Question: My 7 year old mare will run laps in her paddock for up to 15 minutes. What is going on with her?

Answer: Without some more information, it’s hard to say. First of all, is your mare confined to a stall for the majority of the day? If so, she may simply have a lot of excess energy. Additionally, is she put in a paddock away from other horses? If so, she may also be exhibiting stress at being separated from her herd or favorite buddy from a nearby stall. Does she get ridden daily? If not, again the answer may be that she simply need more exercise than she’s getting being in a stall most of the time. Even though horses spend the majority of their day grazing and dozing when out in the pasture, they are still often mobile. Is she on a high energy diet? Whether the high energy is coming from really high quality hay or from a concentrate (grain or pellets), this could be contributing to your mare’s behavior. It is not uncommon for a horse to run a lap or two around their paddock and give a buck or two when first turned out after being in a stall for most of the day, but it sounds as though your mare is running a bit harder than most. If you could email me some additional information, I’d be happy to try and give you further insight.