Horse hates being brushed and tacked up

[Foxtrot_s]

I don’t understand these horses, I have to admit, never having had one. But my basic belief is horses do not lie and that they are trying to tell you something…

I’ve had a horse who did not like the brush slapped onto him on the flat side - he liked the brush touched onto him on the side of the brush and gently used more firmly…

I’ve had a horse who could never stand still, but still didn’t pin or snake. I just worked around that as she was kind in
other ways. I stay calm and quiet and don’t make a big deal of things.

Some horses remember and perhaps had an inconsiderate groom years before and it became ingrained…wish I knew.

[danacat]

@DunByMistake

I’m just wondering if there’s anyone out there who has a horse who hates to be groomed and tacked up but is game once their rider is on…are all business once they know it’s go time.

If you have a horse who hates being brushed and tacked up, how did you determine that’s all it is and how do you deal with it? Thanks!

Yep two of my boys hate to be groomed – fake cow kicks, pinned ears, etc. – but they are totally chill once tack is on and we’re ready to go.

I attribute all the grooming fussyness (of my horses) to their previous time on the track as racehorses = ad naseum attention by grooms = brushing, bandaging, poulticing, mane and tail combing, being gone over with rub rags over and over, day in and day out. Thin skinned too, so when I add that to Just leave me alone, I’ve been groomed enough already to last a lifetime! I get grumpyness.

I just keep doing what I’m doing – I groom away – and give them a rag or an old brush or a toy of some sort to keep them busy. Since I groom and tack up in the stall they also have their hay to munch on. They eventually go back to eating it.

[js]

My OTTB gelding is like this. I keep grooming to a minimal, use ultra soft grooming brushes or the wool fleece mitt to get dust off. Conversely he loves a good belly scratch. Just take some time and figure out what your horse is willing to tolerate and then figure out how best to get those things done, like grooming and tacking up. It might mean you have to take extra time tack up and go slow and easy.

[Old_Mac_Donald]

I have one like this. Been that way since she was born. Half Lipizzan, and honestly, I think she believes it is beneath her to be brushed or saddled. Will try savage you around girthing, and yes, she had ulcers and has been treated for them. Hates having rugs put on. Very sensitive, but in the saddle she is raring to go. Doesn’t indulge in petting, her mum is a snugglebug but this girl is a Queen.

Don’t touch me, stinky human.

[WildandWickedWarmblo]

I groom my thin skinned horse while I hand graze him. It saves both of us a lot of trouble. Under saddle, he’s perfect. He just has very thin and very sensitive skin and always has.

[Ruth0552]

Mine is a grumpy old man about grooming and tacking. Hates being curried in general and hates being brushed from about his shoulder to his hip. Hates being sprayed with anything and hates being sponged (but is ok about being sprayed with the hose, ironically). Super good about his feet but hates being saddled and girthed. Super good under saddle- he’s a bit spooky but overall is a really great horse- never bucks, rears or bolts; point and shoot jumper, keeps his engine under wraps when being ridden in a field even you know he wants to go galloping across the field doing his best Lipizzaner impersonation. That’s just him. He’s quirky and a bit grumpy, but a good egg.

[McGurk]

I have had one like this. Wonderful horse under saddle and in general excellent ground manners but hated being groomed. Was a TB long off the track when I got him. Particularly hated currying. He would stand still, but his skin would crawl and he would pin his ears, wring his tail and make faces. He made it very clear you were annoying him, but he was too well mannered to do more than that. Tolerated a soft body brush used gently, but tolerate was the operative word.

My compromise with him was to keep him body clipped (I sedated him to clip because that was annoying as heck to him as well), keep a sheet on him, and to go over him quickly with a hot towel before riding.

I had a wonderful groom at the time who was professionally offended by a horse that didn’t enjoy being groomed and she experimented with every grooming tool and technique she could find. One day I walked into the barn aisle and found the two of them; he was completely relaxed, one leg cocked, head down, licking and chewing. The tool was a tiny, soft gel curry with small teeth, and she was using it very gently, sort of as a massage.

In his case, it was truly a case of sensitive skin, and maybe the overhandling at the track as danacat mentioned.

I do think eliminating ulcers as a possible cause is always wise, (I have certainly known horses that were grumpy on the ground because of ulcers) but, IMO and IME, there are some horses that are just sensitive. And you can take either my pragmatic approach (clipped and in a sheet) or my groom’s sympathetic approach (scour the earth to find the correct grooming tool) but if the horse otherwise has decent ground manners, I think it is good horsemanship to find a way not to make the horse miserable with grooming.

[DunByMistake]

@McGurk I have considered the clipping route but as he lives outside 24/7 in Canada and I’m not taking him to an indoor this year so I can only ride on weekends for a few months, it just seems like too much. I’d rather he be warm and furry and just keep grooming to minimum over winter months. I’m sure it would help because he will tolerate being gently brushed during the summer but once his winter coat starts coming in, he really hates it. He didn’t mind being quickly rubbed with a towel yesterday.

He otherwise has good ground manners. He stands for vet, farrier and for me if activity is not being groomed. He’s well behaved in his pen and easy to catch. Trailers well. Like I said in my first post, great under saddle. Unfortunately no hand grazing for us at this time of year! But I’m going to start feeding him a little snack while tacking up to take his mind off what I’m doing.

[Jackie_Cochran]

I got a new grooming tool called “Tiger’s Tongue”. It supposedly feels like a cat’s tongue licking the coat. It gets a lot of dust out, it works on caked on dirt, and all the horses I’ve used it on love it. It is also good for removing the saddle marks after a ride.

Once it gets out of the package it eventually expands and looks like a big, black sponge. I found mine at Dovers Saddlery. It also costs less than $10.00 US.

I ended up buying several and giving them to the stables where I ride, and they are very popular at these stables.

[M]

This TB police horse had a reputation of being a grump to groom. He was not. He was just very sensitive. I tried using a soft sweater to groom and he was fine. Brushes were irritating, even the very soft bristle brushes. I really liked that horse.

[OllieOxenFree]

What finally worked for my sensitive TB mare was actually a super soft rubber, long toothed, purple curry designed for cats called a “Zoom Groom.” My sensitive cat loved it and I tried it on my TB on a whim - it was miraculous. Zero threatening cow kicks, no ear pinning, no bite threatening…I still have to be gentle, but the long rubber teeth help to work up the dirt and actually get that curry action going without the mare threatening to end you.

[Foxtrot_s]

Trick is to find that key - way better than having a horse hate the experiene. They have to do so much for us.

[DunByMistake]

@Foxtrot’s that’s exactly why I keep him blanketed and don’t subject him to marathon grooming sessions - that would be cruel. I’m also super ticklish and I can’t imagine what it would be like if someone wanted to subject me to a ticklish activity for long sessions. I have used a soft damp towel which he didn’t hate as much.

I might rig up our old shop vac and see how he does with that. It seems to be the moving of his long winter coat that he hates - even rubbing him over his blanket produces a reaction. I like the idea of the cat brush from poster above in the summer but I don’t think he’ll be fan with his current furry coat.

[Foxtrot_s]

Poor guy - but he has a considerate owner. Talk to a vet when you see one…you never know.

[HereComesZach]

@OllieOxenFree

What finally worked for my sensitive TB mare was actually a super soft rubber, long toothed, purple curry designed for cats called a “Zoom Groom.”

Hahaha, yup, exactly that! My very sensitive, very thin-skinned thoroughbred has ONLY been curried in some form of these for years. The softest kind now are the ones for cats :lol: Using a curry comb for cats on my 16.2 horse still cracks me up!

[EquusentialTherapies]

This post was flagged by the community and is temporarily hidden.

[Phaedra1]

How old is he? Does he have sensitive skin?
You could take a empty feed bag and rub him all over and praise him when he stops, you mite be aping him by accident by static
It has worked with a young horse I had.

[Mara]

This is a 5+ year old thread, bumped by a spammer. Though I think OP is still active on COTH.