Hello Krista jane,  `Sounds like you really had a quite a day with your mare.  There are no-givens when dealing with horses.  After 40+ years of training and just being with horses, they never cease to astound me with their unpredictable behavior.  Also. some horses are just easier to train to be with than others.  We have all been there with our horses..  
The one question that I would ask of you is if your mare has ever had a baby or not.  With some young mares, the reproductive yearnings and urges are strong.  Consequently, they sometimes have problems with just ordinary things that we as their caregivers think should be relatively easy for them.  `Just saying, maybe you might think about this aspect of this mare`s make-up.  At five years of age, she is extremely young and has many trails to walk down in her life.  My suggestion to you is to have a woman to mare discussion with her and for you to really listen to her.  REACH FOR HER ANSWERS.  This could be the beginning of a new day for both 
My best to you, Krista jane
Bud

Hi Bud, you give a lot of great of advice to people.  I have read some of your replies, and i think you are right about my mare, too.  She has not had a foal.  I didn't even think she was "horsing"  when I caught her from the field to go riding, but she has been extra frisky these past 2 days, and even after i took her out of the trailer to calm down (which was a big job, she jammed herself so hard into the straps)  she was rubbing herself on her stall which she never does.  In general, she is a typical bratty mare.  So many people tell me that I am nuts to own a chestnut mare, but I want to prove them wrong that they are all obstinate.  This mare loves me, comes running from a big field to be with me, but she doesn't respect me, so I am always working on that.  She has loaded regularly without much coaxing, but her defiance is so unpredictable.  I can never load her alone. She has run me over to get to something a few times.  She is very bargy and wants her own way.  Today, the thought crossed my mind that she should be a brood mare, and give me a gelding.  i trained her extensively as a 2 year old on the ground, using Monty's techniques, and i have 2 dually halters, a red for when she was younger, and now a Black one.  She even fights that sometimes, not wanting to back up.  I have studied the correct fit and use of the Dually, but she tries her best to resist.  Some days, she is gentle as a lamb, doing everything I ask.  But there are days that she does not care what I do, she has an agenda

Hi Krista jane and thank you for your candid response.  I think you are dealing with a HORMONALTORNADO at times with your mare.  The seasonal pressure that some mares feel is over-the -top mind blowing.  This pressure that they feel causes them to respond in the same fashion that any horse would if they were really frighten of something unknown.  This is probably the reason WHY your friends cautioned you against owning a chestnut colored mare.  The chestnut color part lives in your friends` imagination, and really has  nothing to do with her behavior; but the mare part can be a handful at times.  If you really feel a deep connection with this mare, then that is exactly where you should start with the retraining [reorganizing the thoughts of both you and the mare so that there might be a predictable loving flow of energy between you two.

My suggestion for bringing this about would be going back and doing a leading for RESPECT, redress course with her.  Here is where it gets tough.  The leading for respect exercise needs to WELL THOUGHT OUT IN ADVANCE.  When schooling with the dually, the coercion needs to be kept to a minimum.  Your mindset needs to in a helping mode so that your mare is allowed to think through what is being ask of her.  When she gets it right, PAUSE, PAUSE, PAUSE, and scratch her in her sweet spot. " Make no mistake girl, you got it right".  This needs to happen many times during your practice sessions so that her thoughts of what just happen are indeIiblized  in such a way, that she will SEEK the same response the next time.. [remember horses are anticipators and seekers; this might be our greatest advantage when training]  What I do with this exercise, usually with a stallion, is to treat it like a DRESSAGE TEST; only in leading.  THIS IS WHERE THE TOUGHNESS  of what was written about earlier comes in.  The end result that you are seeking is a respectful companion that is tied to you on a lead-line.  That must come from her willingness to SEEK you as a partner in that light..IT MUST COME FROM HER MIND NOT HER BODY...

As a woman, you are trained [educated] to feel with your gut.  We men, unfortunately, are JOHNNY COME LATELY`S  with that aspect of our development.  Use that ASPECT as your bench mark in this retraining process.  Your grit and your love will be your ally during this time.  I feel that this approach will bring about a new way for you of looking at your mare.  She in turn will see you in a different light.  I would work on this approach with your mare for at least a week; longer if needed.  Then go back to the trailer loading, but only if you feel that she is relaxed.  You might also keep track of her cycles during the year.  That way, the knowledge will prepare you in advance of where she might be hormonally..

Good luck Krista jane [she`s worth it]
Bud

Hi Krista Jane, I'll write a bit more later but I've owned a mare that tells me white is black and black is white for coming up to 4 years and I've tried LOTS of options...!! Not found the answer but there may be a few things that I;ve done that could help you. My Husband is desperate for me to get rid of her so I feel your pain!! Ask yourself whether you'd be happy for that mare to get in to trouble with someone less understanding however. 

HI Kirsta, your story sounds like my own, I've still not found the actual answer but my mare is horrendous over the summer months and does calm down in the winter months when it's not 'breeding' season I suppose. Year 1 we tried Regumate hormonal liquid which took the edge off but not much. She has been backed and trained by me when i bought her after doing prelim MR training here in the UK so shes never known any negative situations by humans which does go in my favour as she is mild mannered on the ground and never bargy but rugging/tacking up/riding is an issue always. We nap like nothing you've ever seen and if you've got 2 hours to sort it she has 3. She's so clever and all the willing partner stuff we do has made sure she's not scared of anything which isn't great when she laughs in the face of the wip-wip and other ethical napping solutions!
After Summer 1 of not being able to be ridden at all we did more join-ups and bonding exercises and had a good winter where I realised she loves high adrenaline situations and seems to find hacking about home and schooling beyond borning.

We started back work in late August as soon as we could and got her fit quickly which was interesting between bouts of napping. We then (I appreciate not everyones cup of tea!!) took her hunting in the November and she had an amazing time and seemed in her element- this was a big risk as we'd never jumped her before and she'd never been in big crowds but knowing her well it was one I was willing to take. She came back from that much more willing to work and connect. We followed it up by keeping her pushed with cross country trips etc. This may seem irrelevant because its about ridden work but the pyschology all ties in because if you have many 'successes' together where she has had to trust you in or out the saddle it will help make her less unwilling to work with you.


 We also tried a million calmers which worked to varying degrees. The TopSpec calmer was the best. I am feeding her now for a healthy tummy in case she gets some ulcer pain however it is unlikely but it does seem to make her less girthy. She has camomile and peppermint, aloe vera juice and Feedmark Settlex in her feed and low sugar hard feed. 
I await for the 'summer beat' to emerge again this year and we'll just have to deal with it, last year we tried blinkers to get her forward thinking and it helped us keep in work over summer on and off. I think maybe some mares are just super hormonal. Her ovary scan came back normal but she is quite highly sexed apparently with her ovaries being mildly enlarged despite not showing as being in season at that time. I would reccommend an intenal scan of her womb and ovaries always just in case there are any abnormalities. 
Hope something in that might have helped! 

Hi Krista and Becky C, Monty is back from tour this month and I will ask for his advice :)

Hi Krista. I too have a mare that sounds very much like yours. She is only four and is a palomino (so I don't think color has anything to do with it. ) Her name is Barbie. I've written about her before, but haven't been on the site for a while. Most of the time, Barbie is the sweetest mannered horse in the world, like yours, comes running when I call, always seems happy to see me. But out of the blue, she will rear up and decide she doesn't want to let me halter her, will take off bucking and kicking and shaking her head. At certain times she would act like she was going to challenge me or  bite me. I have started to do some things that seems to have made a lot of difference so I will share with you.
1. I took her off oats completely
2. I put her in a smaller pen/paddock
3. Every time  I groom her, I expect her to stand still. If she moves a foot, I move her back into position - I don't get mad, just keep moving her back into position each time she moves. She now stands perfectly still, I don't need to tie her. I can drop the rope anywhere and she will stand quietly.
4. I lead her and get her to back up/away from me- LOTS!
5. If she doesn't back up with just a wag of my finger- I give a significantly stronger cue- and get her to back up faster. Then I ask with the wag of my finger again and reward her by letting her stand for a minute when she does.
6. I try to be consistent in everything I do so that she doesn't have to guess at what I am asking or what I expect. 
7. If I am walking her and stop and she looks at something else, I immediately turn her and walk off in another direction. If when we stop she just stands and keeps her ears/eyes on me, I just stand with her as a reward.
8. Lots of times I just go out into her paddock and stand there. When she comes over, I rub her a bit then stop. She can stay by me or walk away. I don't expect anything of her. Most of the time she stays by me and follows me to the gate or fence when I leave.
9. The one time she did try to nip me, I responded immediately with a firm swat to her nose. She has not tried to nip or bite since.

These small things have not fixed her 100% but they have made a significant difference. I too  was at the point of thinking I needed to sell her or find someone else to look after her, but at the moment, I am feeling really happy with how she is turning around and I do love her dearly.

Hope this helps! Good luck!


Debbie
 

Hi Krista Jane,
Monty is surprised that no one here has suggested the strong indication that your mare is exhibiting 'into-pressure' and needs to be worked with to understand to come off pressure. Have you seen the Into-Pressure lessons?

I had one who calmed down a lot with a daily dose of regumate

Hi there.
Perhaps you would like to read my post, easy loader. Works great for us.