Working her harder than she already is is counter productive. The mare will just end up far fitter and subsequently harder to handle.

In your opinion, not in mine. There is a high chance cutting her food to hay and harder work will change her attitude. You could try mag ox as well op.

 

[budley95]

If you're not enjoying her OP, and as you've said old owner doesn't want her back, I'd be inclined to either sell her and be honest about her "quirks", or if you feel she's just not getting enough work, be VERY VERY honest and hope you might find someone willing to exercise her a bit for you. Bud used to bronc loads for no reason - all checks done, he just liked to throw some shapes as a 5 year old, and still does occasionally in the field. He has mellowed out a bit in his old age, but he'll still have the odd funny 5 minutes - especailly when I gave him quiet cubes in a ball...

She might grow out of it, she might not. You've said you know there's nothing physically wrong. She might just be being a pushy 5 year old, that just needs a lot of schooling to keep her mind on the job so she gets out of it eventually, or she might just be over excitable on the feed. I find Fast Fibre really useful for giving Bud some food to add his glucosamine to, Calm and Condition was quite good for him to get his weight up when he dropped a bit in October suddenly as it got cold rather quick! Ride and relax was also pretty good for him when I was a bit dubious about fast fibre... Yes I do only feed A&P stuff to him - Mollases and Barley free is very important to me!

Whatever you do, it's your choice. You said you wouldn't have her put to sleep as she means a lot to you. It may just be your not enjoying it because it's still cold, it's still dark and actually after work you can't be bothered because actually you'd rather be hibernating at the moment - That's how I feel anyway! Give her a month off with no hard feed, loads of hay and wait until the evenings get lighter and you can enjoy having Horsey in the summer again and bring her back to work slowly.

Just on a side note, She's not an ID x is she? Good luck OP.

 

[Klix]

Thankyou very much budley!!! That all makes a lot if sense .. I am putting together an action plan for her. Discussing with a few of the ladies today they have been a few minor changes that may have effected her in a major way, so we will be looking to try and make everything as familier as it was before... No she's not ID x

 

[Equilibrium Ireland]

Klix, glad to hear it. Hope it all works out.

Terri

 

[Klix]

Thank you for all of your help, will keep you updated!!

 

[Honey08]

Honey 08, yeah, balancers no matter how "lite" I have found can be tricky for mares. Soya can be a disaster.
Terri

Thats interesting Terri. I've not fed balancer before, so this is my first experience of it.


Re the upping the work suggestion, if you did that with my mare, you may tire her for a day or two, but as she got fitter she would come right back at you, with more fitness and stamina under her belt, so not agreeing with you guys on that one!

The one time my hot mare lived out day and night, once we had gone through the spring grass fizz, was the time that she was calmest. She wasn't hugely fit, but was pretty chilled for her. May help in a couple of months time if you've still got her.