Question about an older mare (12)?

[Ladyann]

We have a Tennessee Walker Mare, she is 12 years old and we believe she has been a brood mare at some point. We have had her for about three weeks and she is in with four other horses, two geldings and two mares. Right after we got her she came into heat and was very nasty the whole time. She seems to have settled down some but she gets into altercations with the two geldings all the time, they kick and bite each other...when this happens she urinates all over her hind quarters. We bathed her after she finished her heat as she was a sticky mess...her tail now is a sodden mess of urine.
The horses have the run of 10 acres and most of the time get along OK, we know little about her other than what the previous owner told us which was very little. He had her all alone for about 15 months.

One fact! she likes my husband better than me...she has tried to bite me several times...have reprimanded her each time and once when I was trying to get a halter on her she swung around and got a good kick at me. She can be a nice mare at times, but I am wary of her after the kick she gave me. I give her hind end a wide berth even when she is tied. She appears to be touchy on her right flank too...a couple of times she has reacted when being groomed..she squealed and cow kicked but then settled down.

She is 16.2 and about 1100lbs now and is looking really good...she has blackened up since having access to a mineral salt lick...she is supposed to be black, but was a dark brown at first. She has had all her shots and been de-wormed and her feet are good. She took the bathing very well indeed and is very calm when tied and waiting to be groomed so this kicking and biting is mainly with the two geldings.

We would appreciate any input on "Princess".
Thanks, Ann:confused:

[walkinthewalk]

I have only had three mares in my entire life and they were dollfaces no matter what time of the month.

I have seen mares on trail rides that screamed, hollered, and mis-behaved so bad I thought they were stallions until someone started pointing - lol

My first thought, since you don't know her history, would be to ask your vet what kind of tests he could run on her to see if her system might be out of whack somehow.

There are things on the market for mares with major PMS, but I would not want to put her on anything until the vet did some tests and you know for sure.

If she is getting hay and grain, along with turnout time, it might not hurt to consider what type of hay (legume-type hays, or grass/mix hays) and what type of grain (sweet feed, or pelleted feed) for example.

Sometimes legume -type hays can hype a horse up and sweet feed is essentially have a case of hershey bars with your oats and corn:)

One of my four horses is oat & corn sensitive. His personality changed so much 10 days after taking him off oat & corn based feed, that even my City Slicker husband asked why Rusty was behaving so well and listening to him - lol lol

Just my thoughts. Hopefully others will come in with better ideas.

[Peggy Sue]

What is her diet??

[cloedoll]

What is her diet??

PeggySue can give the best diet advice out there, just letting you know. Hehe. :D

[Ladyann]

She was on grass up until three days ago. We have not noticed any changes since we put her on hay and grain. She gets very little grain...half a small coffee can of corn and one of a mix with minerals and vitamins...not sweet feed. The behavior was there right from the start.

We are going to see if we can get some info from The Tennessee Walker Association as she is a registered Walker. They might not help as of yet we have not joined or sent in the change of ownership...as always it is a case of money....feed, hay, and vet fees come first. The vet has checked her out and feels she will settle down soon. He does not advocate any supplements as he says they really do not work. The peeing when in confrontation is what puzzles us...the other mares do not do it.

Thank you for your answers.
Ann

[Peggy Sue]

Corn is sweet feed LOL it is about 70% sugars and starches ... what vitamin/mineral are you giving her??

If she were mine I would remove the corn and replace it with mollasses free beet pulp, I would also add a Mg supplement ask about MagOx at your feed store it was about $14 for 50lbs here and it will last one horse a LONG LONG TIME!! they only need 1oz a day after the first 30 days at 2ozs

[WashingtonBay]

Peggy Sue... she's only been on grain three days... That's not what's causing the problem.

Have people had good experiences with the supplements like Mare Magic? I've never had bad heat kind of mare, but others report using it.

There is also a veterinary procedure where they can insert a marble into the mare that makes her think she is pregnant. You can't leave it in all the time, but you can leave it there three or for months or so, for people to try to have a better riding season at least, on a mare with really bad cycles.

But long before that I'd do a basic checkup and maybe some blood work or a culture... there may be some other root cause that should be dealt with first before trying anything else.

[Gypsy Rose]

Ovarian tumor or cyst, maybe? Uterine infection? Just tossing out ideas here. Probably wouldn't hurt to have that vet check, as was already mentioned.

[Peggy Sue]

LOL I can give oats for two feeding and watch my mare turn into a MAJOR BITCH!!

Fall grasses are also very high in sugars :)

Mg is one of the major active ingredients in most claming type of supplements ..

[Ladyann]

I do not think it is her feed, this problem has been from the beginning, We are going to have her checked out, especially since we would like to breed her next spring if all is well. I hope we can figure this out so that she will settle down. She is a beautiful horse and moves so smoothly, she is a delight to watch...thanks every one for your advice.

[Ladyann]

Will keep you posted on her and what we find out.