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  Discussion on Pacing mare
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Posted on Thursday, Aug 23, 2001 - 11:21 am:

I have a 20 year old gray appendix QH mare who in the last couple of months has started pacing the fence line. She doesn't do it all day--usually for only about 1-2 hours--but it's driving me crazy and makes me worry that there's something else going on. I've read a lot about pacing (incl. articles on this site) and its causes, but they don't seem to fit her situation:
She lives in a very big paddock (enough to trot and canter around if she likes) with a run-in shed. She has hay throughout the day. In the paddock right next to her is our 8 yo gelding. I don't keep them together becuase they kick each other, but they do socialize over the fence, so I don't think loneliness is the problem. She's ridden 3-5 days a week--trail, jumping and dressage--so she gets plenty of work. There are no obvious signs of lameness or discomfort. The farrier yesterday said she has some slight soreness in her right front heel--but very mild and nothing to worry about--just to keep an eye on it. The only obvious health problem is melanomas--a small one her neck and more under her tail and around her perineal area--but those don't seem to bother her. Here's what happens with the pacing: It's typically in the morning, as soon as I go out to feed/muck. She paces the fence line that borders the adjoining property. (There is nothing on that property--just trees and grass. In the past, there have been some horses in the far distant pasture. Maybe she thinks she sees them???) She paces while I feed and muck, and continues for about an hour or more. She doesn't even stop pacing when I feed her. When she's finished pacing (for whatever reason) she goes and eats, and is typically quiet the rest of the day. There have been mornings when it's clear she's already been pacing before I've come out (her manure is scattered and trampled). And occassionally she's done it at different times of the day. The only other time she does it is when she's obviously stressed about something--like when I'm getting the trailer ready so she knows I'll either be taking her or our other horse away, or when I'm tacking up the other horse to take him on the trail, and she knows she'll be left behind. Any thoughts about what's going on?

Posted on Saturday, Aug 25, 2001 - 9:34 pm:

Hi Laura,

is it possible that there are deer in the ajoining pasture in the morning? They may be attacting her attention and she paces because she can't get close enough to check them out?

Teresa

Posted on Monday, Aug 27, 2001 - 3:51 pm:

I doubt there are deer, but there could certainly be dogs, maybe even cows--and because she can't see them well (the adjoining property is pretty overgrown), she paces anxiously. Thanks for the thought. It's just weird because it's obviously something she does in response to stress (like trailering, etc.), and I can't figure out what could be stressing her out. Unless, like you said, there's something she sees and she gets stressed because she can't get close enough to see what it is...
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