I don't know what to do about this little ex racehorse :(

RachelFerd said:
I am actually only commenting on Solution saddles, as they are the only ones I have ridden in! Used to use them on horses that turned up at my workplace with a totally unsuitable saddle of their own - hence having ridden in them on lots of different horses. I noticed a huge range of reactions from the horses - some went much better in them, others went much worse! I found I had to remove the knee blocks most the time, as seem to be better suited to a shorter rider. No matter how much we adjusted the shims we couldn't get a reasonable fit on my high-withered un-muscled TB that I was re-schooling at the time, even with the most recent dressage model.

He was happiest in a shouldn't-be-acceptable old Stubben - on paper should have been a bad saddle, but in reality the horse was very happy in it - so I was happy to take his opinion on the matter!
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Oh, sorry!

I haven't ridden in the dressage type, I'll be honest, just jump and gps, but was so impressed by my lads way of going in it... And my boss has twenty odd eventers (most of whom were projects to start with!) and she's had fab results with them in building muscle, although once they've built top line there are defo some who prefer for example a close contact treed instead.

I totally agree that the horse tells you though.
 
Not a lot to add other than he looks absolutely lovely, and sounds like he has landed firmly on his feet with you. Do keep us updated as to his progress.
 
My TB had no muscle at all and long, high, concave withers when I bought her. I had a saddle professionally fitted and was told to use a Prolite pad underneath until she built up muscle. This was a disaster! On evening she spooked, the saddle moved, caused her to panic and I ended up in A&E. Two weeks later when I had learnt to walk again (just!) and use my arm again (nearly!) I had another saddle fitter out who told me to put my hand under the saddle in different places and showed me why the saddle didn't fit. We then spent the next 2 hours trying on about 20 different saddles until we had a short list of 3. He then showed me again what a well fitting saddle felt like. Even though I could barely ride and one of my legs just wouldn't get into the right place, I managed to walk and trot her in the saddles to try them out, even then I could feel the difference. She is amazing in the new saddle, it was like having a totally different horse. For the first few weeks whilst I was recovering we didn't do much more than a walking and a little trot, but I could tell straight away that she was happier and far more comfortable and I don't need the Prolite. In six months she had filled out the withers are now almost straight rather than concave, and she is starting to get a decent topline. Sometimes you need a second opinion on saddles.
 
He's a little cracker!!

I really wouldn't worry to much about the sore back. He's using new muscles, operating in a different way & adjusting to a new way of life. Just do the best you can with the saddle fit , nothing's going to fit brilliantly at this stage and nothing will for a good 6 months or so.. I really wouldn't spend all that money on a Kay Humphreys saddle they are far too big and heavy for little thoroughbreds.. I had one for a little weak TB and it made him hugely sore.. It was massive on him!! Then I out on a little light saddle that didn't fit brilliantly but the panels sat well... & had no soreness problems with that. I think the Kay saddles are great for more substantial horses or well muscled TB's but I really think that spending all that money on a Kay saddle, at this stage, is just so unnecessary.. Keep on working him & pay for physio for him twice a month.. Your money would be better spent that way.. He's got to muscle up and adjust to new muscles , so of course it's going to be sore for him, the best you can do is keep up with the ongoing physio.. Ex racers are always sore somewhere but I think it's best to keep on working through it so that they adjust to a new way of going and get muscled & strong... People back off the work far too much.
 
Totally agree with Sb2 especially with regard to the work. Like humans going to the gym, however quietly you start, if you use the muscles in a way that they are not used to, they will complain a bit until they get conditioned but unless they are worked they won't get conditioned. That's not to say they need to be, or should be, drilled, but a combination of feed, work (a variety of ridden and a little from the ground) and physio will develop him physically and mentally.
 
Sb2 said:
He's a little cracker!!

I really wouldn't worry to much about the sore back. He's using new muscles, operating in a different way & adjusting to a new way of life. Just do the best you can with the saddle fit , nothing's going to fit brilliantly at this stage and nothing will for a good 6 months or so.. I really wouldn't spend all that money on a Kay Humphreys saddle they are far too big and heavy for little thoroughbreds.. I had one for a little weak TB and it made him hugely sore.. It was massive on him!! Then I out on a little light saddle that didn't fit brilliantly but the panels sat well... & had no soreness problems with that. I think the Kay saddles are great for more substantial horses or well muscled TB's but I really think that spending all that money on a Kay saddle, at this stage, is just so unnecessary.. Keep on working him & pay for physio for him twice a month.. Your money would be better spent that way.. He's got to muscle up and adjust to new muscles , so of course it's going to be sore for him, the best you can do is keep up with the ongoing physio.. Ex racers are always sore somewhere but I think it's best to keep on working through it so that they adjust to a new way of going and get muscled & strong... People back off the work far too much.
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Hi Sb2, sorry I never replied to this especially given I took a lot of your advice! Kay will not be fitting him, I'm getting Lavinia Mitchell out in a week. She fits wide and pads them up which I think will really benefit him, hopefully with a lightweight synthetic saddle. I have hopped on him a few times in my friends albion for 20 minutes at a time- absolutely NO soreness which I'm over the moon about. He's getting physio once a month and chiro once a month :)
 
Michen said:
Hi Sb2, sorry I never replied to this especially given I took a lot of your advice! Kay will not be fitting him, I'm getting Lavinia Mitchell out in a week. She fits wide and pads them up which I think will really benefit him, hopefully with a lightweight synthetic saddle. I have hopped on him a few times in my friends albion for 20 minutes at a time- absolutely NO soreness which I'm over the moon about. He's getting physio once a month and chiro once a month :)
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What a lovely horse I was just going to say get Lavinia Mitchell out for his saddle, she sorted my Arab out after having several fitters out that could not get anything to fit as he had muscle wastage, if it was not for her I would not have been able to ride him, I ended up buying one of her dressage saddles and love it and my horse goes amazing in it and his back has muscled up so much now, she uses a shim system numnah often with a prolite if they need the extra padding as well, I wish you luck with him please let us know how you get on Lavinia is a lovely lady.
 
Pinkvboots said:
What a lovely horse I was just going to say get Lavinia Mitchell out for his saddle, she sorted my Arab out after having several fitters out that could not get anything to fit as he had muscle wastage, if it was not for her I would not have been able to ride him, I ended up buying one of her dressage saddles and love it and my horse goes amazing in it and his back has muscled up so much now, she uses a shim system numnah often with a prolite if they need the extra padding as well, I wish you luck with him please let us know how you get on Lavinia is a lovely lady.
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Very good to hear. I quite literally rang every saddle fitter in the south of England before deciding on her!
 
I know my master saddle said something about where the tree in racing saddles dig in just behind their withers a lot of racehorses are very sore there and that's why they don't tend to build a lot of muscle behind the wither. I have used the physio you are going to try and don't personally rate them! I live in Wiltshire so you sound close I can recommend a saddle and physio I use who are brilliant.

It may also be related to ulcers, where you are saying he is sore and dips is a pressure point for hind gut ulcers- may tweak his diet and see if he improves.

If hes only straight out of racing maybe give him a good break to relax and let his muscles relax too and you can build him back up, get a few physio sessions in, sort diet and teeth and routine etc and he may be completely different as well as maybe a little porkier.

Good luck I have had a lot of issues with my ex racer a long the way and I picked him up from racing yard less that a week out of racing so similar circumstances
 
ktj1891 said:
I know my master saddle said something about where the tree in racing saddles dig in just behind their withers a lot of racehorses are very sore there and that's why they don't tend to build a lot of muscle behind the wither. I have used the physio you are going to try and don't personally rate them! I live in Wiltshire so you sound close I can recommend a saddle and physio I use who are brilliant.

It may also be related to ulcers, where you are saying he is sore and dips is a pressure point for hind gut ulcers- may tweak his diet and see if he improves.

If hes only straight out of racing maybe give him a good break to relax and let his muscles relax too and you can build him back up, get a few physio sessions in, sort diet and teeth and routine etc and he may be completely different as well as maybe a little porkier.

Good luck I have had a lot of issues with my ex racer a long the way and I picked him up from racing yard less that a week out of racing so similar circumstances
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Hiya this thread is really old, I was just bored and dragged it up to reply to something someone wrote that I had seen. His back is now fab!

Was it Neil I mentioned or Ruth? As I used both Neil and Ruth. I wasn't hugely impressed with Neil first time round but I got him back purely because my horse literally went so relaxed his knees buckled and I had heard such good things. Haven't had any problems since second visit so I'm happy (though admittedly sceptical with the techniques etc)

Which saddle fitter do you use? I used a Wiltshire based one and she was god awful in the end. Getting Lavinia Mitchell out at the end of the month when he comes back into work :)
 
ktj1891 said:
I know my master saddle said something about where the tree in racing saddles dig in just behind their withers a lot of racehorses are very sore there and that's why they don't tend to build a lot of muscle behind the wither. I have used the physio you are going to try and don't personally rate them! I live in Wiltshire so you sound close I can recommend a saddle and physio I use who are brilliant.

It may also be related to ulcers, where you are saying he is sore and dips is a pressure point for hind gut ulcers- may tweak his diet and see if he improves.

If hes only straight out of racing maybe give him a good break to relax and let his muscles relax too and you can build him back up, get a few physio sessions in, sort diet and teeth and routine etc and he may be completely different as well as maybe a little porkier.

Good luck I have had a lot of issues with my ex racer a long the way and I picked him up from racing yard less that a week out of racing so similar circumstances
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Also just noticed the bottom of your sig, how is the barefoot going? I'm thinking of doing the same with my boy. There's a big thread in Vet forum about him being crippled from his last shoeing :(
 
I used Julia Duffin. Hes been barefoot behind since Apr 13 and in front Sept 13. Its definitely been hard work and he's no where near easy to keep barefoot but im glad ive done it. He has his first hack out completely barefoot last weekend. I will probably shoe him in front through the summer this year and remove them again in autumn.

I owuld definitely defintely reccomend letting him have some time out of shoes, even if just a couple months. Do a lot of research so you can equip yourself as best possible to deal with him going through barefoot. Need any help or experiences give us a shout. Also I have found my Kent and Masters saddle is fantastic and very good for Tb due to there large panels.I have the hi wither version.
 
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