Problem mare

[Julieq]

Hi guys

My mare is a 7yr old irish sports horse.

I have been having lots of issues with my mare i will make its short in march i was up the vets with lameness issue which they thought was nervicular, and also had a lump on her face that she had to have xrayed while we was there i had her ovaries scanned as her behaviour has been very irratic. They found a blockage in her ovaries that i was given regimate for to sort and hopefully rectify her behaviour.

In between all this we have had saddle issues which hasnt helped so i have put my saddle up for sale as it no longer fits but it has upset mentally to a point she was bolting off every time i rode her tucking her bum underneath and sticking her head in the air, she no longer lunges quietly threw herself over backwards on the floor. Before all these problems she was fine we was schoolin, jumping, xc.

I have now decided to have her shoes taken off turn her away for a few months and rebreak her with my friend (member of this board FANTASIA) as I am at the end of my tether.

She has had back lady, vet etc all ok now, but behvioural problems still persist. Handling evryday grooming she is a loving good natured mare it is just when the excercise bit comes up it goes wrong.

Can any off you suggest anything or had similar problems?

Thanks

 

[no_no_nanette]

Julieq - had almost the same problems with our ISH mare .... turned out to be a haematoma on one of her ovaries which was causing her real discomfort under saddle, and not helping with the behaviour! Our vet also recommended Regumate before the haematoma was diagnosed. The problem is that they have long memories (especially mares!), and if they are anticipating pain they then tense up and can almost convince themselves that something hurts. But it sounds as though this is a very genuine problem from your description, and definitely NOT the mare just taking the p***. It took us ages to get the right diagnosis, and we were told that it was something that would eventually cure itself although there might be some scarring which could cause discomfort when the mare's in season.
I think that your plan is exactly the right one - gives time to "break" the memory, and hopefully the bad associations with being under saddle will have faded when you bring her back into work. To encourage you, our mare went on to successfully compete as a novice eventer and now has a lovely 3 month foal : so things do work out, its just really, really frustrating when you are trying to work out how to get through it. All the best with her and good luck!

 

[eventing_kid]

Hi

I agree with what you are saying by turning the horse away for a few weeks to get over her problems. The issue with this plan is if the horses problems have not yet been addressed and just some theories about what it could be have only been suggested then you may be casing your self more problems than before. If you do intend to turn you horse away then you should spen the time she is out, finding a correctly fitting saddle, i can strongly reccomend "devoucoux" saddles. You also need to get a Mc timoney who will not only sort you horses back problems out but will aslo be able to massage you horses aching muscles. It is also very important to lok at your horses diet, if shes fizzy and not very controlable, then you may need to rethink what you are feeding her.
hope this helps, pm me if you have any other probs.

 

[Julieq]

Thanks for comments its nice to know rufusbluemoon that your mare came right, i feel so disheartened at the moment.
She has been given the all clear, she isnt being feed anything at mo apart from a nut ball at night and hay as our grass is very good at yard. When she is in work and stabled at night she is feed hifi and calm n condition always had good results with that.

I am just hoping it is a mental issue and time will heal, she is a very nervous mare and can lose her confidence easily took me a long time to get were i am now i dont want to mess it up.

Fingers crossed i can hope the future brightens and we go onto our show jumping.

Thanks for comments