Suddenly very difficult to hack. At my wit's end

[DottlebangBandersnatch]

She is barefoot and always has been. No changes there other than that she is due a trim but farrier is quite happy with her feet and I trust her. She also hasn't been doing a lot of hard work or been on hard ground or anything that might have been concussive damage.

 

[Muddywellies]

Thank you that sounds very interesting. I was under the impression ulcers were very common in breeds like thoroughbreds and horses that we're kept inside with little to no forage. She's out 24/7 and has access to grazing all the time. I'll get some next time I'm in town and see if it makes any difference. Thank you

It's now believed that between 50% and 90% of horses, depending on breed and use, have ulcers. Do do some reading up on it, it's all v interesting. Yours of course may not be suffering with ulcers but (assuming you already fed chaff, sorry) the chaff before exercise is something cheap and easy to try.

 

[DottlebangBandersnatch]

I'd say take her out inhand a few times & see what she does. Then longlines with roller. Then longlines with saddle. See of any of those is an issue. (Might give you an idea as to whether it's certain ground that's the problem, whether there's one or two particular spots she's gotten into habit of napping in, whether there's perhaps an issue with the saddle etc)

Vet, teeth & saddle check probably a good idea if not done recently (if she's been restarted recently she's likely changed shape as you've upped the work so saddle may need adjustment or even a new saddle if changed a lot) but I wouldn't necessarily take a clear vet check as there being no issues depending on their area of interest & how good they are at looking at the whole horse as it were.

It could literally be that either she's gotten to the stage where she's pushing a few boundaries & seeing what she can get away with or of course could be the opposite & she's lacking a bit of confidence for whatever reason.

In hand she is usually fine. When she's acting up sometimes I will get off if I sense she's not giving in or I don't want a fight and she likes walking beside me and trotting beside me. Stays with me no issues there. I'll get her long lines tomorrow. She hadn't ever done it with me but I don't think there will be any issues. She's usually pretty good about that kind of thing. I think she is just testing me but I will get her checked just to make sure

 

[DottlebangBandersnatch]

It's now believed that between 50% and 90% of horses, depending on breed and use, have ulcers. Do do some reading up on it, it's all v interesting. Yours of course may not be suffering with ulcers but (assuming you already fed chaff, sorry) the chaff before exercise is something cheap and easy to try.

I will have to do some research. Things like this fascinate me. Especially considering how common it is. If it's that common she probably is. She's not on chaff atm but I'll try it and see if that helps

 

[DottlebangBandersnatch]

Have just taken her out on the long lines and she was foot perfect. She seemed to really enjoy it too and I wouldn't be surprised if this is what makes going in the arena click for her in that you go round the outside and walk then trot etc. She really didn't know what to do before. She seems much better today but she found some hay and has been in a different paddock so maybe she just needed a change of scenery.

 

[Slightlyconfused]

Have you had her saddle checked? Properly checked? As if she is fine on the ground but different When ridden then i would look at saddle and teeth and vet to have a look when you are leading then when you are riding.

 

[Wishfilly]

My first thought was ulcers as well- they can cause some strange behavioural changes.

If she is fine in hand but not ridden, I would also get the saddle checked. If she is now fitter and in more work, it is very likely she has changed shape, so what fitted before may not fit now. Saddles can move differently in trot and canter, as well, so that might explain why she is happy to canter but not trot.

 

[ihatework]

What is her current management - turnout, feeding, workload - has anything changed?

Does she do any work other than hacking, ie schoolwork, and how is she behaving in that?

A couple of things that can be a little more prevalent late autumn/early winter:
Hormones - shutting down their cycle can make some mares tricky.
Sore feet - wetter ground, softer feet, sometimes a bit thrushy

If she has been newly in work this year you are going to get changing shape and potential saddle fitting issues. Depending on how much work she has been doing she may just need a break.

All things to consider, I’d get a vet MOT, saddle and teeth though first

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

She will be doing a trot up tomorrow and farrier will be having a look. She is happy to trot on the roads and uneven hard ground and showed no signs of pain when doing so in hand but was very offended that I asked from her back. I gave her some taps with the whip but didn't make a difference. Swinging a lead rope around did but she stopped again soon after. Nonetheless she will be properly checked tomorrow and if not I will get the vet out and let her have a rest period. Because she physically can do it and was happy to I'm leaning towards her trying it on but if it's pain she will get whatever she needs!

Have you had your saddle checked lately? You say she is fitter than over the summer so it is likely that she has changed shape which could lead to discomfort when you are in the saddle

 

[DottlebangBandersnatch]

Hi thought I'd give a little update. Thank you to everyone that responded it's given me lots to think about. She's improved enormously over these few weeks and I think it was just a momentary bought of mareness/recent broken testing the rules. Like many of you guessed I don't think her saddle fits her quite right anymore. It's not a bad fit and I doubt she's in any pain but it's probably not ideal so someone will come and have a look at it. She changed saddles with her changing shape over the summer and hopefully I won't need to buy a new one as it's a wintec. She's still testing me but it's more of a stop and look rather than suddenly shutting down. I realised that I probably wasn't giving her enough to think about (she's quite clever and plays up if she's bored or not engaged enough) so I introduced lots of halting and starting and trotting and halting on our hack today and she was much better. Thanks to everyone who contributed and let's hope 2021 treats us slightly better!