First off – thanks to everyone who has
responded!! Many of the suggestions were definitely good ones, so I will
repeat here for those who may not know:
This kind of reaction is often pain induced – either current
or past pain:
1 – Check the back, have a
good chiropractor look at her, possibly ultrasound
2 – Check the saddle fit
3 – Make sure you’re not
girthing too tightly
Unfortunately while excellent suggestions, I had thought of
these (or had them suggested to me) previously. As I responded to some
off-list, I had a vet from the top regional hospital do a thorough exam on the
mare last year to try to determine if this was a medical issue. (I like
to rule out medical issues before assuming something is a training/behavior
problem.) Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it)
the mare is in great shape. No alignment problems, no uterine problems,
no leg problems, etc. The saddle was custom made for this mare
specifically, and I’ve had 2 saddle people and 1 vet look at it (in
addition to friends) and all say it fits her fine.
Girthing I have always done slowly, and as loosely as I can
get away with without the saddle slipping sideways. (The previous owners
had told me she was girthy, so I knew from the start to do that part in
stages.)
I tend to believe that the saddle does fit well because we’ve
put some pretty good miles in it, and my mare’s done a couple of decent
paced rides this year, and she is never sore in the back area after or during
those rides. (In fact so far this year, she hasn’t been sore
anywhere from riding – at least not that anyone can tell.) She
moves forward quite willingly and freely at all 3 gaits – walk, trot and
canter.
Another couple of ideas were related to using carrots:
4 – give carrot right before
saddling
5 – give carrot right after
I have actually done this once or twice – though not
with a specific training agenda & may give this another go in a more
structured fashion.
And other comments relate to how you saddle:
6
– make sure you don’t intimidate the horse as you approach, don’t
be threatening
7
– don’t slam the saddle down on their back (again, pain related)
These last ones I think I am OK on. I am probably not
perfect on #7 because of loss of strength, but that wouldn’t completely
explain the worry about blankets and pads. And I’m not that bad
about it – I do try to lower it, but since I swing it to get it up there,
I am sure it “drops” a little bit on her back. However, once
I get her to accept it (after 20 mins) then she gets progressively better as I
put it on and off, so I can’t be bothering her too much on that score.
Mostly at this point I am hoping for more training /
desensitizing suggestions. While it is not ever possible to completely
rule out a health / medical issue, and that might still be the case, according
to what we know right now there is no evidence of a medical problem.
Thanks again to everyone who responded & I hope this
summary message might help others that have similar issues!
