Napping?!

[Sophie-imperial-Colt]

My jolly new mare has now decided that she's going to throw her toys out the pram on a regular basis for absolutely no reason (that I can think of) it seems to come from no where! She tends to try and whip round, if I catch her and don't let her she bunny hop rears and if I do let her I then can only turn her back round one way. She refuses to turn to the right, sticks her head in the air and hollows. I can then sometimes get her to turn on that rein but its a bit hit and miss! She only does it away from home, nothing nasty but quite annoying! Any grand ideas will be gratefully received! Thanks Guys!!

 

[soulfull]

Does she do it in company too?
Whets she like to school?

 

[Sophie-imperial-Colt]

Yeah she does it in company and pays anboloutely no attention to the other horse if they walk off. Good as good in the school not done it once!

 

[GGMM09]

My mare naps too.....but only when she is on her own. She rears bolt upright and spins but in company is a saint....its purely confidence issues on her part

 

[Flicker]

Presume you've checked for any pain issues? My friend's horse had grade 3 ulcers and was a nappy little so and so before they were diagnosed and treated. Now he's ace.

 

[Sophie-imperial-Colt]

well Ive not long had her and she was 5 stage vetted. Also the previous girl that owned her also had her scoped for ulcers and found nothing?! Ive also had back saddle and teeth checked so Im assuming not pain related?

 

[XxCoriexX]

my mare used to do this when I first got her, after a lot of patience and retraning she realised that she doesn't get to decide when she is finished hacking!
Obviously have all the basics checked, teeth, saddle etc. but I just increased the number of hacks we went on, keep it short to begin with, if she behaves after 10 minutes she can go home, if she is naughty then she has to continue on for a little bit.
I'm not sure if it was a trust issue or just her testing me but she is a saint now on a hack, she is actually the nanny for the babies when they go on their first hack

 

[sportsmansB]

I used to ride one who did this
She was checked all over, was just a bit of a smart ass trying it on
We hacked her with a whip held back to front I.e. Pointing toward ears & she was good as gold
If previous owner got her scoped for ulcers did she say why? Behaviour, condition, etc?

 

[Sophie-imperial-Colt]

I tried her with a whip and if I so much as touch her with is she canters off or whips round! ha! But I'm trying to do some desensitising with it and still carrying it even if i don't use it! I would imagine as she shows a lot of the symptoms ... girthie, doesn't like to be touched on her stomach, stressy and she apparently found it hard to keep her condition but i don't seem to be having that problem so much, her condition is really good at the moment although i think this is the most work she's ever been in.

 

[be positive]

What are you feeding her?

 

[SEL]

Mine was fat when she was scoped with ulcers so don't rule them out just on her condition.

Current mare can nap horribly. I did some ground work to start with making sure she would move her hind end on my instruction. She would only turn to the left when napping so I used to give her a little flick with the schooling whip on her right hock whilst asking for the right turn. In moving that right hock away from thevwhip she would 'unblock' & we could turn right.

 

[Sophie-imperial-Colt]

Half a scoop of Alfa a and half a scoop of pasture mix

 

[Sophie-imperial-Colt]

That sounds really similar to what mines doing, although i don't think I'll get a schooling whip anywhere near her, she can Only just about cope with a short one!

 

[be positive]

Half a scoop of Alfa a and half a scoop of pasture mix

I had one horse that showed signs of ulcers, he scoped clear, he was fed pasture mix because that was pretty much all he would eat when he first came so I stuck with it as he needed weight on and was in fairly hard work, he changed completely when I found a lower sugar/ starch feed he did like, the girthiness went, he stopped putting his back up when mounted and he was a far happier horse.

It would be worth looking at cutting out the starch and sugar as well as possibly the alfalfa as not all horses do well on it although it can be beneficial for those with ulcers.

If she is in good condition it should be fine to cut out all feed for a week, see if she is any better generally and then introduce feed one thing at a time to see how she responds. You want to use a low sugar/ starch feed such as fast fibre or speedibeet as the base then add something like micronised linseed for condition plus it is very good for their tummies, then if required some grass chaff or possibly the alfalfa again being careful to see how she copes with each addition, if she gets worse you then know at least part of the problem.

 

[Sophie-imperial-Colt]

I will definitely try that! Thank you.... I'll keep you posted!