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	Company Profile: FLOWTECH

Nicola wrote to us with the following query


I have recently taken a 5 year old thoroughbred (ex race horse) mare on loan, with view to buying her. She has a lovely sweet temperament and has adapted to her change in lifestyle very well. The only problem is that she seems to hate being tacked up. She lowers her head beautifully to allow you to put her bridle on, but when it comes to putting her saddle on, it is a completely different story.

She raises her head, pulls faces, blows out and tries to kick under her belly and threatens to bite you (although she knows never to follow through with the threat). I have had her saddle checked and believe it to be the correct fit for her, she has a new more padded girth and a nice padded numnar to offer her back extra protection, but none of this seems to have made a difference.

As soon as her saddle is on, she resorts back to her usual sweet self. Can you recommend any exercises that may help us get over this grumpiness in an otherwise sweet horse.

Nicola

I don't really think your horse has too much of a problem. It's more your problem with accepting that horses arrive at our homes from many different backgrounds, and some things just have be tolerated. In a commercial racing yard not much time and attention is devoted to an individual horses likes and dislikes, it's more a case of "tack up time " and if the horse is cold backed, or needs a little more time to get used to the feeling of a saddle or girth being tightened, this fact will probably have been ignored. Race horses are not pets! Thoroughbreds are thinner skinned than cold blooded horses and have a finer coat, so they feel things a little more intensely. If you are sure that the saddle is comfortable, and the girth is as soft as it can be, then all you can do is try to change the psychological hang up your horse has about tacking up. Make the whole process a pleasurable one that she looks forward to. Start by showing her the saddle long before you put it on her back, each time she sniffs at it, and accepts it with indifference, reward her with soft words and a pat. When you put it on her back, stand on a mounting block or something similar, and hold if for a short while so that she does not get the full weight, have another person at hand, and as you lower it, talk to her, get the other handler to pat her, stroke her neck, and maybe give her a tit bit, this way she is learning to associate the weight of the saddle with only pleasant things. This will be a rather lengthy process, and will have to be repeated each time you tack up until you find that she no longer regards the saddle as a monster! If she attempts to bite or kick, then the handler at her head can give her a firm word and withdraw the stroking. It's the same old reward and punishment system we use with children, but don't resort to smacking your horse; there must be a reason why this behaviour occurred in the first place, and you can bet your bottom dollar it was human induced! When it comes to girthing up, I suggest you wear head protection of some sort in case she cow kicks. Rub the horses belly in the girth area, before you try to bring the girth around, this will get her used to being touched and desensitise the area, before the girth even touches her. When the girth makes the first contact with the horses skin, do just the same as you have with the saddle, lots of praise for good behaviour, stroking from a handler etc etc. and remember to do the girth up in stages; this is normal practice for all horses, little by little, and as the horse relaxes, you will be able to tighten it more. You may also find that the girth needs adjusting after you have ridden a few hundred yards.

If you accept that maybe tacking up, and what has followed that process, may have been a traumatic experience for this horse in the past, then you are a long way towards dealing with the problem. Horses have good memories and remember pain, fear, and discomfort all too well!

Good luck,