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| Discussion on Behavioral Problems with 22 year old pony | |
| Author | Message |
| New Member: noelle |
Posted on Tuesday, May 1, 2007 - 1:37 am: One year ago we purchased a now 22 year old gray mare. We were purchasing an older bombproof pony who had been through pony club, etc. The previous owner mentioned that she could be a "little difficult" for the vet and farrier, but other than that she was a great little pony. The vet we currently use was the one she used. We use a different farrier than she did. The pony was fine with her ground manners and my then 12 year old for whom we purchased the pony was quite confident and comfortable working around her. We soon came to find out that upon going into her stall it was her "private" space as she would pin her ears if one ever attempted to enter.She was a dream when being led in or out to pasture and when being handled or groomed.The first time the farrier came she squealed, spun around as best she could on cross ties and attempted to cause bloodshed and kick him into the next county. He is a very kind and patient farrier who has been shoeing horses for at least 40 years. she does not have any foot or leg problems. In talking to his farrier buddies he found out in years past when she misbehaved for the shoer she was put in her stall and beaten. Our farrier has been very gentle and positive with her, but he has not made any progress with her in subsequesnt visits. As a matter of fact, for his own safety, she is now barefoot. To continue the long story, it turns out she is no different for the vet. Since our vet had known her for years and he had just given her her spring shots, it was unnecessary to make another visit prior to purchase, so we never saw our little pony in action. Apparetly he never mentioned his assistant went to the hospital to be checked out because the pony struck her with her front hoof. Several weeks ago he did a blood draw and she grazed the asssistant's thigh with her front hoof. Starting about 2 1/2 months ago she started pinning her ears when my daughter was grooming her, swishing her tail and even tried on several occassions to bite my daughter.She would start pawing with her front hooves and occassionally lift one of her hind legs as if getting ready to kick. My poor daughter's confidence has been pretty unglued. Several weeks ago we had the vet come out and check her. As always she struck out at him a number of times before he successfully backed her into a corner of the isle and put a chain through her mouth in order to better control her. As she is quick as lightning when she whirls around to strike with her hind feet, he is always on guard when examining her. As mentioned, she is gray and does have some lymphomas on her neck and around her rectum. As we mentioned to him, she is always eager and alert. Nickers when she sees you coming toward her stall, but then the negative behavior starts when she is put in cross ties. There have been no changes to her feed, stall neighbors or pasture (she is by herself otherwise she exhibits mare-ish behavior). Under saddle she has been pretty good although sometimes swishing her tail or a little bit of attitude, but that could be attributed to pony behavior or spring fever. The vet tested her for lymes and it came back negative. He feels that it is purely a behavioral issue with my daughter and that she is not exhibiting enough dominance. She is firm, but at this point she is scared working around her as she has seem what her little pony is capable of doing to others. Now when she is in cross ties she has a lead rope on with a chain across her nose which my daughter holds onto while grooming in case there is any negative behavior. The pony definately knows the chain is there. The vet told her  she must treat her pony like a business partner, period. On the other hand, the farrier feels that my daughter is going to get hurt and it is just a matter of time. He feels that sometimes injuries happen by accident, but given this pony's history and recent increase in aggressive behavior, it is just a matter of time before there is a tragic accident. He feels she should either be put out as a "pasture ornament", or our money would be better spent euthanizing her than putting it toward having hooves trimmed. He expressed that if sold, who knows if someone didn't know her quirks (which we've learned over this year) there could be a fatal accident.He said there are a lot of great horses and ponies out there that are safe to be around for both the owner, farrier, vet and all who handle her/him and that this little pony has had 22 years and we should leave it at that. I think that if we were to bring up the possiblity of potentially putting her down our vet would feel we were taking the easy way out. He is the one who recommended this pony to us and as friends and neighbors it is a somewhat delicate situation. HELP - ANY SUGGESTIONS? |
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