Resenting being tacked up

[Hollymead]

Advice please guys & gals!
Holly has always been a bit stroppy about having her girth done up, but recently (last coupla months) she's been getting worse. I get severe faces, then she feints a bite or two, then bites anything inanimate that's close by with her ears flat back. However, when she's ridden she goes well with ears pricked etc, so I know it's not the idea of ridden work she's objecting to.
She has had her teeth/back/saddle checked, I am also a fully qualified equine massage therapist, and there's no new muscle spasms (due to her conformation her shoulders and neck are always a bit tight, but they are getting better with work). She's rising 6. Anyone got any ideas?
I don't reprimand her, as I am sure she's trying to tell me something, I just ignore her actions and get on with tacking her up. Oh yeah, and I always tighten the girth very gradually, pull her forelegs foreward so the girth doesn't pinch etc.

[wildponies]

Is she clipped? Check that the girth hasn't rubbed anywhere, or that there is old dried sweat which has made the skin become sore :)

[Snow_Pony]

Try a girth sleeve, or a different girth. The wintec girth made both of mine very girthy, but with a sheepskin girth sleeve they were fine.
OT, but may I pm you about equine massage?? I want to train but pretty confused about what qualifications I need to have. :o
xxx

[dansmum]

My horse does exactly the same. Its almost a habit now - he has to bite something when I do up his girth - usually the fence. Like your mare, he has had everything checked and nothing apears to be wrong, and is a happy forward going horse when ridden. I put it down to something that had perhaps happened in his past , as he was 11 when I got him. Like you, am still a bit confused by it all:confused: Is your mare like that all the time or does it get worse when she is in season? I know my friends mare becomes really grumpy and resents the girth at certain times:)

[Joyscarer]

When I went through this it turned out to be Joy's saddle. What I took to be normal for her was soon seen not to be when she had a properly fitting saddle.

Trouble was that she is such a willing and forward going mare that I didn't realise that the saddle was the problem and the only time she would rebel was on the ground not under saddle.

I got the saddle checked once and told all ok but wasn't convinced so got an equine physio out who showed me where the problem was and I then went to another saddle fitter.

[dansmum]

When I went through this it turned out to be Joy's saddle. What I took to be normal for her was soon seen not to be when she had a properly fitting saddle.

Trouble was that she is such a willing and forward going mare that I didn't realise that the saddle was the problem and the only time she would rebel was on the ground not under saddle.

I got the saddle checked once and told all ok but wasn't convinced so got an equine physio out who showed me where the problem was and I then went to another saddle fitter.

Thats interesting Joyscarer - it must have been good to get to the bottom of it. I know I would like to. I have had the physio out twice last year and she wasnt able to find anything. Very strange:confused:

[Joyscarer]

Well that's just it isn't it, all we can do is keep ruling things out.

We go for the usual teeth, back (although you know your onions there!) and tack checks and then need to think about other reasons such as whether we are being realistic in our workload/content expectations.

Another thing I found with Joy is that mentally she was very much a baby and only really started settling down in her 7th year.

So it could be a dominance thing or it could just be that she isn't ready to work at the level she is?

I really hope you get to the bottom of this soon so you don't have to read my rambings if nothing else :o

[jaydevon]

a ggod test to find out if it is the saddle............. do you have an elastic sursingle? try it with out a saddle and doing up a sursingle, may take a few goes to see if she still reacts, and if she has a long coat have a good feel with your hand could be a tiny lump somewhere on the girth line,

although i agree she could be telling something a telling off may also be worth ago, after a few nos! if she gets better you will know shes having you on!

[Hollymead]

Thanks for your replies guys. I'll answer your questions...
Holly has a chaser clip, but it's quite grown out. I will check for any soreness when I visit her tomorrow, but I haven't noticed any yet.
She reacts that way with her lunging roller too. The girth is a Thorowgood cob one (she's a 13.3hh NF, but needs it to help stop the saddle slipping as she's a bit round, with no wither and a powerful backend). Not tried a girth sleeve yet, could be worth a go.
Daphnelia, of course you can PM me about massage! :)
Dansmum, I've had Holly since she was 6 months old, and before that she was wild on the New Forest, so unfortunately I can't blame it on something in her past.
Joyscarer, yeah, first thing I thought was the saddle, but I've had it checked, and the chiro & I have had a feel round her back, no soreness at all, it's a connundrum! :rolleyes:
As for her work, she's very nearly 6, and we do about 3 hours a week, normally 1 x max 1 hour school (sometimes a little jumping too), 1 x 1 hour hack, 1 x 30m road work and 1 x 30m school/hack/roadwork, depending on what we've been doing.