Help needed, can a horse dislike dressage saddles?

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Priyashome

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Hi
I have owned my horse for 3.5 years. She can sometimes be a bit fidgety getting on but last week I went to get on her at a venue away from home. As I sat on the saddle with still just one stirrup (my instructor was holding her) she exploded into a bucking fit until I fell off onto the concrete. I then was able to get on once we'd caught her and had a good lesson. I found out two days later that I'd broken my toe. Then the next time I went to mount she did the same thing luckily this time I had a soft fall as I got on in the school. Having said that I now can't ride as I have ligament damage to my left arm. She has been ridden by others in between these incidents with no issue. The difference being I was riding in my new dressage saddle. I've had it 3 weeks and she's been going nicely in it. The others have ridden in her old GP. I've checked the saddle over. It seems fine no obvious signs of anything sharp and the tree is OK. It looks like a really good fit. The saddler is coming to check it next week but I have to say I'm almost afraid to ride her in any dressage saddle now as I'm worried it's the way it sits or the type of girth they have that's upsetting her. She's not the most straight forward mare and can be easily upset but it all points to the saddle. She's also getting her back checked next week. Any ideas?
 
It is likely that this particular saddle does not suit her, it may appear to fit but she is telling you she is not comfortable for whatever reason, it may just require tweaking or may need replacing but it is not likely that she will object to every dressage saddle unless she has an underlying issue in which case she would probably be uncomfortable in the GP as well.

Get everything checked but I suspect the saddle is putting pressure on her somewhere and that is the cause of her behaviour.
 
Agree with be positive. My old boy really wasn't a fan of the dressage saddles that "fitted" - he only liked the one my saddler had condemned!

If the vet/physio can find a sore patch, hopefully that will tie in and give you something to work on with the saddles.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I really hope it's just this particular saddle. The only other thing I am thinking it could be where the long straps touch her skin as with a GP it's only the girth and not the straps that make contact with her body. She's quite fine skinned and the girth straps are not padded whereas everything else is ie the saddle cloth, the girth x x
 
You could try it with a long girth to determine that isn't the issue?
I know when my old mare was diagnosed with KS after her op the saddler advised me to get a jump/gp saddle as often in her experience (and another saddler) horses with sore backs/history of sore backs tend not to like dressage saddles as they sit us deeper on them so I guess he may have an issue underlying that is aggravated by the deeper seat of a dressage saddle.
 
Some horses don't like the dressage girths as the buckles can sit on a muscle that runs along the tummy, one of my horses does not go as well in a short girth so I had his dressage saddle made with short straps so I can use a long girth and I mainly do showing so it suited us to do this.
 
Pinkvboots said:
Some horses don't like the dressage girths as the buckles can sit on a muscle that runs along the tummy, one of my horses does not go as well in a short girth so I had his dressage saddle made with short straps so I can use a long girth and I mainly do showing so it suited us to do this.
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I did wonder about the straps as she is very thin skinned and her girths and saddle pads are all padded x
 
There are certain pressure points that if the buckles sit on top they can cause problems - best to check that your short girth is as long as possible
 
Definitely have the saddle checked, both for fit and for structural integrity, and then think about girthing. This is always an interesting photo to look at http://numnah.com/images/girths2.jpg - from the Mattes site showing a correctly fitted long girth. Usually I would say go for as long as possible without interfering with the numnah, but this may work with the sheepskin linings. Some dressage saddles, though not all, especially if there's a point strap, can be changed to short girthing but it would be an experiment and devalue the saddle.
 
Thanks everyone. The saddler came out 2 days ago and he said that the saddle had had a complete re flock before I bought it and it had settled a bit so did some work to adjust. Is this normal? He has also adjusted so it sits a bit more like her gp which sits more to the front. This gp has always has money spent to ensure it fits her as well as possible but it was not chosen with her specifically in mind (sent with her from dealer then my saddler did adjustments to give a good fit). He's also going to send a softer girth to try.
He is the most respected saddler around these parts and has said ultimately he'll exchange it if needs be.
Here's the issue: I've not ridden since my injury but others have been exercising her. My friend who is in her 20s and much more confident than me has offered to try the saddle out now is adjusted. However this has not been possible as the horse has now cut her head near the brown band line and will not let me put a bridle on. She's not normally head shy at all so must be very sore so just not worth the risk!!
Back is being checked next week too and my instructor thinks there may be a back issue that the dressage saddle is bringing out more than the GP not because it's a bad fit but because it sits differently.
Meanwhile I'm very scared of getting back on her especially in the dressage saddle. I'm a mum of two in my 40s, work full time so just can't afford injury time or time off driving.
Aaagh!!
And we were supposed to have our first dressage outing this season this weekend.... I've given the entry to my daughter on my old horse who hates dressage!!
Any thoughts or words of wisdom?
Xxx
 
Priyashome said:
Thanks everyone. The saddler came out 2 days ago and he said that the saddle had had a complete re flock before I bought it and it had settled a bit so did some work to adjust. Is this normal? He has also adjusted so it sits a bit more like her gp which sits more to the front. This gp has always has money spent to ensure it fits her as well as possible but it was not chosen with her specifically in mind (sent with her from dealer then my saddler did adjustments to give a good fit). He's also going to send a softer girth to try.
He is the most respected saddler around these parts and has said ultimately he'll exchange it if needs be.
Here's the issue: I've not ridden since my injury but others have been exercising her. My friend who is in her 20s and much more confident than me has offered to try the saddle out now is adjusted. However this has not been possible as the horse has now cut her head near the brown band line and will not let me put a bridle on. She's not normally head shy at all so must be very sore so just not worth the risk!!
Back is being checked next week too and my instructor thinks there may be a back issue that the dressage saddle is bringing out more than the GP not because it's a bad fit but because it sits differently.
Meanwhile I'm very scared of getting back on her especially in the dressage saddle. I'm a mum of two in my 40s, work full time so just can't afford injury time or time off driving.
Aaagh!!
And we were supposed to have our first dressage outing this season this weekend.... I've given the entry to my daughter on my old horse who hates dressage!!
Any thoughts or words of wisdom?
Xxx
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if your worried about being the first to try out the saddle I would hang on and get someone who has been riding her for you to try it first, then maybe try it with your instructor or someone you know that can be with you, I always feel better having someone just stood near the school if I am worried about something going wrong, and if she has hurt her head it may be a while before you can try it anyway, definitely worth getting her back checked though.
 
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