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Discussion on Inconsistent Behaviour
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Member:
Redback
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Posted on Monday, Nov 20, 2006 - 4:23 am:
My 5yo Standardbred mare has inconsistent behaviour. Some days she is friendly and comes to you when you enter the paddock. Then other days she circles and pins her ears back and will only approach after 10-15 minutes. We did a hormone test which was normal. Although we cannot prove it we are sure that she was injured while at her previous owners. So she is probably just being distrusting of humans, but we have always been gentle and caring. Will she ever change? She has not altered for the 2 years that we have had her.
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Member:
Gillb
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Posted on Monday, Nov 20, 2006 - 5:46 am:
My gelding can be like this, but with him it is associated with work. If you go into the field he is always friendly and comes over but often when you have his headcollar he knows what is coming and pins his ears and walks away. However, sometimes he will come to you when you have the headcollar so he's not always consistent in this respect!
With your mare, is she like this if you bring her in or not? Possibly some mares get a bit tetchy at the time of their season, even if their hormones are normal (bit like us I suppose!).
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Member:
Dove2
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Posted on Monday, Nov 20, 2006 - 6:09 am:
My daughter has a mare who can be very "mare-ish." This is the same as PMS for women. We discovered that this is greatly relieved by giving her chasteberries, an organic product which is ground into a powder and the main ingredient of most of the equine "mare" mood supplements as well as PMS relief medication for women. It has worked very well for us. It's inexpensive (approx. $20 for a 3 month supply) and can be purchased mailorder through Frontier Natural Product Co-Op (www.frontiercoop.com). We give one teaspoon in each of her two grain feedings, 3 weeks on and 1 week off. It has made a difference in her moodiness.
I'd think that if your mare has not altered in two years, chances are she will not change significantly without some other type of intervention. Gill's situation is a common one. Have you noticed the circumstances when your mare is not friendly?
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Monday, Nov 20, 2006 - 9:09 am:
As horses do not menstruate, PMS in women is not the same thing as mareish behavior in horses. And while chaste berries and some of its extracts have shown efficacy in providing symptomatic relief for some symptoms in women suffering from PMS I do not know of any work that shows it makes crabby women, or mares, pleasant to be around, though what a wonderful finding that would be!
Rather than seeking a drug solution with mild to moderate behavioral problems usually training is the best way to deal with them. Forget about the potential causes but find ways to reward the good behavior, do not reward the bad, and you will soon find your horse displaying more and more of the behavior you are looking for. For more on this see, Horse Advice » Training & Conditioning Horses » Behavioral Problems » Behavior Modification, Conditioning, Desensitization, and Counterconditioning.
DrO
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Member:
Dove2
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Posted on Monday, Nov 20, 2006 - 9:55 am:
I do not know of any work that shows it makes crabby women, or mares, pleasant to be around
 I'll try it and let you know.
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Member:
Banthony
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Posted on Monday, Nov 20, 2006 - 10:10 am:
Dr. O - "crabby women" - you are brave!
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Member:
Dtranch
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Posted on Monday, Nov 20, 2006 - 10:53 am:
Geoff ... being friendly and cooperative on a regular basis would be "inconsistent" for a mare. A lot of the gaming people I know say they would prefer a mare for her athletic abilities, but that they are too inconsistent (moody). In their opinion, geldings are not quite as good, but more reliable.
Dove and Linda .. Dr. O. is a scientist, do not doubt his diagnosis re: "crabby" women. I generally refer to it in much less scientific terms.
DT
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Member:
Sswiley
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Posted on Monday, Nov 20, 2006 - 11:16 am:
I would just ignore her mood and train her to come to a command. When she is grumpy (unless she is looking like she is going to nip or kick) just pretend she is your same old sweet mare. My experience shows that trying to correct grumpiness only makes it worse.
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Member:
Tangoh
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Posted on Monday, Nov 20, 2006 - 4:17 pm:
Amen to that Shelley! At least I sure as heck know it doesn't work on me!!!
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