Nappy in the school - pain or not?

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RIDMagic

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Firstly I'd like to clarify that I am getting a physio out to my horse, but I'm just hoping for some advice in the meantime.

My 4 year old mare is intermittently nappy in the school. Tonight she was terrible. She can be very resistant when I'm trying to turn her, resists the rein, falls right in on the corners, and basically is being very difficult! She does it in both directions and not towards the door, just when I ask her to turn. She is nowty when I ask her to go forward, her head comes up, ears go back and she generally looks pretty annoyed about it. Same in trot, im finding it difficult to get her in any kind of outline in anything more than walk, as soon as I ask for more her head comes up and ears go back. However, she is also nappy when hacking alone (just tries to turn for home) and she is a very laid back personality so forwardness isn't her strong point!

If we are trotting and she is refusing to turn, if I bring her back to walk then she will turn immediately. It is only in trot that she is resisting. Would this suggest pain as opposed to stubbornness or disrespect? Looking at the bigger picture, I do wonder if it's just a bit of an evasion technique, ie she doesn't particularly want to work/go forwards willingly so she starts playing up... Does that sound like a possibility?

Another point is that if I trot her up in hand she also shows resistance, her ears are almost pinned back and she looks generally pretty annoyed about it... But if I watch her trot off in the field she is fine.

I know nobody can say for definite and she needs a physio to have a proper look but in the meantime any opinions are welcome!
 
Does sound like it could be pain, i think a decent equine vet would be a better option, they can then advise if physio is necessary. Another thought is if she is recently backed, is she getting confused and not understanding what is being asked of her or lacking confidence? Would still want to rule out pain initially
 
She has been backed about a year, but I've only owned her 3 months
She has been nappy hacking out since I got her but she only started napping in the school after a month or so. It could be my riding that's the problem, or she could just be taking advantage of me. Like you say I need to rule out pain as the cause, obviously hope she's not in pain but at least that would give me a reason for this behaviour!
 
Sounds like pain/discomfort to me. Have you checked your saddle fit recently?

I hate the posts that say get back, saddle, teeth checked - but in this case, with a growing 4 yr old, it could well be valid. I've known young horse change saddle fit 4 or 5 times over the course of the year as they change shape and balance - her teeth will also be changing, and she will also be relatively unfit and soft, so it'll be easier for her to get sore muscles as she works. How much is she working in the school?
 
Thanks for your reply. I know what you mean - it's too easy to blame behaviour problems on saddle, back, teeth etc, but in some cases they will be to blame. I had the saddle fitter out about 6 weeks ago and she now has a new Thorowgood T4 saddle, so the fit should be fine. However prior to that I was using a second hand saddle which was not a great fit for her or me - it wasn't too narrow for her but just the wrong shape. I wonder if that could have made her sore? She definitely seemed happy in her way of going when I first got her but started going downhill fairly quickly. She isn't working much in the school, maybe 3 times a week for 30 mins to an hour each time.
 
Did this start before or after the new saddle?

At 4 years old I would say you have a few different things you need to consider and it is probably a combination of them causing the problem. Possibilities include saddle fit (of which this sounds like a classic case), muscular, teething (corner incisors should be coming through), general growing aches and pains, lack of balance under saddle, confidence + probably a few more that I can't think of at this time of day.

All need checking and addressing if necessary before the issues are termed behavioural
 
This started before the new saddle, although at first it was only in a particular part of the school and it was always towards the door, which suggests behavioural. But she was very unhappy in her way of going, so I was sure the saddle was uncomfortable for her. Now we have a new saddle fitted so it should be right for her, but the napping has continued. The vet has checked her teeth and said they need slightly rasping but nothing major. Once I've had the back checked and teeth done, I'm not totally sure how to address this issue if it is behavioural.
 
Well if she is teething then rasping is not really going to help anyway.

Working on confidence can be done through groundwork, leading out in hand, going on hacks with an older horse. Balance comes through regular work. The rest can be helped with a good instructor
 
I wouldnt ride until you have had all the necessary checks done, I would then start with a bit of lunging and hacking with another horse to give her some condfidence out this will help with the napping, once she is lunging nicely and behaving then start some ridden schooling, it does sound like it is pain related but if she was only recently backed another factor could be just lack of understanding from her, some peoples idea of backing a horse is lunge a few times then jump on and walk round the school and think the jobs done, if this is the case then she will need more or less starting again, do you know who backed her and exactly how much they did with her?
 
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