Moody mare

[vera.e]

About three months ago, I bought my first horse for me and my two daughters, all of us experienced riders. At first she was well behaved and settled in nicely but after about a month, she developed a nasty habit of bucking, rearing and running off down the field when we brought her in. Her field is at the top so she needs to walk through a lower field to get to the stables. There is a little road (not a public road, just a little path) at the bottom of the lower paddock that leads into the stables. So she would run down the lower paddock and then stop at the road and wait. She is an ex racer so I'm not sure whether that will have contributed to this behaviour, but she hasn't races in 7 years. We managed to break thais habit by using treats. She would know that we had them and would stay with us and then would be rewarded with treats. She stopped this habit for about two weeks but recently shes started again. We tend to leave her out later now because then she seems more settled as when she was brought in earlier, she was more reluctant to leave the paddock so was more moody. She windsucks so we have had her on a diet of low sugar feeds but we are thinking about changing her onto a moody mare feed to help control her behaviour. Will this help or does anyone have any other suggestions on how to break this habit?
Thank you

 

[RoyalSapphire]

lead her in a bridle? or i had a friend who attached a bit to the headcoller when her horse started rearing on the way down to the field.

 

[sunshine100*]

I feel for you- but please do not take any frustration out on the horse,she is clearly not happy-does she have company? i would check out Jason Webb or Gary Witheford (both experts in horses/racehorses) she is trying to tell you something and sometimes it takes a dedicated person like those two to smooth things out-good luck!

 

[vera.e]

It would be difficult taking her down in a bridle or a headcollar with her bit as she is a nightmare to take the bit. This would be increasingly difficult in the dark! But thank you for your suggestions. She has company. There are some other ponies in the bottom paddock and a llama in hers. She isn't bothered about leaving the llama and she never rushes to the other ponies. I think it may be due to hunger. She has two meals a day, both of adequate sizes for her. But the grass is quite limited in her field now due to the owners of the yard moving sheep in. I will search these horse experts and see what I can do. Thank you for your responses.

 

[be positive]

Answering both threads in one, she sounds as if she is either very hungry, stressed and confused or she is being difficult because she is allowed to be due to inexperienced handling. If she is out in a field with not enough grass she will need hay, you do not say if she is in at night or out 24/7, not being happy to take the bit could be due to her needing her teeth done or that she is not enjoying being ridden so protesting in a very basic way.
2 feeds a day will not make up for lack of forage, wind sucking is linked to ulcers and they may require more than a low sugar/ starch diet to sort out, it sounds to me as if you would benefit from finding a good local instructor/ trainer to help you, no need at this stage to get in the big guns just someone experienced who can take an overall look and give advice to all aspects of management.

 

[highlandponygirl]

Answering both threads in one, she sounds as if she is either very hungry, stressed and confused or she is being difficult because she is allowed to be due to inexperienced handling. If she is out in a field with not enough grass she will need hay, you do not say if she is in at night or out 24/7, not being happy to take the bit could be due to her needing her teeth done or that she is not enjoying being ridden so protesting in a very basic way.
2 feeds a day will not make up for lack of forage, wind sucking is linked to ulcers and they may require more than a low sugar/ starch diet to sort out, it sounds to me as if you would benefit from finding a good local instructor/ trainer to help you, no need at this stage to get in the big guns just someone experienced who can take an overall look and give advice to all aspects of management.

Agree with this. Make sure she has plenty of forage alongside her hard feeds. Ex racers are prone to ulcers due to their feed management whilst in training and may be something to investigate once the basics, i.e. teeth, handling and routine management are etc are ruled out.

Also 3 months is not really a long time, she could still be trying to settle in to new surroundings/ people and horses.

Before considering changing her feed, find out what is causing her to stress and worry, it's best to try and get to the route of the problem before trying to fix it.

 

[vera.e]

Hi. Thank you for your responses. I don't think she has ulcers as the vet has checked her and we have been monitoring her weight using a weight tape. From this I can tell that she isn't losing any weight, if anything she might be gaining, indicating that its unlikely she has ulcers. I am getting an eventer trainer to have a look at her soon. She is getting a field shelter soon in her paddock which will eliminate the issue of bringing her in. Also, I rode her today and she took the bit much better. Your responses have been very helpful and I hope she will settle down soon. Thanks

 

[mega spoilt ponies]

Just because a horse isnt losing weight doesnt mean it is unlikely to have ulcers. I have conversed with tonnes of people with fat ulcer horses (myself included). Most vets are hideously out of date on the subject.

The rearing, tanking off, wind sucking, recent home change etc would be enough for me to scope.

 

[Shay]

Ditto that. You can't detect ulcers from weight alone. I'd be tempted to scope an ex racer almost on principle! Recent statistics suggested 98% of racehorses have ulcers, 76% of competition eventers and some 50% of leisure horses. So the odds are she does have some level of ulceration and treatment can make such a difference.

3 months is about the right timescale for what I've come to call over the years the "new pony horrors". At some point in the first 3 months the new pony / horse decides to test the boundaries and you can be in for weeks of challenge whilst they figure out their new place. For some reason it also always seems worse in spring. Plus with a mare you might be looking at her first season of the year which can be difficult for some. If you've only had her 3 months and if her seasons stopped in the winter (some of ours didn't this year as it has been too mild I think -but most do) then you won't yet know what she is like as she cycles.

You are right to get professional help and advice.