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9 year old QH mare with old (white hairs) saddle sore below her withers. She is very sensitive to touch. We can't even apply fly spray without her coming unglued. But you can brush her and sponge bathe her. The real problem is when saddling and mounting. The first time I saddled her, she assumed a "parked out" position. She has gotten over that. When someone tries to mount, she waits until she feels all of their weight in the stirrup, then bolts forward about feet and then stops. I know she was a camp horse at one time and I'm fairly sure she was ridden quite a bit. I guess my question is: could she have a problem with her back or is this more of a psychological thing to her. I have ridden her. She is very sweet and well mannered. It took a couple of tries to get on her, but once I did she didn't object to future mountings by me. Could my weight be a factor? I'm only 110#. Everyone else who has tried to mount has been heavier. I'm stumped. Any suggestions?

Have you had an equine chiropractor look at her? This could be her back, but it could be her neck or almost anywhere on her, so many of these things radiate pain to unexpected places. It can also be somewhat erratic in where and when it hurts them.
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Christie Keith
Caber Feidh Scottish Deerhounds
Holistic Husbandry since 1986
www.caberfeidh.com/

No to the chiropractor question. She has been checked by the vet as well as possible. The mare is so skittish she really wouldn't allow a good "hands on" exam. At times her skin is so sensitive she cringes when light rain lands on her. At other times she really doesn't care. I'm stumped. She is however an incredible herd boss to four geldings and she's worth her weight in gold in many other areas. We love her. We will continue our quest and try to find a good chiropractor for her. Thanks for the input. I really appreciate it. Thanks.

Another thought is acupuncture. You might get somewhere with an acupuncture vet, and be able to move to chiropractic afterward. My vet does both, and sometimes the chiropractic is easier after a session of acupuncture - acupuncture releases endorphins and can often manage some of their fear and pain, and get them to relax. It seems that there are more and more equine vets doing acupuncture every year that goes by.

The other thought I offer hesitantly, because I half don't believe in this myself, but I have known a number of horse owners who swore by the help they got with mysterious problems like this from an animal communicator named Marta Williams, who wrote a book called "Learning their Language." Here is her website:

www.martawilliams.com

Again, I am not really sure I believe in animal communication, but I can't deny I've seen things I otherwise have no explanation for.

Good luck!!!!
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Christie Keith
Caber Feidh Scottish Deerhounds
Holistic Husbandry since 1986
www.caberfeidh.com/

It's possible that her problem is two-fold I know, I know, medical science says if you can make it one problem it's easier to treat...but sometimes there really are more than one!

From your description, it sounds more to me like most of the problem is that she's indeed sensitive there, but not in a painful way, more of a ticklish way. That would explain why light things - touch, spraying fly spray, rain, etc. bother her more than being brushed and sponged which take more pressure. I have several horses here that are more ticklish than others and I have to keep it in mind when grooming them. It's possible to desensitize them to some extent, but like us, those of us who are ticklish will always be somewhat ticklish no matter what.

Secondly, being a camp horse she's likely learned a few tricks - any halfway intelligent horse that works at a camp will. That added to the fact that she's obviously had a poor fitting saddle cause her pain before and you have a horse who has likely delved into the art of scaring young riders so that she doesn't get ridden, and therefore doesn't get hurt by the saddle. She'll likely remember this habit for years, unless you actively unteach it and she learns to trust the saddle again. This is why she doesn't object to you anymore - she has learned you aren't going to hurt her and has learned to trust you.

Sounds like you've got a great mare though, all in all. Some of the best horses are those who have come through some "camp horse training" and go on to someone who can undo the bad habits formed and keep the good traits!
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PH Cody
HorseHobbyist Site Coordinator