Is it just bad attitude or something more?

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StroppyMare*

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Okk... Owned a pretty little mare for just short of a year now bought her as a project after being a broodmare and having a difficult start in life. Ideally wanted to produce her for general riding and fun rides with the occasional s/j event thrown in too. She is 7 years old.

Since owning her she has shown willingness to stubborness in the flicker of an eye, i will have a productive session with her and the next day or the same day infact her attitude will change to sheer reluctance to co-operate, listen to my aids or be remotely interested. This behaviour can vary from refusing to move point blank to running through my hand and wanting to bolt off - although she does come back easily enough its one extreme to the other.

She has had a pretty bad cycling season this summer had her examined by the vet who suggested we might start regumugte next spring if her cycle returns irregular with behavioural issues. I put her on NAF OESTRESS during this time and had good results.

Have spoke to previous owner who has stated she was like this during the time she owner her too. I have had her back/saddle and teeth checked aswel as a rectal examination on her ovaries.

My question is could this just be my mares attitude to work or is there an underlying cause for her lack of willingness and consistency!!

Any advice??
 
StroppyMare* said:
Since owning her she has shown willingness to stubborness in the flicker of an eye, i will have a productive session with her and the next day or the same day infact her attitude will change to sheer reluctance to co-operate, listen to my aids or be remotely interested. This behaviour can vary from refusing to move point blank to running through my hand and wanting to bolt off - although she does come back easily enough its one extreme to the other.
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I can't offer any advice, but I have a gelding who used to behave like this, one day he'd be charging off with me, the next he'd plant and refuse to move... he was 7y/o at the time

No idea what was causing it, but he seemed to "grow out of it" the following year!

~(".)~
 
Thanks for replys!

Its so frustrating its one step forward ten steps back! i have spoken with previous owner who said she had the same attitude with her,

she is the kind of mare who when finds something difficult will try everything to avade it, which is why im finding it hard to distigush wether it is infact behavioural or there is something bothering her!

Vet has suggested a bute trail to rule out pain being a cause?

However with it fluctuating from one week to the next im hesitant to think its pain because surely she would be like this all the time.

She is the first mare ive had and i think she will be the last although its nice to know a geldings had similar issues!
 
*general moan*

Why are so many women quick to put any problem that they have with a mare, down to the fact that the horse is female?

I really don't understand it.


Anyhoo, back to the post.

I think that the thing that stands out from your post is this
having a difficult start in life
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you need to make sure that she has no pain and that she understands exactly what you are asking of her. Maybe you are trying to progress her training too quickly, as she acts up when things become difficult?
she is the kind of mare who when finds something difficult will try everything to avade it
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I had a gelding something like it too. I would be happily trotting a nice balanced circle and suddenly he would shoot away from under my seat for no reason I could ever fathom. Hacking was a nightmare.

I would try your mare on bute for a week. Arthritic pain can certainly come and go from day to day with the weather. Wet is worse, usually.

If that does nothing I would try her on a packet of ranitidine a day (12 tablets, £1.38 from Tesco) to check for ulcers. That dose won't cure them but it will usually damp it down enough for you to see a behavioural difference in 24-48 hours.

Good luck!
 
Faracat said:
*general moan*

Why are so many women quick to put any problem that they have with a mare, down to the fact that the horse is female?

I really don't understand it.
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Because they are entires Faracat, so a little closer in behaviour to stallions than geldings. If you took 1,000 mares and 1,000 geldings, a higher proportion of the mares would be "tricky" in some way to ride than the geldings. I haven't a clue what the proportion would be, but I'm sure it would be higher.

I think the old adage is true. You tell a gelding, you ask a mare and you negotiate with a stallion :)
 
cptrayes said:
Because they are entires Faracat, so a little closer in behaviour to stallions than geldings. If you took 1,000 mares and 1,000 geldings, a higher proportion of the mares would be "tricky" in some way to ride than the geldings. I haven't a clue what the proportion would be, but I'm sure it would be higher.

I think the old adage is true. You tell a gelding, you ask a mare and you negotiate with a stallion :)
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That's not what I was hinting at, although I do agree with your point.

I've just known too many 'marish' mares that were actually in pain and not being 'marish' at all!
 
completely agree with that! Sore feet or sore stomachs the big two.

come to that OP, your mare's behaviour is also reminiscent ot EPSM if you google it or search on this forum.
 
Again thanx for replies!

Ive put her back on the NAF OESTRESS to see if this is why her fluctuating attitude is back!

I should elaborate when i say she has had a bad start i can not comment nutritionally however suspect she may not have had the correct intake, from what i can gather she began foaling at 3 was imported from france aprroximatly 3 years ago and was a bag of nerves and complete nervous wreck when i bought her. She had also had four owners within 2 years - i have no idea why because apart from her stubborness which comes and goes shes a sweetheart!

Maybe im just asking her for too much
 
A bute trial will not overcome any pain from ulcers if that is what she has. You can only discount that by feeding 2 cups of linestone flour a day for 3 days and feeding a bucket of chaff immediately before you ride. If she has ulcers you will see an improvement. You could also use 10 rantacidine tablets (human form) instead of the limestone flour. It all just forms a buffer between the ulcers and stomach acid , not a cure, just a brief mask.

You could try giving her a massage before you ride and maybe a short lunging session to warm her up? It may be she is tense anticipating pain or she is just stressed. Have you thought of trying a calmer to see if that may help her to be more consistent? I know just how frustrating it is to get to the bottom of a problem like this. You literally need to go through a step by step process of elimination imo. My horse had ulcers (but only low grade) and eventually I had him diagnosed with chronic Sacro illiac dysfunction - he was in terrible constant pain and he had likely been broken in with that and ridden away etc.
 
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It is really awful, esp when other people can not see your concern, but you know your own horse and always have a hitch when something isnt right, its now the battle as you say finding out what it is IF its something.

As ive only owned her a year i guess i have to work out wether this is just my mares tempremental personality or if something is bothering her! Il feel so guilty if it is :(
 
Have you played with her?
Go into a school with her, let her go and passively drive her away, find out where you two meet.
All might sound a bit weird but I find it very useful to know where my owners are with there horse when it comes to having a good time without expectation, i.e. ridden performance.
I have learned more from ground work with any horse I have had than I ever did from being on it!
 
In my opinion horses do not have 'bad attitude' as such. There is always a reason why there is a temperament change, its just for us to find out why.

My horse has suddenly started being aggressive towards me when groomed. Not all the time but a lot of the time. Its been witnessed by my father, and various friends on the yard. I've had him seven years, this has only happened over the last six months. This rings massive and I mean MASSIVE alarm bells.

I would suggest getting a trot work up for your horse. He could have underlying issues that maybe you are not aware of, like spavin, or coffin joint disease.
 
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