How long after saddle change would you expect normal behaviour?

[Bea_millard]

So one of our ponies has lost weight and his saddle has gone down from an XW/W to W. How quickly would you expect behaviour linked to a too-Wide saddle to disappear?

Obviously I know it’s going to take a lot of schooling. But just an average/in general

 

[wills_91]

Well, depends on how much damage a badly fitting saddle has done and what steps you've taken to rectify it?

 

[Dwyran_gold]

No one could put a time limit on it... it’ll just happen once he doesn’t associate a saddle with pain, which will be different in every horse x

 

[MissTyc]

No one could put a time limit on it... it’ll just happen once he doesn’t associate a saddle with pain, which will be different in every horse x

This. My cob doesn't seem to associate saddles with pain. I have had an ill-fitting saddle and he displayed pain symptoms but the very moment he was comfortable he went back to normal. I guess no actual "damage" was done to him, but it was hurting.

Others can take a while to get over remembered pain. And just because a saddle fits doesn't mean it's not pressing on a tender spot. When you have blisters on your feet, even your favourite trainers might be a bit ouchy for a while. Even if your horse is 100% guaranteed pain-free, they can have memories of what a particular pressure or movement felt like the react in a panic, unfortunately.

 

[Wheels]

Has your horse seen a physio since the saddle issue was rectified OP?

 

[L&M]

Our new mare came with a saddle too narrow - within weeks of going into full work she showed signs of discomfort and we realised something was wrong. She was anxious when mounted, threatening to buck and would reverse back at speed on occasion.

We started with a vet check and spinal x rays (all clear), and he recommended the physio route. We are lucky to have a very good local physio and she found a muscular issue that was causing the behaviour. The mare had 2 physio sessions over a period of a month and rested, bar riding and leading and physio excercises, in between.

In the meantime we had 3 trips to the saddlers - the saddle was re flocked and widened.

She went back into full work 5 weeks from the initial vet inspection - the adjusted saddle and ongoing physio exercises meant the behaviour she had displayed was 90% gone, and after week of ridden work, she was back to (and still is), what we would call a 'normal' horse.

We were lucky to get her issues solved so quickly, but shows how important the team work between vet/physio/saddler is. I don't believe the saddler alone would have resolved her behavioural issues, as needed the physio treatment to cure the muscle soreness before any saddle was put back on, regardless off fit.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

My boy took a good couple of weeks, if not more, to stop turning around to look at me when putting on his saddle/numnahs after I changed from a badly fititng saddle when I bought him. It was definitely remembered pain so I did a lot of approach and retreat and rewarding every no reaction with treats. He is 100% fine now, so it's not always immediate.

ETA: he saw an Osteo before/during/after this time to make sure there was no muscular pain or otherwise.

 

[Red-1]

I had a saddle that twisted, and sadly I didn't immediately notice (it was brand new and the flocking sunk on one side too). She only had it for 6 weeks, I stopped using it as soon a she showed discomfort, gave her 6 weeks off and a physio appointment near the start of that. She was as normal when she worked again.

 

[ycbm]

So one of our ponies has lost weight and his saddle has gone down from an XW/W to W. How quickly would you expect behaviour linked to a too-Wide saddle to disappear?

Obviously I know it’s going to take a lot of schooling. But just an average/in general

Are you wondering if it's something more than the saddle? If so, how long has it been so far and what are the behaviours now? How old is the pony?
.

 

[Pippity]

My old share horse basically breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed the moment the new saddle went on. It took my horse two or three rides to get over her jumpiness from when her saddle was too wide.