Made a big decision today, but need your advise please

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welsh_mare

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Sorry this will be long :( I bought Tilly a year ago, knowing she had an issue with napping, when I tried her she napped, it wasnt too bad andIi got her through her napping, and for a year she was wonderful everything I wanted in a horse :)
In may this year, exactly a year after I bought her she started napping really badly, with the main issue being rearing :o
I had her checked by vets they could find nothing, so thought it was hormones, put her on Regumate, but also took her in to the vets to get her ovaries scanned, scan came back clear, but they decided as she was there to x-ray her, they discovered Kissing Spine, she had the operation with amazing results to ride now she is totally different :)

BUT, over the last couple of weeks her napping has returned, with more rearing, so a friend started riding over to pick us up, she wont follow another horse of the yard!, it has still taken up to 1/2 an hour somedays to get to the road, but all of a sudden it's as if she get's tired of it and will all of a sudden walk off the yard like a lamb.

Monday and Wednesday, this week she left the yard with no problems at all, but about 500 yards up the road there is a sharp bend, and she seems to have a block on this bend, so we spent 10/15 minutes each time encouraging her to go forward, if you try and push she
totally loses the plot and will throw everything at you that she can, as if she wants to get you off!, well on those two days after encouragement she walks on as if nothing has happened and she is quite happy to go out for a ride.

Today :( friend rides over and we are expecting her to walk off the yard nicely like she has all week, nope, we had about 5 vertical rears, my arms wrapped round her neck, on the last rear one of my stirrups came off, so i jumped off to put it back on, got back on her, and she just quite happily walks off the yard :o

Then we get to the bend in the road, just before we get to the bend she starts again, rearing vertical in the middle of the road, thankfully friend was with me as a pick up was speading round the blind bend, she was able to stop him, he got past, and she just wasnt having it, in the end her head was bent round so her chin was on my boot and she was still rearing, 4 or 5 in a row, managing somehow to move forward towards a telegraph pole and a wall, this is what she does, try to rear at walls, gates, hedges anything as if determind to get me off.

I managed to get her away and the she did a massive rear and leapt forward, by now I was in tears, I cant deal with this, she is actually starting to scare me, last week when she kicked off i ended up walking 2.5 miles to get to nearest, bridlepath, but she carried on there :(

So I have decided, very reluctantly, I cant do this, she is too dangerous and she needs to go :( but how, is it me, would she better with someone who is stronger rider?, do i sell her as a brood mare, her breeding is Voltaire, she also has Nimmerdore.



I hope all of this makes sense?, can anyone offer me advice on where to go from here as i just dont know.

Thanks in advance for any replies.
 
I'm not vet, but that sounds an awful lot like a pain reaction to me. Could her spine be giving her bother again? I'd rule out that before I made any decisions.

Good luck.
 
It sounds like a pain response OP :(

If she reared pre-op and the operation sorted this and now she's started rearing again, I'd be pretty certain the pain is back again.

How horrible for you :( (((hugs))) xxx
 
I'd want to check her out more before sitting on her again, sounds pain. Perhaps inhand walks somewhere enclosed to see if it is the area or the weight that is the issue?
Get someone with experience to train her if necessary but please stop taking her out as she does not sound safe at all :(
 
She only ever does it when riding out, in the school she is fine, surely if it was pain she would always do it??

But also, when she started riding out after all her rehab work she was napping right from the first time of leaving the yard, and usually once we get round the bend in the road she is fine, wont nap again!!

I'm so confused right now :(
 
Couldn't she be in pain? Repercussions of her op?

given her medical history and how behavior deteriorated before when she was in pain I would have her thoroughly checked over by your vet and chiro.

She is trying to tell you something.
 
welsh_mare said:
She only ever does it when riding out, in the school she is fine, surely if it was pain she would always do it??

But also, when she started riding out after all her rehab work she was napping right from the first time of leaving the yard, and usually once we get round the bend in the road she is fine, wont nap again!!

I'm so confused right now :(
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Was she schooled before when she had pain. Perhaps she has memories of where it hurt - hacking.
Either way I wouldn't be getting back on personally. I'd be enlisted the help of a professional.
 
I really do feel for you. It is awful when you don't know if a behaviour is pain related or mental. My horse had the op for KS and he too came back really well. He used to flip out after the girth or roller was tightened. It didn't matter where he was. At first after the op he was fine with it, and I was back riding him gently. Then it all started again. I have just about given up with him. I will persevere through the winter, and get more checks done and then if he's still the same he will retire with me or go to the blood bank. Sounds like your mare is very dangerous. I don't hack out much at all so it wouldn't bother me too much if the behaviour was only bad when hacking as I prefer schooling, but I would want to compete. What is she like if you take her somewhere?
 
Without casting any aspersions on your weight at all, there is a big difference between a horse carrying it's own weight and one carrying yours. A very close friend had a horse with KS and he had surgery. Long rehabilitation but in the end she and the vet finally had to come to th conclusion that he would never be strong enough to carry anything other than a small child again. Unfortunately he was most definitely not a child's ride.
 
I would stop riding straight away if I were you. What if she loses her footing out on the road and comes over backwards on you, on the concrete.
It really doesn't bear thinking about.

I would get her checked by the vet, if not pain related I would pts. You can't pass this on, god knows what would happen to her.
I would not breed either, there is a real problem with too many horses, not enough people to have them. Why would you want to pass on any physical or mental issues?

Do the best for the horse and yourself...
Trust me, it's no fun being broken.
 
It sounds like pain to me. As others have said stop riding - don't put yourself in danger.

My WB has chronic sacro illiac dysfunction and he has been rehabed and fine, but the past 2 weeks - since the weather has turned colder he has been in pain without a doubt.
I have bought him a Back on Track rug now to use prior to any exercise to warm his back up.

Can you get a bodyworker to him? A good one should be able to tell if he is tight anywhere; something the vet may miss. Whereabouts are you? I or others may be able to recommend therapists.
I would personally get a therapist and have a communication done with him. A communicator located my horse's dysfunction ahead of a week's lameness clinic at Newmarket at very little cost.
 
So I have decided, very reluctantly, I cant do this, she is too dangerous and she needs to go but how, is it me, would she better with someone who is stronger rider?, do i sell her as a brood mare, her breeding is Voltaire, she also has Nimmerdore.
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Going to be very, very blunt here.

If you don't want her - put her down.
 
Although its tough financially, I dont think she should be passed on, since (i) she could be resold by unscrupulous types and they make £££ and she kills someone or (ii) without getting to the bottom of the latest pain, theres no way to know it isnt something genetic.

If you dont feel you can keep her anymore, please dont pass her on and PTS instead.
 
Rewind.

OP says horse never does this in the school. So why are we all jumping to the conclusion it is pain related?

OP- do you like school work? If you do just don't hack. Some horses aren't happy hackers. It isn't the end of the world.
 
jesstickle said:
Rewind.

OP says horse never does this in the school. So why are we all jumping to the conclusion it is pain related?

OP- do you like school work? If you do just don't hack. Some horses aren't happy hackers. It isn't the end of the world.
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This is true. Some of the top blood lines hate hacking. Were you hacking alone? If so I would say many a horse dislikes hacking alone and will nap.

It could also be that the softer surface of the school is more comfortable for your horse, so could still be pain related.

I agree with others - please don't pass this horse on great bloodlines or not. It will get abused by someone down the line - the only certainty is to sort her out yourself and maybe loan locally if she can't be fixed as a broodmare or the bloodbank as a last resort?
 
kirstie said:
I would stop riding straight away if I were you. What if she loses her footing out on the road and comes over backwards on you, on the concrete.
It really doesn't bear thinking about.

I would get her checked by the vet, if not pain related I would pts. You can't pass this on, god knows what would happen to her.
I would not breed either, there is a real problem with too many horses, not enough people to have them. Why would you want to pass on any physical or mental issues?

Do the best for the horse and yourself...
Trust me, it's no fun being broken.
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Good advice and what about companion instead option? Does sound like pain(remember menage is usually softer surface with you on board, road etc harder so more compression + rider. Frustrating for you especially when you like your horse. But you have tried everything so far so perhaps call it a day. Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
PandorasJar said:
Normally I'd agree, but would blood bank take her on with kissing spine? If it's just behaviour while being ridden it might be worth asking (I don't know ins and outs though).
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Yes they will. So long as the horse is paddock sound and does not need shoes or pain relief. Needs to be over 16 hands too. And obviously good with vets and needles!
 
Please don't breed from her. Whatever problem now, she has had KS, & may well pass this onto offspring as her skeletal conformation due to her genes. Not like she has picked up an injury in an accident. Doesn't matter how 'good' genes are, if the horse is not rideable due to genetically bad conformation (& KS is bad structural conformation), it could be a world beater yet in reality it would only be a lawnmower. There are a lot of quality animals around without issues, there is nothing to warrent breeding from a mare with major issues.
 
If she sound and happy ridden in the school how about trying for a loan home where they only ride in a school like a college. My daughter hates hacking and her last horse was only ridden in the school or at competitions.
 
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