Girthy?

[shandy84]

Bramble is very girthy and hates having a roller or saddle tightened she has had her back checked and there are no underlying problems so what could be causing her to do this? How am I best to try and stop it? She pulls very grouchy faces and nuzzles you to show she dislikes it, I have tried having her loose when being tacked up in case confinement was the problem but she was just the same, what do you think?

[KarinUS]

Bramble is very girthy and hates having a roller or saddle tightened she has had her back checked and there are no underlying problems so what could be causing her to do this? How am I best to try and stop it? She pulls very grouchy faces and nuzzles you to show she dislikes it, I have tried having her loose when being tacked up in case confinement was the problem but she was just the same, what do you think?
What kind of girth are you using? Have you tried different ones?

[Mehitabel]

is she generally sensitive round that area? how is she with brushing and general handling round there? does it change with her seasons?

[shandy84]

She has had a normal webbing girth, padded roller and padded girth, so we have tried a few types, we have also tried a humane girth and that was no better either.

She is generally good to brush in these areas, she'snot really one that enjoys a fuss such as too much grooming, so it's hard to tell sometimes, she is VERY protective of her teats though to the point she will threaten if you edge towards them.

It seems to be a constant thing and doesn't change if you do the girth up one hole at a time or a bit quicker, it looks like she resents it rather than it hurting her? Maybe that's attaching too much human emotion to it i don't know, would just like to make it more comfy before she's backed as it would be nice to have her stand still when tacking up etc

[Yann]

Rio is like this, no matter how well the saddle fits (treed or treeless) or what type of girth we are using she always pulls a face or peers round at me or even lifts a back foot. I've had her checked and know for a fact there's no tension or soreness there at all. Both my back person and RA have put it down as being a mare thing, perhaps this is the case with Bramble too?

[shandy84]

It could be Yann and she can be VERY marish especially to other horses,
I just didn't know if there was anything worth trying to make sure it is just her way rather than a training issue. I think I'm a bit oversensitive as it is around thsi time last year Shandy had her bad saddle fit which causd a huge amount of problems (not that Bramble's wearing a saddle :rolleyes: ) Just maybe being a bit over mummying :o

[KarinUS]

clicker training?

Missy can be such a grump when it comes to putting on her blanket.
Evil faces etc. She was actually getting worse and worse! Telling her off didn't do much good.
But she likes clicker training.
So I approached the problem two-fold.
1) I made blanketing easier on her by folding the blanket so that at first only 1/3 of it would cover her, etc.
2) Rewarding good behaviour. I gave her small bits of carrots after every step during which she complied.

This worked wonders! No more faces. I know it's not the same but maybe it will spark an idea applicable to your situation? Positive reenforcement for good behavior and making the process as easy as possible on them...

[JaniceH]

Don't forget that its less than a year since you couldnt get near to her, let alone catch her, groom her, put a headcollar on her, stable her, put her in a field with others, lead her, lunge her........etc etc. It could be she is just not used to the girth enough yet. She has (and you have) done so well, that its quite easy to forget how new she is to all this and how wild she was. Take her back few steps with the girth maybe, put a fleece sleeve on it as well, but a dark one so she doesnt wonder what a big cream snake is on her belly.

[shandy84]

Big cream snake hey :D that will be wrth trying, we'll see how tha goes then try clicker training (only problem there is she's meant to be on a diet :rolleyes: )

[Yann]

I tried the clicker / positive reinforcement thing with Rio and girthing up, but it's sort of backfired because I now have a horse that starts saying please enthusiastically with her foreleg as soon as I go to do the girth up, which isn't that helpful! Be careful what you ask for:D

[shandy84]

he he Idon't think Bramble's quite that intelligent :D

[GoingStraight]

Rio is like this, no matter how well the saddle fits (treed or treeless) or what type of girth we are using she always pulls a face or peers round at me or even lifts a back foot. I've had her checked and know for a fact there's no tension or soreness there at all. Both my back person and RA have put it down as being a mare thing, perhaps this is the case with Bramble too?

My gelding also does this. There's no hyper-sensitivity when being brushed or anything but there is always face pulling and general grumpiness when the girth is being done up. My physio, vet, etc see nothing wrong and we all think it's just grumpiness. Pulling rugs forward has the same effect :o

[Alle]

My mare is like this too...and she pulls the grumpiest faces if there is another horse close by. Mind you, she doesn't do it when the trainer tacks her up...she saves this behavior for me. It's funny because the worst faces she makes are when the girth is at its loosest...she rarely blinks when I am tightening it to the final notch.