Problems tacking up horse

[Emily91]

Hi

I have recently started riding a sec D. She is lovely but has been badly treated in the past.

She is a nightmare to tack up though!
As soon as she sees the saddle she starts dancing around and then once you start to reach under for the girth she starts barging you and smacking into you with her hind quaters.

Eventually I am going to have to be able to tack her up on my own. At the moment it takes at least 2 of us.

Any ideas on how to deal with this?

Thanks

 

[Honey08]

Does the saddle fit? Most dancing around comes down to a badly fitting saddle, or sore girth area. Does she accept the bridle ok? If its just the saddle, I'd get it checked for fit. Otherwise, make the experience as nice as possible, while being firm with her. Obviously tie her up. Praise her loads for times that she does stand still etc...

 

[unbalanced]

I had a similar problem with my pony due to an ill fitting saddle (which looked ok to me and my instructor, but the saddler said would have been painful, so get your tack checked if you haven't already, I feel so guilty about it).
Then I did lots of desensitisation with her. I had her tied up on a loose lead rope - if she had been loose she would have left and part of her problem was biting - I wanted her to be physically able to bite in order to choose not to, if that makes sense.
So for the desensitisation, I approached her with a saddle pad. As soon as she started looking uncomfortable (eg ears back) I stopped and stayed where I was until I got a nice face then I retreated. I got closer and closer with the pad, rubbed it all over her, put it on her neck, her back, her haunches, her head, swung it on and off etc until she was really relaxed with it. Then I did exactly the same with her saddle - approach and retreat to get her comfortable with it in her space, swinging it on and off (of course putting down very gently, like putting a hat on your head) onto her back and so on. I just did loads of this for a few days. If she went to bite I blocked her with my elbow so she bumped herself on me rather than biting. It was always a block rather than a smack - my mare is very smart and if you hit her for biting she would just bite and get out of the way faster.
For the girth I did lots of stroking her belly and girth area, approach and retreat and getting her happy being touched there again. I used a soft rope to loop around her belly to simulate a girth. Then with the saddle I did the girth up, again repeating over and over, blocking if she went to bite, fastening it slowly, loosest hole on each side. I would leave her tied up for a while with the girth on really loose before walking her and tightening it a bit more each time. With mares they seem to be much more sensitive about their girths than geldings so it is even more important to have a nice elastic comfortable girth and really take your time doing it up.
All this took quite a lot of time and I did get some people telling me to just tie her up short and get on with it - well everyone has different opinions about how to do things. I spent half an hour, forty five minutes a day for about a week and a half working on saddling and girthing but now when I tack up she has her head low and relaxed, only nice faces, no ears back or biting and she's not cross or worried anymore so this method really worked for me.
Good luck with your horse and I hope I have helped a bit.

 

[Ranyhyn]

My horse was a nightmare to put the saddle on, although not as bad as yours.

I have gotten him better by doing everything slowly - without agenda. Put the saddlecloth on, walk away - do something. Put the saddle on - no girth, do something else - etc etc. This slowly slowly approach I feel takes away the tension and allows them to get used to the feeling of everything going on. Any sharers or riders I have are asked to do things in the same, quiet gentle fashion and now he's much happier.

Too many people slap everything on, winch the girth up and go - how bad must that feel?!

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

I personally feel your horse is telling you something here; obviously there are/or have been very real pain issues and TBH you're not gonna get anywhere with having to have two people to tack up.

I think you need to go right back to basics. If not done so already, (sorry this is so obvious) then get a full check, starting with teeth, physio, vet (trot her up/etc etc), then get the saddle fitter out and see what's going on.

You won't achieve anything by continuing to force the issue. You might well need to forget about riding for a while and just concentrate on building up her confidence on the ground, at being handled, headcollars/equipment etc being put on, and then you might progress just as you would if backing a youngster, putting on a numnah/saddle pad, and being very gentle about it all.

THEN, when she's ready - and not before - try putting a saddle on and girthing it up very gently, just putting your weight across like you would with a youngster, and going very very slowly from there.

This horse is telling you something loud and clear that she's not happy with being tacked up!! So I think you need to listen and step back from what you're doing at the mo. There aint gonna be any short cut, but I would say physio/teeth, physio/vet etc is the very first priority here.

 

[katherine1975]

I agree with the other posts on here. My horse had a poorly fitting saddle in the past (before I owned her) and was initially bargy and wouldn't keep still when I tried to tack her up. We have taken things slowly and as she loves having her withers scratched my OH would hold her and scratch her withers as I tacked her up. This took her mind off it and now she knows that her saddle doesn't hurt she is fine.
It has taken a while but be patient and make sure the saddle fits properly.

 

[Emily91]

Thanks for the relpies. Her saddle does fit. But I am wondering about getting her back checked. Although when ridde etc she is fine. its just the initial getting the girth done up thats the issue. But maybe she is just a very genuine horse to ride? Will talk to owner about back check.

I would like to make it clear I am not forcing this horse to do anything horrible. She is relaxed and happy to ride. I dont want to 'Force the issue', hence why I am asking for advice on dealing with the problem.

Unbalanced, that sounds like a good plan. Will have to try get her owner on side and on the same page and see if we can work with her the same way everyday and see if we make some progress.

She is such a beauty in every other respect.

 

[Trinity Fox]

Amongst a few others we have a sec d he is a bit of a funny bugger can be very funny to rug tack up he did have a bad past but can get very silly if allowed.

He seems to let things overtake his thought process and get himself in a flap, he can only be mounted by leg up stands like a rock now but was hysterical at first and can be silly if been off work still. No pain or saddle issues if you rule all these out i would persevere.

He responds best to very calm hands on touching making him stand then assured handling all calm and the more it goes on the better it gets the funny thing is if he is allowed to wander or stress around it makes him worse, he then settles to whatever we are doing.

He also really remembers who has handled him before we have more than one farrier come as have a few horses all from same place but he favours one so is always good for him as he has the same approach as us.

I you didnt know how to handle him you would just think he was being a bargy welsh cob but he just has a way to get him doing as you want in a calm way.

 

[Honey08]

My horse started being funny to saddle last year. She was perfectly normal to ride. The saddle seemed to fit fine. I tried putting my gelding's saddle on her for a couple of weeks, she was fine to saddle. When I changed the saddle back it started again. Despite seeming to fit, it obviously caused some problems...

 

[HopesnDreams]

Kissing Spine?

 

[Wagtail]

This is 100% a pain issue and not a behaviour issue. Ulcers? Kissing spine? Lumpy saddle panels? Pinching girth? Sore ovaries? She is trying to tell you as loudly as she can. It is not a case of you being able to tack her up by yourself, it is a case of you finding what is wrong with her.

 

[Tinypony]

I retired my horse at 6 years old with kissing spine and she was always an angel to tack up. That seems a huge leap to make, particularly as the horse is fine when ridden.
This could be related to pain, or remembered pain, or ill fitting tack. So you need to get the saddle and the horse checked over.
It could also be related to inconsiderate girthing in the past. You know, someone who just yanks the girth up, lots of people do it. Or who lean their head against the horse's side while they grunt and groan forcing it just one hole tighter.
I'd get the physical sorted out, and then just act as if she is a baby horse learning about being saddled for the first time. Get a feel for what really sets her off. Is she happier saddled and girthed from the off side? (That sorted a similar problem with a new horse I had instantly).

 

[Trinity Fox]

Totally agree with Tinypony as i said before rule out pain then just try and get it right for your horse, welsh are pretty highly strung they have had alot of arab and tb bred in to them so can be a bit ancy not usually with any malice but can be sensitive and need considerate handling.

 

[Booboos]

Sounds like she is either in pain now or has been in pain from the saddle in the past and is remembering the experience.

What is her history? Has she always been difficult in the past? Did she have any treatment for back issues in the past? Personally I would start with a vet visit and look at back pain and ulcers. Your vet will advise on whether you need the physio to work with her a bit more.

If all is well physically, then it sounds like a psychological problem from remembered pain. As others have said, go back to basics and revise your goals. Break down the behaviour into small steps, i.e. first saddle pad, then saddle, etc. Do little and often, don't expect to get to the girth every time and don't make it progressively more difficult every time. For much faster progress reward her for good behaviour and ignore bad behaviour (obviously do stay safe though, wear a hat and tie her up if you need to for safety reasons).