Re: Panic Attack - Long

["Gene Recor" <gene@dreamsoft.com>]

I have a 4 1/2 year old mare. She had gotten VERY cinchey, started out
making faces at me as I cinched her up. I tried doing it a little at a time
walk her around do some more until it was tight enough. I ride with a fairly
loose cinch and couldn't understand her problem. It got to the point that
she even tried to kick as I came closer with my saddle. I disciplined her
for her behavior and continued to cinch slowly never got better. Something
that I didn't want to hear was the fact that in the early years horses
change physically the more you ride them and just the plain fact that they
are still growing. My mare is a Morab, she went from little Arab to WIDE
Arab, the Arab tree won't fit, even a full quarter tree won't fit. This
happened in a matter of months. From Jan. this year to May, believe it or
not. The saddle I was putting on her back hurt her just by laying it on her,
we rode and she was fine under saddle- once she was under it- It was the
saddling that was a mess. An ill fitting saddle can not only cause behavior
problems while saddling  but even a horse who is willing to carry you in the
pain they are in will eventually have to act out to tell you they hurt.
Thick pads won't make a to narrow saddle fit any better either. A saddle
that is to wide can hurt them too and a built up or wedge may help their. If
it is a saddle problem It WILL cause major problems in the future with their
way of going. My friend got a new horse and only rode her a couple times
with a saddle that didn't fit properly and now she hasn't been able to ride
for months, it messed her up in the withers, hip and shoulders. If they are
in pain they will compromise in other parts of their body and in turn become
lame. Sometimes the saddle is the most comfortable for you and least for the
horse and it is also the most overlooked and ignored piece of equipment
because of the expense. I hope you take a good look or call or go to someone
who can check this out for you.
Frank Marciente makes great and inexpensive endurance saddles and can answer
questions for you  1-800- 684-7433 and another good endurance saddle that is
great priced and both are custom made to your horse and you  is Stone Wall
saddles 909-928-3244 By the way, I got a new saddle and it does take a while
for the horse to gain confidance that you aren't going to hurt them with the
saddle but you will see a difference, fix it before it becomes a dangerous
habit that you can't break.





----- Original Message -----
From: <guest@endurance.net>
To: <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Friday, November 02, 2001 7:12 AM
Subject: RC: Panic Attack - Long


> Sallie Sullivan mateef@aol.com
> I've got a BIG problem. Lastnight I was going to go on a moonlight ride
> with a friend. Trailered over to friend's house and saddled up my 5yo
> mare. I spent time tightening the saddle one notch at a time, but I'm
> thinking not enough time now.  She stood perfectly still while I got on
> but I could tell (hindsight being 20/20) that she wasn't comfortable as
> soon as I settled my butt in the saddle. Should have gotten off right then
> (that 20/20 hindsight again). After I tried to relax her by bending her
> head a couple of times, she completely exploded.  To make
> a long story short, she flipped over on me, paused, got up and
> flipped over again. She either hit her head when she fell the second time
> and passed out or passed out from hyperventilating and therefore fell.  It
> seemed a very long time before we could get her up.
> Completely stripped her tack, I had to physically unlock her jaw to get
> her to release the bit to get the bridle off. Once we finally did get her
> up, she had a couple of places where hair was missing, but no apparent
> lasting ill effects from all this.
> Here's my problem. I'm convinced this was a panic attack arising from
> (a) the saddle being too snug too quick and (b) I just had her shoes
> pulled and she was standing on rough gravel and her feet hurt.  I'm
> planning on changing the rigging on my saddle to be able to use a girth
> with elastic in it to aleviate that claustrophic feeling she must have had
> and of course I'll be more cognizant of her footing.  I really feel that
> she's just immature and needs me to help her through this. My husband
> feels she's downright dangerous and wants me to get rid of her. I'm fairly
> banged up and bruised from her landing on me,
> but it could have been worse.  What should I do?
> Thanks for any insights or suggestions.
> Sallie from NE Ohio
>
>
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