Horse panics with saddle or roller

[Wagtail]

My TB was very panicky about the saddle when we first got him home - he had a full on hissy fit when I tried a friends saddle on him for size and girthed it up, and then when when the saddler came out with some different saddles and my husband got on him. Rearing, bucking, twisting like a bronco, the works. Both times it was caused by touching him behind/underneath the cantle area. After I decided he was too dangerous to get on (I was pregnant at the time!) we arranged some physio sessions and he got a lot better. I agree with you about the memory of pain as he still has the odd 'hunchback' moment and still doesn't like being touched behind the saddle, but the reaction is not as extreme. Is there a specific area on your boy he's most sensitive to?

I hope it works out for you and your horse.

He isn't sensitive anywhere. Only when being clipped, but that is just around his gaskin and is normal sort of ticklish behaviour.

 

[Wagtail]

How would he behave if you put a light rug on him and a surcingle?

He would be fine if it was loose. He is fine with a loose roller or girth too. But they slip back on him when loose. If I put a light rug on and did the sursingle up tightly then he would react. He is fine when I put on his tight sweet itch rug which has to be pulled over his head and often gets stuck whilst I am trying to pull it over his ears. I can do in in the wind and loose in the field and he is as good as gold.

 

[millitiger]

Can I ask how they found this damage? Problem with this horse is you can palpate him all you like and not get a single flicker of a pain response.

This one was the same- I could poke and prod him everywhere without a single reaction.

I can't remember what they did to find the damage, sorry The people who owned him weren't very forthcoming and only begrudgingly sent him off when I refused to carry on and told them they wouldn't be able to sell him without sorting it out.

I know he went to a big equine clinic for a full work up and they diagnosed and then he was treated when he came home before coming back to me.

edit- forgot to say, he was also pretty awful when I tried a turnout rug on him and he ran through a post and rail fence before I could get it off!

 

[TandD]

i have the exact same problem. horse diagnosed with kissing spine..but didnt have the operation... my horse does everthing yours does! (ive given up with lunging) but ive had him fall on the floor when the girth tighten slightly, ive been broncked off. yet other times no reaction... vet came out...tacked up the same... HE DID NOTHING i felt like shooting him there and then! next day.... oooh panic! girth!

hes fussy about which girths hell take...only ones with socks on

on the days he does this.. i either leave him alone or just ignore him... i find the more relaxed i can get him the better..... and weirdly a long travel jouney in the horsebox, being shaken around makes him sooo easy to tack up.....

i am beginning to realise that ill get good days and bad days......i just live for the good days when his work is better than ever... and forget the bad days! we all have them!

 

[Spottyappy]

Someone told me that there are many nerves running close to and around girth area,and especially in mares,they can run closer to the surface in some cases. Obviously,yours is a lad,but who is to say he couldn't be affected in same way.
They mentioned using a sheepskin girth pad, as it can help reduce the sensitivity.
Have you tried that at all? If not,has to be worth a go.
Good luck.

 

[Booboos]

R went through a very weird phase where he would spin and take off, and he would do it 10-15 times in one schooling session, it was a nightmare. We spent a year trying to find out what was going on (including workups, nerve blocks, scintigraphy) and the vet had just about concluded it was all in his brain, when I had a brainwave and popped a different saddle on him (saddle had been checked and re-checked, physio had visited repeatedly, vet had looked at the back as had specialist and scintigraphy)...totally different horse. Went through every saddle known to man and ended up with a treeless, the difference was incredible and immediate. The vet speculated that the saddle was well fitting in that the four points sat in the right place, it was balanced, etc. but that the gullet was a bit narrow, R's spine was a bit wide and the gullet would compress the nerves causing sudden pain. He is perfectly fine with the treeless but any time I have ever tried a tried saddle again he's gone a bit bonkers.

Anyway, long winded way of saying since you are desperate and nothing is working give a treeless saddle a go. He may still be the same, but you never know, worth a try!