Why the unpleasant face?

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Orangehorse

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We went to see a nice pony today, seemed to be good in all things - except when the owner went to mount the pony pulled a face and kicked with a hind leg. Once the rider was in the saddle it was fine.

Ok a mare, so sore due to season? ( I used to have a pony mare who regularly bucked me off when I went to mount when she was in season. I usually managed to get back on a second time).

The saddle not comfortable? (I thought it looked a bit big on the pony, despite being a good make and supplied by fitter)

Girth issues? A very well padded girth.

Did she dig it in the ribs when mounting?

It was a minor blip in otherwise a seemingly good pony, but the more I think about it, the more concerned I am.
 
Maybe a season thing?

If my mare was on the market, I'd have been mortified today. She's got some mad love affair thing happening with another mare in her field (called Missy...of course), and if Missy could have lined up an army of Cybermen to drag Hermosa away from me, she would have totally taken her up on that. But being a horse and not a Time Lord, Missy just stood at the fence and screamed whenever she saw Hermosa. Hermosa was operating on an out-of-sight-out-of-mind basis; so as long as I rode in the half of the arena where there's a building blocking the line-of-sight between the mares' field and the school, she was fine. But if I rode past the building, where she could see her girlfriend (who had about 15 acres and 15 other horses she could hang out with), Missy would start screaming, and Hermosa would totally ignore me, slam on the brakes, and scream back. By next week, Hermosa will be out of season and not bothered, more iinterested in listening to me. But Jesus. I think most of those mares would joyousy hurl themselves at male horses, given half a chance, but in a single sex herd, some of them have deicded that sexuality is a spectrum and they hurl themselves at one another. Hermosa is one; she could be in a mixed sex herd so long as the boys weren't her type, but if they were, she'd be horrible to handle at the height of her heat cycle.

If the owner is chill and not in a hurry to sell the horse to the first person who throws money at them, maybe go see the horse again in a weeks' time. Some mares aren't affected by their seasons at all, some are a bit weird but you can deal, and some get a whole personality transplant, but you can have everything in between.
 
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How did she react when the saddle went on and the girth was tightened? My initial thought is ulcers as a friend of mine has had two horses with ulcers and both presented with girthiness and trouble mounting/applying the first aids but then behaved themselves because they were good girls, even though they were in discomfort. What did the owner say/do when it happened? Did you ask her if it is typical behaviour for the pony?
 
When I bought daughter’s pony, she was grumpy in the stable and wouldn’t stand to be mounted. I wouldn’t have let a child in the stable with her.

I put this down to being in a riding school.

4 years later, she’s fit and healthy, perfectly polite in the stable, she will nibble strangers (if husband holds her she will gently bite him) but with calm consistent handling by one adult she’s fine, she calls when she sees me now and can be handled by my daughter.

Context is key in these situations. It could pain (£££) or it could be discomfort (easily fixable)
 
HopOnTrot said:
When I bought daughter’s pony, she was grumpy in the stable and wouldn’t stand to be mounted. I wouldn’t have let a child in the stable with her.

I put this down to being in a riding school.

4 years later, she’s fit and healthy, perfectly polite in the stable, she will nibble strangers (if husband holds her she will gently bite him) but with calm consistent handling by one adult she’s fine, she calls when she sees me now and can be handled by my daughter.

Context is key in these situations. It could pain (£££) or it could be discomfort (easily fixable)
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When I viewed my Kaltblut I was told that she had to be tied up because she bit. I watched her try to do that.
When I got her home, I made sure that her tack fitted properly and she never threatened to bite again.
 
Caol Ila said:
Maybe a season thing?

If my mare was on the market, I'd have been mortified today. She's got some mad love affair thing happening with another mare in her field (called Missy...of course), and if Missy could have lined up an army of Cybermen to drag Hermosa away from me, she would have totally taken her up on that. But being a horse and not a Time Lord, Missy just stood at the fence and screamed whenever she saw Hermosa. Hermosa was operating on an out-of-sight-out-of-mind basis; so as long as I rode in the half of the arena where there's a building blocking the line-of-sight between the mares' field and the school, she was fine. But if I rode past the building, where she could see her girlfriend (who had about 15 acres and 15 other horses she could hang out with), Missy would start screaming, and Hermosa would totally ignore me, slam on the brakes, and scream back. By next week, Hermosa will be out of season and not bothered, more iinterested in listening to me. But Jesus. I think most of those mares would joyousy hurl themselves at male horses, given half a chance, but in a single sex herd, some of them have deicded that sexuality is a spectrum and they hurl themselves at one another. Hermosa is one; she could be in a mixed sex herd so long as the boys weren't her type, but if they were, she'd be horrible to handle at the height of her heat cycle.

If the owner is chill and not in a hurry to sell the horse to the first person who throws money at them, maybe go see the horse again in a weeks' time. Some mares aren't affected by their seasons at all, some are a bit weird but you can deal, and some get a whole personality transplant, but you can have everything in between.
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My retired mare had a love / hate relationship with friend’s mare.
My 2 occasionally went to theirs for holidays. They would start out trying to double barrel each other, then after a week or 2 would be romantically piddling at each other
 
Orangehorse said:
We went to see a nice pony today, seemed to be good in all things - except when the owner went to mount the pony pulled a face and kicked with a hind leg. Once the rider was in the saddle it was fine.

Ok a mare, so sore due to season? ( I used to have a pony mare who regularly bucked me off when I went to mount when she was in season. I usually managed to get back on a second time).

The saddle not comfortable? (I thought it looked a bit big on the pony, despite being a good make and supplied by fitter)

Girth issues? A very well padded girth.

Did she dig it in the ribs when mounting?

It was a minor blip in otherwise a seemingly good pony, but the more I think about it, the more concerned I am.
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Very difficult to say without further investigations.

When I first got current ridden horse home he was very resistant when schooling (though ok hacking) and I thought I’d made a mistake buying him. Turned out to be saddle fit / sore muscle etc issues (it was his old saddle which came with him) and took 6 months to sort out , however I’d have missed out on a super horse if I hadn’t bought him.

I guess I’m saying it depends on how much you like the pony and how far you want to investigate - a vetting might not mention if the back muscles are sore (well my pre-purchase vetting of my horse didn’t pick up on it) and you’d have to X-ray to rule out KS
 
Reacher said:
I guess I’m saying it depends on how much you like the pony and how far you want to investigate - a vetting might not mention if the back muscles are sore (well my pre-purchase vetting of my horse didn’t pick up on it) and you’d have to X-ray to rule out KS
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If I was getting my own vet out to do the vetting I could mention the behaviour and ask her to pay extra attention to the back for some extra assurance, but maybe not all of them would.

If it were my pony kicking out when mounted I wouldn't consider it a minor blip, that's a pretty big shout that something hurts. Likelihood is saddle fit obviously but I would also be concerned. Even if it IS just because she is in season that is a big reaction and you'd want that investigated also in case she had fibroids or something else that could put her out of action every few weeks in the summer.
 
My mare who is regularly seen by physio/chiro/voodoo doctor etc and has her saddle checked also will ALWAYs pin her ears and pull a face when ANYTHING is put on her back.
Saddle, saddle pad, rug, my jacket, a plastic bag literally anything! She never has an issue being girthed up/mounted etc just pulls a face 🤣
 
This is a native pony, so I hope wouldn't have ulcers. However, it is something we would ask the vet, and we would have it vetted (phew, even little ponies are £1,000s).

The DC had also noticed this, but otherwise it has been good at Pony Club.

I did feel its back when the saddle was taken off, with no reaction, and we are going to have a second look, as everyone is off on holiday for a bit.

But it is a bit unusual.
 
Previous saddle issues?
I had an issue with saddle fit last year and the horse became hard to mountand reluctant to go forward. Different saddle and is fine now. Normally stands to mount fine now but occasionally can be a little agitated then relaxes once on.
 
My mare only shows this behaviour with people she isn't overly keen on. More so when she is in season. She is an angel for me and my nieces boyfriend (she loves her Stewart lol)
 
I took on my littlest mare in the first lockdown - straight from the field after weaning her yearling (stressfully). She was vile to tack up.

Firstly I'm pretty sure the separation from her filly had given her ulcers. She field walked for 2 weeks and it was awful to watch.

Secondly there was no way the saddle would have fitted pre pregnancy and it certainly didnt fit when I tried it on so I think she had very poor associations with being tacked up

Just doing bodywork over the past few years I've been a bit horrified at how many ponies show very, very obvious signs of poor saddle fit (literally feel lumpy tissue) but are expected to crack on.
 
The only time my mare is a bit girthy and grumpy about being tacked up is when she’s in season. We have 2 days each season where I give her time off or do groundwork because she’s obviously not happy being ridden, then we do light work for a few days before getting back at it. She would work through it but as we don’t compete and aren’t aiming for anything I don’t see then need. I would do as you are and view again, see what happens the next time.
 
Yes, as above.

The saddle seemed to be too far forward, yet it was a good make and one that is supplied by a saddle fitter. I wondered if it is the common pony problem of the forward girth groove.

Lots to think about.
 
Orangehorse said:
Yes, as above.

The saddle seemed to be too far forward, yet it was a good make and one that is supplied by a saddle fitter. I wondered if it is the common pony problem of the forward girth groove.

Lots to think about.
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Absolutely it's common, but for all sorts of reasons. Pony shapes, especially if carrying a bit of weight, means there are multiple factors in their conformation that make forward slip more likely, then add in poor posture/compensatory movement patterns, unstable riders and riders' struggles to put the saddle in the correct location, and it's a recipe for disaster.
 
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