My horse hates the saddle?

Question

my horse has always had a real problem with her saddle, we bought her a while ago where she had an quite an ill fiiting racing saddle. we have had her back and teeth checked which are all okay, and have recently bought a made to measure saddle which fits her perfectly. but she's still wary of it and whenever i put it on she'll have her ears back and kcik out and try to bite. does anyone know why and of anything i can do to prevent this from happening?

Answer 1

your bond it not strong with her so lunge her groom her walk her in hand anything to make a bond with he befor you EVEN THINK about putting the saddle on when your bond is strong with her take a thick pad and the lightest saddle you can get let her see it take it away put it on the ground and put her fav. treats by it let her eat the treats the hold the pad above her back slowly put it down onher back when she is calm walk aroun her with the saddle [not behind her] sit on the ground with it in one arm hld treats in other hand talk to her. then slowly get up lightly put the saddle on her back let her get a chance it except it ait a bit give her lots of food the put the girth on so the saddle will stay on  walk her around put the girth a noch higher walk her around give here some treats and talk to her put it a noch hight repeat the prosses till the saddle is thight so when she is ready you can tie her up and sit on the saddle get off and give her treats talk to her know sit on the saddle have some one lead you around then when she is ready take the lead rope off and walk her around for a a bit try trotting and slowly work your way up so you can canter without her bucking

Answer 2

she is still thinking pain. make sure you have a good saddle pad then put the saddle on and walk her around so she nos it is not going to hurt her give her some time so she understands that the pain is gone. good luck

Answer 3

hhhmmm, well, most horses are picky. most hate the bridle. when you ride her, maybe, the saddle rubs against the skin of the horse, which bothers her, so she doesn't want the saddle one because of that. or the girth is to tight., or a bunch of other things. i have a horse named Sheilia, and she HATES the saddle, i have to have 3 strong men hold her head while i put it on, or she BITES! after i get it on, she runs,bucks,rears,tries everything to get it off! but it could be a urt bone in her back. thats why Sheilia hated it. turned out she cracked a bone! OW! hope this helps a bit!

Answer 4

Maby if she had a bad past this might of scared her of something that cold of happned. Ask a horse whisperer  to come out and spend a few houres with her. I got a man (horse whisperer) to come out for me as my horse was scared of MUD it resolved to her feeling scared incase she sank in. Try it it works Now i can take my horse on hacks.!. xox good luck

Answer 5

Be patient take your time with her and spend as much time as you can with her. Saddle her up and leave it on to show nothing horrible is about to happen with you. She needs to trust you and what you do with her. Horses shy away from pain and they are smart enough to know what hurts them. Another pad may help, but in my experience working with a new horse I spend time with them. It may sound silly but I read to a new horse, so it learns the sound of my voice, knows I'm there as company and protection and learns I am the person to trust. You have to give the animal attention and time and lots of time being saddled. I have often sat and read to a new horse and it works. Keeping her saddled up really will help. They are creatures of flight, in the wild they were prey, they are insecure at times and it's up to you to earn all this and for her to learn you and the saddle are not a threat.

She will come around. Stop that kicking! It is a bad thing for a horse to do at anytime around you, I also can't take the biting. These are things she is doing in defense of herself, she just needs to learn she has nothing to be worried about.

Answer 6

Are you sure that the saddle is fitted properly? Have you tried using a gell pad or anything to soften the saddle on her back?

Answer 7

She is just attempting to defend herself against pain. Show her there will be no pain by putting on the saddle pad, then take it off, repeating until she stands calmly. Reward her standing calmly by taking it off. When you can put it on her and she's relaxed, do the same with the saddle. Put it on, trying not to slam it ,(you also can put the stirrups over the horn if it's a western so she won't get whacked on the offside by it.) when she stands still,shows signs of relaxing, do the opposite of what she expects, take it back off. Do this as many times as necessary until she accepts the saddle calmly.

Then you can start to cinch her up. First, just enough to keep the saddle on her back, walk her around. Tighten it snug, walk her around. Finally, tighten it all the way up and do a little ground work. Make sure she's not gonna buck before you get on. It just takes time and patience, but soon she'll learn there is nothing to be afraid of, and a saddle is an OK thing. :)

Answer 8

You have said that her back is o.k.,but bruising and pressure points from an old saddle that fitted poorly, can in fact take a very long time to heal.

Saying that though, I suspect that the damage is more psychological.

Please just take your time when saddling her, and reassure her that this saddle will be fine. The kicking and biting are just old habits she has picked up from her old days when things were not comfortable.

Answer 9

try going bareback so she feels you, not the saddle

Answer 10

well, though the saddle may seem to fit ok.... definitely use a saddle pad, but also try using a bounce pad, which is a thick and soft pad that goes right between the saddle and saddle pad. This will stop any kind of pinching, or discomfort....

Answer 11

Spend a few minutes every day with her, just go out, catch her, put the saddle on her (dont do up the girth), while patting and feeding her. This shows her that the saddle is a good thing and something to look forward to. Then when you feel she is ready, progress to doing up the girth, first loosely, then at the right tightness.

should take no time at all - horses are quick at catching onto things, especially when they involve food  ;)

good luck =)

Answer 12

Her reaction is her way of telling you "please don't, it hurts me" even though her new saddle fits her perfectly.

If you dont allready, get a good bond with your horse, spend a lot of time grooming her, walking hre inhand, prehaps teach her a trick like "Bow" or how to say "please" and "thank you" by shaking her hoof. Once you have a strong bond with her, she should trust that you won't hurt her.

Then take the saddle, but don't tack her up. Perhaps tie her up, if she kicks so you will be able to move around her more safely. Talk to her in a calm, soothing tone whilste standing near her, just holding the saddle.Watch her carefully, once she appears more relaxed (nostrails aren't flaring, not trying to kick out, mucsles look more relaxed) walk away, put the saddle down outside the stable, go back in and praise her. Then groom her, or lunge ect. whatever you want really.

Then tie her up again and do the same thing, stand near her holding the saddle.

Do that a couple of times a day, then praise her, give her a feed anf turn her out again. **Dont rush her**

Once she is pretty chilled with you standing there with the saddle, take it up to her, and encourage her to sniff and touch it **Dont attempt to put it on her back yet**.

Again to this a couple of times a day for however long she needs to get used to it.

**This will take some time, so do lots of lunging and groundwork with her too, this will keep her fit and build the bond between you**

Once she is happy to touch it and is relaxed, take a thick, soft saddle-pad and place it on her back, let her get used to the feeling, then place the saddle on top. Praise her! Take the saddle off, praise her again, feed her, turn her out.

Do this for a couple of weeks, or more depending on the horse. When she is happy to stand with the saddle on, walk her around *In-hand* with it on, so show her it won't hurt. Again wait untill she is chilled with this, then you can get on her, and take the work slowly!!

Good luck! You will get there!

Answer 13

It's association and anticipation - although it doesn't hurt any more, she's assuming that it will based on previous saddle experiences.  The kicking out is simply because she's absolutely certain that what you're about to do will be bloody sore!

I'd ease off the riding for a little while; let her get used to wearing the saddle in her stable, and take her for short walks in hand.  Also, when you do ride her, you'll have to be very very gentle in your seat - especially when first mounting her.  She should stop being so grouchy after a while (hard to say how long) but she will have to break the habit of assuming that saddle = pain.  Keep seeing your saddle fitter at least every 6 months to check that the saddle still fits - just because it fits now, it doesn't mean it'll fit forever!

Answer 14

Hi, what a pain for you both!! I am working on an abused mare at the moment who is scared of EVERYTHING!! But the best advice i can give is patience, i know you probably want to ride as much as usuall but try to just tack her up as often as possible and just let her wear it for a while whilst she eats her feed or take her for a walk and let her pick at some nice grass so that the stress of always thinking that having a saddle on means being ridden, cause remember if her race pad was ill fitting it probably didnt hurt too bad untill she was ridden, so now she is trying to discourage you from riding her by being nasty and because she is scared.

a gel pad between the saddle and the blanket will probably help as well, If she is really kicking out and getting very stressed i would also suggest a product we stock it in australia called Tranquil paste, im sure you can find a similar product, its just a mild sedative that dosnt affect performance like a real sedative vets use, it just calms their mind and helps them to deal with stressfull situations.

It will get better but remember it will take time!!