My colt has suddenly gotten cinchy when I saddle him.  He tries to bite me, and he never did that before.  I thought maybe it was just a training problem and I would have to work it out, but a week or two later I was currying his girth and first he tried to bite me, then he tried to kick me.  My colt has never tried to hurt me before unless he's in pain.  There are no sores on his girth, no hard lumps or heat, and the hair appears as normal as can be.  I don't know what's wrong.  Any ideas?

 

 hmm...How old is the colt, how long has he been in training, and how hard is his training? Depending on how long and hard his training is, it could be that he is figuring out he doesn't much like this whole work thing.

He's definitely trying to tell you something!  I would have him checked out and would also thoroughly check out all his tack.

Agreed -- how old is he.  It could be a pain issue or he may be too young for the level of work you are expecting of him -- associating the girth with work.

Does the saddle fit him properly?  As you build him in up training, he may be changing and the saddle doesn't fit right anymore causing soreness.

I agree with the others - this sounds like a pain issue.

He is young, but I'm only saddling him and longing him a little for now (next year I'll ride him).  I think it is just him associating the cinching up of the saddle with work, because yesterday he didn't try to hurt me while I was currying him, but did while I was saddling him up.  I corrected his poor behavior and I hope that's all it is, just poor behavior.  I've checked his back for pain, and the saddle seems to fit well--it doesn't pinch him at all.  It is a little wide for him, but I wouldn't think that would cause too much of a problem.

Thanks for all the help!

If he isn't even being ridden yet that would really worry me if he already doesn't like work!  He should be enjoying learning.  Do you have a surcingle/do you lunge him in that?  That would let you see if he was issues with work, something around his belly, or if it is the saddle.  Good luck!

Romeos Klassic DJ:

...I'm only saddling him and longing him a little for now (next year I'll ride him).  I think it is just him associating the cinching up of the saddle with work, because yesterday he didn't try to hurt me while I was currying him, but did while I was saddling him up. 

You may have moved a little too fast in getting him to accept a saddle and also be dealing with some lingering trust issues.The heart girth and belly of a horse is a highly defensive area and needs to be thoroughly desensitized. The nipping and biting while you brush him there says that's still a weak point.

When you put the saddle on, don't go straight to girthing and cinching. Let the girth hang and give his belly area a good rub to let him know there is going to be some activity there. Then loop the billet strap through the girth D ring, raise it to make contact with his belly and then let it go slack. Do that several times before snugging it up lightly, just enough to keep the saddle from slipping if he bolts. Pull and stretch his front legs forward to make sure he doesn't have any pinched skin under the girth, walk him in a few small circles, then stop and release the girth. Give him lots of praise and then repeat the process.  

You may also be over-cinching him to compensate for the ill-fitting saddle if it's too wide. A smaller saddle would be better to start him on. It has less chance of slipping and going under him if he bolts. Make sure you hobble the stirrups under his belly with a length of baling twine at first, too. It reduces the anxiety of something slapping him on his sides while he's getting used to the object on his back. And it will also contain them if the saddle slips and rotates.

Don't think that you don't need to go backward and start him under saddle all over again because he's already accepting it. You'll be creating holes in his foundation training that will come back to haunt you if you just try to push him through his reactions to the cinch. And correcting the nip and bite attempts should be addressed anytime he tries that, even if he's doing it defensively. A swift smack to his shins with the side of your boot and a firm "QUIT!" is an effective and appropriate reprimand for nipping. ~FH

I agree with the others and won't repeat what's been said. :) I still don't know how "young" your colt is, but perhaps that particular colt is too young for what you're asking of him and his trying to hurt you is a signal telling you such. As we know, no 2 horses are alike and have different paces when training. Personally I'd never push for more than a horse was ready for if it was under 3, but that's me and it's been some years since I've done any training. So feel free to ignore what I say! ;)

Actually, I'm from the old school thinking that believes 4 y.o. is the youngest a horse should be and prefer them to be 5 before ridden. No I'm not saying anyone who rides a horse younger than that is wrong or bad. It's just my personal preference is all, from the way I was brought up and that's why I'll adopt Mustangs that are at least 3-5 y.o. If I adopted a yearling, then I'd have a long 3-4 year wait to ride. LOL :)

My colt is not very spooky at all, and he has a great deal of trust in me (I can call him to me and he follows me around like a dog).  I don't think he's just not trusting me when I cinch him up (or getting spooky about movement in that area).  He's the type that I'll have to be prepared to ride bucks on when I ask him to go forward, because he's a bit lazy, but because he trusts me so much I don't think that'll be too much of a problem.

It may be that I'm over-cinching him, like FloridaHorseman said.  I was using a smaller saddle, because that's all that would fit him (he's a small horse), but now that he's growing I've graduated to a larger saddle (kind of in the middle as far as size goes).  I never had trouble with the smaller saddle.  I think I'll try using it again until he's big enough for a larger saddle.

I don't think I'm pushing him too far, either, because I make sure he understands the lesson before we move on to another.  I'm doing groundwork from several different trainers (without contradicting anything he learned from one lesson with something else), and I mainly focus on Clinton Anderson training (it has worked best for me, and I was able to break my first horse using his methods).

Thanks for all the help!

P.S.  I'll also try the surcingle thing.  My surcingle may be a little too big for him, but I'll see if it's not.  Maybe it is just the saddle.