Had the physio - some home truths

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rachier

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Had teh physio as recommended by vet for suspected back pain and guess what!????

# saddle doesnt fit right (fitted only a few months ago by a well respected saddler at cost of £1000)
# Front feet off balance by miles (i.e. farrier should have noticed and at least told me)
# couple of other probs

Im seething!!!!! Hes got to go for further tests which is fair enough, I cant believe it, its not like I dont bother to get him cared for correctly - Ive been paying top money and they are still not doing stuff right..
 
Did you vet recommend this specific physio person?

As it can be just as hard to find good physio's as it is farriers/saddlers etc.

Might be worth asking the saddle fitter and farrier their opinion to. if you're feeling brave.

It really is a mine field trying to do the best for your horses.
 
Frankly I'm not surprised. I see so many badly fitting saddles and uncomfortable horses, and most people use "recommended" saddle fitters. I recently suggested a client went back to her saddle fitter because her (very expensive) saddle was far too narrow and was rising up behind with every stride, and was totally crooked - the saddler said there was nothing wrong and the problems were due to her using an elasticated girth
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Yes vet recommended physio he extremely well thought off in my area and ACPAT registered, I have used him before this as well.
 
Rowreach, a friend of mine had a client she was teaching/schooling a horse for, whose saddle was a dreadful fit. She told the owner who called the saddlefitter back, and they told her it wasn't the saddle, it was her riding
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How harsh is that!! My friend instsed one being there the next time she was called back - funnily enough problem got sorted after that.....
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As to foot balance - you'd be surprised, I heard about a problem last year with a local farrier who when told that the feet on several horses were out of balance by three different vets/physios, just said that was rubbish and they didn't know what they were talking about - apparently he knew better! Funnily enough, don't use him myself....
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Oh lol Emma! Actually there may have been an element of that in the case I mentioned
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but not entirely! As it happens, the person in question thinks the saddler is right and I am wrong (heaven forbid) but the saddle is still tight in front and bumping her up the bum with every stride of rising trot!
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(sorry for hijacking post
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)
 
Gawd, its such a lottery isn't it? I use a saddle fitter who is pretty well known, even nationally, and really trust him, went to him to get a saddle for OH's mare, and a local saddler who I have never used, actually rang my instructor (who we bought mare from) to say did she know we were using someone who isn't a registered master saddler. Luckily my instructor is fab, and said that firstly its none of her buisness, and secondly, she's never seen me with anything other than well fitting saddles so whe's sure there isn't a problem! What a nosey old baggage eh?
 
I must admit he a TB and hard to fit anyway, but the saddler had a Jeffries Flacon Hawk Event HIgh Wither which seemed to be a fab fit. Its been reflocked since (under instruction from saddler) who is registered.

God only knows - im sure when he goes to vets they will tell me the detail (ive even got to ride him at the surgery). Im very nervous at that thought to..... he goes nuts when hes away from home - vet said nurse would do it thou. Cant believe hes got to sleep there!!! Im gonn be thinkin bout him bless him!
 
I know exactly how you feel!! I have recently spent 1000 pounds on a jump saddle for a 5 yr old that i have, and after 3 wks was not happy with it at all, got the saddler back out who fitted another saddle.

After jumping in it a bit i still wasn't happy for the money i paid out, and low and behold i couldn't get hold of the saddler after that. So called out another saddler in the area and he said that not only did the saddle not fit but it has a twisted tree! If i had carried on using it i could have caused my horse a lot of damage.

Now can't get hold of the original saddler to get a refund, surprise surprise...

It sucks doesn't it when we do all we can to make our horses as comfortable as possible, with the best stuff that we can afford, and put our trust in people that are registered but just don't seem to give two hoots.

Your saddler isn't in the Bucks area by chance?!?
 
I'm not surprised at all either. A lot of people I know all bought saddles of a woman recently who told all of them their horse's backs were sore and guess what they needed to do to help their poor suffering horses - buy one of her saddles! I watch them riding around thinking they have done the best thing for their horses and the saddles don't even rest flat on some of the horses backs, and some twist over so obviously, one side of the back of the saddle is sat on top of the spine.

Learn how to fit saddles yourself, its not rocket science. The problem comes when you need re-stuffing and work doing then you really need to get someone in but its easier said than done. Don't just trust them though, learn for yourself what is a good fit and if they do a job you're not happy with, don't accept it.

As far as farriers are concerned you just need to find a good one. Ask your vets who they recommend. Also don't forget, what the physio has told you IS NOT gospel either. You really have got to take what each bloody expert tells you with a pinch of salt and do the best you can.
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The farrier works with my vets and can sometimes be a bit funny (especially as we had a disagreement before this). However the vet said they will give him instructions so hopefully this problem will be solved - plus hes the yard farrier and its hard to get other farriers to come and do horses on the said farriers 'patch' (ive already asked some others. Plus they were not interested as i needed a remedial shoe made before the visit.
 
To be fair to the saddle fitter, a horse can change shape beyond recognition within a few weeks... especialy if it has not been wearing a correctly fitting saddle prior to the fitters visit. As the horse improves its way of going and builds up the damaged muscles... the saddle starts to no longer fit.

Saddle fitters fit the saddle to suit the horse on the day they see it. If the horses diet or work load/fitness and thus its shape then changes obviously the saddle will no longer fit. The amount of people who blame the fitter when this happens is amazing.

I am an oldie, but I was taught that you fit a saddle every time you put it on the horses back... this is in the days before fitters. It is totaly normal for a horse to use several different saddles throughout the year, according to its condition and fitness. It is also normal to send your saddle in for re-fitting/flocking every 6 months or as needed.

I am not getting at you, this is just a grumpy old woman moaning... however, non of our horses had bad backs!

It amazes me these days when people use 1 saddle all year regardless of how the horse changes shape and don't get the fit checked every few months. As I said, you check the fit every time you saddle the horse, so why do people carry on using saddles that don't fit!

Saddles are cheap enough these days, you can pick up perfectly servicable 2nd hand ones from 50 quid upwards... yet people buy 1 expensive saddle that does not fit the horse correctly for 60 percent of the year.... and then blame the fitter. Why don't people buy a few cheap saddle sthat actualy fit the horse as it changes condition and shape throughout the year rather than on expensive saddle.... seems like vanity at the expens eof the horses comfort to me.
 
Agree with E C some of the best saddlers are not registered for a variety of reasons and there are many people on here who have had huge problems with registered Master Saddlers- please remember you can call yourself a Master Saddler if you have Retail Membership (ie your shop is registered with them) which has nothing to do with saddle fitting. Also I found that many clients commented that i was the only saddler they knew that rode/ hunted/ competed.I think if more did ride they would understand how the saddle affects the partnership of horse and rider. I have also ridden horses i was fitting so the client could see how the saddle was sitting as the horse moved. This also helped with some situations where there was a query as to whether the rider was contributing to the problem (which does happen- if you are crooked it doesnt mean you are a bad rider just a wonky one!!)
 
Physio's are always looking for the ideal - and certainly my physio wanted my saddle to fit differently from the way my saddler recommended. By the three of us discussing it together we reached a compromise that we all felt worked to the best advantage of my horse.

Likewise, when seeing the horse move it was evident that some adjustment could be made to the way the horse was being trimmed and shod in order to assist with his way of going.

I would take a deep breath and try to look at the big picture - all four professionals involved will have differing opinions on what is best for your horse.

The trick is getting it to all work in harmony with each other...........
 
this is what infuriates me - you can spend £££s and do your absolute best for your horse, and then find out later that the 'experts' you have put your trust in, haven't done what's best for the horse.
i have wasted literally thousands on saddles over the years, and far too much money on dentistry, back people, farriers, etc etc, before finally finding people i can really trust. gutting, isn't it?
 
When I bought my boy, I had his teeth rasped by a well respected dentist. Totally wrecked his mouth, took so much off the middle teeth and not back or front, he couldn't chew. Cost me a fortune to have him sedated and another dentist under vet's supervision to put right and that took several months. I had him professionally fitted for his saddle, yes you've guessed it, sore back, within a few weeks. Called her out again and fitted flair, still no good. Went to different saddler to be told saddle didn't fit, he sorted it, and yes it meant another saddle, but to be fair a good one and no probs since. Used a 'good' farrier when, upon moving to new area told that his feet were a mess and had shoes set well back to correct. Which it did. So it all cost me a fortune, but I got there in the end. I really despair at how much us horse people are ripped off.
 
All agreed as above but one thing about MY experience with physios often bothers me . . . it seems it's NEVER about how the horse is being ridden! How can that be? It may be about a training aid or an exercise but apparently it's never about the skill of the rider. Horses are organic systems - all the pieces fit together. Yes, one thing can be completely off but more often it's a couple of little things overwhelming the system.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for EVERYONE involved working at the best of their ability, and it is beyond annoying to find out you've spent money for nothing, but how come saddle fitters, farriers, physios, vets etc. all seem to be somehow separate from riders and trainers? It is possible to tell from sitting on a horse that the various component parts are not working correctly, often quite specifically.

This is not to imply anything about the OP or anyone else replying, it's just the thought that always enters my mind in the "what's wrong with my horse" conversations. Considering that for decades people managed to "ride horses sound" without all the advantages we have now it seems odd to me that suddenly it's a non issue. Considering how many riders I've seen with a stable full of horses all eventually showing the same problem(s) I've got to think it's part of the issue that sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. . .
 
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