Could it be the saddle?

[George123]

Help!

I have changed my saddle twice in the past year and had it widened at the start of the summer as he had put loads of condition on....He has quickly started to go downhill....the horse is working @ Medium dressage....

when he is long and low he is generally happy, but when the contact is taken up he is snatching the rein, shaking his head from side to side, violantly snaking his neck, swishing his tail, his ears are back and then lie to the side and he's grinding his teeth...clearly not happy!

So, i had his teeth done although they were only dont 6months previously...he was better for a couple of days and then went back to the above...He is now doing all of the above even on a long rein....

I have now had the vet who suspects the horse has a spavin in his hocks and he's booked in for xrays.....I am having a last minute "wonder" whether this could be the saddle, although it was only recently altered. The horse does the same in his jumping and dressage saddle although they were both recently altered, they are both MW saddles and had the flocking altered to mack them slightly wider - could this be the saddle?

I need to know if anyone has experienced similar problems that were caused by a saddle? Or, if you have had a pinching, illfitting saddle, what was the horses reaction?

Please help asap before I spend a fortune on Xrays!!

Thanks

Geoege123

 

[Colline]

yes a saddle could cause this reaction but he could have quite easily rolled or tweaked himself and is in pain.

 

[George123]

Yes, I agree - tho this is now on and off for about 8 weeks, getting progressively worse...During that time he has had standard visits from the chiropractor and massage...

He dosnt do this at all on the pessoa..

 

[exracerfan]

If he doesnt do it on the pessoa, I would also try lunging/longreining from the bit to eliminate any mouth/head problems.

Also have you tried flexion tests? If its in his hocks, would think he may object to just having his foot held up high. Also try backing him up from the ground and turning tight to see if he moves and crosses his back legs ok. Only other thing I could suggest is riding bareback to eliminate the saddle, although there may still be some tenderness there. Does he object to any finger pressure on his back?

 

[soloequestrian]

Would it be safe to sit on him bareback? It would give you a good idea of whether the saddle is the problem.

 

[Booboos]

Had exactly the same problems because of a back problem caused by a saddle. At the time we were looking for either back problems or bilateral hind limb problems.

Good luck!