| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Susie T |
Posted - 02 Feb 2012 : 6:32:01 PM
My mare has been getting progressively grumpier, particularly with other horses when we are out on a hack. She really snarls and spins and, although she has not made contact with anyone yet, I am worried that she might.  It's like she wants to take a massive bite out of them. Knowing how I feel when I have my period, it seems like it may be hormonal although it does sseem to be pretty permanent and not just when she is in season. (Back, teeth and saddle have all been checked). She also managed to buck me off yesterday when she got irate because another horse got a bit near (I am nursing a very bruised coccyx!...). She puts her ears back in the stable, especially if people she doesn't know come in her space, but she has never bitten or kicked, and will accept kisses off me when she is in the mood!
It was suggested to me by my YO that I try Regumate, but looking at past threads I know some people have tried Oestress. I understand that Regumate is very expensive (could anyone tell me how much?) so I am wondering about trying her on Oestress first, but someone said their mare went cold turkey when they tried to wean her off it ...
Any experiences / advice you could offer would be great  . Thanks for reading x |
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Susie T |
Posted - 06 Feb 2012 : 11:12:19 AM
I have decided to give Oestress a go as it seems like quite a gentle intervention, and she isn't really horrendous (yet!) so I will let you know how we get on  My friend and I both thought she seemed more chilled yesterday, but since she had only been on the Oestress for 2 days I think it was probably just a bit of wishful thinking! |
| jasjmm |
Posted - 05 Feb 2012 : 09:32:52 AM
Have you tried anything like Hilton Herbs Placid? I appreciate this is not addressing any main problem but if her behavior has become habitual and she works herself into a fizz, this could take the edge off generally. I'm not suggesting it's used to cover up problems, just that the anticipation of routines/confrontations with other horses/whatever is stressing her, can become a vicious circle and this could help break the cycle. A friend of mine takes in a lot of gypsy cob ponies and rescues and has had fab results with the Placid. Good luck, it's a difficult situation to be dealing with x |
| joanna_piana |
Posted - 04 Feb 2012 : 11:25:10 AM
I use Oestress with Ishara and it works great for us. She is a bit of a grump but doesn't mean it. She gets on well with other horses in the field but when i'm on her back she will snarl and get stroppy even with her boyfriend. She tends to settle after we've been out for a while but the first ten minutes she can be positively evil! I take her off the Oestress over the winter though as she is chilled at this time of year and they need to come off it for it to work. It does sound like your girl is still a bit unsettled at her new yard they are such sensitive souls these mares! |
| Susie T |
Posted - 03 Feb 2012 : 5:57:02 PM
Thanks Callisto - that's really interesting. You could make a disney film about their antics! I wish they could talk and tell us what they felt ..
Hi Bernie! Lovely to hear from you again and glad to hear you are still going strong with Ellie. We were both looking for quiet mares weren't we, and originally I thought I had found one. She was such a star. She has always been separated from other horses in a field since I got her so maybe she has forgotten how to interact.. She absolutely loves it when I scritch her on her withers where another horse would normally do it. At the old place she was in a building on her own, at the new place she is in the end stable of a barn of 6 stables. It is a really interesting suggestion ...
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| bernie |
Posted - 03 Feb 2012 : 5:43:12 PM
Hi susie, my mare Ellie was exactly the same last winter; grumpy with other horses. ears back though never biting in the stable and generally being a bit of a pain around the others so you had to keep your distance on hacks or in the school. I did try oestress and i am not sure that it made any difference. In her case I think the problem was that she was in a lot, and turned out only with one other mare. The solution for her has been to live out in a herd for 3 or 4 days a week, coming in for a long weekend with lots of riding. I think she had forgotten how to relate properly to other horses: since being out she is so much more chilled around them and I no longer worry about her interactions. She will still put her ears back at a gelding, particularly a macho one if they pass her too close, but that is the extent of it and I have no worry that she will follow through: she just likes her personal space. I didn't bother with the supplement again as it seems that she just needed a bit more time to remember her social skills.
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| Callisto |
Posted - 03 Feb 2012 : 12:34:29 PM
It is possible that she is unhappy in the new bigger yard. When I had Buzz at livery in a large very smart yard in Scotland, with all facilities, and I took him out for a hack he never wanted to go home - kept trying to go in other directions. He was 5 and very nosey generally, so I put this down to him just wanting to explore. Only when I got him back home to Sussex that he stopped doing it and I realised that he just didn't like the yard. He is still nosey, but no problem with going home.
When we were teenagers we managed to rent grazing much closer to home than our previous field. After 3 weeks we got a phone call from the neighbour at the old field saying the gate was open but it was ok the ponies were still inside. Our resident Houdini had got the gate open (he had a particular talent for locks and catches) and the three of them had taken themselves 3 miles across town (including over the golf course), and put themselves where they wanted to be, so we moved back there.
If she is 'happier' then why is she grumpy and putting her ears back? It is sometimes very easy to misinterpret what they are trying to tell us. |
| Susie T |
Posted - 03 Feb 2012 : 10:48:13 AM
Thanks for your replies (including the reptile-related ones ) Not sure what to do really - has anyone other suggestions what could be causing the behaviour, other than hormones?
I used to keep her on a farm with just 2 or 3 other horses and, although a little grumpy, she was absolutely fine. Never had any problems with bad behaviour and could hack out alone and through fields no problem. About 9 months ago I moved her to a large livery yard (17 horses) and she is now cared for by me and 2 other girls, on different days. She definitely seems to have changed to me - much more highly strung. I had problems with a badly-fitting made-to-measure (!) saddle which had caused her some pain / discomfort, but this has been sorted now (hopefully..)
It has been suggested to me that she is just fitter and happier now - so a bit "full of it", but I would rather have my "donkey" back...  |
| Pop |
Posted - 03 Feb 2012 : 09:18:49 AM
I used the marble once for a mare who became far too friendly when in season. If touched from the shoulder backwards, she would squirt and pin you against the nearest solid object. It made life difficult and somewhat dangerous. It worked, and once inserted was not a problem at all, after she did eject it once. But it was all amazingly easy, cheap and convenient. |
| zaminda1 |
Posted - 03 Feb 2012 : 04:23:55 AM
My friend had major problems with her mare, detroying stables with rubbing on them and that sort of thing. Oestress didn't touch her horse, but I have known it work well, Regumate did though. The vet also discussed using a marble inserted into the mare, but I don't think she persued this
Sally |
| Vik1 |
Posted - 02 Feb 2012 : 10:44:00 PM
It might of been one of my threads you read.
Last time I bought regumate for my mare I think (was a while ago now, so racking the brain) it was about £45 for a 7 day dose (or was it 10 days) . Anyhoo, great fro those 7 (10) days and then hellish straight after it. Her season was a full throttle one...nightmare! So due to its cost and the season, never again.
Oestress I found did make a difference. She seemed to be just that bit calmer. Ive not put her on it this year. Im trying the keeping her with Storm strategy to see if that works. Not that hel be chuffed with this  . Its not grumpiness I have a prob with, its liking the boys too much and getting very attached to a 'chosen' one so much so, it can cause issues with handling. So Im not sure how much affect it would have on your mare.
I never knew anything about the child bearing age thing?! Was told to wear gloves tho. |
| kim gasper |
Posted - 02 Feb 2012 : 8:23:53 PM
Hi Susie T, I have used Regumate on Kazzie in the past with no issues what so ever (but I am past child bearing age LOL!) My vet was VERY helpfull when I approached him about using it, not least 'cause he told me he to use PORCINE Regumate....does exactly the same job, is as safe for horses as it is for pigs, but considerably cheaper. I havent bought it for over a year now, but I think when I did last buy it, it was around £70 inc. VAT. Hope I've helped you with your dilemma, a little bit! Regards, Kim x |
| Pop |
Posted - 02 Feb 2012 : 8:21:14 PM
I take Regumate, I find it keep my hormones on a more even keel :) |
| complete novice |
Posted - 02 Feb 2012 : 8:17:51 PM
Originally posted by Pashon2001
Its fine to use if you wear gloves. But it is very expensive, around £100 a bottle.
I have two 8ft boas, my female can be aggressive too, but is fine with me. Also have a Rainbow boa, two Bearded Dragons, 3 Pygmy Chameleons, Poison Dart frogs, tree frogs, toads and anoles lol! Thats not including the birds, dogs, horses and pig lol!
Sory to briefly hijack
Didn't get any further down the thread  especially the rainbow boa please. |
| Meggie-Lu |
Posted - 02 Feb 2012 : 7:53:41 PM
Donna sounds like my shop.
We are housing currently:
4 Bearded Dragons
Eastern ribbon snake
8 corn snakes
Common boa
Rabbit
Guinea- Pigs
Gerbils
Zebra finch
Two love birds
8 Budgies
Salmon pink spider
Red knee
White knee
Carco gold knee
Chile rose
Curly haired
Mexican red knee
Some blonde spider, desert blonde i believe.
Yemen chameleons
Desert spiny lizard
Long tailed lizards
Green Basilisks (Mental!)
And like 50 tanks containing fish!
I think that's it, unless my boss has got something else while i have been on holiday this week!
But on the original thread topic i have noticed changes depending on what mood im in, granted mainly with the reptiles. |
| Suelin |
Posted - 02 Feb 2012 : 7:43:11 PM
Blimey Donna!! That is a lot of people to feed and do for!! I thought we were bad enough. |
| Meggie-Lu |
Posted - 02 Feb 2012 : 7:26:13 PM
Well my boss has kept snakes he has a vast collection at home and he say's it's a common thing within reptiles especially with female snakes very strange. My college coursework says that hormones within humans and animals they obviously emit different smells (No duh!)Within mammals these smells can vary depending on the times of year, and weather they are surrounded by in this case of my 6foot Boa. When i am on my "time of the month" her sents tell me that i am past my breeding point so i will not be containing eggs, and i pose no threat to her. But when i am not she can still be ok with me but she needs to be slightly more on her guard in case i come into contact with a male. Fair enough makes sense.
So in horsey terms from what i can gather from my college writing that your mare could be like this for the following reasons:
*She see's the younger gelding as a threat to her breeding male (weather or not she has one)
*The gelding (often if they have been newly gelded) still has the sent of a stallion about him, making her feel uncomfortable within herself.
*She made be smelling herself, making her react in strange behaviors then winding herself up even more.
*Hormone imbalance within the mare.
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| Pashon2001 |
Posted - 02 Feb 2012 : 7:05:53 PM
Its fine to use if you wear gloves. But it is very expensive, around £100 a bottle.
I have two 8ft boas, my female can be aggressive too, but is fine with me. Also have a Rainbow boa, two Bearded Dragons, 3 Pygmy Chameleons, Poison Dart frogs, tree frogs, toads and anoles lol! Thats not including the birds, dogs, horses and pig lol! |
| Susie T |
Posted - 02 Feb 2012 : 6:58:17 PM
I barely quaify as "child-bearing age" MinHe (wrong side of 45 ..) but thanks for thinking I might be!
That's interesting Meggie-Lu - my mare seems to hate females and males when she is in one of her moods, although she saves her biggest snarls for a 4yr old cob gelding! You are very brave working with Boas - don't think I would fancy it! |
| Meggie-Lu |
Posted - 02 Feb 2012 : 6:48:18 PM
This sounds like a hormone related thing, not horsey i no but i work with reptiles and we have a 6foot common Boa in the shop, a female, she hates the other two people i work with (two men one 19 and one 30) and i mean hates! She strikes at them when they walk past, she even grabbed hold of my mangers hand when he went to change her water.
However i can get her out hold her no problems, she is an angel. My manger seems to think that it's hormone related and when i am having my "girl time" as i do each month all she wants to do is be with me, i could walk round with her everyday.
I will have a look at my college coursework im sure i wrote about this kind of thing.
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| MinHe |
Posted - 02 Feb 2012 : 6:45:54 PM
Regumate should not be handled by a female of child-hearing age, because of issues. So Oestress may be a better bet.
Keren |
