Gia - sessions 1159-1166 - lots of figuring out what exactly might be going on

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, so I apologize for just now getting around to Gia's blogs.  I have been doing a lot of detective work with her issues going on, and I do think I have figured it out.  It also might explain some attitude that we see in other horses we have.

Monday 10/20 - I once again worked on massaging Gia's neck.  She really has gotten into this and is pretty much enjoying it, for the most part.

Tuesday 10/21 - Ditto

Wednesday 10/22 - Danielle worked with her on this day since I wasn't feeling well.  She also massaged her neck, and said that Gia was great for it!  (Gia's always great for Danielle though, so take this one with a grain of salt 😉)

Friday 10/24 - I was back at it again.  I massaged her neck, treated a few wounds that she had, and groomed her a little, as well.  She did fairly well with all of it.  If I came across a spot that she didn't like (expressed by ear pinning, turning to bite, trying to kick, etc), I kept my hand in place, stayed out of her way otherwise, and waited until she took a deep breath or a lick and chew, and then removed my hand and stepped back to give her a moment.  I ran into several places where I had to do this with her, but she was able to give me signs of relaxation fairly quickly.  However, I was only able to groom her as far as her neck.

Monday 10/27 - I started by treating her wounds, and as Danielle and I were talking about a few things, I can't remember our exact conversation and how it exactly came up, we started to realize that Gia has had pretty severe reactions to fly bites.  And all of the areas that she is so upset about us touching her are the areas where the flies get her the worst - under the belly, in the chest, at the elbow/armpit.  She reacts to us touching her there the same way that she reacts to the flies - she goes to bite at them at the chest or at her elbow/armpit, or goes to kick at them under her belly towards the back.  It all seems to make sense!  So, now what?  Well, my thoughts are two fold.  One, get her a flysheet that covers her up as much as possible, including a neck cover and belly band.  And two, start working on teaching her that touching her in those areas can be good.  That will be the hard part.  (By the way, I see this behavior in at least one other horse we have.  In the past, I had suspected ulcers on both these horses, but for other reasons had ruled ulcers out.  He will be getting a flysheet as well!)

Tuesday 10/28 - I started working on part two of my plan from above.  As I went about the task of grooming Gia, I made a point of starting off in an area that I didn't think would be a problem at all - up at the top of her neck, near her head.  That was a good choice!  I paid special attention to her behavior as I got closer to her "hot spots".  As soon as she started to show signs of negative behavior, I kept my hand in place, as described above, and waited for a positive behavior before pulling my hand away and stepping back to give her a break.  I repeated this three times on each side.  I was able to get as far as her neck and shoulder today.

Wednesday 10/29 - I repeated the same thing I did on Tuesday.  I was still only able to get as far as the neck and shoulder.

Friday 10/31 - Another day of repetition.  I was able to get to her shoulder and elbow on the left side, but on the right side, I was able to get to the girth area!  It's slow, but it's progress!