Horse back pain

[spotty_pony]

My old boy currently has a sore back. He has recently had a new saddle that was fitted by a registered saddle fitter. It is narrower than his old one but he seemed happier in it initially and saddle fitter said it was fine and he had changed shape enough to go down a size so I part exchanged my other one. This was about a month ago and I’ve only ridden him about twice a week in it since. We did a 2 hour ride on Saturday and that was the longest ride I’ve done in it probably and hadn’t ridden since but today I groomed him and he was quite obviously sore. He hasn’t seemed sore since Saturday so I’m not sure it’s the saddle or not if I’m honest - I took him galloping on the beach in it for the second time we used it and he was fine afterwards but I’m wondering if wearing it more over time has caused this.

The only other odd thing is yesterday I left him in his stable whilst I went riding on one of the others and when I came back he has been itching his back (he has a saddle patch still from his winter coat which ia moulting) and his hair was all coming out and there was a small wet patch which I couldn’t work out what it was - I thought maybe he had itched it too hard or in the wrong place so this is another option of what it could be.

I’ve decided to rest him for a few days rest in the field and give him Danilon. He is not lame and seemed a lot happier on himself this evening. I guess it’s trial and error with the saddle and if pain goes away and I retry using it and it comes back then I will have found the culprit?

This is not helped by the fact that I’m going away tomorrow until Monday for the first time in three years (they always know when to pick their times!) I’m trying not to worry too much, as he will be being well looked after.

Just wanted to hear any others experiences with poorly fitting saddles?

 

[SEL]

Saddles are my nemesis

I can't approach the Appy with her old WOW saddle without her ears going back and she's been retired for 2 years. She got very sore over her withers in that despite repeated visits and me getting told the WOW has too much flexibility to cause the problem. Ditched it for 6 months, used her ancient but forgiving saddle company saddle and problem went away.

I could go on but there's a reason my spare room looks like a tack shop! I won't sell anything until I'm 100% convinced a new saddle works.

Has yours gone narrower just in the gullet or are the panels closer too?

 

[Barton Bounty]

By the sounds of it the saddle isnt fitting right, it may just be a little niggle. When your back I would ask your saddle fitter to come and check it

 

[Marigold4]

Could you post photos of the new saddle on your horse? Perhaps someone knowledgeable on the forum could spot if there's anything obviously wrong with rhe fit?

 

[Dontforgetaboutme]

My old boy currently has a sore back. He has recently had a new saddle that was fitted by a registered saddle fitter. It is narrower than his old one but he seemed happier in it initially and saddle fitter said it was fine and he had changed shape enough to go down a size so I part exchanged my other one. This was about a month ago and I’ve only ridden him about twice a week in it since. We did a 2 hour ride on Saturday and that was the longest ride I’ve done in it probably and hadn’t ridden since but today I groomed him and he was quite obviously sore. He hasn’t seemed sore since Saturday so I’m not sure it’s the saddle or not if I’m honest - I took him galloping on the beach in it for the second time we used it and he was fine afterwards but I’m wondering if wearing it more over time has caused this.

The only other odd thing is yesterday I left him in his stable whilst I went riding on one of the others and when I came back he has been itching his back (he has a saddle patch still from his winter coat which ia moulting) and his hair was all coming out and there was a small wet patch which I couldn’t work out what it was - I thought maybe he had itched it too hard or in the wrong place so this is another option of what it could be.

I’ve decided to rest him for a few days rest in the field and give him Danilon. He is not lame and seemed a lot happier on himself this evening. I guess it’s trial and error with the saddle and if pain goes away and I retry using it and it comes back then I will have found the culprit?

This is not helped by the fact that I’m going away tomorrow until Monday for the first time in three years (they always know when to pick their times!) I’m trying not to worry too much, as he will be being well looked after.

Just wanted to hear any others experiences with poorly fitting saddles?

Maybe it was just right when fitted but now a little too snug due to gaining a few kilos with spring grass? I fit to my mares weight in spring & then pad when she loses weight later in the year. It depends on how sensitive the horse is, one of mine literally won’t work if the balance is off so have learnt how to shim. The other is much more tolerant.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

It does sound like the saddle have you always used this fitter?

I fail to understand how a horse would need a narrower saddle unless its lost a lot of weight or top line, this happened to me years ago and Arabi ended up with a back that resembled a coat hanger, saddle was too narrow to start with I was not knowledgeable enough to realise, the back was wasting away so saddle fitter just kept fitting it narrower and failed to notice

So not all fitters notice these things so I would be questioning this before the saddle does more damage.

 

[Jambarissa]

I'd def call the fitter and tell them your issues. You could say you aren't 100% sure it's the saddle then they can either come out straight away or ask if you're happy to try it a few more times.

Saddles are a nightmare for sone horses. Even ones that fit well won't necessarily fit when your horse is in motion because their back changes shape when they move. I ride bareback whilst my saddle was being asked and was shocked by how much my mares back moves, a lot more than my other horse.

Having said that, unless your horse has lost a lot of muscle or fat from his back it's unlikely he needs a narrower one. That is most odd. Could be that previous saddle was fitted too wide though.

 

[sbloom]

It does sound like the saddle have you always used this fitter?

I fail to understand how a horse would need a narrower saddle unless its lost a lot of weight or top line, this happened to me years ago and Arabi ended up with a back that resembled a coat hanger, saddle was too narrow to start with I was not knowledgeable enough to realise, the back was wasting away so saddle fitter just kept fitting it narrower and failed to notice

So not all fitters notice these things so I would be questioning this before the saddle does more damage.

As horses push up in front more they can get narrower in the front and mid back.

OP ask the fitter to come back out. It could be anything but horse can change shape really fast.

 

[spotty_pony]

It does sound like the saddle have you always used this fitter?

I fail to understand how a horse would need a narrower saddle unless its lost a lot of weight or top line, this happened to me years ago and Arabi ended up with a back that resembled a coat hanger, saddle was too narrow to start with I was not knowledgeable enough to realise, the back was wasting away so saddle fitter just kept fitting it narrower and failed to notice

So not all fitters notice these things so I would be questioning this before the saddle does more damage.

Exactly this. He said it’s because he has lost Topline across his back (he is 24) and I noticed he was snatching the reins a lot and my physio said he was quite sore across his back in old saddle in places which is why I got saddle fitter to come and check and said I’d be willing to pet exchange for something that he preferred. There is no rein snatching in this saddle so initially I thought it was a better fit but now questioning this. I do think there is some possibly some arthritis there but the saddle could be making it worse. Yes I’ve used this saddle fitter for the past three years without a problem but he was just checking my other saddle and this is the first one he has fitted to him from scratch.

 

[spotty_pony]

Saddles are my nemesis

I can't approach the Appy with her old WOW saddle without her ears going back and she's been retired for 2 years. She got very sore over her withers in that despite repeated visits and me getting told the WOW has too much flexibility to cause the problem. Ditched it for 6 months, used her ancient but forgiving saddle company saddle and problem went away.

I could go on but there's a reason my spare room looks like a tack shop! I won't sell anything until I'm 100% convinced a new saddle works.

Has yours gone narrower just in the gullet or are the panels closer too?

The panels are closer in this new one and there are little blocks on the wither area that provide more support so I would say it’s more close contact. I’ve already part exchanged it and paid the difference so won’t be happy if it doesn’t fit now.

 

[spotty_pony]

Could you post photos of the new saddle on your horse? Perhaps someone knowledgeable on the forum could spot if there's anything obviously wrong with rhe fit?

I will have a go when I’m home.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Exactly this. He said it’s because he has lost Topline across his back (he is 24) and I noticed he was snatching the reins a lot and my physio said he was quite sore across his back in old saddle in places which is why I got saddle fitter to come and check and said I’d be willing to pet exchange for something that he preferred. There is no rein snatching in this saddle so initially I thought it was a better fit but now questioning this. I do think there is some possibly some arthritis there but the saddle could be making it worse. Yes I’ve used this saddle fitter for the past three years without a problem but he was just checking my other saddle and this is the first one he has fitted to him from scratch.

Thing is it depends why his lost the top line it might have been better to shim the slightly too wide saddle to try and allow that top line to build back up, when you go narrower I find the horse then looses more so its a vicious circle.