Cinchy?

For anyone that has a horse - mare or gelding - that is cinchy to the point of trying to bite - PLEASE have a chiro look at the horse!

^^ Ditto, and look into the possibility the horse has ulcers. I massaged a horse the other day who was very cinchy, where just a simple touch would send him trying to bite and kick. I told the owner it didn't feel or look like a muscular problem to me and that she should explore other possibilities for his cinchy issues....chiro work and ulcer medication is what I suggested.

kchfuller - Haha, I kind of assumed as much, it just seemed like our wires were being crossed and the message wasn't getting through intact

I'm definately willing to look into the possibility of a chiropractor, but at this point I'm 99% certain it's just youngster jitters. Definately if she progresses to throwing dangerous tantrums over it, I'll be looking into medical attention to dismiss an underlying problem. She stands perfectly fine for the saddle itself, doesn't mind it a bit, it's just touching her girth area that she tenses up. Also, because she stands fine after being warmed up for me to tighten it makes me think she's just been rough handled in the past and as slow as I'm going it's not slow enough. I'm going to take some time off to just work her as slow as she'd like to go to get her accustomed to it and hopefully that pays off!

^ yep - good luck and let us know what works!

P.S. i have used a chiro and they work wonders!

I used to work with a couple really girthy Arabs. They both had extremely sensitive skin, and when we switched their curry combs from a big pokey one to a really soft, rubbery one, they actually improved. That's as far as it went, but they didn't get as upset as usual about being girthed up. Just a thought...

I would saddle her like she was an old horse. I try not to treat my colts like colts. When I put the saddle on I don't sneak around about it I throw it up there. When I cinch them I pull the cinch tight enough that my saddle won't fall off but I don't riub it and pussy-foot around. If a young horse is moving around and being nervous the best thing I can do is act like nothing is wrong and saddle up like I would saddle the horse for the rest of its life. I tighten the cinch again just before I get on. Most cinchy horses that I have seen are cinchy from being overtightened. My father in laws horse is cinchy because he puts all 6'3 280 lbs behind tightening the cinch and he really overtightens it.

You might also pay attention to how you tighten it. Don't pull directly up because your grabbing hair and skin. Pull out, so it's away from the horse's fur and skin.
I also agree with walking them around. I don't believe this teaches them to walk while being cinched because when I tell them to stop and stand still they know.
Good luck! If it were me, and I understood you right, all your horse's are cinchy? I don't want to offend you, but maybe your doing something wrong? It's crazy how something small can affect a horse. Do you brush out your cinches? maybe there's just the smallest sticker in that cinch.