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Dancing_Diva

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Sorry for the essay. Am feeling depressed about my horses at the moment, to top it off I had someone say something about one of my horses this morning and now am driving myself mad thinking things over, need an outside opinion.

Bit of history as will help why I'm unsure. I have a chestnut mare, we think Welsh x. I've owned her just shy of a year now after she was given to me last year due to being completely unsuitable for a friends kids.

Turns out another friend of mine knew the pony and once I found out previous owners (not on passport) I knew one of the previous owners. I've traced all her history back to her as a three year old. Cannot trace anything before then. She's now 10.

Anyway.... due to the reasons she was signed over to me she had a full MOT to rule anything out physical.. in the last four months she's had her teeth done, seen a saddler twice (last time was Saturday just gone) she has seen a veterinary approved chiropractor three times and is being re seen on the 10th. Has had a full vet assessment at my yard, flexions you name it and was given full approval as nothing wrong.

Anyway the mare has a habit of sometimes she'll have a hissy fit, she'll drop her head stop dead spin and launch herself/bronc at same time to unseat the rider! She used to do it quiet often in canter (after having managed to get off a friend four times who'd been riding her last summer) however with a different good quiet rider she's stopped doing it, other then 5% of the time when she just decides to do it for what seems sake of it! She'll do it out hacking even in a walk/stand if she feels like it (only on grass) sometimes if jumping before or after a fence she'll give it a try.

Took her jumping yesterday and she jumped a clear round foot perfect, later that day she jumped lovely in the 65cm but before fence four decided to have a hissy fit and try twice to get my jockey off (failed) then carried on jumping like nothing had happened. She'll just pull her head down between the front legs till riders up her neck, then will spin buck/leap/rear.

Someone has commented after watching the video that my mare is quiet clearly unhappy and in discomfort and doesn't want to jump! This conclusion has been made by fact that she's always swishing her tail in the video, has her ears back 90% the time and tries have my rider off twice! Been suggested I try her bitless and that we forget schooling/jumping just hack it out and do some sponsored rides.

Now other then full X-rays and bone scans I have nothing left to check out on this mare. Ulcers you name it have been ruled out too. I wouldn't trust the mare on a sponsored ride not with my 12yr old rider and she doesn't like many other riders, she gets excited out hacking on grass and broncs does some blooming stupid moves, I dread to think what she'd do to my jockey on a sponsored ride!

Do I just carry on as I am and totally ignore what was said to me earlier or change something? I'm always the first one to think something's wrong if they act badly or something but I physically cannot think of what else I can do to find a "problem" with this mare other then say she's just naughty? From the history I've traced she learnt a long time ago how to get riders off it seems, I feel that she just has that in her now and there's actually nothing wrong! Or am I just telling myself that and I should have full X-rays or something done and spend even more money on her to find nothing's wrong on the small chance there might be?
 
Unfortunately there probably isn't a clear cut answer.
However if she is going about her work with ears back and tail swishing that would concern me.
I'm not sure how much money I'd be willing to throw at the problem though....
 
She doesn't always go about her work with ears back and tail swishing. Should have said that in my original post! She does swish her tail at times under saddle or on lunge that's just her it seems.

In a lot of the photographers photos from yesterday my pony has its ears pricked forwards over the fences. I don't look at her and think she doesn't enjoy what she's doing, one of my other pony hates work of any type and you can generally see it in her face :/
 
The things you've suggested going on in the video do sound like she's not happy though.

Maybe you've ruled out some things but that doesn't mean there isn't another underlying issue.

Some horses don't like to be ridden full stop or they have issues like yours and you can never really pin point the issue.

If she does it frequently and you've had all the checks done then I'd retire her or find her a hacking home.
 
Unsolicited advice is almost always iffy, because the "adviser" isn't in full possession of the facts, as so clearly in your case. If I have something to offer someone I always ask first and that then starts a conversation in which they can give you the history. Another set of eyes can be useful but only if they know the whole situation - it sounds as though you have done everything you could by way of checks, the only other thing is a bute trial to see if that changes her behaviour? She sounds like a mare to me - does it coincide with her being in season at all?
 
Finding a hacking home is out the question, she loves hacking but will still leap/buck/rear if she wants to go or gets impatient. She's happy at mine, so will stay and go nowhere else ever!

A Bute trail is a very good idea. It doesn't conside with her seasons no, she's just very unpredictable. If her rider or anyone handling her on the ground is tense/het up or in a bad mood she'll be a complete cow, be rude bardgy ok the ground and spooky if ridden. She very much goes off the mood of the people around her.
 
Just on an off chance, but have you had her ovaries scanned?
I'd think along the lines of a bute trial in the meantime. Good luck.
 
That's one thing I haven't done. You never really notice when she's in season, she's not grumpy in season or any worse to ride. She's just a tad clingy/shouty to other horses when I'm season.

I'm going to have good chat with my chiro on the 10th when she's out to check her over. Her diets good (done by feed nutritionist) she lives out in Summer, in over winter of a night. I litually through everything at this pony and have everything checked if I think something's wrong, just not sure there is anything wrong but I could be wrong!

Just been looking at photos from yesterday and in 99% of photos her ears are forwards and she looks happy. I give up haha!!
 
Dancing_Diva said:
Finding a hacking home is out the question, she loves hacking but will still leap/buck/rear if she wants to go or gets impatient. She's happy at mine, so will stay and go nowhere else ever!

A Bute trail is a very good idea. It doesn't conside with her seasons no, she's just very unpredictable. If her rider or anyone handling her on the ground is tense/het up or in a bad mood she'll be a complete cow, be rude bardgy ok the ground and spooky if ridden. She very much goes off the mood of the people around her.
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I had an unpredictable Welshx mare, she became so bad over the years, that she was unrideable. Eventually I realised that all her problems were caused by food. She had become severely intolerant of cereals and refined sugars. When I eliminated those from her diet she was like a different horse.
I can understand why the onlooker made the comments but unsolicited advice is always a pain.


Eta, I see a nutritionist has looked at your horses diet. I have had horses sensitive to all sorts of feed/supplements (after the Welshx, we are very careful to monitor new feed), including; seaweed, Brewer's Yeast, carrots, alfalfa,NAF PinkPowder, sugarfree Polos. I would try an elimination diet with your horse.
 
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Pearlsasinger said:
I had an unpredictable Welshx mare, she became so bad over the years, that she was unrideable. Eventually I realised that all her problems were caused by food. She had become severely intolerant of cereals and refined sugars. When I eliminated those from her diet she was like a different horse.
I can understand why the onlooker made the comments but unsolicited advice is always a pain.


Eta, I see a nutritionist has looked at your horses diet. I have had horses sensitive to all sorts of feed/supplements (after the Welshx, we are very careful to monitor new feed), including; seaweed, Brewer's Yeast, carrots, alfalfa,NAF PinkPowder, sugarfree Polos. I would try an elimination diet with your horse.
Click to expand...

This reminds me of my yo's little welsh cross - he was quite simply dangerous, sedated to have feet done etc He was switched onto equigel and he's a different horse now, easy to handle, safe little horse (still can't stand still at all but he's just a little turbo charged creature)
Might be worth rethinking diet?
 
I Remember years ago before back.people and missing spines was known about etc, I'd always get on a horse bare back and see if it behaved the same way, two horses that I.done this with spring to mind ( one turned out to.Have ks) and was an adults horse, the other a kids pony that parents paid five figures for but would combust after a jump...he also had back issues and was pts

Ok so you need a mega good rider that won't be scared and can sit a buck, but honestly if it's a back issue aggravated by a saddle its an easy way to find out, horse may buck at first as expects pain.
 
I had a Welsh x years ago that would bronk like that, out of nowhere. In the middle of a dressage test, on fun rides, while jumping... he'd be totally sweet 99% of the time then suddenly lauch into orbit... and then carry on as though nothing happened.

I was probably naive at the time, this was a good while ago... we put it down to just him being a bit odd.
On reflection if I had the time with him again I'd have his back x rayed. I bet he had kissing spines.

Dunno about your horse, OP. But knowing what I know now, I'd probably want to look into it with a vet a bit, if it's a horse you like ...
 
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