11 YEAR OLD MARE, BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS

Question
My 11 yr old mare, which i have owned since birth, charged and attacked me and my soon to be husband.  My 9 yr old son has ridden her in the past and now i am scared to put him on her.  She has acted aggressive since she gave birth to her last mare 4 years ago.  My Husband was lunging her yesterday (10/24/11)in round pen. All was good going in one direction but if he made her go the other direction she was all in his space and did not want to go that way.  He was using a lunge whip to make her go, but she then charged him, ears back, teeth showing, rearing and pawing.  She got him pened on the ground.  Once we got her under control, he tried to lunge her again.  In one direction she was good, then he turned her and tried to make her go, she charged and attacked again.  I saved him from harm by yelling at her, she stopped.  I then tried to lunge her, she attacked me.  We then turned her out with the other horses.  I could walk up to her in the pasture and she let me.  I brushed her.  She showed no aggression.. It was only when we had her in round pen making her go in direction she did not want to go. Please help, i really dont want to sell her. I have had her all of her life.

Answer
Michelle,

I can think of a number of things to look at here.  

First off I would eliminate any physical problems that may make it really difficult for her to go in the one direction. I would get her checked by an equine chiropractor to make sure that she doesn't have any problems like a shoulder out, withers, etc. that could be causing the resistance to going in the one direction.  You might also want to get a vet to check her out and see where her hormones are since she's been doing this since she had her last foal.  That will require some blood work and maybe a rectal exam to see if she's got an ovarian cyst.  Try her her on something like Mare Magic to see if the herbs will help her. Or you may have to move to Regu-Mate if the herbs aren't enough. I would give her a week off and get these things things checked out.  

Then, when asking her to lunge start in the direction she doesn't want to go first off.  Again, this is all dependent upon determining if she has a real reason for not wanting to go in the one direction or is she just being a brat.  Your actions will depend upon what is going on with her.

I would have to say I would be reluctant to sell a horse with these issues to anyone else.  Kind of like dumping the problem on another person.  You may even need to resort to an animal communicator to talk to her and find out what's going on with her.  I use a communicator regularly to talk to my horses.  They don't have to be physically present, it's done over the phone and isn't terribly expensive.  The results can be very interesting.  

I hope these suggestions help you out.  Please feel free to contact me again if you need any more advice.  

Lyn