Okay this is kinda wierd...?

Question

okay i have a 10 y.o mare that usually does EXCELLENT when riding but in the past week its like shes lost her mind!!! when we trail ride on backroads, she zigzags all over the road and has her head set WAY up in the air(something she never use to do, shes trained to be a show horse and was trained to ride with her head down) and if we go past a rode or even something that looks similar to a trail, she feels the need to go down it. shes also been stopping at every gate to every pasture we go past, like shes gonna be let in or something. we dont even unsaddle at our gate!!!! why is she doing this!!!?? the other day we were trotting in a grassy clearing and she started side stepping! for no reason! what has brought on her strange behavior? how can i correct it? ive had her for years and shes never EVER done anything like it.

Answer 1

Assuming you've ruled out all of the issues other writers have brought up, I did hear of a mare who's behaviour changed suddenly for the worse, and subsequently a tumor was found on one of her ovaries.  So it was hormone disruption that caused the behaviour change.  The tumor was removed  and the mare's behaviour returned to normal.  It's worth checking out, since is sounds like the behaviour change is pretty drastic and intolerable, and you've checked out every other option.   Good luck.  Can you let us know if you do find a tumor?

Answer 2

Is she at pasture?  Did she ingest something toxic- Loco Weed for example?  Sounds neurological- should contact vet.

Answer 3

Um.......

Answer 4

you should talk to the vet

Answer 5

Her behavior sounds like barn or buddie sour.  Every gate or path, to her, could be the way home.  If she's never been barn sour, then does she have a new "love" left behind at the barn?

the side stepping in the grassy clearing means she feels free there and might get the opportunity to dump you and run back home.  first figure out if that is the problem...can't find a solution until you define the problem.

Answer 6

Any sudden change of behaviour is worrysome and I sugest you review everything you've done with your mare over that past month. Have there been ANY changes at all recently? Horses are mysterious animals and something that seems tiny and insignifican to us can be a huge personality alerting change for them.

After you make your list you'll realize one of two things

a) Nothings changed and you need the help of a vet

B) (Insert thing here) has changed and we need to go back to what we were doing before/ need to get a vet to check out why she did this.

In the meantime whenver your horse misbehaves just pust her past whatever she is stopping at/pulling you towards.

Hope I could help!

EDIT: How long have yo had the mare for? If you've just purchased her she could be in heat. If you've had her for a a few months to a year or more however I would rule her being in heat out as she would have experienced before while you owned her.

Answer 7

Whenever a bout of odd, atypical behaviour occurs, check for health issues.

In my part of the country, Lyme disease is plentiful, and when one of the horses around here suddenly starts acting crabby, we often have the vet draw blood and run a Lyme titre (test).  Most times, we find the level is high and medication resolves everything (my friend is going through this right now; she couldn't figure out why her mare was being so awful lately and it turned out her Lyme titre was 5,000 - very high).

With mares, being in heat can also cause odd behaviors.

Answer 8

You might want to have her eyes checked out. Just a suggestion. Is it time for her to be in heat? That can cause odd behavior as well.

Answer 9

she might be in pain, take her to the vet

Answer 10

I had a mare that did the same thing she would try to stop at any gate and started throwing her head and side steping an doing stuff that wasn't normal for her so i had her teeth checked and they were BAD she had sharp teeth in the back that were cutting her cheeck and her tounge and also had wolf teeth where her bit was hitting them so this was causing her pain after the vet did her teeth and she was ready to go back to riding it takes about 4 days she was great she staped every thing she was doing wrong and went back to rideing great you should have your mares teeth checked if you have owned her for years and never had her teeth floated when i took my mare it only costed 150 dollars not that expensive to cure the bad behavior

Answer 11

If you mainly do arena work and show a lot, she might just need a break. I've dealt with a horse that had been lunged and ridden in circles so much when we let him out to pasture he would walk, trot, or canter in a circle. We fixed the problem by giving him a month off to be a horse and the only handling he got was grooming when he got muddy and to be let in to eat. If that doesn't work trail ride a lot, make her keep her head down and walk by as many roads and gates as you can not letting her stop. If you can't get her head down use side reins. She might fight it for a little while, but she'll give eventually.

Answer 12

Is she also acting different in the pasture, stall, and only doing this while you ride?  How about bareback how is she being?

Answer 13

i dont know a lot about houses but my uncles horse was doing the same thing (i know because i was on her!!) and he said it was because his neighbors just got a new horse and the new boy horse liked her and she always wanted to be with him. the whole time i was riding her she did most of the things you said trying to look for the boy horse. is there a horse some where that she wants to go see? could she be in heat?

Answer 14

what's  a mare

Answer 15

She might be in heat and is looking for a mate

Answer 16

did you change saddle, bit? does some else ride her? also if shes throwing her head way up it means something is bothering her with the saddle or bit, we use to have a problem like this because I switched my snaffle for a hackamore and my horse went nutters and threw her head up and ran like the wind, also the zig zagging I have never ever really heard of could be something on her hoove is bothering her or could be she is not getting enough head commands and is making her own up. I would say correct this by getting the leads that hook to her halter/reins and then hooks to the saddle to train her to keep her head down again, might also help with the zig zagging. Also the gate thing is because she has had enough riding she is thinking and wants to go into the pasture thats why she keeps doing this, kick her or gently tap her with the whip and tell her to walk on anytime she comes to a gate also when you see a gate coming up ahead get her into a trot or a faster gait to get her away from it as quickly as possible and to keep her moving on. hope I helped.

Being in heat doesnt always cause odd behavior and it would be towards the end of her cycle she would be looking for a mate not the begginning, its like how dogs are also they female wont let them breed with them until they think it is the right time. Horses do the same.

Answer 17

There is a very good chance that she is acting that way because she is in heat.  Mares often get in heat during the summer months.  You may want to have her checked out at the vet if the behavior continues.  It's probably not serious but it's better to be safe than sorry.  For  the stopping at the gate, it may be because she is getting bored of being ridden and wants to go relax and eat some grass!  Horses will sometimes do things like that when they think they are done.  Do not allow this.  You have to show her that you're in charge and not her.  If she starts doing that, give her 3 chances.  Bump her forward first, then kick harder, then give her a good kick if she is acting like a ding bat.  If you have spurs on, however, don't do this because it's not good to jab a horse with spurs!  That may not be the reason why she is stopping at the gate, but it could be.  Remember to be patient with her, though...especially if she is young!  Always listen to what your horse is trying to tell you.  They never lie!

Answer 18

I had a gelding who acted similar to that (sudden onset of barn sour/change in riding habits/sudden nervousness). It was due to a molar that had chipped and was causing pain. If the abnormal behaviour isn't caused by being in heat (which would be the obvious answer to me, and said previously by other posters), you may want to invest in getting her teeth checked/floated.