Should I scope my mare?

[Isolde]

I have had my mare since March of this year and she has been brilliant however I’ve noticed that she has been very girthy, she has cribbed since I first met her in late 2018 but never used to be girthy. She has not dropped weight or lost her shiny coat however she is more sensitive to my leg and puts her ears back when I ask for a canter transition. This could just be her being mareish? She has been on gut balancer for about a year I think and the only other issues she has had is with her back with her previous owner due to saddles not fitting but I have had her physio out twice in the last 4 months and she has said that her current saddle fits perfectly and there is no tightness in her back, neck or poll and is completely sound. She’s had her teeth done recently as well. She has days where she is completely ride able but then some days is very sensitive and will put ears back and swish her tail into canter which she hasn’t always done. She is living in at the moment as her turnout is tiny and she stresses when turned out in it as it’s so small and boggy. She has constant access to forage and is either ridden or given some time for a leg stretch in the arena. She’s fed on Chaff, horse and pony nuts with glucosamine and gut balancer atm. Her behaviour on the ground has been a lot better since she’s been in but she still fidgets and gets nippy when having her girth done up. (Again she has only done this for a couple months) I might be reading into this behaviour way too much and scaring myself but I just want her to be comfortable.

 

[rextherobber]

Does the change in behaviour coincide with her being stabled all the time? Is she cribbing more now she's in all the time? She isn't getting any chance to be a horse/interact with other horses by the sound of it...She does sound like a candidate for ulcers, I would agree with you there. Have you spoken to your vet yet?

 

[Isolde]

Does the change in behaviour coincide with her being stabled all the time? Is she cribbing more now she's in all the time? She isn't getting any chance to be a horse/interact with other horses by the sound of it...She does sound like a candidate for ulcers, I would agree with you there. Have you spoken to your vet yet?

She’s not cribbing any more than she used to and she is generally more relaxed when stabled as her field is by a driving range and a foot path and so sometimes gets wound up by dogs running near her field or people walking in the distance (she’s abit of a weird one) and stresses majorly when horses are brought in before her. The fidgeting and being girthy started whilst she had turn out pretty much all day every day that hasn’t improved whilst she has been in but she is so much calmer in herself. I am going to contact my vet and see what she says.

 

[ycbm]

If all she is doing is being girthy, then I would try 25ml of aloe vera juice (not drink, pure juice) for a couple of weeks before you call a vet.
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[Pearlsacarolsinger]

If all she is doing is being girthy, then I would try 25ml of aloe vera juice (not drink, pure juice) for a couple of weeks before you call a vet.
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Me, too. I never did have the Draft mare scoped but if we ran out of AVJ, her girthiness/grumpiness returned after 36 hours. There was one time when we were snowed in for about a week and I resorted to giving her AV tablets as that was all I could find in the house.

 

[ycbm]

Me, too. I never did have the Draft mare scoped but if we ran out of AVJ, her girthiness/grumpiness returned after 36 hours. There was one time when we were snowed in for about a week and I resorted to giving her AV tablets as that was all I could find in the house.

Your experience started me on aloe, which is now my goto for any horse with girth or right side leg aid grumpiness. Last week we both, I think, recommended it to someone who is already reporting that the girthiness has gone.

I wonder how many people are paying hundreds, or thousands of pounds for ulcer treatments on horses that would be happy on 25p of aloe a day?

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Your experience started me on aloe, which is now my goto for any horse with girth or right side leg aid grumpiness. Last week we both, I think, recommended it to someone who is already reporting that the girthiness has gone.

I wonder how many people are paying hundreds, or thousands of pounds for ulcer treatments on horses that would be happy on 25p of aloe a day?

I picked up the tip on here (from Slinky Unicorn, I think). I wish I had known about it years ago, the Welsh xTB would have benefitted, I think.

 

[RHM]

If all she is doing is being girthy, then I would try 25ml of aloe vera juice (not drink, pure juice) for a couple of weeks before you call a vet.
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Out of interest which brand do you use? My mare has been a bit girthy since changing onto winter turnout last month.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I bought mine from Holland & Barrett.

 

[ycbm]

Out of interest which brand do you use? My mare has been a bit girthy since changing onto winter turnout last month.

Any of the 5 litre bottles of pure juice sold on ebay.

 

[Isolde]

If all she is doing is being girthy, then I would try 25ml of aloe vera juice (not drink, pure juice) for a couple of weeks before you call a vet.
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Thank you have ordered some to come in a couple days ?