Girthy horse?

[JackHorseRocks]

My mare had a bad start in life.. However was always slightly girthy but it increasingly got worse. She was scoped and a few minor "rare" ulcers were only found in the tube into her stomach. Gastroguarded and treated, made no difference to herself and then turned out had kissing spine, we thought that was the reason for the girthiness, so was operated on and all going well.

But.. Though shes much happier in herself, ears forward etc.. Shes still badly girthy on the bottom of her belly (mainly behind the armpits) but not really on her sides. Will bite, kick.. Pins her ears back. Not as bad with the brush much worse when touched by my hand.. And worse the harder I push.

Any ideas?
She keeps weight and condition well, not lame at all.. My vet doesn't think it's ulcers so any ideas or experiences?

 

[MrsMozart]

I'm sure there was a thread on this type of issue a few months back. I can't for the life of me remember all the details though!

Have you tried a search of 'girthy horse'?

 

[Jonesy]

Might she be sore over the sternum area? Have you tried padded girths or sheepskin over girths to see if she is any better?

 

[JackHorseRocks]

Might she be sore over the sternum area? Have you tried padded girths or sheepskin over girths to see if she is any better?

Thanks for both your replies, I couldn't find that thread but will have another look. I've had wool, sheepskin girth.. Stud girth, no difference!

 

[kerrieberry2]

could it be that she just remembers the pain? and panics that its still going to hurt?

 

[Jonesy]

could it be that she just remembers the pain? and panics that its still going to hurt?

This is my next thought. A lady at my yard had a horse that was very difficult to mount - would leap forward and be silly, so she used to get someone to stand by the side with a carrot to take the horses mind of the situation - it worked because I was that helper once and the horse didn't do anything.

Might it be worth doing something similar whilst girthing up? If she's still not a happy horse the. I would think there is something else going on.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I used to have a mare who was very sensitive to refined sugar and cereal and literally could not tolerate any at all. She was very girthy and although not bad to groom was also very difficult to rug. When we realised what was causing her (many and varied) behaviour problems, she improved tremendously but was always wary about being touched in the girth area, so I always thought that she remembered the pain.