Strange place to be sensitive?

[cnvh]

I don't think this is a "problem" per se, but I'm curious if anyone else's horse has a similar quirk...

My 6 y.o. OTTB, who otherwise is an in-your-pocket sweetie, has never liked being groomed. He pretty much has his ears pinned for the whole process, but he gets particularly witchy when he's being curried or brushed on his NECK and SHOULDERS of all places-- he'll bite the air, gnash his teeth, turn to nip at me, you name it. Grooming everywhere else, he just looks grumpy, but at his neck and shoulders, he's downright beside himself.

About the only part he LIKES to have groomed is his head-- I can curry his face until the cows come home, and he LOVES the insides of his ears scratched... but he'd prefer if I didn't touch him with a brush or curry anywhere past his ears.

I've never had him scoped for ulcers, but he's on daily U-Gard in his SmartPak (along with his coat and joint supplement), just in case. He's fine under saddle, doesn't bat an ear when he's being girthed up... he's not nearly as sensitive in his barrel area as he is further forward.

He doesn't mind being patted on the neck, or if I stroke or scratch him anywhere-- it's just while grooming. He's also perfectly fine for baths and hosing-- he'll stand there on a loose lead rope, doesn't care at all.

I've tried every kind of brush imaginable, the softest ones I can find, etc., makes no difference. He hates it all, but gets particularly livid at the neck and shoulders.

Ideas? Similar stories? I'm baffled.

[LegalEagle]

My 13 year old TB is similar except you cannot touch his chest. Like yours he loves being groomed and scratched on his face and in his ears but he lets me know how much he hates having his chest brushed. I've tried curries, hard brushes, soft brushes, rags, everything. He hates it all. He's chestnut...I've heard they tend to be more sensitive.

[murphyluv]

chiropractor

[fourmares]

Mine it's the left shoulder... I've had the chiro and the message therapist and the vet look at him... he's fine. It's just his thing.

[Dazednconfused]

UGard while I have seen it work, does NOT cure ulcers. You need to go straight to UlcerGard/Gastroguard.

[suzyq]

Mine is right wither and neck. I've also had chiro and vet look at him, vet says it's just his thing. He was just diagnosed with herpes and is on lysine, I'm curious if that will help as herpes makes them sensitive in general.

I did experiment and found that mine likes a soft rubber curry and will tolerate a medium stiff brush if I use short strokes. He used to not like being brushed at all, now likes all but the wither/neck. He's also on a digestive supplement, smartdigest, which seems to help him a lot. Like yours, loves his face brushed :)

[mvp]

Feel around for differences in the consistency of his muscles there. They should feel evenly rubbery and thick. If they feel thin, taut or have an uneven texture, he might be sore.

You can have pros out to check him out. I'd start with a massage person. Watching him/her work on your horse and teach you some anatomy in this part of the animal will help a great deal.

Then you can do some informal massaging and maybe some stretches on your own.

But your horse's reactions while being worked on by a pro may hold lots of information for you.

[cnvh]

He's equally persnickety on both sides. And he's also a chestnut...

As for the ulcers... He doesn't seem to have most of the symptoms, although I know with OTTB's it's a good chance he does. I haven't gotten him scoped because it would be next to impossible for me to afford $1000 for a month's worth of treatment. If his symptoms were such that he was suffering, I'd do what I had to do, but as it is, he eats like a whale, is keeping weight on, and behaviorally he's fine except for this whole neck-and-shoulder thing.

[DinkDunk]

Last week, while having my saddle fitted - the woman in the crossties next to us asked the saddle fitter/massage therapist why her horse seemed to hate being brushed around his neck/shoulders. He went over to the horse to check for soreness and finding none tried brushing the horse himself. The final analysis was that the horse did not like being gently brushed. Give him a good hard brushing or currying and he was happy. No more of that tickling stuff :lol:

[suzyq]

Hmmm mine's a chestnut too!

[Trevelyan96]

I have an 8 year old chestnut OTTB who also doesn't like being groomed either, and he's especially sensitive on his neck. He was never as bad as yours, but he'll run to the other side of his stall if he sees me coming with the grooming kit and try to avoid it as much as possible. He'll tolerate it, but lets you know as much as possible that he just doesn't like it! Massage therapy and chiro made it a little better, as well as some MSM.

[PortPonies]

Whew! Just bought a TB and I've been thinking it was me. I mean, isn't grooming supposed to be lovey-lovey time with wiggly lips during the curry?

I picked up a rubber "lint brush" in the dog aisle at Walmart that he seems to tolerate. Unfortunately, only the harder brushes get the mud out after a good roll.

[camohn]

I don't think this is a "problem" per se, but I'm curious if anyone else's horse has a similar quirk...

My 6 y.o. OTTB, who otherwise is an in-your-pocket sweetie, has never liked being groomed. He pretty much has his ears pinned for the whole process, but he gets particularly witchy when he's being curried or brushed on his NECK and SHOULDERS of all places-- he'll bite the air, gnash his teeth, turn to nip at me, you name it. Grooming everywhere else, he just looks grumpy, but at his neck and shoulders, he's downright beside himself.

About the only part he LIKES to have groomed is his head-- I can curry his face until the cows come home, and he LOVES the insides of his ears scratched... but he'd prefer if I didn't touch him with a brush or curry anywhere past his ears.

I've never had him scoped for ulcers, but he's on daily U-Gard in his SmartPak (along with his coat and joint supplement), just in case. He's fine under saddle, doesn't bat an ear when he's being girthed up... he's not nearly as sensitive in his barrel area as he is further forward.

He doesn't mind being patted on the neck, or if I stroke or scratch him anywhere-- it's just while grooming. He's also perfectly fine for baths and hosing-- he'll stand there on a loose lead rope, doesn't care at all.

I've tried every kind of brush imaginable, the softest ones I can find, etc., makes no difference. He hates it all, but gets particularly livid at the neck and shoulders.

Ideas? Similar stories? I'm baffled.

Have you had him long enough to know how long a problem this is/if it is new? My colt was all over witchy with grooming when he came down with Lyme's. Since he was a young stud colt I didn't think much of it when he got nippy at first, but something was wrong as it got worse.

[ShotenStar]

My big chestnut mare was/sometimes is equally witchy about her right side being touched ... an issue that lessened considerably when she was treated for EPM. The EPM showed up as atrophy in the right shoulder. My vet believes that the weird nerve sensations, hyper sensitivity of the damaged nerves, and lack of total control on the right side caused her to be so reactive.

*Star*

[rmh_rider]

I have a chestnut arab. He has sensitive skin. Just be more gentle, use softer brushes. He gets to be a fur ball in winter.

I had a chestnut - NOT SORREL - QH. He had the toughest skin I have ever found on a horse. You could never brush or metal curry him ANYwhere on his person too hard. Even up near his sheeth. He would lift his leg for ya. I could brush him with nails and he would have been delighted. He didn't have thick fur either, year round, but thin flat fur - very pretty. Not even in the winter.

My black filly a rocky, she likes it pretty hard, but isn't a fan of having her face brushed. She is a fur ball at the moment.

Had a grey arab, she was sensitive around her sides, but was otherwise ok. She would be a fur ball in the winter.

I would do a chiro visit, and a worming purge (right away). Poor guy.

[cyberbay]

If a horse is sensitive about being brushed, you can try to brush him after a ride -- just knock off the mud beforehand where the tack goes. He might be more receptive and start associating it with pleasant-ness, if that's a word.

Also, to me, the symtoms always point to tight muscles, or an underlying condition that has caused tight muscles. A massage therapist should be able to give you some pointers, as other posters have noted. Also, it takes a while for the soreness to totally disappear. Whatever is causing it needs to be taken care of, too, and that can take awhile. As well, the muscles will revert to tightness for awhile out of memory. Blanketing doesn't help, either, as they bind and pull, no matter how well fitting.

Soreness may not be immediate to the source of trouble. Chest muscles, the pecs, travel between the front legs and along the belly. This horse could be sore in the girth area, and have it reflected in the chest...

[cnvh]

He's been on a regular worming schedule (along with routine vet, farrier, and dental care), so I don't think it's worms.

I've had him since last September, so a little more than a year now. He used to be MUCH worse about it; he's actually a lot better now. When I first got him, he would shrink away at the sensation of fly spray-- it wasn't that he was scared or spooky of it, he was reacting to the sensation of the mist hitting his coat.

I find it interesting that so many other people have chestnuts with similar issues...

[mcw]

cnvh, my 19 year old chestnut TB is the same way, and has been for the 13 years I have had him- really bad from the shoulders up, but doesn't particularly enjoy being groomed from the shoulders back. He lived on ulcer medication when he was competing, has seen the chiropractor, and used to get regular massages (which he loved, by the way). He has never minded being touched, just brushed. I tried for years to find the source of it, then just decided that he doesn't like it and I'm not going to be able to change that. I keep a close eye on him, he knows that if he gets close to getting me he is dead, and other than that I ignore it. Does yours hate having his blankets changed as well? That is something else that mine makes very ugly faces about. Gotta love the chestnut TBs.

[pinkdiamondracing]

My OTTB hates to be brushed on his back half-- as in over his rump, etc... He would double barrel the wall behind him when being brushed at the track. I knew him when he was a racehorse, so I knew what I was getting into when I took him home. He was really bad whe I first got him, so we brushed with the hose, which he loved.
I have noticed that the longer I have him, the better he is getting about it.

Most of the racehorses I know are brushed until they are sick of it,mostly because the guys grooming them aren't sensitive enough to brush them gently when they need it, but insist on scrubbing them vigorously no matter what. Their skin gets extremely sore from the daily scrubbings they receive.

I gave my guy 6 months off from being groomed completely, and then returned to gently grooming, and now he loves it.

[event1]

I agree with PDR-I have galloped at the track for years and consequently brought home many of OTTB's of all different ages and colors. I seem to believe that all of the horses I have gotten off the track hate being groomed to different extents and I personally think it is due to the fact that they are so OVERGROOMED (in most cases) by grooms that seem to enjoy grinding them all over with a rubber mit or curry comb. I have 3 in my barn right now that have mostly gotten over it-because I brush them minimally for the first 6 months at least-And I NEVER fully bath them with soap (just rince them off if they are sweaty) and now they are starting to like it. MY suggestion would be to back off for awhile and see if they gradually start to tolerate/enjoy it more.:)

[Dazednconfused]

I had a chestnut - NOT SORREL - QH. He had the toughest skin I have ever found on a horse.


Chestnut and sorrel are the same color. ;)

[Foxtrot's]

Interesting observation by event and PDR. When teaching Pony Club we would tell the kids to bang a hair brush onto their heads and see how it hurt - we teach them to gently put the brush on slightly sideways and turn it until the bristles are on the skin and brush/flick gently with a soft brush if it is a sensitive horse. We have all seen people slap a brush ont a horse so it swishes it's tail or pins its ears.

No suggestions for the OP, though.

[Chall]

He doesn't mind being patted on the neck, or if I stroke or scratch him anywhere-- it's just while grooming.
How does he respond to a grooming glove? Honestly I'd skip brushing him in his sensitive spots and use my hand if its not too big an area, a rag or a sweat scraper to knock the mud off.