Spring Heat is Here
And I'm not talkin' weather!
Dassah-Mare was in fine form last Saturday - my sister and I audited a beginner jumping clinic in the morning and then went to my barn afterwards. I was so proud to show off how far Dassah's come so I coerced Sis to take her for a spin (mostly so I could gloat, take pictures, get video, and drool over Super Awesome Mare).
Dassah had other ideas. She warmed up on the lunge just fine (they didn't get out all week because of the rain - it's a swamp out there) - a view kicks and giggles but she looked stellar. Tacked her up, threw Sis on top, and prepared to die from joy.
Insert needle scratching vinyl record.
What I got was a drama lama, giraffe-necking, hollow-backed mess. I coached Sis from the ground (she's a VERY competent rider) to try to get her to relax, smooth out, and become soft and maybe just maybe drive a bit from the hind-end. Dassah decided she would instead like to spook at the corners, stare outside, and drop behind the bit.
I should have realized when I brought her out of the stall - normally she pays zero attention to the mare who is usually in this large recuperating pen (it's about three times the size of the stalls and if a horse needs stall rest, they go in there since it's larger than a stall). This time she was very interested and didn't mind presenting her lady parts. I didn't think much of it since they hadn't been out all week and Dassah probably just wanted to say hi.
Then when I was grooming she gave me dirty looks and pinned ears when I curried/brushed/etc her barrel. Again, just figured she was obnoxious from so much time stuck inside. (makes me so frustrated that they can't get out - but the fields are under water).
It didn't hit me until I got on (no point in Sis suffering Red Mare PMS) that she was in heat. She's on SmartMare Harmony which does help but spring heats are the worst. Mare would not relax, would not seek contact, was thoroughly insulted when I added leg, and would not/could not listen. My slow-functioning brain finally put the pieces together.
I kept it very short and wended on a relatively good note - the first good note we found - and called it a day. I'm all for working through complications but she was PMS-ing, I was PMS-ing, and we have nothing to prove. So I hopped off, gave her some pats, and we were done. Sis took some videos but I have yet to see them - if someone ever does a video blog-hop of terrible rides, then I'll post.
stupid mare heat crap.
(and I've tried Regu-Mate - did not see a difference after switching her off that to SmartMare Harmony - SMH seems to work just as well).
Dassah-Mare was in fine form last Saturday - my sister and I audited a beginner jumping clinic in the morning and then went to my barn afterwards. I was so proud to show off how far Dassah's come so I coerced Sis to take her for a spin (mostly so I could gloat, take pictures, get video, and drool over Super Awesome Mare).
Dassah had other ideas. She warmed up on the lunge just fine (they didn't get out all week because of the rain - it's a swamp out there) - a view kicks and giggles but she looked stellar. Tacked her up, threw Sis on top, and prepared to die from joy.
Insert needle scratching vinyl record.
What I got was a drama lama, giraffe-necking, hollow-backed mess. I coached Sis from the ground (she's a VERY competent rider) to try to get her to relax, smooth out, and become soft and maybe just maybe drive a bit from the hind-end. Dassah decided she would instead like to spook at the corners, stare outside, and drop behind the bit.
I should have realized when I brought her out of the stall - normally she pays zero attention to the mare who is usually in this large recuperating pen (it's about three times the size of the stalls and if a horse needs stall rest, they go in there since it's larger than a stall). This time she was very interested and didn't mind presenting her lady parts. I didn't think much of it since they hadn't been out all week and Dassah probably just wanted to say hi.
Then when I was grooming she gave me dirty looks and pinned ears when I curried/brushed/etc her barrel. Again, just figured she was obnoxious from so much time stuck inside. (makes me so frustrated that they can't get out - but the fields are under water).
It didn't hit me until I got on (no point in Sis suffering Red Mare PMS) that she was in heat. She's on SmartMare Harmony which does help but spring heats are the worst. Mare would not relax, would not seek contact, was thoroughly insulted when I added leg, and would not/could not listen. My slow-functioning brain finally put the pieces together.
I kept it very short and wended on a relatively good note - the first good note we found - and called it a day. I'm all for working through complications but she was PMS-ing, I was PMS-ing, and we have nothing to prove. So I hopped off, gave her some pats, and we were done. Sis took some videos but I have yet to see them - if someone ever does a video blog-hop of terrible rides, then I'll post.
stupid mare heat crap.
(and I've tried Regu-Mate - did not see a difference after switching her off that to SmartMare Harmony - SMH seems to work just as well).
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I have a mare with similar issues. We have yet to sync up in our cycles other than hers being a week behind mine. That makes for two weeks of misery on our part. I try to stick to ground work when either of us isn't at our finest. Just makes life easier on everyone.
ReplyDeleteHave been a long-time lurker! I think long-lining will be the solution for those times.
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