Girthy horse

[Airfern]

Can a horse be girthy without have any medical issues? My trainer said some horses its just a behavior issue, similar to pawing in crossties. I ask because I wonder if I’m wasting my time treating for “ulcers” if the problem is behavioral.

History: He can be sensitive when grooming around girth and will kick out if I push on pressure points for ulcers. Under saddle he is normal, good days and fussy days. He has not been scoped, but has been on the Nexuim protocol for a month with slight improvement. He was on the Abler pop rocks before with same small improvements. The improvements are less diarrhea, although he always has lose stools and while still fussy when girthing he stopped reaching around and trying to bite me or kicking out. When he was on pop rocks I weaned off slowly. I plan of weaning him off the Nexium slowly as well, but wonder if I should do another month to see if I get a better result.

There is no history of gas or colic. He is fed 2 x day with 3 way hay (Oat/Wheat/Barley Blend) and Bermuda hay. He is also supplemented with about a cup of rice bran and about a cup of Purina Outlast a day and a pound of Triple Crown ration balancer per day. He is an easy keeper. ridden 3x a week and stalled the rest. Turned out occasionally if I have time to run to barn when I’m not riding.

[bluepece2]

I read recently that it may be stiffness in the muscles where the girth goes.
my mare hated getting her saddle put on. I can’t say it’s no big deal now but after a year of positive re enforcement she is doing much much better. With her it was everything so I would put the pad on, treat, put saddle on, treat, put first side of girth on, treat, pull girl th up on other side, treat then do the girth up, treat. Once out of the cross ties and in the ring she could care less about the girth being tightened. She’s a funny one. I don’t give her big treats, the tiny ones from Likit work great for this.

[beau159]

@Airfern

Can a horse be girthy without have any medical issues? My trainer said some horses its just a behavior issue, similar to pawing in crossties. I ask because I wonder if I’m wasting my time treating for “ulcers” if the problem is behavioral.

I hope so, because I think I have one myself.

My Shotgun will always get a little bit cinchy towards the middle to end of the season. Not real bad and I always cinch up slow anyway, but it was enough that I tried a 30 day treatment for ulcers. It made zero difference.

He gets chiro checks and vet checks on a regular basis so no issues there either.

Just bought him a brand new saddle this year that fits fantastic, so no issue there.

So I"m scratching my head…

[bathsheba8542]

If you’re seeing slight improvement with Nexium, then I’d suggest trying Ulcergard at a full dose for at least two weeks. You may be improving the symptoms of ulcers (which is what it sounds like), but to cure them, you need to treat them for at least two weeks if not a month.

[rememberthenight]

I have a line of horses that are cinchy. Have been since they say they started work. I have scoped, trialed mess, Chiro, massaged and xrayed. SO MANY SADDLE
FITTERS. Grandma, daughter and her sons. Another baby of grandma is the same way. They expect to be girthed up slowly and with respect. Great to ride. Just a not to be girthed by someone who doesn’t know the routine.

They also prefer anatomic girths and a BOT saddle pad. Thank you very much.

[Airfern]

@bathsheba8542

If you’re seeing slight improvement with Nexium, then I’d suggest trying Ulcergard at a full dose for at least two weeks. You may be improving the symptoms of ulcers (which is what it sounds like), but to cure them, you need to treat them for at least two weeks if not a month.

He has been on nexium for a month as of today. just wondering if I should do one more then wean. The problem with ulcerguard is that I am not at barn every day to treat him. barn staff will supplement feed but not give paste.

[SolarFlare]

@bluepece2

I read recently that it may be stiffness in the muscles where the girth goes.
my mare hated getting her saddle put on. I can’t say it’s no big deal now but after a year of positive re enforcement she is doing much much better. With her it was everything so I would put the pad on, treat, put saddle on, treat, put first side of girth on, treat, pull girl th up on other side, treat then do the girth up, treat. Once out of the cross ties and in the ring she could care less about the girth being tightened. She’s a funny one. I don’t give her big treats, the tiny ones from Likit work great for this.

Mine wasn’t this girthy, but I did notice that he was getting a tiny bit cranky when I tightened the girth on the right side only. If I started on the right and did up the left side second, it wasn’t really noticeable. Not ulcery or any other symptoms.

I got him a massage. He was tight on the right side. After the massage, no more crankiness, although after a few months I’m noticing it again so he’ll get massaged again soon.

[PonyStar]

Can a horse be girthy without have any medical issues?
Yes!! I have one …no medical issues at all… just has very sensitive skin and doesnt like things that feel tight like a girth pulled up too quickly, or a rug that is too firm around the chest… my advice is use a sheepskin covered girth and just allow the time to do it up slowly. we still have bad days where it can literally take ten minutes to get the girth firm enough to get on, otherdays i can do up the girth to the second or third hole straight away and the whole process is alot faster… my mare used to be slighty cold backed as well so i always use sheepskin lined saddlepad and over time this has resolved this issue… i would also suggest an anatomical girth. it was a revelation when i discovered these existed! so much so that if i use a standard shaped girth my mare does not ride or train as well… Mattes are my go to girth brand as they have multiple anatomical shapes to suit different horse shapes

[Airfern]

Thank you for the responses. I tighten up slowly, as to not aggravate the situation. I think I will try the fleece girth and the anatomical girth. I will keep on ulcer meds for another month then wean off. if its not corrected by then I will assume its a behavior thing and not worry about it.

[RedHorses]

Mine was much happier after I switched him to a StretchTec girth. It has three options for liners - mine is neoprene.

[NancyM]

Can be a dietary problem, gut pain not associated with ulcers that manifests in the girth area, irritates the nerve that runs from the gut forward through the girth area. Or, it can be ulcers. Or any number of other issues that result in pain in or around that area. Good luck. It took me a while to figure mine out, it was dietary The culprit was alfalfa and/or high protein horse feeds.

[mydogs]

I have a horse who is girthy. I thought it was ulcers but treatments didn’t help. My thinking is that it is muscle related and somewhere in this barrel/girth area and he expects the pain so it has become a habit. As soon as I touch the billets with the girth in hand, he starts to make a face and I haven’t even touched him.

I would massage and stretch the area where the girth goes and he relaxes with very little pressure. If I had the money, I would invest in a Stubben EquiGirth and something to help relive muscle soreness (creams, lasers, massage, heating pad, etc…). I was able to borrow one for a ride and he felt amazing.

[beowulf]

@mydogs

I have a horse who is girthy. I thought it was ulcers but treatments didn’t help. My thinking is that it is muscle related and somewhere in this barrel/girth area and he expects the pain so it has become a habit. As soon as I touch the billets with the girth in hand, he starts to make a face and I haven’t even touched him.

I would massage and stretch the area where the girth goes and he relaxes with very little pressure. If I had the money, I would invest in a Stubben EquiGirth and something to help relive muscle soreness (creams, lasers, massage, heating pad, etc…). I was able to borrow one for a ride and he felt amazing.

My horse with Kissing Spine is only girthy when his back starts to bother him. Just something to consider if you’re confident it isn’t ulcers.

It was actually the first symptom of his that indicated he had undiagnosed back problems: he didn’t bolt or buck under saddle, didn’t misbehave in any way… but one day he started getting fussy during tack up. His version of girthy, btw, is just to pin his ears and hunch his shoulder as I put the saddle on. Never anything worse than that. That made me start to question the saddle, which eventually lead to the discovery of KS + and presence of cervical arthritis.

Symptoms went away after back + neck injection, but now I know if I start to see them again it means it’s time for more injections.

[NoSuchPerson]

My horse was girthy when I bought him. I started tightening the girth slowly and gradually. I fasten it first very loosely, then check and tighten after I put my half-chaps and helmet on, check and tighten after I put the bridle on and make the final check/tighten at the mounting block. I also hand him a treat just as I first fasten the girth. The ear pinning and biting at the air disappeared pretty quickly once I started this routine.

[mydogs]

@beowulf

My horse with Kissing Spine is only girthy when his back starts to bother him. Just something to consider if you’re confident it isn’t ulcers.

It was actually the first symptom of his that indicated he had undiagnosed back problems: he didn’t bolt or buck under saddle, didn’t misbehave in any way… but one day he started getting fussy during tack up. His version of girthy, btw, is just to pin his ears and hunch his shoulder as I put the saddle on. Never anything worse than that. That made me start to question the saddle, which eventually lead to the discovery of KS + and presence of cervical arthritis.

Symptoms went away after back + neck injection, but now I know if I start to see them again it means it’s time for more injections.

That’s good to know! I had a feeling that it might have also been his back too. There were other signs that he showed that were starting to confirm that idea as well.

[MsM]

IME there are a lot of different reasons for a horse to be “girthy”. It can be difficult to sort out!

I did have a horse that was sensitive about girthing. Vet did not find back problems but did find sensitivity in the girth area. This persisted regardless of time off, different girths etc. Vet suggested that some horses have more sensitivity in nerves in that area without any trauma. We just accepted the sensitivity and used the girth he seemed to prefer and girthed slowly and in stages with rewards for good behavior. With this procedure he eventually ceased the pinned ears and air biting and just waited for his treat.

I would not dismiss the behavior without investigating physical causes, but it can be an honest reaction to a sensitivity that is not otherwise a problem. Your horse sounds like a sensitive horse with at least a memory of pain from ulcers. He has a reason for his behavior. So “just behavioral” is not a complete answer either.

[gypsymare]

I just gave my poor boy girth galls a couple of weeks ago after hunting in a neoprene lined girth almost identical to his usual girth. Guess it was too tacky and pulled his skin. He likes the slick synthetic ones (Lettia Clik).

[Scribbler]

Like any behavior, it can start from discomfort and be remembered as a habit.

I started clicker training my mare to do nothing while being girthed and it helped immensely which tells me there is no real pain. Also I noticed that when I saddled her up.in a new place she wasn’t girthy.

It’s always worth trying positive reinforcement because IMHO it won’t work when there is a real problem or pain.

[Airfern]

I tried the cookie/treat idea for a while, and it it backfired. That’s when the turning and biting started. Before he would just pin ears and bite at the ties. With the cookie he would reach back for the reward for small improvements but it never resolved so I stopped treating. Now he has learned to reach back and tries to bite. With a lot of elbow, hes back to biting the ties, but I do have to watch him, every so often he swings back.

[Scribbler]

@Airfern

I tried the cookie/treat idea for a while, and it it backfired. That’s when the turning and biting started. Before he would just pin ears and bite at the ties. With the cookie he would reach back for the reward for small improvements but it never resolved so I stopped treating. Now he has learned to reach back and tries to bite. With a lot of elbow, hes back to biting the ties, but I do have to watch him, every so often he swings back.

Well, that’s why clicker training has more technique than just feeding treats. I rewarded my mare for looking away from me while I was girthing her up. She got the treat with her head bent away from me. She doesn’t ever get a treat for anything for mugging me or reaching back for a treat. Except when we do carrot stretches. Every other trick we do, she does the trick, I click, and I approach her with the treat.

When I started asking my mare to step back and wait for her pan of mash, she added of her own accord step back, wait, and turn her head away from me. Sometimes she offers turn her head away to see if that will magically produce a mash. It doesn’t, but it’s cute.