please help, my ponies not herself, bolting, napping, im so fed up

[westley_jacobs]

thank u all!!" who replied to lower leg pains!!
i will try those out wen i next c my pony!!
oh i had another question, my pony keeps backin up with me lately and just plain old runnin off with me, or as i call it being a bad pony!lol
do u know what moght be the sudden change in her lovely personality, she also kicked me the other day when i was oiling her back hoof, shes never kicked out before, and she also bolted with me in the school, right out the gate and into her friends fields, i havent changed yards, feed or anything that may make a personality change, i just do not know what to do!!! shes also started biting,!!!! any advice on your experiences wud be much help, thank u!!!:(

[galadriel]

How long have you had her? What do you do with her? How long has it been since ANY change of equipment, including:
* new saddle
* new bridle
* new bit
* add martingale
* new girth

and so on. Even if you haven't changed yards, has she had a change at this one? More turnout? Less turnout?

Backing up and bolting sounds like evasion of something that's bothering her; it sounds like it might be the bit actually.

[westley_jacobs]

i havent changed anything that you mentioned, the only thing i can thin of that may have caused her to misbehave is that the farrier came to see us all at theyard the other week and my ponys shoes were badly in shape ie,,,one of the nails were sticking out, but thats all i can think of oh and that thing about the bit, i used to use a pelham nad a week ago i changed to snaffle but she didnt react and this bad behaviour has been going on since the last visit of the farrier (around 1 month ago))

anyway thank you for replying

[galadriel]

Interesting...did you use a new farrier?

A horse who is backing up in resistence AND trying to bolt sounds like she could be trying to get away from something that hurts her. If this started right after the farrier came, then it may be that her feet are hurting her.

If her feet were in bad shape already, then it may not be anything the farrier did, by the way; sometimes when a horse's feet get in a bad way, that causes them to develop problems in the feet--and sometimes those problems don't show up until the feet are set right again. I've had that happen to several horses, and now that I've got another whose feet have been badly neglected, I am bracing myself for foot problems to start once the farrier has been. I'm hoping they won't! but they might.

[welshcoblady1]

hello sorry to read your pony is not feeling her self .

afew suggestions for you .

mouth, is she teething or changing teeth.do her teeth need looking at. has she a sore mouth in any way. does your bit fit well .ear mites/plauqes.
does she dislike the bit action. does her browband fit and noseband , any pinching of the bridle .

saddle ,has she changed shape over the season ,does her saddle fit . is any thing pinching ,girth ,saddle pommel ,to narrow /wide. girth buckles digging in or pinching.tree sound not twisted /broken.

she may be out in several areas, poll. axis ,atlas,neck.withers.back, pelvic. or muscles knots /tention.
sore back ,girth area,

is her gut happy ,low grade uncomfy gut season change , is she over weight , is she on a diet for work load ,to many concentrates . a happy gut for a happy pony .

if a mare is she in season or due in season.

with respect is your riding up setting her ,are you balanced .
is your pony balanced and supple ,or may be finding things hard to do, over facing .

is she schooled and finding things easy to do ,or is she green and
in need of schooling and the both of you are giving mixed messages to each other.

ponies are not naughty with out some reason they try to please
and it sounds as if your pony may be trying to tell you something
and is fairly worried about some thing and to bite is another sign of tention if this is not with in her character .

when your farrier shoed your pony he may have just pulled one of her legs in one direction or another a little to much not saying your farrier is bad but it happens ,this can tweek a muscle sometimes , could your pony be foot sore some how may be a nail is just binding abit some where. .

is she happy with the herd she grazes could she be getting bullied .
these are just afew ideas for you to check on and hope you find why your pony is unhappy ,i hope that you find the problem .
best wishes.

[casey]

Pat Perreli (i think) said if the horse bolts there's usually a bolt loose in the saddle. The only time I had a horse bolt with me, it turned out to be a saddle problem. Get the saddle checked:)

[*MiRi*]

sorry to hear about your pony!! that is such a shame
sorry i have no other suggestion apart from ones that have already been suggested

bye
xox
ps. answeryour pm messsages! :p

[Sooty]

Casey - it was Pat Parelli (see the quote below my signature!) - however, the nut loose in the saddle he was referring to was actually the rider!!!!!

However, you are right that the saddle is one thing that needs to be checked, as well as welshcoblady's other suggestions

[casey]

Sooty, see, the useless information that floats around my head...:D I do take notice of some things:D :D