Grumpy Mare

Question
I have a thoughbred chestnut mare who is now 12 years old. I have had her coming up to seven years. In the last few months she has started to put her ears back and make faces at me when I'm doing things to her. I got her shod, then her back checked but nothing was really wrong. It has slowly got worse with her ears back more and more and today she went to bite my friend as she put her rug on. This is not like her at all. She enjoys going out, or staying in the field. she is well mannered on the floor and tacking up is no problem. I can catch her, get on and ride fine, but she is just not her self and it seems to be getting worse. I was reading one article about ulcers? which I know would be costly, but if needs I will but have you got any other advise for me??? before I start that route. The vet mentioned about her seasons, but I've never had a problem in the past so why would this year be different? Any advise or help would be great.
Thanks in advance,
Julia.

Answer
Julia,

If she's got ulcers this could well explain her behavior.  I can give you a natural treatment that I saw in The Holistic Horse and have been using on my old National Show Horse who is a classic ulcer case. I have also added a calming herbal mix to my old guy's feed because he's so high stress.  National Show Horses are Arab/Saddlebred crosses and this guy was bred and used as a show horse for the first 9 yrs. of his life.  Since then he's been doing competitive long distance riding both endurance and CTR.

You will need to get some aloe vera juice.  I buy mine at Wal-Mart for about $7+/gallon.  Also find some fresh papayas.  Peel and seed them then puree in a blender.  If the papaya isn't really ripe and it seems a little dry add some aloe vera juice to it whey you puree it.  Dump a half cup of aloe vera juice on her feed every time you feed her and give her a 60 cc. catheter-tipped syringeful of papaya puree about 15 min. before feeding her.  Much cheaper than the expensive stuff like GastroGuard or Nutrient Buffer and it's worked well for me.  Also try giving her more fiber if she doesn't already have free access to good pasture or hay 24/7.  I'm using a high-fiber/high-fat feed and adding soaked beet pulp and hay cubes to the feed to make up for the fact that I can't feed hay free-choice.  Give her a syringeful of papaya and one of aloe vera juice when you first catch her before you are going to ride so it can sooth her stomach while you're grooming and tacking her.    

If you try this and it works then your vet hit the nail on the head.  I know that studies have indicated that some 95% of performance horses have ulcers and about 68% of backyard pleasure horses do.  Mainly because many of us can not give our horses something to eat all the time which is what their systems are designed to handle.  Horses secret digestive fluids all the time, not just in anticipation of food the way humans do.  In the wild they eat about 20 hrs. of the day. They are designed by nature to have food in their stomachs all the time and in domesticated situations that is often not possible.  But at least you will have an alternative way of treating the problem without the use of expensive drugs.  Depending upon where you find your papaya and aloe vera juice it can be very cost effective.  

One horse that I suggested had ulcers was exhibiting some of the same sort of behavior.  They started treating him for the ulcers and he's a completely different horse now so they can dramatically affect behavior.  But, think how you feel if your stomach hurts.  Makes sense.  

Hope this helps.
Lyn