Squealing and kicking behaviour

[wickedwilfred]

I have a broodmare who has always demonstrated random squealing and kicking with her hind legs. She has punched holes in the walls of field shelters and stables, kicked field companions for no apparent reason and can be a general liability. She is not a bad tempered mare and these ‘knee-jerk’ reactions seem to appear out of nowhere. I don’t think this is linked to being in season, because she does this even if she is in foal but can be worrrying if she has a foal at foot. I just wondered if anyone out there has experience of this sort of behaviour and how to deal with it. I have tried Calmers and Feedmarik’s Settelex seems to help, but am looking for a more permanent solution.

 

[hopscotch bandit]

I would ask your vet if there is another reason for her behavior, i.e. pain related somewhere.

 

[wickedwilfred]

Yes, the vet has looked at her and can’t find anything, but the trouble is it is so random, he has been unable to see her doing it. There is usually a bit of tail swishing and a little squeal when she takes her first mouthful of feed, but she is just as capable of doing it and punching a hole in the stable wall in the middle of the night. We have her teeth checked regularly.