Phebes her melt-downs, moodiness, and mare-ears

Some of Phebes' issues in the past have been directly related to her muscle problems.   But I feel it is unfair and untrue to lump all of her moodiness, mare-ears, and emotional melt downs to some sore muscles. In particular when she has hardly hit a lick of work in three years.   She has been on a diet that is very low NSC, fed non-leafy grass hay, supplemented with Vitamin E, Lysine, Selenium, Magnesium, and Sodium.   Even when she is on "good" behavior she is a cranky old mare.  For several weeks I've attempted to get her over her snabbiness with being brushed, saddled, petted, touched.  Bite, bite, bite, bite, bite the lead rope (add flattened ears).   How long have I had her now?   I'll think I've fixed it, and then there she goes again.     So I'm standing there, feeling frustrated which never bodes well for any kind of training.  I'm analyzing what she doesn't like.

• Saddle pad placed on her back
• Saddle placed on her back
• Breastcollar pulled between her legs and fastened
• Girth pulled up
• Chest touched
• Flank touched (this is a biggy) ears just go flat, bite bite bite...
• Belly touched
• Neck touched
• Saddle wiggled from the ground
• Being bumped with the stirrup, or your leg, or or or...

Seriously?  After all these years, still all this stuff.

All these things involve touch and pressure.

So the new thing?  I'm gonna thump her.   Sounds bad.  But what I did was tie her to the trailer and with the flat of my palms started rhythmically beating her like a drum.  OH. DEAR. GOD.  She got defensive, sucked her tail in so far it should have disappeared up her butt...ears flat, bite bite bite the lead rope.   But you know what?  I just kept up the beat.  Up and down her neck, under her belly, across her flanks, over her back, down her rump, and switching sides, again, and again, and again.   Nothing I was doing was in anyway hurting her.  Making a sound, though actually should have felt kind of good, and after a while she stood there like she had some sense and quit biting the rope, and her ears came up.

She better be prepared, because she is going to get "thumped" every time I handle her, until she is able to stand there and act right. 

Next we were working on the longe-line.  A big pick-up truck comes down the road and off she goes, doing the bronco thing, half rearing, and just having herself a little fit.  So I back her up the entire length of the arena.  Next time the truck came through she ignored it.

She is a BIG SPOILED BRAT. 

She needs a regular JOB.