whats wrong with my mare

[tommytwo8turbo]

I have recently brought a young filly to break in, everything was going fine(halter broken, lunging,mouthing) until I showed her the lunging roller, she had a sniff and was fine i put it on and no sooner had I done it up she snatched lead rope out of my hands and was bronking and throwing herself on floor and at walls, I then managed to calm her to stand to take it off,the next time I did it I thought I'd have some help and exactly same happened again, we spent hours making her stand and walk, she would not walk and then would just start bronking but we managed it, the next time we thought she might have calmed a bit to it, but I couldn't have been more wrong, she did the Same! knocked my collegues hat off rearing, pushed her way out. But this will baffle you same as it has me, she is fine and doesn't batter an eye lid at a sersingle. :-S Naturally she's a loving quiet mare with beautiful soft eyes but when she has the roller on her eyes change and fill up with fear. Please help me.

 

[Evergreen]

I have a horse that is broken in but cannot stand the lunge roller. He completely panics and throws himself over backwards. He is also like that with the saddle when the girth is tightened and he tries to move. It turns out he has kissing spine. He has no evidence of soreness to his back at all. I would have your filly checked out for this condition as some horses are born with it. We have another thoroughbred here that has it and he has never been ridden.

 

[Slave2Magic]

Firstly, how old is she? Is it possible that she has had a bad experience with someone else? What kind of roller is it? Is it flat over her back or does it have the padded bits at he withers? Try a different roller on her. A surcingle isn't as restricting as a roller so she may have pain in her wither area or under her breastbone area. I would get her checked out by a physio before trying anything else as it is such an extreme reaction.

 

[tommytwo8turbo]

she is only 3 and a half, i would have said maybe she has had a bad experience with one before but when i got her she was completely raw, never been handled and since then i have halter broken her. Its just a bog standard roller (no padding around the withers). when the surcingle is on, it is reasonable tight, wereas the roller i can only just get it done up before she goes mad, so its not tight in the slightest, at first we thought could it be that it wasn't tight enough (too loose and was scaring her moving around) but surely after 7 hours of having it on she would have calmed to it.

 

[cptrayes]

Can you explain the difference between a lunging roller with no padding in, and a surcingle for me? Surely the answer has to be something in the difference between the two, even if it's the smell?

 

[frustrated]

Correct me if im wrong but i presume that the sursingle is elastic and the roller is not? I also presume that the roller is also heavier.
How have you introduced the roller? did you just plonk it on and fastern it? I know you said it was loose but some horses are very nervous of any change.
Let her sniff it and feed her lots of treats, if she will let you place it on her back do not fastern, give lots of treats do this until you can place it on her back with out adverve reaction. Then you may try again to fastern it. Until then keep on with ground work, use the sursingle instead for lunging. Sounds to me to need to be desencetised very slowly, it could take weeks. Good Luck.

 

[tommytwo8turbo]

I introduced it to her by letting her smell it and brushing her shoulder with it, she had a lot of treats and I did this slowly I put it on by putting it over her back and slowly just pushing and sliding it over so not to make a noise from it and nothing suddenly moving, the vet has told me from what he thinks she hasn't got a bad back as she can canter and buck and bronk round the field, he thinks she's just playing up