girth gall???

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pixiebee

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i went on a fun ride today, and it basically took 8 hrs!!!!! we did get a bit lost.lol!! problem is, when i got back and untacked him he had two large lumps just where the girth sits. he did sweat quite alot underneath the girth area, they are just behind his elbows, not open sores just big lumps under his skin. they dont appear to bother him atall but i have no experience of this kind of thing as its never happened before. his girth is a leather one, that is hour glass shaped to apprently stop it rubbing behind the shoulders! i hosed him down and the girth area for 15 mins but the limps were then harder??? how should i treat this and i assume i shouldnt put a saddle on again until the swellings have competely gone?? would a fluffy girth sleeve help atall?????
 
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henryhorn

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They do sound like girth galls to me and really it suggests your saddle might not fit as well as it should. Though 8 hours is an awfully long time!
They are basically rubbed skin and will be very sore, so you need to cool them down and not wear a girth for a while. There are numerous treatments, I use aloe vera gel which is soothing and seems to take swellings down, but anything soothing will do. I would change girths to a padded one and perhaps make a sheepskin sleeve to use when you start riding him again. (you can ride bareback!)
I rarely see girth galls nowadays, years ago they were pretty common but modern girths seem to prevent them. perhaps also have the fit of your saddle looked at, to get a gall means the girth has been moving backwards and forwards.
next time if you plan a massive ride put a sheepskin sleeve on, it may prevent this happening again.
Oh and you may find they dry out and the hair and skin falls off, if so beware of infection, we used to treat them with salt water but I would inagine there are better methods now.
 
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