Girthiness - ideas for causes please!

[1nd1c03]

As the title says my new mare suddenly became girthy out of the blue. I was carrying out the 'tummy lift' exercise as recommended by the physio when she nearly had my arm off.

She was in season so I put it down to that and left her to it for a week, however she became increasingly defensive and snappy.

I had my vet out and pushed for scope as when I bought her she was very skinny and so it was always in the back of my mind that she could have ulcers. She was scoped and found to have a very mild pyloric ulcer, so mild that the vet felt they could not be cause of this girthiness.

During the above procedures she also had her ovaries scanned and an internal exam to check for anything untoward there.

I put her on omeprazole for a month, and I also used Equishure incase it was due to hind gut issues. She was rescanned and the ulcer had disappeared.

Over the summer she has got better and the girthiness is much worse when she is in season. I put her on regumate about three weeks ago, she still had a season a week later but I'm hoping that it may just take a couple of months to fully sort her cycle out?

However, there is still some girthiness there all of the time. She has largely got over it when being girthed due to a combination of being very gentle, a sheepskin girth sleeve and rewarding with treats /scratches for a lack of grumpy faces.

To rug or touch her tummy however she is still very defensive and snappy. The sensitivity runs along her stomach and between her hind legs. I've had a good poke around of back, ribs etc with no reaction. There is no reaction if she is distracted by something going on or food.

So, thank you if you have read this far, but any other ideas as to what it could be? She has seen the physio, had a new saddle, various girth changes, I've removed alfalfa from her diet, teeth checked etc etc.

I'd be willing to put it down to learned behaviour (it's faces as I go to do something usually rather than when it is being done), but it started after a few weeks of owning her!

Also, can regumate take a while to kick in? I imagine that she may be suffering with seasons more than usual as presumably she did not have any whilst she was so thin.

 

[Red-1]

I would not discount ulcers yet, omeprazole on its own can't treat all ulcers, and Equishure is more (IMO) to keep things on an even keel rather than a cure.

I may try her with a treeless saddle for a month to see if that has any effect. There are many saddle fitters that are not skilled at all.

I don't know what tests your vet has done, but I would not accept that there is nothing wrong physically. There could be something systemic such as a muscle enzyme issue, a suspensory issue or anything causing long term chronic low grade pain. A vet visit will not generally do the lot, so it needs a performance workup at an equine hospital to fully investigate. Better to do this while your insurance is still valid, as having called the vet for grumpiness, the clock is ticking for anything that could make her grumpy.

I had a mare with ovary issues, it was not found until the cancer was too advanced to save her, despite an earlier scan showing nothing. She was better with a mare marble.

 

[Fiona]

Could she just be very ticklish???

Sorry if this is a frivolous suggestion...

Fiona

 

[Corbie]

You say she's had a new saddle ....was that fitted by a qualified saddle fitter, and would it not be worth after a few weeks of settling (brand new saddle?) having a recheck?

 

[sbloom]

I think it's worth trying to eliminate the saddle as that is a really common cause for grumpiness when you approach with the saddle, or girthiness, or not standing still to be mounted, both of which are causing more pressure on the saddle (ie doing the girth up and getting on). Physios can be great but there are other professions out there who may have a different perspective, might be a good idea to get a second opinion from someone like a McTim or an osteo, and I would want my saddle fitter and back person talking directly to ensure that they're on the same page.

You could do only ground work, lunging etc for a couple of weeks after a treatment, see how she is, try the saddle again for a week and see how she is. Some time off ridden work and a treatment might be enough to fix it, even if the saddle was "off" for a short time. A new saddle WILL settle and sometimes the fit can change very rapidly, if not "nipped in the bud" you can get issues showing up just as quickly.

Obviously it may be something completely different but I would go through these steps if you don't find anything else.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Another thing to try would be to cut her food right back to hay/grass for about a month to see if that makes a difference. I used to have a mare who could eat alfalfa with no ill effects at all but cereals of any kind sent her wappy.