Madly swishing tail?!

[silly mare]

My mare has been madly swishing her tail up and down these last few days - quite a different movement from the side to side swishing when flies are bothering her.

Has anyone experienced this before? I'm not sure why she is doing this suddenly.

 

[marge]

My gray gelding, who is 20 ish, swats me with his tail when he feels I am taking too long to clean out his hooves. I'll yell at him and he'll stop. But he makes his point. Stings too. I call him a grumpy old ----...

 

[Wally]

She could be in season!

It's usually a sign of resistance or impatience.

When Frances asks Hákon to do something he'd much rather not, all you can hear is his tail going like a swarm of bees. The second he gets shouted at or in extreme cases a flick with the stick he stops and obliges.

 

[silly mare]

Swishing

Have had the mare on loan for about 5-6 weeks now, and she's only been swishing this past few days - does it when she's in paddock with no-one near her, as well as when she's being groomed.

Someone said it could be worms? She's not due to be wormed just yet, and is on her own in paddock, where we pick up droppings daily. Anyone else have any ideas?

 

[Sharon H]

It could be midges, there are an awful lot of them about at the moment as well as mosquitos. I got badly bitten last night again when I took the dogs out. Does she suffer from sweet itch during the summer?

 

[silly mare]

No, she doesn't suffer from sweetch itch as far as I can find out (at least, that's what her owners have told me!). Funnily enough her tail didn't swish once today when I brought her in for the night, so perhaps it was just midges and I over-reacted as usual!! Sometimes though you see them do something that they don't usually do, and it makes you wonder!

 

[Mel]

Hello-haven't been in touch for a while, but when I saw this post I had to respond! My mare flicks her tail so wildly that it has cost us at some shows! In the Hunter Under Saddle classes, the judges count off because they think she looks so irritated. She doesn't look as well mannered as some of the other horses with their still, flowing tails. She constantly flicks it very hard whether you are riding her or not. When I first got her I used to braid her tail to keep it neat until one day she popped me in the back of the neck with it--big red welt. She has also knocked a drink out of someones hand with her braided tail. Needless to say, I don't braid anymore!

 

[arabian_lover]

Hey! I ride at a stable where there's a youngish Clydesdale gelding who flips his tail madly about in circles, back/forth, you name it! He usually does this when he is mad, concentrating (mostly mad, though)