I have been riding a horse for my trainer lately and noticed that the horse tries to bite me and she tries to kick me with her front leg when the saddle is placed lightly on her back. When I try to adjust the saddle and move it forward, she goes back to trying to bite and kick. She is normal with anything else but this. Is there a way that I can fix this problem??
Have you spoken to the trainer about the behavior? The horse is showing that she has some kind of pain associated with the saddle and/or the girth.
It could be that the saddle does not fit: if you run your thumbnail alongside her spine along the length of her back, does she dip her back? Does she do the same biting or snapping that she does when you place the saddle? That might indicate either that the saddle does not fit and is causing her back to be sore, or she may have some joint pain in her hind end that is causing pain in her back.
If her back is not sore, it may be that the girth is bothering her. You could try using a different kind of girth (made from a different material), or try putting a sheepskin cover on the girth, or try a shaped girth, or try not girthing her so tightly.
Girthiness can also be evidence of ulcers which cause pain when the girth is tightened.
In general, you should talk to the trainer first and perhaps raise some of these issues with the trainer.
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All of ^^ those things.
She’s telling you she doesn’t like this. Could be a myriad of things.
Assuming the vet checked her and she is sound and not dealing with body issues, is what she is being asked to do fair? Is she fit enough? Does she get turn out time? Does she get a good warm up and cool down? Are you sure the tack fits and doesn’t rub? Is she possibly sore from work the day before?
Does she like her job, or is she bored? A lot of horses that do the same thing every day resent it. Assuming everything else checks out, try changing up her routine. Bring a little play into her day. Take some of the pressure off.
I don’t know how she is kept (like in a stall, or pasture) but this can also have an impact on a horse’s attitude and work ethic.
Horses reaching forcefully out with their front leg is called a “strike”. Strike’s are far more dangerous than a kick. And a kick is dangerous enough. This is a horse that you never should stand in front of. Always work from back by the shoulder. There you are out of the reach of teeth, front feet, and back feet.
This is a horse a student should not be handling, until someone determines the reasons for this reaction, and even then, it must be kept in mind that reaction could resurface at any time.
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Fixing the problem starts with identifying the source of pain. Unfortunately, many many trainers are quick to say “that’s just how he is” or “give him a good whack” and are completely unwilling to explore pain options.
Saddle fit, ulcers, a rib injury, kissing spines, etc. can all cause a very extreme pain-based reaction.
Depending on your relationship with your trainer, I know that can be a really awkward conversation. Do you feel comfortable asking about potential causes for the behavior?
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Does she do this with just you or other people also?
Asking because I had a horse when I was a kid that would strike at some people’s feet. Of course not ideal for a child to have or tack up on her own, but I survived. He came that way, and I let him get away with it. Horse had ulcers, treated for that, as well as a hard-to-fit back/wither; I’m sure those started the behavior, I just didn’t have the experience to stop it. He was good for other people who were more experienced than I was and less inclined to spoil horse/not reprimand properly for bad behavior. I eventually carried a stick to tack up and showed it to him if he lifted a foot, did have to smack him on the shoulder a few times, which worked well enough, but not quite a thorough re-training. If I had him as an adult/older teen, I’d do it differently. I will say I did not fear this particular horse, re standing in front of him or thinking he’d strike at random times (though I’ve since encountered other strikers that I would not trust). But tacking up could be a harrowing experience if I wasn’t paying attention.
100% agree that saddle fit, back soreness, ulcers, etc should be ruled out. And when you’re moving saddle forward, make sure you’re lifting it high enough that you’re not irritating the hair/skin/muscles by dragging it forward. After checking for any pain issues, I’m thinking you (or someone) may have to do some retraining re tacking up (ask trainer for help?), as even if any physical issue is resolved, the behavioral problem may linger.
I had ran my finger down her back today to see if there was any soreness but there was none. I decided on trying on a more elastic gel girth. When I put it on she was just like usual, holding her front leg up trying to kick and tossing her head. But when I was finished riding, I gave the girth a good tug and even pretended like I was tightening it but she didn’t budge! This is definitely going to help but I don’t know if the kicking will stop. It is not striking out like some people are saying though, she just holds her leg up and swings it back and forth trying to stop me…
You are using the wrong terminology which is confusing. Kicking refers to the hind legs. Action with the front legs is called striking or pawing. If your horse is using a front leg to protest, it is not kicking.
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Honestly, I would definitely rule out pain as an issue. But the truth is, some of them really are just like this! My boy is a butt-head about everything that goes on his back. Including saddle pads, and blankets in the winter - which obviously are NOT causing any pain. He only acts like a jerk in the cross ties. Once we are out of the cross ties, he is perfectly fine girthing, etc. He’s been this way forever, and vets, chiro & massage therapists cant find a reason. Personally, I think it’s a habit - he learned it from a young age. He’s perfectly happy and healthy with no back pain or ulcers. Just sometimes a very strong opinion!!! Some of them just have opinions!
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Generally you don’t ever want to have to move the saddle forward-- start by putting it forward and slide it gently back into place so that you’re going with, not against, the coat. And put the girth on very loosely to start and tighten gradually once you are out and walking around. It can be discomfort from saddle fit, ulcers etc or just a habit from those things in the past.
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Mine was and is scared of everything coming towards him despite 4 solid years of good consistent handling, he is hot and reactive most days. What works for us is treats. If he is busy expecting one, or chewing on a carrot, then he is much easier to deal with. Tacking up goes like this…stick carrot in mouth, put on saddle pad and thinline pad. Go for saddle and girth and another carrot. Stick carrot in mouth and life saddle in place and girth quickly while he is chewing. In his case it is spookiness and not a pain reaction at all but you may be able to defuse learned behavior be replacing it with something else. One good side effect has been that my horse associates work with treats and is always eager to be ridden. He tries hard and learns quickly.
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I agree - rule out pain, but I think sometimes girthiness/girthing behaviors are learned responses from a prior time in a horse’s life when there was pain associated with saddling or girthing. Over the breadth of my experience, I think I have encountered more horses that exhibit negative behavior while being girthed than horses that don’t react.
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Rule out pain, then if no pain is found (and I mean a thorough check - ulcers, proper palpation of her back, hormone issues, etc.) then re-train her saddling behaviour. I have done this twice with 2 biting, head-shaking, kicking, striking horses with great success.
I’ll spell it out step by step.
Approach with saddle, if no reaction, give a treat.
Raise saddle as though to place it on her, if no reaction, give a treat.
Place saddle FORWARD of where you want it to end up, if no reaction, give a treat.
Slide the saddle back into place, if no reaction, give a treat.
Continue like this breaking down the saddling procedure into tiny little pieces, including a treat for each and every hole you tighten the girth, and I mean tighten it one painstaking hole at a time. The first steps are really important. You may think you can skip the approach and the raise, but don’t, they set the precedent that the saddle = tasty things.
If at any time you get a negative reaction to what you are doing, give her an appropriately negative reaction back and then try again until she gets that being a tool gets her a growl/tap on the offending leg with a whip/whatever works for her, and that standing quietly gets her treats.
Even if there was pain and you dealt with it, that is not going to necessarily be an instant fix. Sometimes the behaviour becomes so ingrained that the horse forgets to react to discomfort and reacts to the process which it thinks is still causing pain.
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