Cinchy Horse

Being claustrophobic by nature, some horses have terrible trouble with a cinch or girth. Some will try to nip or kick you while being girthed while others will freeze in terror, flop down or flip over and even lie catatonic, paralyzed with fear. With this type of horse, bucking in fear is to be highly expected when you ride him. 

Most problems with a cinchy horse originate because the horse has not had enough preparation and desensitization to the new feeling of having a saddle put on and cinched up for the first time. They aren't given time to get used to it, and, if it has been done rudely in the past, it might be that the horse is blaming you for something that happened long ago. Either way, the good news is that solving this problem with a horse isn’t all that hard. All it takes is time, repetition and a very polite approach to girthing.

Solving Your Cinchy Horse Problem the Parelli Natural Horse Training Way

The foundation of Parelli Natural Horsemanship is understanding your horse and the basis for his behavior. So, first of all, you need to know if your horse is reacting out of annoyance or fear.

• Annoyed horses are the ones that tend to nip when they’re cinchy. If your horse is annoyed about being girthed, this is the easiest problem to fix. Simply give him a cookie or carrot when he turns to nip you. Just when he thinks you are going to slap him, and he's ready to hate you more, you give him a treat! In addition, learn how to adjust your cinch gradually. Don't bale it into him, or he has every right to be bothered, and no amount of treats is going to change that. In our Safe Ride DVD, the issue of cinching/girthing is addressed, but even more important, you learn how to get your horse in the mood to be saddled. That's an interesting concept most people miss!

• Fearful horses are the ones who hold their breath, appear to freeze up and get really tense. If your horse is afraid, then you probably should not be saddling him until you have gained his trust. Our Natural Attraction DVD teaches you the Parelli horse training approach to developing trust with your horse. Once trust is developed, you need to learn to communicate with your horse so you can move him around, first without the saddle, and later with it. Our Seven Games: The Secret of Teaching Horses DVD is a helpful tool. The fearful cinchy horse is definitely the more challenging problem to solve, and it's usually more 'introverted' horses that are cinchy. Take your time with this; it can be very dangerous, but great results are worth waiting for. If you’d like to understand more about introverted horses and other horse personality types, please see our Horsenality™ page to learn more.