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Post by spotti on Jan 10, 2009 10:56:23 GMT
...or hating the girth being done up. Anyone ever had a horse like it? What did you do? How long did it take? And did they ever get over it? (yes, you've guessed it, our 3 days of 'normality' are up and now we have yet another problem to deal with...  ) |
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Post by fleabitten on Jan 10, 2009 12:28:17 GMT
Theres a pony at my RS who is like that and swings his head round at you and throws it up so you just have to have your elbow ready and tighten the girth carefully.
If its a new problem then shes either playing up or theres something wrong.
So check the girth area for any lumps or cuts etc. It should be nice and smooth after brushing.
Do the same with the saddle area.
Her back could also be sore - when the girth is being tightened that makes the saddle press down on the back. So use your fingers and hands to run down her spine on either side and see if she reacts in any way - ears, throws head up, muscles flinch etc. If she doesnt react at all there is no problem.
Since your saddle is treeless, im guessing it moulds to her so no need to check the fit?
So once youve got all that stuff checked out, I would tighten the girth by one hole at a time and then once youve got it all done, then grab her front legs so the skin smooths out under the girth, so theres no pinching. Other than that, I would shout at her if she goes to bite you!
Just thought of something else. Make sure your girth is clean so theres no bits of mud to rub on her skin.
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haffyfan
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Post by haffyfan on Jan 10, 2009 13:22:19 GMT
If it's a new thing I would say check out Fleas' advise as I would think it indicates some sort of discomfort.
If it's another horse you mean not Faith is the owner careful girthing up? If not although there may be no discomfort once tacked and girthed they may have had a rough owner who has yanked the girth up and nipped them in the process or similiar.
I think it can become habitual (sp) if the horse in question has had a prolonged bad experience either with an uncareful owner or ill fitting tack as a friends horse is real cranky to girth up despite being owned by the same person over 15 yrs and having good well fitting tack and careful handling (apparantly she has been like this from the day of arrivial and now in her mid 20's isn't likely to change, she is also a real moody mare in general so whether this is relative or not I don't know?)
Some finer types(generally speaking) are very thin skinned too and very sensitive around their tummy's/girth areas even when body brushing let alone rugging/girthing.
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Post by spotti on Jan 10, 2009 15:41:37 GMT
Thanks guys. And yes, it's the one and only Miss Drama Queen herself...she seems to have run out of physical 'problems' at the minute (touch wood that thats all done now!) and is making up things just to test my patience and mess with my head!!! She's such a monkey!!!(and is far cleverer than I ever give her credit for). Flea - yes her treeless moulds to her shape, and she has a new, very expensive saddle pad (in comparison to normal ones) that is especially for treeless saddles (Torsions me thinks) so I can't see it being her saddle causing discomfort since she is just too comfy in it at the mo!! The irritability only started a few days ago so I imagine its perhaps just a bit of dirt on her that I can't see or a slightly itchy girth (mud/school surface lol), but I'll give her a good groom and give all of her tack a good clean so I can cross that off my list of possible causes. I suppose her back could be sore, although she doesn't object to bareback riding so I'm not very convinced on that front. (She also doesn't object to her saddle, just the girth, which is what made me think of the whole thing in the first place. She's fine with her rugs too, but not so keen on the over-girth/surcingle we've been playing with to test her sensitivity to the girth - its more stretchy and doesn't include the saddle, so we've been playing about to try and find out exactly what it is that annoys her...so far it seems to be the girth!). I'll do the back-check thing you suggest Flea and see what she does. (You seem very knowledgeable about these things so well done! Karma coming  ). As for stretching her legs to stop the skin getting caught - I do that anyway  |
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Post by spotti on Jan 10, 2009 15:43:25 GMT
Oh, and thanks Haffy too! I'll get a karma sent out to you just as soon as possible.
Ta very muchly ;D
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Post by fleabitten on Jan 10, 2009 16:41:10 GMT
Thanks spotti! When we were getting a saddle fitted for Princess we went to a qualified person and he showed us how to check for a sore back and how to tell whether your saddle fits well  |
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Post by spotti on Jan 10, 2009 17:07:29 GMT
*has actually remembered to give Flea the karma she was promised*...sorry Flea!!
And that makes sense. Teach your clients to look for themselves so that the saddler/back person only really needs to come out if there really is a problem. Genius!
*modified because my fingers got ahead of my brain and posted the reply before I'd finished writing!!
Right, just been to see Faith, gave her a good groom (which she loved...she fell asleep bless her) and poked and prodded all over her back and shoulders and even where her girth would sit and she gave absolutely no reaction what-so-ever. Also tried the surcingle on again and she didn't bat an eyelid. Put it a bit tighter and she looked at what I was doing but that was it sooooooooooooooo me thinks we will try with the surcingle again tomorrow and then maybe try putting her real girth on after she's worn the surcingle for a while (so she's used to the sensation) and then see what happens.
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Post by fleabitten on Jan 10, 2009 17:29:30 GMT
woo! Ive got 17 karma. Last time I looked it was like 12 or 15 or something! as you can tell i dont really keep track! ;D
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Post by duckles on Jan 10, 2009 20:11:09 GMT
I know both the saddle fitter and the chiro asked me had I trouble girthing up when they checked JB (Actually I never had, even though he had a bad back) so I guess it can be a sign of bad back but I honestly don't think that could be Faith's problem- given her saddle and all her treatment. I know a lot of mares can be funny with girths- I don't see how it could be hormone/season related but I have heard it said that it is. Mostly likely a bit of dirt or something under her coat as you suggest- I imagine she is always impeccably groomed but she could have rolled in her bed or something. Hope all sorts itself out- as you say, she likes to give you every oppertunity to expand your knowledge on every aspect of horse problems! lol!
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Post by brigadier on Jan 10, 2009 20:58:17 GMT
Ive known horses who have a real go when doing this but thats usually because someone has been rough with them, so cant imagine that being the cause here. Do everything Flea has advised and consider a sheepskin sleeve just in case there's an area on the girth pinching that you are missing. It also may just be the cold feel of the girth she resents- esp if its a material that gets cold and youve just got it from the tack room (why are tack rooms ALWAYS cold?) My spray oil had frozen today- couldnt believe it!
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Post by spotti on Jan 11, 2009 20:22:43 GMT
Impeccably groomed?...erm...sure! I do try, but she really does just love to be a mucky pup!
As soon as I've groomed or washed her, the first thing she does is roll (on whatever surface she is standing on, be that grass, mud, school sand, stable straw...whatever, she doesn't care - the muckier the better!) and then rubs herself on stuff to mess up all of her neatly groomed fur and then she will shake her head and neck so as to mess up her nice neat mane to give it the 'bed head' look AND THEN goes for a drink and dribbles it all over my shoulder...niiiice! And she does this same routine, without fail, every single time she has a bath!
Duckles - she's been a brilliant teacher so far on all of the possible problems a single horse can have all at the same time and no doubt she will continue to broaden my knowledge for years to come!
And Brig - that cold girth thing makes sense actually...I'll try her in the middle of the day tomorrow (when its a bit warmer) and see what happens then.
Honestly, horses...who'd have 'em?!
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Post by fleabitten on Jan 11, 2009 21:08:24 GMT
OMG, I hated it when I got Princesses mane all laid neatly on one side and she shook it and it all went all over the place! Ahhhhhh! Can totally relate ;D
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Post by spotti on Jan 12, 2009 10:34:49 GMT
Somehow Faith has tamed her own mane to lay on one side (it used to be all over the place but nowadays she obviously prefers it in her new 'do'), but as soon as I try to groom it/untangle all of her knotty bits, she shakes her head and makes it even more messy!! So currently I've given up grooming her mane and just spray it with detangler and let her sort herself out |
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for so much hard work we thank ye!!