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Discussion on Irritable mare | |
Author | Message |
New Member: Koko |
Posted on Sunday, Jul 4, 2004 - 10:04 am: I own a 5yo welsh/TB mare that has been in training for almost 2 years. She has always been sensitive and it is best to let her figure things out on her own, and not push her. You can not "make" this mare do anything she doesn,t want to do. As a 4yo she started showing signs of crabbiness with her heat, and kicking out when asking for the canter, so we tried implants last year and this year we put her on Evitek, a natural hormonal substance. She improved quite a bit and the kicking out stopped, but some crabby behavior persisted with her ears flat back and her head in the air . She is a lovely mover and loves to jump, always being very forward and always calm and happy at shows, so when she started refusing jumps (something she never did) and looking really unhappy in the ring I knew something was wrong. She just had her teeth done in the Spring and was treated for Lyme even though her titre was very low. I bought her a new saddle fitted just for her, she had massage and went to a chiropractic vet who found her to be "out" in the sacrum and withers. We did exactly as he said, gave her a few days off and didn't jump her for a week. The next time she had a massage, the girl said she was so much better and should go great and she was doing pretty good at home, so we took her to a small show to try her out. In 4 flat classes she picked up the wrong lead......something she never does. Her ears were flat back at the canter and her tail was swishing. Clearly an unhappy pony, so we took her home.Now I am desperate to understand what is going on and would appreciate any advice or thoughts from you Dr O or anyone else. Kathy |
Member: Kthorse |
Posted on Sunday, Jul 4, 2004 - 12:32 pm: Did she start this after her new saddle? I know you said it was fitted for her , but unfortunatly some saddle fitters put or want a too wide gullet in. This will cause the behaviour you are describing in my horse. Unfortunatly something is causing her pain. I do hope you find out what the cause is. Good luck. Go back to when she was good. What did you do differently? That is just one way to rule out problems. If thats not it, get the vet out for a good exam. hopefully they can find out whats wrong. I am not a great one for alternative stuff, not that it wont work, I just dont think its for me or my horse.Again good luck. |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Tuesday, Jul 6, 2004 - 6:50 am: Hell Kathleen,Unfortunately all we know is that you have a horse that is sour under saddle and your post does not contain the information we need to know why. Consider these 2 possibilities that I can come up with: 1) The horse is responding to pain 2) The horse is responding to training The horse's health and soundness should be evaluated by a very experienced equine medical specialist. I would initially avoid chiropracters and other alternative practitioners as their practices are not based on good science. If a medical cause cannot be found after a really good look, you need to find a very experienced trainer who likes working with problem horses and see if someone can find the key to getting this horses happy with his work. DrO |
Member: Koko |
Posted on Tuesday, Jul 6, 2004 - 10:48 am: Thanks for the response Dr O and Katrina. I have discussed this with a repro specialist and she has refered me to a performance medical specialist with a high interest in Lyme disease. This pony has been treated for Lyme in the past with Tetracycline with no change in her behavior. The repro doc tells me that is not the drug of choice and may not be effective for Lyme. I will talk to the new vet and get her in to see him soon.Kathy |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Wednesday, Jul 7, 2004 - 6:49 am: Run a search on Lyme disease on this site we have had several discussions on this.DrO |