Bumps under saddle - Advice Please!

FabulousFlynn'sMum

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Hi folks,

I have a 17.2 trotter/cob cross who is quite fine and high withered. I have a 18" hawk event saddle from my previous horse that I use on him.

Right, I had my saddler out to make adjustments and fit this saddle to said horse, saddler made adjustments and had it fitting lovely to my boy. Now here's the problem, whenever ive ridden him for say over an hour, when I take his saddle off there is one, sometimes two hard bumps on the right hand side of his spine. I have had the saddler out to recheck saddle and he's made some further minor adjustments and its still happening.

I have tried everything he has suggested, i.e. used it with a really thin numnah, used it with my sheepskin half lined numnah, used it with a sparkling clean numnah everytime, being careful not to girth up too tight, moved the saddle slightly further back on him (I thought I maybe had the saddle fitting too far forward on his withers if you get what I mean), all my numnahs are washed in either nuumed or melp detergent therefore nothing that will irritate his back and these bumps are still happening!

My saddler is admanant that the saddle is a good fit and he has altered it as much as he can to fit, and I must admit it appears to sit perfect on him, so saddler is saying as the bumps are not bothering him, he thinks they are heat related?

The bumps have always gone down by the following day and as soon as ive taken my saddle off and seen the bumps, ive pressed them really hard, squeezed them, pinched them, prodded hard round them and the horse dosent so much as flinch or move so I presume they are not hurting him?

Anyway, sorry for the long essay, I would just really appreciate your opinions as to what you think it could be as its really bothering me that I could be hurting my horse, even tho he seems perfectly ok?!!

Many thanks, luv Jayne xx
 

Dirtymare

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My mare can have these at times. They are always under where her saddle goes.
I have been told they are sweat lumps (which kind of makes sense). They dont hurt her and always go down within a few hours. Interestingly, she doesnt get them in winter when she is fully clipped.
 

FabulousFlynn'sMum

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Hi Dirtymare, thanks for the reply. I think its just with them always being in the same place (just to the right of his spine near the back of the saddle), that worry me. You can actually see and feel that theyve started to go down by the time ive untacked him and he's had his feed and is ready to go back in the field (about 15-20 mins), so maybe it just is him getting too warm then. Ooh it just worries me seeing lumps and bumps! xx
 

smiffyimp

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hi, get your back person out, then get the saddler. These sound like pressure lumps, either from a problem with saddle or back or both. My old boy used to get these, and mostly after a new saddle was fitted. My saddler sorted it but it took 6 month! Dont ignore them, there shouldnt be any swelling under a correctly fitting saddle on a good back
 

FabulousFlynn'sMum

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Hi Smiffy, thanks for that. I must admit, to me bumps shouldnt be there end of, whether heat related or not, thats what is concerning me. Surely he'd be sore tho wouldnt he, I cant understand why they arent bothering him? xx
 

smiffyimp

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mine boys never bothered him. they are fluid filled and when the pressure is released the fluid dissipates. Its the underlying problem that may cause harm, whether it be a saddle pinching or something else. A back person will rule out (or in) and back issues. If the horses back is good its the saddle and if your saddler doesnt agree, change saddler - better still try and get back person and saddler at the same time. These pros should work together to help sort the problem. They may not show in winter as (if not clipped) you have protection from the coat.
 

FabulousFlynn'sMum

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Ah right, i'll sort myself a back person out then and get them to check him out. He's 11 years old and has been a Grade C showjumper all his younger days and has come to me for just hacking and the odd jumping and hunter trial in between. Thanks for your help xx
 

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Even if the lumps did turn out to be heat lumps, think about why they always appear in the same place. There's got to be a reason for that. There must still be an underlying issue, whether it be with the saddle still, or perhaps there's an issue in the horses back which maybe hasn't affected the horse's performance/health at all so may not have been noticed, and is now only manifesting itself in these particular lumps (perhaps caused by heat emanating from the site of the damage)?

So, call your preferred back person (or vet if you prefer) to check this out. If there is some underlying damage, it's better to find out sooner before it (potentially) gets much worse.
 

Dirtymare

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Can I just add, I have had both saddle fitter and back person out. Saddle fits fine (as I think OP has), and back is fine.
I agree that any lumps and bumps are not good and should be looked into. However, my mare does tend to overheat quickly and if over rugged will come out in spots/lumps all over. So I do know that these lumps under the saddle are associated with her sweating under the saddle.
 

Azmar

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Could also be you do not sit centrally and this causes pressure. Could be horse is one sided and moves you off centre, it doesn't have to be your crookedness alone. Have someone watch from the ground behind and see how saddle sits in movement. Just a thought:)
 

teddyt

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It could be lots of things, hard to say without knowing you, the saddle and horse. One possible explanation though is that the horse could have leaky blood vessels due to a weakness or previous trauma. If the saddle is a very good fit, more blood is allowed into the back area,which moves to an area with least resistance-i.e. the leaky blood vessels. In a saddle that doesnt fit as well there is more pressure, less blood flow in the first place (thats why you apply pressure to bleeding wound) and hence the bumps dont appear. Its nothing to worry about, as the horse cools down the excess fluid is absorbed back into the body. It usually occurs in relatively unfit horses or if you go on a longer ride than normal.

It could also be caused by too much pressure, heat, crooked rider, etc but its one possible explanation. Particularly as there is no pain.
 

Spinal Tap

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Do the bumps go away completely in between rides? If not they might be collagen granulomas - my mare has a small cluster of these on her left side, strangely they came up while she had ringworm & I was hardly riding her. They are small hard lumps about the size of lentils, completely painless, they are always there but seem more prominent after she's been ridden. Saddler and physio have seen them & say not to worry ;)
 

Cuppatea

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my cob x something always had this, i tried loads of different saddles and numnahs etc but no change, guessed at sweat lumps, washed saddle area after every ride with hibiscrub and not seen them again. Worth a go if saddle fitters etc dont find anything.
 

bensonthewonderhorse

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My gelding used to get this if ridden for an hour or so, likewise I had saddle, back etc all chaecked and were fine, I then got a prolite pad and it doesn't happen anymore, think he just wanted a bit more comfort!!! Just to clarify I would not suggest a prolite pad if there was any risk that the saddle didn't fit!
 

pinktiger

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my chap gets these twice a year at coat change!!! they are painless and go once clipped or coat has come through(dropped), hes a blooomin sensitive tb)!!!
 

Cuppatea

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My gelding used to get this if ridden for an hour or so, likewise I had saddle, back etc all chaecked and were fine, I then got a prolite pad and it doesn't happen anymore, think he just wanted a bit more comfort!!! Just to clarify I would not suggest a prolite pad if there was any risk that the saddle didn't fit!
i
I use prolite too, expensive but brilliant!
 

JenHunt

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My mare can have these at times. They are always under where her saddle goes.
I have been told they are sweat lumps (which kind of makes sense). They dont hurt her and always go down within a few hours. Interestingly, she doesnt get them in winter when she is fully clipped.

ditto this... Ron gets them during winter when he's hunting twice a week. My vet said that we should use talc under the numnah to help absorb the sweat so it doesn't irritate the skin and that seems to do the job.

keeping the numnah's clean and making sure they and the horse are dry are the key to stopping them becoming more than just bumps.
 

NNS5244

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I was on a yard with 40 competition horses and would say about 10 of them had these at one time or another and I think they are sweat related but can vary in type. My horse got them for a while, the vet said he could inject them but if I didn't mind them being unsightly they were harmless as long as they don't hurt when pressed. If you can give him 1-2 months off at some point they will go away and may not return, but I wouldn't spend a lot of money/time investigating them unless they are hurting him or spread significantly.
 
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