[RC] sudden behavior change in horse - Marlene Moss
I have 2 horses boarded at our place for training to fix
some behavioral problems that suddenly appeared. Both are 3 year old mares,
one AQHA but looks thoroughbred, the other a solid paint. They have no
relationship to each other and different owners, but both were shown in halter
and longeline classes when younger. Both owners think their behavior is related
to coming into heat, but neither had a vet look at the horses.
One was sent to a trainer who gave up on her and sent her to
the auction and eventually she ended up at our place so we could help the new
owners sell her. The other owner is so afraid the horse will hurt a neighbor
kid that she had the mare tied to the fence when I picked her up.
Basically, both mares will bite and kick at times, but are
otherwise a couple of the sweetest mares I’ve ever worked with. The
quarter horse has no aim, and you can tell she is frustrated but just doesn’t
know what else to do. I am able to work with her just by talking to her
pleasantly or holding something out for her to sniff. She’s very curious.
The paint has deadly aim and force so we are being very careful with her
because we just don’t know what sets her off yet.
Both are very pleasant and willing once they are haltered.
The AQHA mare is lovely to ride and I’ve taken her out on the trail a few
times and think she has trail or endurance potential. The other mare isn’t
saddle trained yet.
Has anyone dealt with behavior like this? With both horses
it just started overnight and the original owners both had other horses with no
problems. I really thing there is something physical, probably with their
reproductive systems that is going on. The paint will sometimes turn her head
away and look back to avoid biting or else looking where she is in pain. I
have a vet coming out Tuesday for one of the boarders and I’d like to
talk to him about these two to see what options we might have to figure things
out for them. I have heard of horses that had a marble inserted to help with
uncomfortable heat cycles – any experience with this? What symptoms does
it help? How well does it work? Is there hormone therapy for horses? Blood
tests that might give us a clue? Expensive or cheap? What kind of diagnostics
can be done that don’t cost a fortune or require a major clinic?
Sorry not totally distance riding related, but I guess any
horse could have problems like this that need to be diagnosed and dealt with.
The owner of the paint has accepted that she may need to put this mare down if
she can’t be fixed, but I (and the trainer) think it is physical and that
the source needs to be treated before the horse can be trained or a difficult
decision made.
