Saddle Experts- saddle giving rider Sciatica?!

[K27]

Can any saddle experts please advise me what's wrong with a saddle to give the rider horrendously bad sciatica and lower back pain? any thoughts or have any of you had this happen?

History is that saddle fitted my horse when fitted last year- was then too wide so had narrowed down and reflocked recently- in the last 2 weeks since i've had it back i can't get on with it at all and every time i ride in it I'm in the most awful pain in my lower back, hips, down to my knees and feet on my right side, not the left. Was so bad last night I couldn't ride my other horse after!! movelat cream, iboprofen, Voltarol and hot soaks in the bath is the only thing thats keeping me going at the moment!

It is a 17'' seat, fairly narrow in the twist- and i do prefer a 17.5 as it goes!


(neddy is very sound and level, i've been told i sit evenly and central)

I aim to sell it and go back to a make of saddle i've used for years that keeps my hips straight, but am just wondering out of curiosity why a saddle would make me like this?

Many thanks!

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Yup! Sounds like your saddle could be the culprit. I had a saddle on mine which was downright awful, and two independent people both said the same, i.e. that it didn't fit him, plus because it was too narrow it was tipping me backwards, which was putting me behind the movement and giving me lower back pain.

So I changed it - and hey presto: bliss! I'm sitting in the right position for the first time for a long time, plus my horse is balanced and responsive.

If you're thinking of changing your saddle (sounds like you need to do so, rather than re-flocking as this won't really solve the problem), try www.thepainfreehorse.co.uk - well worth getting one of their fitters out. Between us on the yard we'd had five separate fitters out - not one could bring a saddle that actually fitted either horse or rider! Then I discovered these people - abso fab IME.

Also it might benefit both you and your horse to have some physio: it wouldn't do any harm and might do a lot of good. It sounds like you are probably out of alignment somewhere.

If you've got aches and pains, I'd personally avoid anything like treeless as it won't give you the support you need, plus don't have a Wintec!!! I swear that when I had one it gave me a dicky hip, blimmin thing, plus gave the horse a sore back.

 

[unicornleather]

Is sounds like it has come down a tad at the front and a little on the nearside, you may or may not notice it looking at it and you look like you are stitting level because your body is compensating by sitting backwards and over to one side, only slightly but enough to give you pain from your vertebrae compressing on the nerves. To others observing you look level.
If flocking it again doesn't lift it up into the correct postion then as someone else has said, get a new saddle fitted.
Oz

 

[K27]

Is sounds like it has come down a tad at the front and a little on the nearside, you may or may not notice it looking at it and you look like you are stitting level because your body is compensating by sitting backwards and over to one side, only slightly but enough to give you pain from your vertebrae compressing on the nerves. To others observing you look level.
If flocking it again doesn't lift it up into the correct postion then as someone else has said, get a new saddle fitted.
Oz

Thanks Oz- your reply makes a lot of sense to me and i will have a good in depth look at it later. It is very very slightly moving to the left and although i look to be sitting even i do feel that it's making me sit with maybe too much pressure on my right seat bone.

It just doesn't look or feel right and the pain it's giving me is terrible so i think i'm going to sell it and start from scratch again! on hacks my horse feels like he is almost running away from it if that makes sense.

Thank you very much

 

[K27]

Yup! Sounds like your saddle could be the culprit. I had a saddle on mine which was downright awful, and two independent people both said the same, i.e. that it didn't fit him, plus because it was too narrow it was tipping me backwards, which was putting me behind the movement and giving me lower back pain.

So I changed it - and hey presto: bliss! I'm sitting in the right position for the first time for a long time, plus my horse is balanced and responsive.

If you're thinking of changing your saddle (sounds like you need to do so, rather than re-flocking as this won't really solve the problem), try www.thepainfreehorse.co.uk - well worth getting one of their fitters out. Between us on the yard we'd had five separate fitters out - not one could bring a saddle that actually fitted either horse or rider! Then I discovered these people - abso fab IME.

Also it might benefit both you and your horse to have some physio: it wouldn't do any harm and might do a lot of good. It sounds like you are probably out of alignment somewhere.

If you've got aches and pains, I'd personally avoid anything like treeless as it won't give you the support you need, plus don't have a Wintec!!! I swear that when I had one it gave me a dicky hip, blimmin thing, plus gave the horse a sore back.

Thanks very much for your reply- you are so right, a new saddle is in order i feel too! I'll check out the website you've recommended in a while too and have a read! My boy had physio not very long ago and all was fine, but i do think i need some physio so i'll have to do something about it!

It's terrible isn't it,what a saddle can do!

Thanks again- much appreciated!

 

[unicornleather]

It is quite common actually, very often whilst fitting a saddle for a client I have see it is not quite right and ask them, do you get back ache here (touch the spot where I believe it will hurt) after you ride for any length of time, 99% of the time the answer is yes.
If you had back ache in your upper spine, (thoracic vertebrae upwards), I'd say the saddle is sitting low at the rear and you would be slightly leaning forward to compensate,giving you pain further up. It may also give you pain in your abs too.

Whatever it is I hope you get it sorted, first port of call would be to get a saddler to check it, and flock it up if he/she thinks it fits well enough to be able to lift the saddle up into the correct balanced position.If that can't be achieved then, yes new saddle I'm afraid. First option is alot cheaper if it works!
Oz

 

[K27]

It is quite common actually, very often whilst fitting a saddle for a client I have see it is not quite right and ask them, do you get back ache here (touch the spot where I believe it will hurt) after you ride for any length of time, 99% of the time the answer is yes.
If you had back ache in your upper spine, (thoracic vertebrae upwards), I'd say the saddle is sitting low at the rear and you would be slightly leaning forward to compensate,giving you pain further up. It may also give you pain in your abs too.

Whatever it is I hope you get it sorted, first port of call would be to get a saddler to check it, and flock it up if he/she thinks it fits well enough to be able to lift the saddle up into the correct balanced position.If that can't be achieved then, yes new saddle I'm afraid. First option is alot cheaper if it works!
Oz

I will have to decide what to do then- funny thing is it was only flocked 10 days ago after it came back from the manufacturers (they changed the headplate to a narrower fit)!- it's my lower back and hip on the right side that is hurting and all my joints keep cracking! it's making my lower back lean forward i think.

 

[unicornleather]

Well, I would eliminate the saddle first, get it re checked, explain the problem to make sure it is that.If it isn't that and the saddle is ok then it must be you, have you had any injury or strained yourself recently?
Some times we can bend and lift something or move awkwardly and do something to ourselves without even realising,then doing things we normally do like riding or driving a car can aggravate it and make us lean over to one side to escape the discomfort.
As I write my right shoulder is killing me, have an idea how I did it as I have been out in the garden moving heavy pots etc so it could have been that but I find myself sitting further forward to get away from the pain!
Or maybe it was just the shock of me actually tidying up my workshop!!!!

Oz

 

[Shysmum]

Hi there !

I would suggest you get your back checked out by an osteopath, just in case you've tweeked something via the saddle. Better to be safe than sorry

I'm having saddle trouble too, bloomin nightmare isn't it.