saddle - rubs and slips?

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LittleMouse

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hiya, we had my pony fitted with a wintec GP saddle a few years ago and recently he has got quite bad loin rubs.they are not bald or bleeding, just shorter spiky hair in patches about 5cm across??? it has also began slipping a little and not sitting quite straight. it always moves right, and this is the side where the balding patch is bigger, and there is also a small lump. it doesnt fase him being tacked up etc but if you push it or brush hard he dips his back a bit. i dont want him to be uncomfortable. he is just about14hh and has a short back....but its quite a big saddle. it was fitted, but could it be too long? he has also put on weight since the fitting and has more muscle...could this be it? or maybe im not sitting straight? i dont want it to hurt so have been putting a poly pad on to cusion it a bit.
any suggestions?? (im clueless....only just learnt its called a loin rub ahah :p )
 
I think you need to get a saddler out to look at it. If it was fitted a few years ago and the horse has changed shape and gained muscle, it will have gotten tighter, then youve padded it out with a polypad and made it tighter still. Not to mention the flocking will have settled and very likely needs adjusting :)
 
Agree with capriole. And I wouldn't carry on riding in it whilst waiting for saddler, will give the lump a chance to heal & avoid any further rubbing.
 
Quote "we had my pony fitted with a wintec GP saddle a few years ago"

A horse/pony changes shape throughout the year & the fact that it was fitted 'a few years ago' means that it is unlikely to fit him now & that's why its rubbing & moving & obviously causing him pain as he dips when he's brushed.

You need to have a quality saddler out to check the fit of the saddle & make the adjustments that it needs. You may find that the saddle is no longer suitable for him & may require a different saddle. Additionally you will need a physio/chiro out to have a look at the ponys back because something is very wrong there from what you say.

Do this sooner rather than later & putting a saddle pad on him to try & wedge the saddle in place is not the way to go. It also does nothing to sort out the ponys back problem.

Good Luck.
 
As the others have said, I'd get a reputable saddler round asap, as it's extremely likely that the saddle will need re-fitting after several years, and what you describe does sound like it's not fitting him anymore. Horses can change shape very quickly, some need saddles re-fitting several times a year, and as you say he's gained weight and muscle then this will mean the saddle will be tighter in the areas that didn't used to be built up. The slipping to the right hand side is probably due to the flocking in the side of the saddle flattening out, your saddler can put more in and make it fit properly again. I personally would avoid riding him until the saddler can come round and check things over, can you lunge him / long rein him instead? That lump doesn't sound at all right and a rest should give it time to heal - he may be tolerating a non-fitting saddle now but if it starts to cause him real pain he could react very badly to it so it's safest for you both to get it sorted. Make sure you get a recommended saddler, master saddlers are the best but they're quite hard to get hold of. Hope this helps x
 
Like the others have said you need to get your local registered saddle fitter out. you will find your nearest one at http://www.mastersaddlers.co.uk/ this is the society of master saddlers web site.

It is quite common when horses begin to loose their winter coat that small patches (rubs) appear.
Although your saddle does sound like it is not fitting. The saddle will be sliding to the side due to many reasons
1 - the rider is sitting squint
2- the horse has one shoulder larger than the other (this then throws the saddle off
3- the horse is not level behind (as in the hips are not level) again throwing the saddle to one side.
4 - flocking not equal although this is normally due to the reasons explained in 2 & 3.

It also sounds like your horse is tender (dipping its back when touched) I would suggest getting a good "back man" out to help release some of the tension.

There can be a HUGE number of reasons why a saddle begins to not fit correctly. sometimes it can even be due to the way it is shod.

Hope this helps and you find a saddler soon
 
Agree - get a saddler fast and a physio/back person.
My poor horse had a saddle fitted by a 'qualified' person and in the 4 years I had the saddle, I had it checked numerous times and told it was fitting fine, with a few bits of extra flocking from time to time. In all that time, I wasn't convinced the saddle was rightand when I started to see dips behind the shoulder and what looked like fat lumps behind the saddle, I got a physio out. Oh my! My horse had pretty awful muscle damage - caused by the saddle! :mad:

And yes, it was a Wintec!!!

I now have a lovely saddle, which I have checked every 6 months and Tas' back is much better :p It has taken 18months though and how guilty do you think I feel?!! I would have liked to sue the other saddlers, but which one? The one who sold it in the first place, or the others who said it was fine (RANT!).
 
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