Ticklish vs. sore

[Rides 2 Far <rides2far@juno.com>]

>>A>>> gal > showed me how to tell a sore back by running a comb down the
horses > back. The horse almost dropped to it's stomach. Was it sore? 

I happened to be standing around with my horse while a group of vets were
talking about how to check a back.  One prominent vet was trying to
explain the importance of proper palpating to the newbies.  He was a big
guy, and he turned to my horse and said "If you do this" and grabbed his
withers and squeezed *hard*, "the horse is going to duck!"  Well, he was
right. That horse ducked then and he ducked every time a vet reached for
him for a few months!  I had to work at desensitizing him at home. One
really bad check can make an impression on a horse.  Kaboot has had one B
on back ever.  There were 6 vets at the ride, and 5 of them I knew, one
was some new guy. I was skillfully maneuvering my way to the experienced
vets when I got nabbed and sent over to this guy. He ran the tip of one
finger *hard* down one side of my horse's spine and right back up the
other, *fast*.  Kaboot's eyes almost popped out as he shot forward. He
gave him a B.  I didn't argue, but I did take the time to go over to one
of the other vets as I left and ask them to please go teach the guy
something.

Angie
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