Yes! I bought the sweetest mare, 1.35m Jumper. They wouldn't put anything over her head, like the reins because she was sensitive about her ears. So they always undid her reins, put then around her neck and redid them. Okay no problem. First time off property after start of trial, took her off the trailer and then could. Not. Get her Bridle on. Took me 20 minutes not a lie, and a box of mints. Well then we got home and she was now SO sensitive because of how stressful that was. So the routine became one mint when I put the reins over her head, one with the bit when putting on the Bridle, and one just because she's a good girl. We are now down to one mint with the bit. ZERO!!!!!!! Issue with bridleing. She's so focused on the reward there is no stress. I touch her ears, put things over her head all the time now. She absolutely loves ear scratches and is literally the sweetest mare ever. My gelding doesn't groom me for hours like my chestnut mare does. Now my girl is also "girthy" and I have one ottb that is mega girth, sounds like this one. I found that not reacting, being very calm, not backing off (but don't get hurt!), really makes a difference. He is stressed, when riders get scares the horse feels it and gets more stressed. I know it's really hard, but it's probably the reason why the trainer can saddle him but others can't.
I'm not normally a treat pusher for training, but this is the only thing that worked for my OTTB. This is called counter-conditioning and it's a great training technique to help rewire their perception around being girthed. Even if it no longer hurts, they anticipate the hurt, so re-routing their brain to associate girth with treat - I used big pieces of carrot so it would take him a long time to chew, which would give me more time to work, so I wasn't rushing through anything - rather than with pain is incredibly beneficial. I went really slow with my guy, too - first step was putting on one side of the girth and leaving the other side completely undone. Once he was comfortable with this, then I did it up as loose as possible. Then I would go up slowly hole-by-hole while walking him to allow relaxation.
Another technique I incorporated was breaking up the routine, so he wouldn't anticipate. Some days I would bridle, then saddle. Some days I would saddle, then put on boots and polos. Somedays I would put the saddle on, then take it right back off without doing the girth. Anything to keep him focused on the now, rather than worrying about when the girth would come.
We have a mare at the barn where the owner legit allowed students not to pick the back hooves(the got checked in the arena by her personally). She has kicked so many people, including trainers. I got a box of frosted wheeties, and gave her one for each front hoof, one for touching the back leg before picking, and two after she stood for it. All in all about a dozen, as some extra were just because. She hasn't even tried kicking in quite a while! I still give her a bunch of treats, but now decoupled from hoofs, as not everyone who rides her has treats on hand
If you’re riding in English try tightening the saddle on the other side. In either type of saddle, move slowly. If he shows any stress signal at all, (stops blinking, pins ears back or any subtle sign of irritation) pause and wait for him to relax, then continue. If he tells you he doesn’t like it, pause and wait until he relaxes until the girth is fastened properly. Thats how I would do things. Over time I would want to see if he improves. My mare is sensitive to grooming and tightening girths. I just tighten it slowly. One notch at a time and pause to pet her or just stand there a moment. When I see her relax I continue to tighten it one notch at a time. With grooming I pause when she tenses up. Ever since I have started to do this she has improved a lot.
This is the one I came here to say too, I was working with a little pony for lesson kiddos for a minute and he was chompy. After working with several different girthy horses I just go so slow, and I switch back and forth between sides. I also don’t tighten the girth to ride while I’m in the barn. I want my horses to know when the girth loosens, it’s time to go home and have treats/dinner. Breaking up that part and having a definitive “loose in the barn, synched in the ring” dichotomy has worked well, in addition to r+ :)
I'm not convinced girthiness is always from pain or physical stress. I think sometimes horses get in a cycle of reaction to something. It may have been an unpleasant experience, or something unpleasant unrelated may have happened at the same time, and now the horse performs the reaction or resistance or aggression without really associating it with the cause anymore. Like a tic. I had a mare that was getting girthy, and I was able to reprogram her by leaving a comfortable old surcingle on her for a few days: not too tight, not too loose; 24X7, though. I didn't ride her for those days, but we a lot of grooming, lunged, and did groundwork. She got praise, scritches, a few treats, and some intense interaction that way. Each grooming session, I'd tug and wiggle the surcingle, then praise her and hand over a treat and some pats. Perhaps she was needing a break from the monotonous routine of catch-groom-saddle-bridle-mount-workout. After three or four days of wearing the surcingle and getting non-stressful positive attention, she never was girthy again. Your results may vary.
Agree with the sugar tax. If you have time to work with him, you can do some positive reinforcement for cement without fully girthing up.
If you’re correct that being girthed is no longer painful, and it’s a learned response, a more comfortable girth probably will not help, but it would be nice to upgrade regardless.
A lot of sensitive horses like cord girths. If you get a padded girth, one thing to consider with the very cushioned girths is that you often need to tighten them a bit more after the horse has walked a little, before mounting. If that’s unsafe without crossties, make sure it’s tight the first time.
There are lots of options for girth covers. I like the stretchy terrycloth ones from Ovation. Vic’s sells fleece and. Cotton covers (like he would have had at the track). I have an alpaca cover that’s nice. Or you could get one either faux or natural fleece.
If you’re buying a new girth, the ProLite is a great blend of cushiony and grippy. Do you know if he needs a straight or contoured girth?
I
If he's cleared by a vet has he also been cleared by a saddle fitter? Is it certain the saddle fits
There's also a good chance he is just in habit of expecting pain and needs to unlearn the behavior. My current gelding is getting better each time now that he knows being ridden won't be painful. I find putting girth on looser than tightening once in the arena to help as well
He's not my horse, he's a lesson horse at my barn, so a saddle fitter isn't in our cards. I ride in my own close contact saddle and wool half pad with a saddle pad underneath. The fit was cleared by my trainer (who helped me buy the saddle). I don't object to the idea of buying my own girth, especially since it would be the same size the other horses I ride there use, I just don't know if it would make a difference.
We only tighten the girth in the arena when it's time to ride and keep it loose in the stall, trainer has to tighten his girth in both instances.
No don’t buy your own girth. If you’re doing lessons it’s not your responsibility but very kind of you.
Tbh it sounds like he’s in pain and a girth won’t make a difference. I’d ask your trainer if she’s had a vet look at him (x-ray for kissing spine and ulcer scope). Does he show any signs of lameness in the back end or sensitive around the girth?
Agreed but it depends on how hard she’s riding him. Sadly I’ve seen a lot of OTTBs shut down. This poor guy has obviously been through a lot if he was a rescue but we don’t know what. It’s also possible he’s got negative connotations seeing the saddle come out and being tacked up from his past but then feels safe with his current rider and arena. It might take him more to un-learn this fear. But I’d always rule out pain.
I don't think a different girth would change anything. If a lesson horse not a ton you can do but continue to work with the trainer on correcting over time
Along with the positive association with giving treats, going slowly can help a lot too.
The mare I leased as a teen also had no medical issues, but would bite if you tightened the girth too fast. I would saddle her earlier in the tacking-up process and have the girth juuuuust tight enough to barely touch her skin. Then I would pick out front hooves, then tighten the girth one more hole. Pick back feet, another hole. Put on helmet, another hole. Bridle, one more hole. Walk to the ring, one more hole, etc. Worked great for is for many years.
There was another horse at the same barn who would lie down if you tightened his girth too fast, but he was fine if you did one hole at a time over several minutes or walked him while you tightened it.
Could try a fed bag with an alfalfa pellet or yummy treat inside, and it only goes on for the girth so it becomes associated.
My mare did best when she was allowed to just eat hay while being tacked but I saw you said he was food aggressive.
Try pausing every time the horse gets guarded about his girth. Stop action and wait until concern subsides. Try again and repeat stop action every time concern rises. And I mean even a change in eye, ear, breathing, or head elevation. Let him know you see his concern and aren't just going to power through and ignore. It can be a long and slow process, but if you show the horse you see and hear them, you will get farther. This can apply to a lot of resistant behavior once you rule out pain. You can't train away pain.
A softer girth might help. The horse I ride can be a bit grumpy with girth tightening. I do it in stages. The first stage I just loop it on so it's touching, but it's extremely loose. Then I take him to the round pen and we walk a lap. Then I "tighten" to the first hole. It's still very loose, but won't slip around too much when round penning. The halter comes off and I walk and trot him around the round pen for 5 minutes or so and then tighten the girth to the 2nd hole. We round pen some more until he's warmed up and relaxed and paying attention like the good boy he his. Sometimes that's the last tightening, sometimes (especially in the winter) it will be 1 more hole just before I get on.
He was also being a bit grumpy with grooming because he was anticipating the saddle. I just make sure to give him some very light skritches along his top line with a curry comb. He seems to really, really like that and forgets to be grumpy.
I agree with all of them. First I’d make sure that if you tack this horse, that you are actively blocking the horse from swinging around to bit. Whether that’s a first no, or a bump with an elbow when he swings his head, that between you and your trainer.
I would probably work in steps. Put the saddle on, give treat. Take saddle off. Repeat and attach girth on one side. Treat if calm, take all tack off. Repeat, and buckle both sides of the girth on the first whole. Repeat the process. Honestly this would be a training issue, but if you are the incidental leasee (even with no paperwork), I’d make sure you and your trainer are on the same page interns of how this horse needs to be handled and what kind of routine he needs.
His trainer is very clear about his needs and I follow through. I've been riding there for several years now, so I'm very familiar with the expectations and responsibilities. I recognize that I have no legal right to this horse. I just love my barn and I enjoy being helpful. I feel kind of useless babysitting him while he's in the cross ties only for our very busy trainer to have to come and tack him.
I loosen his girth in the ring at the end of the lesson, which he objects to (because of the momentary tightening) until he realizes I'm loosening his girth. Then he stretches his neck and gets praised for doing that instead.
If pain/illness/injury has truly been investigated and ruled out, then retraining the horse to like being girthed up is the best way imo. Like you said, he has a bad history with being girthed too tightly, and likely still associates it with pain and discomfort. Helping him learn that it *isn't actually* painful anymore is important. Usually one of the easiest ways is to spend a fair amount of time girthing, loosening, tightening, ungirthing, etc while giving high value treats. For the foreseeable future, he gets a treat every time he's girthed up, right before, so he can chew on it while you girth him. This can take a lot longer when you're not the only one girthing him up, but if you can collaborate with your trainer and make sure it happens *every time* it'll go faster/better.
Think of it this way: if your only pair of shoes hurt like hell every time you put them on, and you didn't know other shoes existed, you'd always hate wearing shoes. Even after getting a more comfortable pair, you've already formed that connection of shoes=pain (and horses aren't capable of reasoning like we are, so that original conclusion tends to be more set in stone for them). If you got your favorite piece of cake every time you put your new comfy shoes on, soon that association would change from shoes=pain to shoes=yummy cake. Much better.
In my experience, this can often be an issue with OTTBs. I’m a big fan of the treat tax as well. A pocketful of favorite treats and lots of pets to show him it’s pleasant - I’m thinking that if he’s cleared by the vet, it’s probably a memory of a bad time, and cookies often make that memory less, um, intense.
I got the Lettia memory foam girth for my sensitive guy. It worked really well plus it’s not expensive and you can literally throw it in the washing machine.
Rode a horse like this. Basically, he got bribed with polo mints but also kept on very short rein with head pulled to side away from you. Need to watch for rear end though.
He was excellent once in saddle but hell in stable or in ground.
Appreciate that as you are riding someone else's horse but one of my horses is like this unless she has 20 mins with her heated back warmer on first.
She currently has a lot of tightness in her right side back muscles (being treated) and this gets some warmth into them. It's been really effective and means I don't have to stand far enough back to avoid teeth!
For your situation can you spend a little time massaging his back, extra time grooming along the muscles under saddle or just leaving the saddle and saddle pad in place for a bit longer for him to acustom to it before girthing up and putting the additional pressure in that area?
I ride an OTTB occasionally, who's also girthy. I used to be scared he was gonna nip me but he never has. If you don't have treats, or aren't allowed to give treats with it not being your horse, I find tightening really slowly and gently helps. Don't let his threats of nipping stop you because a lot of the time, that's all it is. He's telling you he doesn't like it, but they're not aggressive! You can redirect their head just by sticking your hand out or elbow, you don't need to touch them. You just kinda have to not faff and get on with it, empathetically. Because it's not your horse, it's not your responsibility to train the behaviour out of him.
I talk a lot, and do a hole at a time. I'll also ease each billet up on each side alternatively. I'll give him lots of "good boy" and little wither scratches when I've done a hole. He puffs out a too, so I won't do it up all the way, just enough for me to get on and then I'll do the rest when I'm in the saddle, he doesn't care when I'm on board 😂
I usually put it on the first hole on each side, then bridle. Then go up a hole. And then stroll towards where we mount, pausing to tighten one hole at a time. I avoid providing snacks at tack up time and with a bitey horse bc SOMETIMES that can make your prob worse. When mine turns to bite, I put my hand up like he's going to be hit with a loud ah ah sound, and as soon as he's pointing forward with happy or neutral ears, he gets a good boy. Rinse and repeat, it took several months of consistency for mine
Sometimes it helps to pay the girth area with the flat of your hand, just gently and fairly quickly. Do the girth up very slowly; have someone hold the offside stirrup and get on from a mounting block so you can proceed a little more slowly.
We have a biter at the barn. He is kind and sweet, but also just loves biting people for some odd reason, without aggression, just for fun. After several deeply purple arms at the barn, he got a muzzle. We put treats in it and tack him that way. He loves the treats part, so doesn't obejct
We have a horse like this at the barn where I ride. She’s a fantastic horse, incredibly sweet and a great ride, but she will bite the shit out of you when you tighten the girth, no matter what we try.
There’s no physical issues, no girth issues, she just has a bit of an attitude. And she WILL whip her head around and bite your stomach. One way that we combat this is connecting a lead rope to the side of her halter and the tying it very short to the wall, so that she can’t reach to bite. When this isn’t possible, I will just tuck a crop under my arm. I never need to use it, sometimes when she whips her head around I’ll just show it to her and she sees it and thinks “oh, she means business” and doesn’t even try.
I rode a lesson horse like this - cleared for pain & ulcers, just nipped when girth was tightened. I think she might have had pain at one point & it became a habit.
I agree with the treats other have suggested. What I do is put on saddle pad, treat. Put on saddle, treat. Buckle girth on one side, treat. Buckle on other side on the first hole so it’s not touching, treat. Move up one hole, treat. Move up one hole on other side, treat. Go slow, and breathe.
We are at the point where I can saddle her in reasonable time with minimal drama, but I still get the warning ears if I go too fast. It’s been a while since she’s actually tried to nip me, though.
I used to have to walk my lesson horse up to the arena and every few steps gently tighten the girth. In the arena I would walk him one lap to finish tightening. He was so wonderful and always took care of me but just hated having his girth tightened. The walking helped and if you have a friend there one walks the other tightens.
Imo you should never by tack as a lesson rider, it’s the responsibility of the stable/horse owner. Just put the girth on very loose in the stable and thighten gradually from both sides at the arena where your trainer can help you?
This might not be popular, but I’ve found that the sugar tax is very helpful with this. Give them a little snack then tighten while they’re eating it.
Yes! I bought the sweetest mare, 1.35m Jumper. They wouldn't put anything over her head, like the reins because she was sensitive about her ears. So they always undid her reins, put then around her neck and redid them. Okay no problem. First time off property after start of trial, took her off the trailer and then could. Not. Get her Bridle on. Took me 20 minutes not a lie, and a box of mints. Well then we got home and she was now SO sensitive because of how stressful that was. So the routine became one mint when I put the reins over her head, one with the bit when putting on the Bridle, and one just because she's a good girl. We are now down to one mint with the bit. ZERO!!!!!!! Issue with bridleing. She's so focused on the reward there is no stress. I touch her ears, put things over her head all the time now. She absolutely loves ear scratches and is literally the sweetest mare ever. My gelding doesn't groom me for hours like my chestnut mare does. Now my girl is also "girthy" and I have one ottb that is mega girth, sounds like this one. I found that not reacting, being very calm, not backing off (but don't get hurt!), really makes a difference. He is stressed, when riders get scares the horse feels it and gets more stressed. I know it's really hard, but it's probably the reason why the trainer can saddle him but others can't.
This is what I would try too
I'm not normally a treat pusher for training, but this is the only thing that worked for my OTTB. This is called counter-conditioning and it's a great training technique to help rewire their perception around being girthed. Even if it no longer hurts, they anticipate the hurt, so re-routing their brain to associate girth with treat - I used big pieces of carrot so it would take him a long time to chew, which would give me more time to work, so I wasn't rushing through anything - rather than with pain is incredibly beneficial. I went really slow with my guy, too - first step was putting on one side of the girth and leaving the other side completely undone. Once he was comfortable with this, then I did it up as loose as possible. Then I would go up slowly hole-by-hole while walking him to allow relaxation. Another technique I incorporated was breaking up the routine, so he wouldn't anticipate. Some days I would bridle, then saddle. Some days I would saddle, then put on boots and polos. Somedays I would put the saddle on, then take it right back off without doing the girth. Anything to keep him focused on the now, rather than worrying about when the girth would come.
We have a mare at the barn where the owner legit allowed students not to pick the back hooves(the got checked in the arena by her personally). She has kicked so many people, including trainers. I got a box of frosted wheeties, and gave her one for each front hoof, one for touching the back leg before picking, and two after she stood for it. All in all about a dozen, as some extra were just because. She hasn't even tried kicking in quite a while! I still give her a bunch of treats, but now decoupled from hoofs, as not everyone who rides her has treats on hand
Came here to say this.
I was wondering the same thing - would bribing help? Make him associate the girth with positive things happening
If you’re riding in English try tightening the saddle on the other side. In either type of saddle, move slowly. If he shows any stress signal at all, (stops blinking, pins ears back or any subtle sign of irritation) pause and wait for him to relax, then continue. If he tells you he doesn’t like it, pause and wait until he relaxes until the girth is fastened properly. Thats how I would do things. Over time I would want to see if he improves. My mare is sensitive to grooming and tightening girths. I just tighten it slowly. One notch at a time and pause to pet her or just stand there a moment. When I see her relax I continue to tighten it one notch at a time. With grooming I pause when she tenses up. Ever since I have started to do this she has improved a lot.
This is the one I came here to say too, I was working with a little pony for lesson kiddos for a minute and he was chompy. After working with several different girthy horses I just go so slow, and I switch back and forth between sides. I also don’t tighten the girth to ride while I’m in the barn. I want my horses to know when the girth loosens, it’s time to go home and have treats/dinner. Breaking up that part and having a definitive “loose in the barn, synched in the ring” dichotomy has worked well, in addition to r+ :)
I'm not convinced girthiness is always from pain or physical stress. I think sometimes horses get in a cycle of reaction to something. It may have been an unpleasant experience, or something unpleasant unrelated may have happened at the same time, and now the horse performs the reaction or resistance or aggression without really associating it with the cause anymore. Like a tic. I had a mare that was getting girthy, and I was able to reprogram her by leaving a comfortable old surcingle on her for a few days: not too tight, not too loose; 24X7, though. I didn't ride her for those days, but we a lot of grooming, lunged, and did groundwork. She got praise, scritches, a few treats, and some intense interaction that way. Each grooming session, I'd tug and wiggle the surcingle, then praise her and hand over a treat and some pats. Perhaps she was needing a break from the monotonous routine of catch-groom-saddle-bridle-mount-workout. After three or four days of wearing the surcingle and getting non-stressful positive attention, she never was girthy again. Your results may vary.
Agree with the sugar tax. If you have time to work with him, you can do some positive reinforcement for cement without fully girthing up. If you’re correct that being girthed is no longer painful, and it’s a learned response, a more comfortable girth probably will not help, but it would be nice to upgrade regardless. A lot of sensitive horses like cord girths. If you get a padded girth, one thing to consider with the very cushioned girths is that you often need to tighten them a bit more after the horse has walked a little, before mounting. If that’s unsafe without crossties, make sure it’s tight the first time. There are lots of options for girth covers. I like the stretchy terrycloth ones from Ovation. Vic’s sells fleece and. Cotton covers (like he would have had at the track). I have an alpaca cover that’s nice. Or you could get one either faux or natural fleece. If you’re buying a new girth, the ProLite is a great blend of cushiony and grippy. Do you know if he needs a straight or contoured girth? I
If he's cleared by a vet has he also been cleared by a saddle fitter? Is it certain the saddle fits There's also a good chance he is just in habit of expecting pain and needs to unlearn the behavior. My current gelding is getting better each time now that he knows being ridden won't be painful. I find putting girth on looser than tightening once in the arena to help as well
He's not my horse, he's a lesson horse at my barn, so a saddle fitter isn't in our cards. I ride in my own close contact saddle and wool half pad with a saddle pad underneath. The fit was cleared by my trainer (who helped me buy the saddle). I don't object to the idea of buying my own girth, especially since it would be the same size the other horses I ride there use, I just don't know if it would make a difference. We only tighten the girth in the arena when it's time to ride and keep it loose in the stall, trainer has to tighten his girth in both instances.
No don’t buy your own girth. If you’re doing lessons it’s not your responsibility but very kind of you. Tbh it sounds like he’s in pain and a girth won’t make a difference. I’d ask your trainer if she’s had a vet look at him (x-ray for kissing spine and ulcer scope). Does he show any signs of lameness in the back end or sensitive around the girth?
A horse that stands for mounting and is a sweetheart under saddle seems less likely to have pain issues at girthing though
Agreed but it depends on how hard she’s riding him. Sadly I’ve seen a lot of OTTBs shut down. This poor guy has obviously been through a lot if he was a rescue but we don’t know what. It’s also possible he’s got negative connotations seeing the saddle come out and being tacked up from his past but then feels safe with his current rider and arena. It might take him more to un-learn this fear. But I’d always rule out pain.
I don't think a different girth would change anything. If a lesson horse not a ton you can do but continue to work with the trainer on correcting over time
Along with the positive association with giving treats, going slowly can help a lot too. The mare I leased as a teen also had no medical issues, but would bite if you tightened the girth too fast. I would saddle her earlier in the tacking-up process and have the girth juuuuust tight enough to barely touch her skin. Then I would pick out front hooves, then tighten the girth one more hole. Pick back feet, another hole. Put on helmet, another hole. Bridle, one more hole. Walk to the ring, one more hole, etc. Worked great for is for many years. There was another horse at the same barn who would lie down if you tightened his girth too fast, but he was fine if you did one hole at a time over several minutes or walked him while you tightened it.
Could try a fed bag with an alfalfa pellet or yummy treat inside, and it only goes on for the girth so it becomes associated. My mare did best when she was allowed to just eat hay while being tacked but I saw you said he was food aggressive.
Bribery is best.
Try pausing every time the horse gets guarded about his girth. Stop action and wait until concern subsides. Try again and repeat stop action every time concern rises. And I mean even a change in eye, ear, breathing, or head elevation. Let him know you see his concern and aren't just going to power through and ignore. It can be a long and slow process, but if you show the horse you see and hear them, you will get farther. This can apply to a lot of resistant behavior once you rule out pain. You can't train away pain.
A softer girth might help. The horse I ride can be a bit grumpy with girth tightening. I do it in stages. The first stage I just loop it on so it's touching, but it's extremely loose. Then I take him to the round pen and we walk a lap. Then I "tighten" to the first hole. It's still very loose, but won't slip around too much when round penning. The halter comes off and I walk and trot him around the round pen for 5 minutes or so and then tighten the girth to the 2nd hole. We round pen some more until he's warmed up and relaxed and paying attention like the good boy he his. Sometimes that's the last tightening, sometimes (especially in the winter) it will be 1 more hole just before I get on. He was also being a bit grumpy with grooming because he was anticipating the saddle. I just make sure to give him some very light skritches along his top line with a curry comb. He seems to really, really like that and forgets to be grumpy.
I agree with all of them. First I’d make sure that if you tack this horse, that you are actively blocking the horse from swinging around to bit. Whether that’s a first no, or a bump with an elbow when he swings his head, that between you and your trainer. I would probably work in steps. Put the saddle on, give treat. Take saddle off. Repeat and attach girth on one side. Treat if calm, take all tack off. Repeat, and buckle both sides of the girth on the first whole. Repeat the process. Honestly this would be a training issue, but if you are the incidental leasee (even with no paperwork), I’d make sure you and your trainer are on the same page interns of how this horse needs to be handled and what kind of routine he needs.
His trainer is very clear about his needs and I follow through. I've been riding there for several years now, so I'm very familiar with the expectations and responsibilities. I recognize that I have no legal right to this horse. I just love my barn and I enjoy being helpful. I feel kind of useless babysitting him while he's in the cross ties only for our very busy trainer to have to come and tack him. I loosen his girth in the ring at the end of the lesson, which he objects to (because of the momentary tightening) until he realizes I'm loosening his girth. Then he stretches his neck and gets praised for doing that instead.
If pain/illness/injury has truly been investigated and ruled out, then retraining the horse to like being girthed up is the best way imo. Like you said, he has a bad history with being girthed too tightly, and likely still associates it with pain and discomfort. Helping him learn that it *isn't actually* painful anymore is important. Usually one of the easiest ways is to spend a fair amount of time girthing, loosening, tightening, ungirthing, etc while giving high value treats. For the foreseeable future, he gets a treat every time he's girthed up, right before, so he can chew on it while you girth him. This can take a lot longer when you're not the only one girthing him up, but if you can collaborate with your trainer and make sure it happens *every time* it'll go faster/better. Think of it this way: if your only pair of shoes hurt like hell every time you put them on, and you didn't know other shoes existed, you'd always hate wearing shoes. Even after getting a more comfortable pair, you've already formed that connection of shoes=pain (and horses aren't capable of reasoning like we are, so that original conclusion tends to be more set in stone for them). If you got your favorite piece of cake every time you put your new comfy shoes on, soon that association would change from shoes=pain to shoes=yummy cake. Much better.
In my experience, this can often be an issue with OTTBs. I’m a big fan of the treat tax as well. A pocketful of favorite treats and lots of pets to show him it’s pleasant - I’m thinking that if he’s cleared by the vet, it’s probably a memory of a bad time, and cookies often make that memory less, um, intense.
X-ray for kissing spine and a saddle fit appointment. He’s clearly in pain.
I got the Lettia memory foam girth for my sensitive guy. It worked really well plus it’s not expensive and you can literally throw it in the washing machine.
Also I bought something similar to this to go around the girth: https://www.agradi.nl/shires-singel-hoes-acryl-natural-60cm.htm
Rode a horse like this. Basically, he got bribed with polo mints but also kept on very short rein with head pulled to side away from you. Need to watch for rear end though. He was excellent once in saddle but hell in stable or in ground.
Appreciate that as you are riding someone else's horse but one of my horses is like this unless she has 20 mins with her heated back warmer on first. She currently has a lot of tightness in her right side back muscles (being treated) and this gets some warmth into them. It's been really effective and means I don't have to stand far enough back to avoid teeth! For your situation can you spend a little time massaging his back, extra time grooming along the muscles under saddle or just leaving the saddle and saddle pad in place for a bit longer for him to acustom to it before girthing up and putting the additional pressure in that area?
I ride an OTTB occasionally, who's also girthy. I used to be scared he was gonna nip me but he never has. If you don't have treats, or aren't allowed to give treats with it not being your horse, I find tightening really slowly and gently helps. Don't let his threats of nipping stop you because a lot of the time, that's all it is. He's telling you he doesn't like it, but they're not aggressive! You can redirect their head just by sticking your hand out or elbow, you don't need to touch them. You just kinda have to not faff and get on with it, empathetically. Because it's not your horse, it's not your responsibility to train the behaviour out of him. I talk a lot, and do a hole at a time. I'll also ease each billet up on each side alternatively. I'll give him lots of "good boy" and little wither scratches when I've done a hole. He puffs out a too, so I won't do it up all the way, just enough for me to get on and then I'll do the rest when I'm in the saddle, he doesn't care when I'm on board 😂
I usually put it on the first hole on each side, then bridle. Then go up a hole. And then stroll towards where we mount, pausing to tighten one hole at a time. I avoid providing snacks at tack up time and with a bitey horse bc SOMETIMES that can make your prob worse. When mine turns to bite, I put my hand up like he's going to be hit with a loud ah ah sound, and as soon as he's pointing forward with happy or neutral ears, he gets a good boy. Rinse and repeat, it took several months of consistency for mine
Sometimes it helps to pay the girth area with the flat of your hand, just gently and fairly quickly. Do the girth up very slowly; have someone hold the offside stirrup and get on from a mounting block so you can proceed a little more slowly.
We have a biter at the barn. He is kind and sweet, but also just loves biting people for some odd reason, without aggression, just for fun. After several deeply purple arms at the barn, he got a muzzle. We put treats in it and tack him that way. He loves the treats part, so doesn't obejct
We have a horse like this at the barn where I ride. She’s a fantastic horse, incredibly sweet and a great ride, but she will bite the shit out of you when you tighten the girth, no matter what we try. There’s no physical issues, no girth issues, she just has a bit of an attitude. And she WILL whip her head around and bite your stomach. One way that we combat this is connecting a lead rope to the side of her halter and the tying it very short to the wall, so that she can’t reach to bite. When this isn’t possible, I will just tuck a crop under my arm. I never need to use it, sometimes when she whips her head around I’ll just show it to her and she sees it and thinks “oh, she means business” and doesn’t even try.
I rode a lesson horse like this - cleared for pain & ulcers, just nipped when girth was tightened. I think she might have had pain at one point & it became a habit. I agree with the treats other have suggested. What I do is put on saddle pad, treat. Put on saddle, treat. Buckle girth on one side, treat. Buckle on other side on the first hole so it’s not touching, treat. Move up one hole, treat. Move up one hole on other side, treat. Go slow, and breathe. We are at the point where I can saddle her in reasonable time with minimal drama, but I still get the warning ears if I go too fast. It’s been a while since she’s actually tried to nip me, though.
I used to give mine a carrot. They can’t bite if their mouth is full
I used to have to walk my lesson horse up to the arena and every few steps gently tighten the girth. In the arena I would walk him one lap to finish tightening. He was so wonderful and always took care of me but just hated having his girth tightened. The walking helped and if you have a friend there one walks the other tightens.
Imo you should never by tack as a lesson rider, it’s the responsibility of the stable/horse owner. Just put the girth on very loose in the stable and thighten gradually from both sides at the arena where your trainer can help you?