Reaching wits end with horse...

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tasel

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OK, I'm going to have a rant. Be warned.

After a perfect summer with my horse when she was really well-behaved and lovely, she turned into somewhat of a monster the last 3 weeks. She was off work for a LONG time (we're speaking years) due to injury, and we've been trying to get her back into work. It was all fine, until 3 weeks ago.

As per my last post, I put her on Global Herbs Restore at around that time to complement the Global Herbs Sarc-Ex that she receives due to a suspected sarcoid on her neck. So tonight, I left the Restore out of her feed. I want to see whether that's the culprit as I've heard of others having had horses going mad on it before.

She has been prancing around while on the lunge and answering other horses' neighs loudly recently (and you can see in her eyes that she's thinking of running off to those horses at that time, but thankfully restrains herself) - but that isn't so bad, considering she used to buck constantly on the lunge a few years ago. Last week, her herd moved to the winter fields, and today, she actually went through electric fencing at the livery yard we're at, breaking fence posts. I wouldn't want to move, but we will have to, if she does it again.

I just really don't know what to do. Her "yard track record" is starting to look quite bad - sent two grooms at two different yards to A&E previously when she was on full livery. And no, they weren't riding her, they were just handling her. She's now on 24/7 turnout with only me doing stuff with her mostly (apart from very novice OH who can't really do anything with her in her current state of mind). I love her to bits... trust me, most people would have given up on her! If I had my own land, she'd be fine. But she has to start behaving, and I can't be around her 24/7 to make sure she actually behaves!
 
I have learned over the years, that if you make a change to your routine (particularly diet) and the horse's behaviour changes, it is usually because of the change to your routine, so you are probably right to take the GH Restore out of her feed again.
 
Why did she go through an electric fence?

And can you just 'work' her, sounds as if she may need a job to do.........................
 
I don't know why she went through the electric fence this time round. She does seem to get "hyper" when other horses (either in her field or the neighboring ones) run about which inevitably will happen. And she's massively clumsy!

She does get worked (i.e. lunged or free-schooled) by me in the pitch-black night. The last time I saw her going through a fence was not really her fault. I was bringing her in, and another horse literally kicked her with both hind legs two yards away from me. I still had her on the rope. So she understandably got annoyed, and ran/reared/bucked into the fence that was right in front of us. Not a nice sight from my perspective (and most likely dangerous), but I managed to calm her down in seconds after I told the other horse off (that horse was massively annoying that day, she also threatened to kick the sharer of another horse - I guess my horse's best mate - right after I left the paddock).
 
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Are all the fields just sectioned with electric fencing then - i.e no permanent, safe boundaries?

Anyway - Winter can be a funny old time. We up the food, up the rugs, have them in for longer (although I note yours is out 24/7), and they often feel more 'well' than they do in the summer.

I'd drop all the suppliments you are giving her - get her in to a field that has proper boundaries, and give her a job to do. She may well just be bored. But she certainly doesn't sound as if she's a menace - just a produce of environment.
 
She sounds lie my last mare.

I loved her to bits but by christ she had her moments :D

Remove the suppliments. What else are you feeding her? Could it be she has gotten a bit hyper from her feed? Last mare could be fine on a feed for months and months, she would go mad, I would cut out the hard feed and low and behold she was fine again? :confused:
 
Agree. Cut out all hard food, lunge it and if it bucks, so what? Make it work and then work it some more; next day do the same and keep on until it's got the ants out of her pants. Never ever let it have the last word. Don't be soft on it, you're in charge, make sure she knows it.
BTW, doing things in the pitch black is not a good idea, it won't help at all with her spookiness.
 
So apart from neighing loudly, getting a look in her eye and running into fences to avoid being kicked, is there anything she actually does wrong?
She sounds unsettled by being moved around, and like she is in need of some proper work. Loose schooling is more of a jolly in the school with someone runnign after you and most horses will get sick and tired of being lunged if that is all they do.
 
Have you swapped to haylege recently too?

My mare has had the demon in her for the last 3 weeks. But there was 3 big changes in the life. I put her on haylege, She went out in the winter paddock, new Horse was introduced in the next paddock. I couldn't excericse her as was waiting for vet to give me the go ahead with riding again.

New Horse has gone and I've swapped back on to hay. Last 2 nights shes been lovely. The big test is at the weekend, when she has to go for an in hand hack alone.

I would stop with the supplements and see how she goes.
 
Have to admit I know plenty of horses that will go through electric fencing, especially if they are wearing a rug and can't feel the zap, it's not a good long-term fencing solution. So if I were you I would be thinking of looking for another yard with proper fencing, electric tape wrapped round a horses leg can do as much damage as barbed wire.

I also know plenty of horses that become right pains in the behind when not getting enough work - physical and mental stimulation required!

If she's an insecure type (ie moving to winter field and being handled by grooms upsets her) then a move will probably unsettle her again but get her into a routine, keep your relationship 1 on 1 for now, and get her doing some work that includes something for her to think about other than going round in circles.

Good luck with her and keep smiling.
 
It sounds a bit like the mixture of a new supplement, and winter grazing changes have got to her head a little bit!

Summer - Winter routine changes can upset some horses for a while until they get back into the swing of things, especially if she has been out 24/7 in the summer? I also think the combination of introducing a new supplement might have just topped it off!

You're right to take that away and see if she goes back to "normal". Best to eliminate anything that could have set it off although I haven't come across a supplement that could change a horse so much. But, they are strange and complex animals so to be honest nothing surprises me with them! :p

Hope you get to the bottom of it :)
 
I strongly suspect this year's particularly mild October and November are having strange effect on all living things - my roses are blooming again at the moment - normally I'd be pruning them right now. Mare's can be very sensitive to daylight hours and temperatures. The grass is definitely growing still in many parts of the UK and you can bet your life your mare is thinking about coming back into season. The calling and being like a headless chicken say hormones to me. The OP has rather given the game away by saying the mare has a history of unpredictability even though she has been ok "lately".
 
Take her off all feed. Get her in to a good daily routine working her hard. Find somewhere that has sensible fencing that will contain her.
 
Restore sends a lot off horses loopy, iv heard it so many times. Take her off that. I sell the stuff and even global herbs told me that it can have that effect on some horses but iv known it with a lot not just a few
 
fatpiggy said:
I strongly suspect this year's particularly mild October and November are having strange effect on all living things - my roses are blooming again at the moment - normally I'd be pruning them right now. Mare's can be very sensitive to daylight hours and temperatures. The grass is definitely growing still in many parts of the UK and you can bet your life your mare is thinking about coming back into season. The calling and being like a headless chicken say hormones to me. The OP has rather given the game away by saying the mare has a history of unpredictability even though she has been ok "lately".
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I agree, my mare and her field mate have both come into season today!
 
fatpiggy said:
I strongly suspect this year's particularly mild October and November are having strange effect on all living things - my roses are blooming again at the moment - normally I'd be pruning them right now. Mare's can be very sensitive to daylight hours and temperatures. The grass is definitely growing still in many parts of the UK and you can bet your life your mare is thinking about coming back into season. The calling and being like a headless chicken say hormones to me. The OP has rather given the game away by saying the mare has a history of unpredictability even though she has been ok "lately".
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Hmmm... that's what I was thinking at first, 'cos I thought... hey, she behaves like a stallion right now. But I'm utterly confused as she did not act up at all during the summer - to the point that I could arrange trotting poles, etc. in the school with her following me around like a lapdog w/o being attached to me in any way. That's when I expected her to be in season...
 
siennamum said:
So apart from neighing loudly, getting a look in her eye and running into fences to avoid being kicked, is there anything she actually does wrong?
She sounds unsettled by being moved around, and like she is in need of some proper work. Loose schooling is more of a jolly in the school with someone runnign after you and most horses will get sick and tired of being lunged if that is all they do.
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I'm not there 24/7 - she mostly does the "wrong" things when I'm not around... apart from the time at one of the previous yards where she was being led to her stable by a groom, but that coincided with me arriving at the stables, so she turned to look at me - and broke the groom's finger in the process. She doesn't do things because she's completely mean... she's just a big, strong horse (well, that's how I see it) really.

And how can she do "proper" work if she has to be backed first, and physio has told us to hold off until next year?
 
thatsmygirl said:
Restore sends a lot off horses loopy, iv heard it so many times. Take her off that. I sell the stuff and even global herbs told me that it can have that effect on some horses but iv known it with a lot not just a few
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I think so, too! I kept on thinking that if it makes horses that are near death suddenly come alive, etc. ...what will it do to those who are well - and truly - alive?
 
Maesfen said:
BTW, doing things in the pitch black is not a good idea, it won't help at all with her spookiness.
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Well, that's the thing... she was fine in the dark up until a few weeks ago. And you can't help but do things in the dark when you have a full-time job, and it's dark by 5pm.

The changing of time didn't help much either as in her mind, I arrive an hour late every day now...
 
I can't add anything more sensible to the debate about changes/how to handle, but I wanted to sympathise with late night/doing it in the dark. Clocks going back really not helpful and am resigned to endless schooling at nights (but fortunately we do have lights in the school) and praying for nice weather at the weekends. And this is just the start. Sigh. Winter always feels sooooooo long !
 
I have a young chap that has "pushed my buttons" in many ways and as soon as something is resolved there is another issue. Im a great believer in ground work but also my chap suits a quiet yard. When we moved to a larger environment which I thought would help him grow up he became a 2 person job to handle and was incredibly stressed. We have now moved to a small environment and he is a different boy already! He has also been through fencing when upset and agree that diet plays a huge part in their behaviour. I love him to pieces but acknowledge that sometimes it is all hard work and not the fun as wanted. Im still sticking with him and will give him every opportunity to get things right. Good luck!
 
tasel said:
Well, that's the thing... she was fine in the dark up until a few weeks ago. And you can't help but do things in the dark when you have a full-time job, and it's dark by 5pm.

The changing of time didn't help much either as in her mind, I arrive an hour late every day now...
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In that case, why not leave her out 24/7 until she can be broken next year?

You're making a rod for your own back by doing things that she's not ready for. In your shoes with your time limitations then I would be turning her away completely to chill before breaking her next spring because she's obviously not mentally ready for what you're trying to do.
 
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