Horse Problem - Bucking/Mounting/Cinching Problems - Horse now acts up at shows/classes, didn't used to

http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips40.html (print it out and really study it)

That's how they act when they've got pain due to poor saddle fit, exactly what you're describing there. Is a more common problem out there than you might think! A saddle that might have fit her 3 years ago when you first got her at age 4 will not necessarily fit her at age 7/now maturity. They do a lot of filling-out in those 3 very formative years in particular. Check that and if you're not sure, call in a saddle fitting expert for an opinion. And maybe even an equine chiropractor for a thorough checkout there.

Is just what my gut is telling me is happening there. So often we think something is behavioral when the horse is screaming as loudly as they can that something HURTS. Body language-wise, every single thing you're saying there says to me: she's probably screaming she's got back pain. Which most of the time is caused by poorly fitting saddle and less than ideal pad. And I've really become a huge proponent of orthopedic saddle pads, especially the one I refer to on that page there, the EquiPedic saddle pad. I've seen instant remarkable turn arounds in behavior and performance when people switch to that pad in particular (but is still important to have a well fitting saddle). Also...some people don't realize it, but sometimes the "tree" of the saddle (the hard bony structure that the saddle is built upon) might have broken (cracked/split, etc.) from being dropped and this broken tree can cause great pain to a horse.

So...that's my first advice. Check that out throughly. Do all the above and get back to me afterwards, keep me posted. But that's what I recommend you do there, is what I feel is most likely the problem there.

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