Thin cotton sheet under numnah - blocked sweat pores?

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twodonkies

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My horse has a few lumps under saddle- vet been out had steroid cream, its likely that we will end up injecting them to remove them, but need a two week period of not being ridden so waiting for my holiday to come. Lumps don't bother him at all, steroid cream has helped reduce them. Saddle all fine. One school of thought is that its blocked sweat gland, so vet said to use a clean numnah every time I ride. He mentioned that he has known people use a thin sheet under numnah which can be changed everyday and easily washed. this would seem a lot easier to manage, than trying to wash my numnahs all the time (plus less wear on my washing machine!). Anyone know of a product, or suggest an idea. It has to be something which has a reasonable cost, as I reckon if I get 5 or 6 of these 'sheets' I can wash a load at a time and get them dried ready for use again. TIA
 
What about a muslin cloth??? ie from mothercare or one of the baby shops.

They are huge and square and easy to wash.

Fiona
 
Wow thanks Fiona for a quick response and a great idea. Just checked on mothercare and you can get 12 (60cm x60cm) sheets for less than £10, which are worth a try. Not sure if they will stay in place, but definitely worth a go!
 
If there was enough material left over in front to fold over and tuck under the knee roll (like you would do with an exercise sheet)then that would hold it in place..

Fiona
 
I wonder if muslins would be thick enough to help with blocked sweat glands. If they don't work then what about cheap cotton towels from the pound shop? Would create more of a barrier and help to soak up some of the sweat that would otherwise still be soaked into the numnah so might work better.
 
I think fabric technology has changed so much that you would be better with cooler type rug material that wicks the sweat from the skin so that it evaporates.
 
I wouldn't be faffing about with materials that could wrinkle up and rub.
I'd have 3-4 good quality thin cotton saddlecloths, wash them daily and make sure the horse is washed off after exercise (the tea tree wash might be worth investing in)
 
Hi IHW, that's one of worries, it getting wrinkled and rubbing/moving etc, would not want to cause a sore. Where do you source your thin numnahs, been looking, but seem very expensive?!
 
twodonkies said:
Hi IHW, that's one of worries, it getting wrinkled and rubbing/moving etc, would not want to cause a sore. Where do you source your thin numnahs, been looking, but seem very expensive?!
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My preference is nuumed but if you want cheaper I usually fine hope valley saddlery has good deals on other brands.
 
Hi, my horse had similar problem. The vet took a look on several occasions and said they were either blocked sweat glands or skin nodules, but they never seem to bother him, although one in particular was larger than the others. The vet suggested getting them surgically removed which I did consider.

Anyway, a friend loaned me her Gelpad to sit directly onto the skin, and it really helped and they went right down. This was after trying all sorts of numnahs - cotton / sheepskin etc etc.

I then bought a Acavallo shaped gel non-slip pad (thin) which sits on the skin under the numnah, and he's not had any problems since. They're easy to wash - just rinse them off between use. I think mine was about £40.
 
My horse gets them but they've not made an appearance since starting to wash him with malaseb whenever he sweats under his saddle. Works a treat
 
We had this last year - I now use a clean numnah every day if the horse is very sweaty or dirty, and wash down with very diluted dettol when she's sweated up.
 
They're called Baby Pads in the USA, might be worth looking at American tack stores online
 
ihatework said:
I wouldn't be faffing about with materials that could wrinkle up and rub.
I'd have 3-4 good quality thin cotton saddlecloths, wash them daily and make sure the horse is washed off after exercise (the tea tree wash might be worth investing in)
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Totally agree. You think you are saving time op but this will be a worse faff than just changing the saddle pad.
 
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thanks for all the replies and advice everyone. Northern Hare, I was thinking of some sort of under pad neoprene etc which can be easy to wash, just like his girth -which never cause him a problem . I have had a look at the Acavallo shaped gel non-slip pad ad its has holes in it, so not sure whether the sweat would come thru onto the numnah which would then mean washing/changing numnah everytime I ride. I think it will be worth a try though; and wash the nunmah too. My husband wont be too happy lol! I do wash him off everytime I ride, but will use an antibacterial wash too on his back, so thanks for this tip. Vet says the bacteria from a bit of sweat getting into a pore/gland which then causes the lumps.
 
I don't think putting thin cloths under numnahs will help the sweat will still get on them, as others have said, find a saddle cloth/numnah you like and buy multiple so you have ones to use while washing the others. I have 3 prolite all in one saddle cloths, brilliant for the horses back and dried quickly. I've also used numed lambswook numnahs they are brilliant too, I got the thinner ones so it didn't affect the fit of the saddle, also girth sleeve
 
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