My horse hates the saddle being put on!

Sorry, I haven't read the whole thread. I fitted Balance saddles for a while. I came across a number of horses who were considered bad to tack up - aggressive, making a big fuss without aggression, quietly trying to stop the girth being done up by blowing out etc. Without fail they stopped the behaviour when a Balance saddle was put on them - thel saddles are designed to be very comfortable for the horse and these animals for whom having a saddle put on had been an unpleasant experience for a long time realised almost instantly that it didn't hurt anymore. I would be almost certain that your horse is finding the saddle uncomfortable whatever the humans around her say - the horse itself is the only one that can judge the level of comfort! I'm not sure about this idea, but I have heard it suggested that after a while if the saddle is pinching somewhere, the pressure results in numbness in that area and so the discomfort goes. This might explain your experience of putting the saddle back on shortly after exercise not resulting in the same reaction as at the start though.
 
I did this 2 more times and she was fine with it and she didnt care so if it’s pain why didn’t she do it then?
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Because she had already been ridden and knew it was over.

The behaviour you describe is extreme. I can't believe that you are going to try to train her out of showing pain before making some better checks whether she is actually in any.
 
There are a whole heap of reasons why she might not react to a saddle being out back on after riding and still be in pain, some of which are physiological.

I’m surprised given the OP and the level of reaction occurring that so few people have suggested that a vet visit might be prudent
 
I never understand this. I know my horse inside out. I watch him move on a regular basis, I make a mental note of his reactions to things, once a week I go over him head to foot with my fingers checking muscle tone and skin condition and overall health. The first sign of anything wrong and I instantly assume its pain or discomfort and it always is. I am also very lucky to now have saddlers/sports massage people/dentists etc that I trust, so I am happy to run the usual checks with them first for something minor but then its a vet job if theres no improvement quickly.

I see so many horses screaming to be heard while their owners says "oh hes just like that" "hes just a grumpy sod" "shes cold backed" An endless list of excuses for a horse thats trying as hard as it can to let you know its hurting. People dont seem to know their horses and/or dont want to open a can of worms so they are just made to get on with it.
 
The pony I ride just same. Not cold backed as has no issue being mounted. She has her saddle fit checked regularly and recently, and she shows no discomfort in her back being ridden etc. I have found though that if I put girth right down to number one hole on other side and then gently do up in small increments whilst getting everything else ready for ride, she is much better. I think she is merely remembering a discomfort in the past when girthed up too quickly and must have got pinched by girth. Anyway I am going to proceed in this manner and hope that in time she will trust that it won't happen again.
 
Leo Walker said:
I never understand this. I know my horse inside out. I watch him move on a regular basis, I make a mental note of his reactions to things, once a week I go over him head to foot with my fingers checking muscle tone and skin condition and overall health. The first sign of anything wrong and I instantly assume its pain or discomfort and it always is. I am also very lucky to now have saddlers/sports massage people/dentists etc that I trust, so I am happy to run the usual checks with them first for something minor but then its a vet job if theres no improvement quickly.

I see so many horses screaming to be heard while their owners says "oh hes just like that" "hes just a grumpy sod" "shes cold backed" An endless list of excuses for a horse thats trying as hard as it can to let you know its hurting. People dont seem to know their horses and/or dont want to open a can of worms so they are just made to get on with it.
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I agree with you, LW.

Why would a perfectly healthy, normally well-mannered horse suddenly decide to be awkward about being tacked up/groomed/whatever?

And I gasp in wonder/horror at any-one who thinks that girthing up slowly is an accommodation that they make to a nervous horse. I was taught to *always* do the girth up slowly, one hole at a time and would never dream of doing anything else.

I do think some people ought to stick to rocking horses, or bikes.
 
Agree with others, it's doesn't sound like purely learnt behaviour to me either. If it was a saddle hurting previously I would expect that with a saddle that doesn't hurt they would pick up on that pretty quickly and stop overreacting (in the space of maybe 4 or 5 repetitions).

I have a mare who is naturally sharp tempremented. People and other horses frequently irritate her and she's not at all shy about telling them so. But she does not react negatively in general when you are doing something specific with her, as she is engaged in the activity. And that's typical of the slightly spiky horses that I've met - generally it's when you're buzzing around faffing and fussing with them that they get a bit narky, not when you are saddling them or similar
 
DabDab said:
Agree with others, it's doesn't sound like purely learnt behaviour to me either. If it was a saddle hurting previously I would expect that with a saddle that doesn't hurt they would pick up on that pretty quickly and stop overreacting (in the space of maybe 4 or 5 repetitions).

I have a mare who is naturally sharp tempremented. People and other horses frequently irritate her and she's not at all shy about telling them so. But she does not react negatively in general when you are doing something specific with her, as she is engaged in the activity. And that's typical of the slightly spiky horses that I've met - generally it's when you're buzzing around faffing and fussing with them that they get a bit narky, not when you are saddling them or similar
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I bought a Draft mare with her tack, which definitely didn't fit. i think that her saddle had fitted until the owner had allowed her to get very fat, whilst still using the same saddle. the bridle never had fitted, imo. She hated being tacked up. I had been told that she bit when being tacked up - and that was indeed correct. I changed her saddle and bridle and she soon realised that it didn't hurt and stopped biting.

As she lost weight, we went through several saddles and I could always tell which of the ones that we tried, she preferred.
 
Quote from pearlsacarolsinger]
'And I gasp in wonder/horror at any-one who thinks that girthing up slowly is an accommodation that they make to a nervous horse. I was taught to *always* do the girth up slowly, one hole at a time and would never dream of doing anything else.
I do think some people ought to stick to rocking horses, or bikes.'] end of quote.

The pony I ride is certainly not nervous and I am not the only one who has ever tacked her up. I expect there are few people who girth up one hole at a time leaving a minute or so in between, because many horses do not show any signs of annoyance in the first place. It was only a suggestion to the OP. And by being gentle to a pony why on earth would you say I should stick to rocking horses or bikes??!!
 
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Corbie said:
Quote from pearlsacarolsinger]
'And I gasp in wonder/horror at any-one who thinks that girthing up slowly is an accommodation that they make to a nervous horse. I was taught to *always* do the girth up slowly, one hole at a time and would never dream of doing anything else.
I do think some people ought to stick to rocking horses, or bikes.'] end of quote.

The pony I ride is certainly not nervous and I am not the only one who has ever tacked her up. I expect there are few people who girth up one hole at a time leaving a minute or so in between, because many horses do not show any signs of annoyance in the first place. It was only a suggestion to the OP. And by being gentle to a pony why on earth would you say I should stick to rocking horses or bikes??!!
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My point was that *everyone* who is tacking up any horse should always start on the bottom hole at each side and gradually take the girth up one hole at a time until it is tight enough for the rider to mount - the girth can then be tightened again, if necessary after mounting.
I would not expect anyone who is tacking up to do anything else. It is not a special arrangement for a horse which may or may not be uncomfortable, it is simply good practice - and I am appalled that any-one would think anything different.
I take it that you are riding at a RS and am horrified that you have not been taught properly to tack up.
 
pearlsacarolsinger, I have been riding for many years thank you :) And owned my own horses. I do not ride at a riding school.

Over the years I have seen plenty of riders doing up the girth quickly, and certainly not putting down to lowest hole on other side before girthing.

I'm unsure why you think I can't tack up properly ?

Oh well.....: /
 
Corbie said:
pearlsacarolsinger, I have been riding for many years thank you :) And owned my own horses. I do not ride at a riding school.

Over the years I have seen plenty of riders doing up the girth quickly, and certainly not putting down to lowest hole on other side before girthing.

I'm unsure why you think I can't tack up properly ?

Oh well.....: /
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I am appalled that you don't know that the *correct* way to fasten a girth is to do it one hole at a time *at each side* and that someone might need to have that suggested to them as a way to make their own horse more comfortable with being tacked up. Admittedly it may be OP, who seems to think that her horse is just being awkward, doesn't tack up correctly either.
If you remember you state that it is only one side that you fasten up gradually, the other apparently is left where it was last time you rode, which I also think is poor practice.
I do apologise for suggesting that you lack experience.
 
No perhaps I didn't put it correctly on my reply to OP. I was suggesting that she put the girth right down to lowest hole on off-side BEFORE doing up girth one by one on both sides because I know plenty of riders who do not lower girth to lowest hole before doing up,( myself included in the past but then I didn't have a horse showing an adverse reaction to girthing you see).
 
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Corbie said:
No perhaps I didn't put it correctly on my reply to OP. I was suggesting that she put the girth right down to lowest hole on off-side BEFORE doing up girth one by one on both sides because I know plenty of riders who do not lower girth to lowest hole before doing up,( myself included in the past but then I didn't have a horse showing an adverse reaction to girthing you see).
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You might like to have a look at the poll in Tack Room, it would seem that the vast majority of people start off with the girth on the lowest hole at each side. Do you not usually let the girth down at both sides when you dismount?
 
I take the saddle off as soon as I dismount next to my tie ring so don’t drop it then, I do have to drop it down to the lowest hole when saddling because it doesn’t reach otherwise :D. IME it depends on girth type too.
 
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