back/saddle problem

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riding_to_the_stars

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my pony has quite sensitive withers (sometimes when you touch them she'll twitch), last winter we had a big problem with saddling her, everytime i went to put her saddle on she'd turn to kick me and barge into me. an experienced friend checked the saddle and couldn't find any obvious signs of it not fitting and when we managed to get the saddle on, as soon as i got on to ride she would suddenly calm down and she'd be absolutely fine to ride. after a few weeks the problems were still there so, thinking it was more behavioral, we got out a recommended natural horsemanship instructor. she managed to put the saddle on with very little fuss but then suggested it might be a bit too forward cut (restricting her shoulder movement) and possibly a little too tight. so we bought a new fully adjustable saddle and got a saddler to fit it and the problem went away, but this was also at the time we took off her rug and left her rugless which i believe made a difference. we had thought it could possibly be the rug rubbing or putting pressure on her withers? anyway, we are now having the same problem. the saddle seems to fit fine, shes maintained a fairly constant weight and shes still good when riding. shes in a medium weight rug - defo not too tight on her as the rest of its on the big side! im basically looking for someone to advise me on what to do next - a back person? saddler? is there people who can professionally check her back and saddle? thanks.
 
I would definitely get a saddler out just in case. My physio will check the saddle fit but she just advises and always recommends, if she thinks there's a problem with the saddle, to get a proper saddle fitter out to check everything over.

It really depends which one you want to get out first, if the back person finds a very sore back then you will have to get the saddler out anyway and you may not be able to ride (depending on how sore the horse is). If you get saddler out first then you know the saddle fits or not and can then get the back person knowing you've sorted your saddle.

I would get both out as a first point of call though. It's worth ruling out saddle and pain before looking at other things.
 
I'd say it's the rug, given the problem stopped last year when you took the rug off, though it does sound as though the saddle was playing a part then too. Take a look at anything else you see laying down or grazing if your own gets up/lifts her head when you approach, there's a lot of pressure on the withers when laying down or grazing, especially if the rug isn't the best fit. The wither twitching isn't just sensitivity, that's pain.

If using a neck cover, check that isn't too tight when the head is down to graze, lots are for horses with thin necks and almost strangle anything chunkier. I can see how neck covers might increase pressure on the withers too in some cases.

Does she have high withers? Some very high withered horses can be hard to find rugs that don't cause a problem.

Is your rug too big and dragging backwards? Does it get particularly heavy when wet (sometimes the waterproof element is a membrane under the first layer of fabric)? Just some things to think about which could be making the situation worse.

If she needs a rug at the moment try having only one rug, no layers. Choose one with an extra large padded fleece wither patch (or sew in your own). Pick something as lightweight as possible and ensure it fits correctly round the chest. Consider under rugging and increasing the feed/hay to prevent weight loss due to being cold, if necessary, rather than using a heavier rug/extra layers. Eg you might get away with a lightweight 100g turnout rug in the field and a heavier 200-300g stable rug in a lightweight fabric when in, together with an increase in feed/hay. Sometimes even just changing to a different brand/style rug can make a difference and allow the sore places to heal.

If she loses a significant amount of weight over winter the saddle could well need adjusting and again in the summer when she gains weight. Check your numnah doesn't slip down tight over the withers too.
 
I have one horse where I have to be very careful of his wither .
I use the lightest rugs I can and I only use stable rugs with no seams down the middle ( amigos ones ) for turn out I have bought a weatherbeeta which has memory foam triangles either side of the wither to reduce pressure .

If you think there's something going on a wither X-ray is not too expensive and that's what I would do.
 
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