Mare behavior suggestions?

So I have a 4 year old mare that has always been very spirited. I love this girl like crazy and she has never offered any harmful behavior until this year. This is her first year being around and in with a stallion and ever since spring she has now become very marish and has tried kicking at me several times. I have had to put a halt on her driving training now because she has just become such a pain and she is my first ever mare to act like this. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to manage this?

Unfortunately some Mares can be like this when a stallion is around. I take it you are wanting to breed her to your stallion if they are in together. Is it just when she is in season that she is acting like this or all the time since being introduced to the stallion ?

Keep us posted

It has been all the time since earlier in the spring. Before and after I put the stallion in.

I've seen supplements to add to the mares feed to help with the moodiness but I don't know anyone who has used them so I'm not sure if they actually work or if they would do any good in her case.

I am planning to move her out of his pen in the next week or two and taking her back to the basics of just ground work and respect exercises to see if that helps.

That's what I would do....pull her when you plan to and test the situation....

Give her something else to focus on, like the ground training.......I swear, mares can be just like teenage girls when the boys are around...LOL.

I can't ask my 19 year old daughter to help me with chores until a fellow comes around and then I get a WEEK'S worth from BOTH!

Why would you stop training her when she's being bratty?

She could be cystic. Especially if she's always in heat. My mare was, and she was a nasty little wench until it was treated.

Supplements are not a cover up for lack of training or a medical issue. Sounds to me like she needs a lesson or 2 on respect. She could also plain be herd bound to the stud - which is still cured with some respect lessons.

She doesn't seem to be in heat all the time. I've had a mare that was and from what I can tell she's cycling normally.

I was not thinking that supplements would be a magical cure but I'm just curious if anyone has used them and if they help with calming the moodiness.

I am not stopping her training, just putting it on hold and going back to the basics for a while.

A friend of mine is a high level eventer and she uses one of the calming pastes and she swears by them. I know the paste she uses is in a tube like worming paste comes in.

Not sure whats available where you are , but always read the instructions and if in doubt consult your vet.

Hope you find a way to bring her back to the mare she was before coming into season

I would have her checked over by a body worker. It's possible that she tweaked herself arguing with the stallion and is in pain.

It's not fair to start disciplining her for behavior until you have checked everything physically. Has she had normal cycles in the past? I've had a few mares have some weird cycles when the stallion shows up and it turns out they had some ovary issues. I would seriously have her checked out before you start "giving her lessons".

I have a mare that my family has owned since she was about 8 months old,she's 13 years old now. She was our main driving and show mare for many years. Then for the past 7 years she was a pasture pet and had two babies. I brought her to my house, about 4 hours from our old farm, so I could start driving her again. She was not herself. She was angry, difficult to handle, pinning her ears at me, hard to catch, stomping on my feet and pawing me whenever she could get close enough. She cornered her baby and kicked the crap out of him one evening. I had to intervene and separate them! I could not believe what was going on. Instead of getting upset with her I started to dig into her physical health. It turned out her pelvis was out, her back was out, her poll was out and she had tons of pain in both shoulders. She had what we would call a headache at all times. She was physically miserable. I did some body work on her myself and used essential oils to help her with some hormonal issues that she was having (she has a funky ovary that does not cycle correctly and hasn't for quite a few years). The oils also helped with her physical issues as well. Then I had my body worker come out and she put all the pieces back together. I did some follow up work and now that same mare is sweet, giving me kisses, trotting down the road happy as a clam and meets me at the gate every day eager to go hiking! I never did give her any lessons on manners during that time I was so glad I hadn't as she was in so much pain it would have been most unfair!

Just a little look into a different way to handle a similar situation! Good luck with your girl. She is beautiful!!