My trial horse have come into season and is acting out - kicking, biting, shying, shaking her team leader and body.Help?
She is green, but normally a very sweet horse with exceptional ground manners. Since she's be in season she keeps stopping and planting her feet departure the mare pasture and coming back she's constantly pulling and trying to rear up frantic to get final to them. Once there, she calmly walks within and puts her head over the gate to be petted.
Answers: Mares can be real pains when they are within season! You just need to be firm in what you ask, and win her used to the idea that you will take her away from her friends and transport her back after not too long. I would suggest as you are having deeply of trouble that perhaps looking for a horse trainer in your area to come out and see the problem one-sidedly and show you some techniques to help. Maybe a few trips out spaced out to keep you on track. This will brand name sure it is not a behavioral issue. If she rears up or shies, keep the head rope loose and try and walk with her, talking to her contained by a relaxed voice. Ground work will be a fantastic idea. You can start in the flock of mares to keep her happy, leading forward, wager on, turning, all by following your body, not you pulling the rope. Carrying a whip and tapping the put a bet on of her legs to walk or chest to stop rather than pulling the rope will get her used to the belief. Turning on her forhand and haunches by pressing the middle of her stomach/barrel arrea where your leg would go next to your fingers getting harder and harder for the turn on forhand and just behind the shoulder for turn on haunches. Have her giving to pressure. Whilst standing, pull down on the front rope with a light, constant, slightly increasing pressure (but not too heavy) and keep on untill she responds with the slightest downward drop of her head or neck, next an instant release. You should be able to drop her head with the slightest downwards verbs on the lead rope. This may take a few weeks to have watertight. Once she is listening, doing everything you ask, then you can start to take her absent. Just turn her away and take her far enough toa a point basically before she gets upset, and try moving her body (turn on quaters or haunches), dropping her head, etc. later take her back to her friends. Repeat this over a number of days, getting further and further absent. Carrying treats on you can help keep her happy, and are a upright reward for her listening to you, but just a few at the end, not for every single item she does!
Another option is you can give her some natural hormones to give a hand settle all that down. I do not know much personally about that, however my sisters horse and my friends mare hold both been very hormonal and almost precarious and after a consultation with a vet, they gave them (or suggested) hormones just untill they come out of season. You could consult your vet and ask them whether this is a suitable optoin for your mare. If that is all it is (not a completly separate behavioral issue), then it will individual be for a month or 2 a year. If you are riding your mare, or are regularly removing her from the paddock, perhaps over this time she is marish (may even be a few weeks) just give her a break and disappear her be, just handle her in her gorup of friends, and possibly bring a few of them with her when you take her somewhere (aka. farrier, grooming, etc...). I know this is not fixing the issue, but if she is unchecked, it is better than you trying to fix the problem by yourself and injuring yourself.
Your first step should be a vet, they can tell you if it appears to be hormones and put you on the right track or if it is behavioral, and ask them what you should do or who you can consult to about that.
Hope that helps!
