Any suggestions with my mare!!!!!!!!!

[minijoyj]

She has a fit when I go to cut her bridle path. I cannot do it, even with help, she rares up. You can't give her a shot either without putting her behind a door & holding her. I need to give her shot in Aug. she is due Sept. 16th. I have even tried talking to her. LOL doesn't work. I call her my little Witch. Suggestions would be apprieciated.

thanks,

Joy

 

[JMS Miniatures]

Try twitching her to get what you need done. However it sounds like this is a more emotional problem or training problem with this mare. Does she have a fit with other things?

 

[lilhorseladie]

Maybe a skin twitch with your fingers? In the neck or nose area?

 

[minijoyj]

you can do her feet with no problems at all. You can comb her mane, but not her tail. That's how I ended up with her, she knock the other girl down by kicking her & then bit her. NOT WITH ME SHE DOESN'T DO ANY OF THAT. That part I can control, but not her raring up. After she has a baby she is a rip to.

 

[hhpminis]

Snub her up real tight to a wall when you tie her. She will not have room to rear and no where to go. If you can twitch her that will help but try getting her tied real tight too.

 

[Miniv]

Check her ears first. Make sure there is no physical reason for her to be so sensitive.

Once you establish that, start desensitizing her from her neck UP. It's going to be a slow process and require patience.

MA

 

[hhpminis]

I meant to put in my post that as far as the bridal path goes, yes take it slow and try to desensitize her like MiniV said but what I was mainly referring to was to get the shot in her that you need, you may have to snub her tight.

 

[Marty]

I think you should call in a professional horse trainer for some basic lessons in ground work handeling. Somebody's doing something very very wrong here and no need to get into any more trouble at this point. Call around in your area, check the LB pages at Breeder's Connect and see if there is anyone close enough to you for some lessons. Sometimes it only takes a couple of really good lessons from a REPUTABLE person to get you over this hump. This will be money well spent, in lew of hospital bills. I hate it when people cannot enjoy their horses like they should be able to. I really hate it even more when people get hurt so please get some help on the way.

 

[minimule]

For giving shots (in the rear) my vet showed us to lift up on the tail. Not a lot but enough to take the weight off their back feet. It usually takes 2 people. We usually tie the head, hubby lifts the tail a little and I give the shot. We only do this on the ones that don't like the shots.

 

[wwminis]

[SIZE=14pt]First, Tie this mare tight to a wall as low as you can tie her! Then place a dark towel over her head and let her just stand for a few minutes while you talk to her calmly!

Now get you a straw broom and lay the broom straw end on her back and start rubbing it back and forth! Now work your way slowly down her rump![/SIZE]

She's going to kick a few times at first but she will settle down! Meanwhile keep talking to her calmly! Now do the same thing from her neck to her belly and down her back legs! After a few minutes she will start to relax and begin to enjoy you rubbing the broom over her body! After the first couple of times take the towel off her head and let her see what you are doing! Do this 2 to 3 times a day for a week and you will be able to do anything you want with her! I have desensitized many mnay horses with a broom!

Bill

 

[JMS Miniatures]

Sounds like the person you got her from let the mare get away with alot of things! I agree with Marty find yourself a trainer in your area!

 

[wcr]

When giving shots try scratching about an inch away from where you are going to give it. Horses can't tell the difference and often won't feel the needle going in as they are focused on the scratching.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Please do as the gentle suggestions on here so far tell you. Please DO NOT snub her or tie her head down, a kicking angry mare is better than a dead one!! If she goes as nuts as you say she will go BANANAS if she cannot get her head up- it is instinctive. Could you get Bonnie to talk to her?? She is very good, and you would find out why she is like it too.

 

[midnight star stables]

Hey, I say try Bonnie, she can really help! you can tie her head low & use a twich, that should work... but Please try Bonnie!!!

 

[minijoyj]

She will let me comb her mane & put rubber bands in it, but when the scissors start to cut is when she gets upset. I can pretty well touch her anywhere except the boobs & she is touchy with that. I can take my finger & poke her on the neck or butt & that doesn't bother her, it is the needle & I poke pretty hard. The other girl that had her did not keep her very long, so I don't know what kind of life she had. I have her daughter to & no problem with her. Thanks guys for the advice.

Joy

 

[justaboutgeese]

Twitch. No need to go any further. In time you may be able to dispense with it once she realizes the sky is not falling every time she hears the clippers buzz. We had one young stallion who put up a hissy fit every time the fly spray bottle came out. we twitched him for three days then just held the twitch for three or four more then he stood like a statue from then on. I would twitch her and clip then repeat it every day for a week or two and you will find the problem is most apt to be gone.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

That is correct in that it is much better to do these things when you do not actually need to do them. I am not against using a twitch if it is necessary but I am totally against tying the head down- I have seen the result!! I am also against using force of any kind when I do not understand why the horse is behaving as it is. Better to pay for Bonnie's services than end up with a huge Vets bill, surely??

 

[DunPainted]

Please, please contact Bonnie to find out how this horse prefers to be handled. Based on my experiences with Bonnie and horses with a "past", one good talk and problems resolve themselves immediately. If the mare knows you care enough to talk to her, she'll respond favorably and in short order. Snubbing and trickery will only make the problem worse....then the poor thing will find herself in another home. Our "problem" horses have turned out to be the best since Bonnie communicated with them.

 

[MeadowRidge Farm]

CIndy, I just read your post and was wondering ,....did you have Wild Card read?? What did she have to say about him? Corinne

 

[Minimor]

Are you trying to clip with scissors, or with clippers? Or have you tried both and she acts the same with either one? You might think that the horse will behave better with scissors than clippers, but that's not always the case so if you haven't tried the clippers, you should try it once. We've got a gelding here that is an absolute pig if you try to trim his bridle path with scissors--but when I use the clippers, he pretty much goes to sleep! (Perhaps he thinks that with scissors I'm going to cut off an ear??)

I agree with Rabbitsfizz--do NOT tie this mare with her head down low. The horse can't rear in this position, but she will still try, and a horse can get very badly hurt by fighting this way. As long as she ties, I wouldn't have a problem snubbing her up--but only with the rope high up. The one gelding (same one that hates scissors) can sometimes put up a tussle over getting a shot, so we have snubbed him up--he'll fuss around & try to squeeze me against the wall, but I get the shot into him anyway. When we snub a horse up, we don't tie him solid--I just take a double wrap around a stout post, then Mom holds the end of it while I give the shot to the horse. If he were to really start fighting (which he never does--he know when we've "got" him) she could give the rope a flip to loosen it on the post & then let go of it, & he'd be free in an instant.