Mare hates being tacked up

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Cavewoman14

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I’m looking for some help with my mare. She’s a very opinionated girl anyway, but absolutely hates being tacked up. She tries to move away when she sees the saddle, and bloats out while I’m putting her girth on, or swings round to try and bite me. It’s not just her saddle, she doesn’t like her bridle being put on either. Once I’ve got her tacked up she’s fine. She enjoys her work, steps out keenly with her ears forward. My first thought was ulcers, but I had her scoped and not an ulcer in sight. I thought maybe hind gut ulcers, but she shows no other symptoms and when I asked my vet they didn’t think it was that. Her saddle was checked three weeks ago, and is checked every six months. Her teeth have been done, and her back has been checked. She has regularly physio, lives out 24/7 in a small herd. He field has some grass, but not a lot. I’m really at a loss as to what to do next, or what to check. She’s not over worked, she’s ridden maybe 3-4 times a week, mostly hacking at the moment as I’m recovering from surgery so can’t do much more. Any suggestions please?
 
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Miss_Millie said:
What about hind gut acidosis? It can't be seen on a scope and has similar symptoms to gastric ulcers. Certainly sounds pain-related.
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I find a week of Equishure (protected sodium bicarbonate so it survives stomach) knocks hind gut acidosis on the head, and is a fairly cheap diagnostic.

Equishure long term is very expensive, and probably not good for gut pH long term.
 
Tiddlypom

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A bute trial on my mare made her much worse.

She then scoped clear for foregut ulcers, and it turned out that she had hind gut ulcers, which are exacerbated by bute…

Search oily herbs and the Equibiome test on here. Your mare’s behaviour is very likely pain related, and it wouldn’t do her any harm to treat her as if she has hind gut issues. It might be the breakthrough. We were able to make my mare much happier once we worked out what the issue was.

Good luck.
 
PinkvSantaboots

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Tiddlypom said:
A bute trial on my mare made her much worse.

She then scoped clear for foregut ulcers, and it turned out that she had hind gut ulcers, which are exacerbated by bute…

Search oily herbs and the Equibiome test on here. Your mare’s behaviour is very likely pain related, and it wouldn’t do her any harm to treat her as if she has hind gut issues. It might be the breakthrough. We were able to make my mare much happier once we worked out what the issue was.

Good luck.
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Was going to say this Arabi gets hind gut issues and he gets reluctant and just not himself, since being on oily herbs his been so much better.
 
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Bellaboo18

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What do you mean by 'she's a very opinionated girl anyway?' What else does she have an 'opinion' about?

I think she's telling you loud and clear she's uncomfortable with being ridden and doubt just because she strides out you can be confident she's happy. I'd look at hind gut as mentioned by others but then go down the poor performance route. Just because she's not lame doesn't mean she's not in pain.
 
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If all veterinary issues are ruled out could you try and break the cycle? Perhaps hang a haynet up, hiding some carrots in the hay so her thoughts are redirected?
 
FieldOrnaments

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second idea of a bute trial; it does sound like pain, but there's so much it could be, from ovarian cysts to kissing spine or hind gut issues or neck arthritis or TMJ issues or a million other things which wouldn't be picked up by a physio or seen on a scope. Scopes don't look very far into the digestive system really unfortunately.

What is she being fed at the moment? You could try an elimination diet (though not concurrently with the bute trial obviously) to see if it is a sensitivity. Cereals and alfalfa are two of the most common ones, and unfortunately they are ingredients in a lot of feeds.
 
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I think if she has a bit of an attitude anyway I might be inclined to get a vet out to really look at her moving, not saying she is lame but it could be subtle and your not noticing it especially if your just hacking.

Most horses are happier and more forward hacking so lameness is often not detected so easily.

Do you ever ride in the school what is she like?
 
FieldOrnaments

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Oh what I mean is that they don't have any concept of naughtiness or acting out, and negative behaviour is always for more than "just because". As prey animals they wouldn't waste energy on it otherwise.

They do things for a reason, not just because. But to be actually naughty they'd have to understand humans concept of right Vs wrong and they don't.
 
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Cavewoman14

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Alibear said:
As you've ruled out ulcers, perhaps chat to your vet and see if she can go on a bute trial to rule out pain-related issues. Nothing's absolute, but is it a noninvasive, fairly cost-effective check?
Has she always been like this, or is it a recent change?
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She’s always been a bit like this, but it’s got worse. She has a bit of a checkered past and I don’t think has always been treated kindly
 
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Pearlsasinger said:
What do you feed her? I had a mare who did this who eventually proved intolerant of all cereals and refined sugars. By the time we worked out what was the problem, she had some permanent damage and had to be retired as a field ornament/companion.
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She’s on thunderbrooks chaff and haycobs, oats and equimins advance complete.
 
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Cavewoman14

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Fieldlife said:
Once you have tack on, she is happy to leave the stable, happy to be mounted, happy to leave the yard? If you walk past the turn for home she would be happy to do another hacking loop? Just trying to think how you sure you can be that she is happy to be ridden?
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She’s absolutely fine. I rode tonight and she was happy to go out once I was on. She really enjoys her work, this is what is so confusing. She never wants to come home when we are out, she would probably go out for longer than I would!
 
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Cavewoman14

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Bellaboo18 said:
What do you mean by 'she's a very opinionated girl anyway?' What else does she have an 'opinion' about?

I think she's telling you loud and clear she's uncomfortable with being ridden and doubt just because she strides out you can be confident she's happy. I'd look at hind gut as mentioned by others but then go down the poor performance route. Just because she's not lame doesn't mean she's not in pain.
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She has an opinion about everything! If I am talking to someone rather than paying her attention, she throws her headcollar at me, or rubs her teeth on the stable door. If I tell her off about anything she gives me a look and then gives a big sigh, like she’s saying oh please shut up! I adore her and she knows it!
 
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Cavewoman14

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Pinkvboots said:
I think if she has a bit of an attitude anyway I might be inclined to get a vet out to really look at her moving, not saying she is lame but it could be subtle and your not noticing it especially if your just hacking.

Most horses are happier and more forward hacking so lameness is often not detected so easily.

Do you ever ride in the school what is she like?
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I used to ride in the school and she was fine. The more challenging the schooling the happier she seemed. I haven’t done any schooling for a few months now as I had leg surgery, so am getting back into riding slowly.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite

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I bought a lovely sweet mare from an RDA Centre pre.Covid. The reason they were getting rid of her, and they were quite up-front about it, was because she had allegedly "bolted" with someone she'd gone out on summer loan to. Apparently she'd spooked at a truck towing a trailer with livestock in the back, and her saddle had then slipped, and she had then "bolted". But I knew that she just wasn't that sort of mare! Something had to have accounted for it, and I somehow ended up buying her.

Brought her home, and using my treeless saddle, led her up to the mounting block. She moved away, quite definitely, and very deliberately. When asked again, she did the same thing. So I got my McTimony lady to have a look at her, and she diagnosed considerable pain for the mare in her sacroiliac area. After treatment, and a period of rest, she did come good.

She was 8 when I got her, and sadly a few years down the line after the incident I've described she started headshaking. Vet diagnosed trigeminal nerve headshaking. It wasn't getting better, it was getting worse, to the extent that it wasn't just that she couldn't be ridden, she also couldn't be led safely in hand because of the condition. I had to make a difficult decision and at age 10 she was PTS.

Sorry there probably isn't much point in my relating this story; but all I'd say is if the horse is "saying" there's a problem, then there is.

Hope you can get to the bottom of it.
 
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Cavewoman14

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Flowerofthefen said:
If all veterinary issues are ruled out could you try and break the cycle? Perhaps hang a haynet up, hiding some carrots in the hay so her thoughts are redirected?
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She always has a haynet whenever she is tied up, but I’ll try the carrots in it, that’s one thing I haven’t tried yet.
 
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