Very Grumpy Horse - buy why??

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I currenlty have a mare at my yard who is very grumpy.

She is fine to be handled and ridden

she would bite humans, horses if they walk past her door so is in the last stable at the end of the yard. She kicks the walls at feed time even though she cant see other horses

you have to be very careful putting her rugs on she will lash out (back straps have been removed from all rugs)

She is just never happy, she is only a young horse too and passed a 5 stage vetting not long ago

Anyone have any idea why?
 
Is she getting enough turn out, plus she needs to be able to see other horses if not touch them. It could be she is feeling very defensive & is trying to protect her territory & herself. I would try giving her as much variety & stuff to do that she can handle, a tired horse is often more content in its self than one not getting enough to do.
 
POLLDARK said:
Is she getting enough turn out, plus she needs to be able to see other horses if not touch them. It could be she is feeling very defensive & is trying to protect her territory & herself. I would try giving her as much variety & stuff to do that she can handle, a tired horse is often more content in its self than one not getting enough to do.
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turned out minimun 9 hours a day, she is in a barn so has horses opposite her?

She is ridden 5/6 times a week too
 
Maybe the move (you said she'd recently passed a vetting) has unsettled her & she needs time to settle to her new surroundings & handlers. Maybe she doesn't like her place in the stable block, that can really affect some horses.
 
is she only grumpy in the stable, can her rugs be put on in the field without her getting upset. we had a horse many years ago in a riding school yard and he was lethal in the stable but as soon as he was in the yard he was ok. he was bought by someone who used to ride him and moved to a small private yard and was absolutely fine and we think he just needed one to one attention and get confident with that person . we wondered if he had been beaten up in a confined space previously before the riding school bought him and was just scared. maybe this horse is a bit frightened and just needs quiet firm handling and if she is ok outside the stable do all necessary handling outside till she feels comfortable. i havent even seen her and hate the thought of her being like this, sounds like she needs lots of time and patience.
 
Could she possibly have gastric ulcers? Does she have ad lib hay/haylage. Some people in an effort to reduce their young horses food intake rob them of essential nutrients by not giving them access to haylage/hay during the day unknowingly. This is so they can look slim and I believe I have heard is common practice on a lot of yards.
 
Some horses are just grumpy and territorial. My old boy could be like that. I presume the mare would be tied up before trying to rug her in the box? I would take mine out of his stable, tie him up and then rug him and never had a problem. I would not have tried it in his box and none of the staff did. In terms of the box in the barn - are the boxes one that allows the horse some privacy or are they bars so that the mare sees all the other horses? We moved my new horse into a box in the courtyard - not as great for me as I much prefer the barn and being under cover in the winter AND my mare is in there. However, he simply could not cope with other horses being "near" him when eating feed and forage. Much much happier horse since being moved. Also you say the mare is at the end of the barn - does this mean she gets fed last? all of the above combined with a new move could well make a horse grumpy.
 
Sounds like a steady reaction in the stable. My bet would be similar to luci in that, if you have stables with bars try covering them to make a more enclosed traditional stable, for her to feel less threatened by others. If you have enclosed stables then I would leave her be and remove her from the stable if you want to do anything.
 
We had one like that at our yard, she was a right erse. She's 12.2 and was bought by the YO because she has an amazing jump.
Ok in the field, fine doing flat work, would dump her rider when jumping. would hang about at the back of the stable then if someone came near she would lunge out at them and bite them! Kicking the door. Also had a nervous twitch when having her girth done up or rug on. Hated her!!
The dentist and back man recently visited the yard and she had teeth and back done... none of us can get over the difference!! She's lovely in the stable now, she comes forward to the door and let you pat her and is just honestly a different pony. Jumping fab again!

Not sure where I'm going with this story tbh... but something to consider.
 
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