phoenix saddle and sore back

[rabatsa]

We have a pony that had saddle fitting issues in the spring and a phoenix saddle was purchased. She has gone well in it all summer but now has a bad back. Is the cause likely to be the saddle or due to an unbalanced rider that has been riding her - or a combination of the two. I do not want to put the saddle back on her if that is a contribution to her problems, the unbalanced rider will never get back on and going back to a conventional saddle will give us the original saddle fitting problems. Help please.

 

[mystiandsunny]

We had a phoenix for our pony. Same scenario - pony loved it to start with but after a few months it caused horrendous problems. Patches of fur under the stirrup bars fell out and grew back white. We had the saddle sent back to the factory to check it, and one of their fitters came out and checked it. There was nothing wrong with the saddle. I have since spoken to four or five people who had similar problems. In our cases it was simply that the design of the saddle did not suit. It took six months for our pony's back to recover, but it did, and we've found that the saddle company saddles fit her ok. She is now back in full work, with the same rider as before - but now with no problems!

 

[wizgirl]

Do you mean the heather moffat saddle???

 

[rabatsa]

Yes the Heather Moffat saddle.

 

[Pondrider]

Hi Rabatsa,

a relatively easy way to check pressure distribution under any given combination (that saddle/that rider/that horse/that day) is to hire a Port Lewis Impression Pad and then do two 'test' rides: the first one of around 15 minutes will show you any gross pressure points; if this looks fair, roll out the pad and re-fit then get the horse and rider to do a 'normal' schooling session/hack so you'll be able to see how comparative pressures pan out during the course of an average ride.

If you find you have pressure issues under the stirrup bar areas, there are several possible options with your fhoenix that will reduce or eliminate this uneven pressure for your horse, depending on extent of problem.

Please feel free to pm me if you need more info

 

[rabatsa]

Thanks for the info. The mare is not being ridden at the moment, she is off bute and under the physio and can start being long reined in straight lines next week. The rider was definately the cause of the problem but I was wondering if the saddle had not helped matters and would be likely to cause problems even with a balanced rider.