Sensitive girth area?

[Ellie_625]

Hi all! So recently I've been reading up on how do some simple at home massages nothing complex just very simple procedures and have been testing them out on my pony. One of the exercises was to tickle the girth area so they lift there back and consequently stretch out the topline. I first tried this on one of my other ponies who loved it and immediately stretched down and relaxed. After this success, I decided to try this on Ruby my new pony. Ruby isn't Girthy at all when tacking up but when I begun tickling her head shot up and she begun tossing it. I stopped as soon as she begun doing that. Ruby has suffered with girth galls in the past that have healed up now. Does anyone oml what could be up?

 

[lizzi2]

Is she ok to be groomed in that area? A lot of horses have a sensitive spot somewhere - probably nothing to worry about. But if you're worried maybe worth getting an equine massage therapist or physio out to have a look and give you some pointers on massaging?