In pain or just grumpy?

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AABBCC

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Sorry in advance for the loooooongg ramble! :eek:
I have a tb mare who I've had for a little over a year now and it's been quite a rocky year at that. She's always appeared rather grumpy; Ears back, trying to nip and even kick. She nips sometimes when I catch her etc. She tends not to like to be touched on her chest and girth area and her hindquarters. When asked to shift her bum around she'll sometimes instead raise her leg and stomp it down moving her bum towards me.
A lot of people have told me she's probably just a grumpy mare or a sensitive thoroughbred or whatever but I'm worried that she's actually just in pain.
In the year I've had her we've found and dealt with navicular problems in her two front feet, two bouts of colic and she's currently out of work due to a sore back. Her back is very much on the mend now and so I don't think her behaviour is due to this. I initially thought about stomach ulcers and I still think they are a strong possibility but she isn't showing any of the other symptoms such as losing weight (she's in fact a tad podgy), loss of appetite....
She does scrape her teeth on the stable wall and lick the metal if that means anything?
I'm also considering the fact that she is a tb and she does like to be in consistent work but thats not been possible lately so the mood could be a result of that...?
I want to get the vet out to look at her but at the moment I don't quite know what I'd say so I don't know if he'd be able to help!
If anyone could give any advice it'd be much appreciated, I just want her to be as happy and healthy as possible.
Oh and congratulations if you read this far! :thumbup: Sorry for the ramble!
 
AABBCC said:
Sorry in advance for the loooooongg ramble! :eek:
I have a tb mare who I've had for a little over a year now and it's been quite a rocky year at that. She's always appeared rather grumpy; Ears back, trying to nip and even kick. She nips sometimes when I catch her etc. She tends not to like to be touched on her chest and girth area and her hindquarters. When asked to shift her bum around she'll sometimes instead raise her leg and stomp it down moving her bum towards me.
A lot of people have told me she's probably just a grumpy mare or a sensitive thoroughbred or whatever but I'm worried that she's actually just in pain.
In the year I've had her we've found and dealt with navicular problems in her two front feet, two bouts of colic and she's currently out of work due to a sore back. Her back is very much on the mend now and so I don't think her behaviour is due to this. I initially thought about stomach ulcers and I still think they are a strong possibility but she isn't showing any of the other symptoms such as losing weight (she's in fact a tad podgy), loss of appetite....
She does scrape her teeth on the stable wall and lick the metal if that means anything?
I'm also considering the fact that she is a tb and she does like to be in consistent work but thats not been possible lately so the mood could be a result of that...?
I want to get the vet out to look at her but at the moment I don't quite know what I'd say so I don't know if he'd be able to help!
If anyone could give any advice it'd be much appreciated, I just want her to be as happy and healthy as possible.
Oh and congratulations if you read this far! :thumbup: Sorry for the ramble!
Click to expand...

Grumpy,stable vice (The teeth across the bars) sounds exactly like a friends horse. This was diagnosed with ulcers. Now that he has been treated he is a happy horse.
 
Sounds as though ulcers are a possibility. I have a grumpy mare who I had tested for ulcers and the results were clear, she is just grumpy. Her mood improves significantly with work, when she is out of work she is miserable. I found that even a very gentle lunge or a walk in hand was enough to brighten her up. You could try doing some gentle work with yours and see if that makes any difference. If it were me I would do that first, perhaps for a week, and then speak to the vet afterwards if you don't see any improvement.
 
Thank you to everyone for the replies! It's good to know that I'm not just being overcautious.
Fingers crossed we can get it sorted!
 
could be anything bothering her tbh, but ulcers would a strong contender and worth investigating. the other thing is foot pain as this causes compensatory muscle pains and other problems, so perhaps a full lameness exam would help too
 
Could be ulcers, could be something else hurting her. Equally, it might be learned behaviour from a period of pain in the past.

I'd get the vet, but I'd also do some really basic groundwork / walks in hand, if it doesn't make her worse, to keep her stimulated mentally.
 
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