Ok prepare for an essay! Here is the holistic story of Ginny - any ideas more than welcome.
We viewed Ginny as a 5 year old soonnafter she had come over from Ireland when she was with a well respected local dealer. I have since discovered that the dealer sold a known bolter to a nervous child as a bomb proof confidence giver and has a CCJ against her for missellling another horse - so I don't trust her anymore. But anyway she said she had had Ginny for a few weeks (I now know it was less than that as by coincidence her groom liveries her horse where I am). She was grumpy at the viewing but did not try to bite. We were told she pulled faces but never any more than that. She had a head collar on when we arrived. She was foot perfect under saddle at the viewing. She was not friendly but did nothing alarming. She was 5 stage vetted by an independent vet and passed fit for eventing. Vet was unable to perform hind flexions due to her behaviour but vet rang me and said she was a young horse and she was unconcerned about that. Vet also said she was unfit and unmuscled but again she was unconcerned.
Within a day of getting to the new yard she was biting and kicking. She was lunging at people over the stable door. I could not allow Katie to handle her at all. We had to cross tie her to rug/groom etc. You had to put a head collar on her to go into the stable to check hay/refill water buckets etc. However once you got her out of the stable and had a head collar on her she relaxed and her ears were pricked. And she never objected to being mounted and she was willing and forward under saddle. Again ears pricked. No sign of stress or tension..
We assumed this was because she understood the concept of work. So she understood what was expected of her and she was relaxed and confident when worked. And she seemed to love hacking and XC. But she did not really understand the stabling and handling bit. We assumed she had never been stabled, or worn a rug or been stroked etc. So she was territorial in a stable and suspicious of handling that was not directly related to work (tacking up, leading, etc). We thought she did not really 'get' the idea of being stroked. We never punished her or fussed over her - just handled her daily in a matter of fact way and slowly she relaxed. Our yard did not allow 24/7 turn out at that stage as I had not moved into my huge hill-field so she was in at night.
Physically she was poor - malnourished, unfit and weak. She had girth galls and an ulcerated mouth. She ate big mouthfuls of mud. She developed ringworm a few days after arriving. She was snotty and had gunky eyes. She was girthy. She was bullied in the field so we experimented with having her separate but she was happiest out with Amber. But under saddle she was always lovely and she loved to jump.
After several weeks of consistent handling, good grub, treatment for all the various issues, regular physio and a fitness programme she was tonnes better physically. Coat was soft and had a nice sheen, eyes clear, muscling up well and evenly. Her agggression was significantly reduced. She no longer needed to be cross tied for anything other than bathing her. She still hated being stroked but she was fine with basic handling in and out of the stable. She no longer lunged over the stable door. She remained girthy so I had her scoped which was clear.
In February - after 5 months - she started napping in a lesson. She would not move off the leg. Katie was told to 'get after her' and she went forward without too much protest. After that the napping became more frequent. For a few weeks she would be amazing, then she would start to nap. Over time the episodes became worse though in between she was fine. Her napping was purely not moving off the leg and protest bucking/kicking out at leg or whip aids. She never tried to throw Katie off. Her biting behaviour continued to improve and by then she had become quite gentle and affectionate.
I had her checked out by a vet as I was concerned she was feeling her feet which is why she was napping. Nothing was picked up and seasons were considered. I put her on a supplement and started keeping a diary but there was no clear pattern emerging. A few more weeks passed then I had a lesson and the RI said she was not tracking up and not moving freely and she was convinced it was physical. We did the bute trial and she was back to the pony she used to be on bute - forward, willing, no napping. Hence the referral to Leahurst.
She went back to biting/kicking at Leahurst - being away unsettled her I think - and she has not really stopped again since coming home. She is fine with me and Katie but she has gone back to lunging at people she does not know which we have not seen for months. I think Leahurst has made her suspicious of people she does not know.
Re turn out - we are alternating being in/out. She does hoon around a lot out. And she has been known to jump out though not since we have been putting hay in her paddock. But she is out today and unless she starts being silly we will keep her out. The ground is quite hard and she had a very deep soft bed so the idea of being in was to give her feet a little more cushioning, but I agree her mental wellbeing is just as important.
Looking back I think there are 3 related problems:
1) She was not properly socialised to people and is mistrustful/fearful of people in general. Especially when she is just free in a stable as she does not know what we want and can't predict our actions. So she was better as soon as the head collar or tack went on as she knew where she was with direct instruction. This is something we could overcome and I think we were well on the way to that no longer being an issue.
2) She has never been comfortable. She was willing at the viewing despite an ulcerated mouth and girth galls. She was more or less willing despite being significantly lame before we knew there was a problem and she was still in work. So we know she is stoic and honest. So I think her general demeanor reflects a pony who has always been in at least some degree of pain. I said months ago that I was worried about her because I just never felt that she was a contented pony and I did not understand why. I wonder whether other horses bullying her is also to do with their recogntiion that she is physically vulnerable?
3) There was a significant deterioration in whatever is wrong with her in Feb/March and that has continued to now.
I don't know if 2 and 3 are fixable. If she is still as lame as she was when blocked I need to seriously consider her well-being and start thinking the unthinkable. You would not allow a dog lame horse to carry on like that but with bilateral lameness, it is easy just to keep going because they look ok. But she may not be ok at all.