Unequal wither/shoulder

[scruffyponies]

I have taken on a cob who has done nothing for a number of years. He ha spent most of his life in a stable, with individual turnout in a very small paddock.
He has one side of the wither much more developed than the other. No idea why, but my guess would be that he has taken to doing circles in his stable or field in one direction. He's overweight, so some of it might just be fat, rather than muscle, though lord knows why it would be more on one side.

The first month or so he is likely to change shape quite a bit, so I would like to wait a few weeks before we get him the new saddle he will surely need. The one he has currently is a reasonable fit, but unsurprisingly wanders off-centre. Obviously I want to avoid this as we start walking him out.

Has anyone had a similar problem? Would it be better to de-flock one side of the saddle, or pad up a numnah on the other side?
What's the chances it will correct once he's hacking out in straight lines?

 

[Tiddlypom]

It is likely that he is, or has been, long term lame, which would explain the uneven muscle development.

I'd be getting a vet to check him out, and if given the go ahead, then do lots of long lining to even him up before anyone sits on him.

Good luck.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Honestly? I'd be long reining and lunging but mostly straight line stuff for a month and reassess, with vet check too, before fitting any saddle.

Edit, cross posted with TP!

 

[scruffyponies]

Long reining is a good call, although any distance might nearly kill me - I walked him out in hand today, and it's all I can do to keep up!

 

[Pinkvboots]

It's often connected to hoof conformation look at his hooves they may not be a pair so they load each one differently, it can also down to how they graze some horses will always favour putting weight on one front leg.

Saddle fit depends on how severe it is you can shim it but it's not as straight forward as just shimming the front, you sometimes have to shim the back as well it's a bit of trial and error.

 

[Griffin]

My mare developed uneven muscles in her shoulders after an field injury. After she had seen a vet, we had a physio out and then concentrated on doing stretching exercises with her (e.g. carrot stretches) and in hand work (over single or random poles in walk, building up to being ridden.

Personally, I would stick to in hand or long reining until things even up. I also used a heat pad on the shoulders every day for ten minutes (and still do before riding) before I did anything to warm up the muscles.

A joint and muscle supplement with boswellia in may also be useful because it aids muscle recovery. I also agree with @Pinkvboots check hooves too.

 

[Flame_]

It's possible he's always been this way, just like strong right or left handedness.

My horse is very asymmetrical, he always has been, he actually has one shoulder blade far bigger and further back than the other. I bought him at 4 and its never really got any better. Vet's physios and saddlers usually tell me it's very common and not to worry about it. It is a PITA though in various ways, saddle fit, leg loading and subsequent hoof deviations are all problems we could do without. Saying that, if he's what you've got to work with, and he's loads of other stuff going for him, as my horse does, work with it.

 

[Melody Grey]

I’d get a decent farrier to have a look at his feet before you do too much- could easily be years of inappropriate trimming/ imbalance causing something like that. I’d be wary of exacerbating things by working with unbalanced feet. You may already have this in hand of course!

ETA: I took on a ten(ish) year old cob last summer that hadn’t been ridden much- we’re on our third saddle, he’s changed so much. He is quite symmetrical anyway but his feet have also improved from more regular attention and stimulation from barefoot roadwork.

 

[laura_nash]

Long reining is a good call, although any distance might nearly kill me - I walked him out in hand today, and it's all I can do to keep up!

You could pony him if you have another that's suitable and he's well behaved enough?

 

[scruffyponies]

You could pony him if you have another that's suitable and he's well behaved enough?

Probably easier to just break him to drive.

 

[Casey76]

Long reining is a good call, although any distance might nearly kill me - I walked him out in hand today, and it's all I can do to keep up!

While it’s good that he has a good marching walk, it is you, as his handler who needs to dictate the speed

Use this first bit of time getting him used to voice commands and your cues to stand, walk on, steady, back up etc. All of this is excellent exercise, gentle enough for rehab, and can be done in a relatively small area or straight bit of lane. It’s good mental exercise too.

 

[scruffyponies]

While it’s good that he has a good marching walk, it is you, as his handler who needs to dictate the speed

Use this first bit of time getting him used to voice commands and your cues to stand, walk on, steady, back up etc. All of this is excellent exercise, gentle enough for rehab, and can be done in a relatively small area or straight bit of lane. It’s good mental exercise too.

No problems there. I was really pleasantly surprised by his manners. He's built like an ox, and clearly on his toes, so I was expecting to have an interesting first walk out. In reality he listened to me all the way, and we had a slack rope in no time. My 15yo daughter led him on the way back, and he was totally respectful.

The lovely free walk seems to be just his way of going, as he wasn't anxious at all... just really happy to be getting a look at the world.

 

[Gloi]

Ours got like when he was developing hock arthritis

 

[scruffyponies]

Ours got like when he was developing hock arthritis

That's interesting. I think it's possible (probable?) that he has mild arthritis. Hoping that a bit more opportunity to move around will be good for him on that front.

 

[sbloom]

Good bodyworker and in hand programme - it is highly likely the whole ribcage is rotated which brings one shoulder up and the other down, and often one is also further back. I would not worry about saddle yet, when the time comes I would use as short a footprint saddle as possible (smaller seat size and possibly straighter cut, certainly not jump for now) and use shims if needed. Remember saddle balance must always be correct which, depending on the saddle, may mean you shim at the back to straighten the saddle not the front, and of course with a wide choice of girth straps asymmetric girthing may be adequate.

Get a good fitter and work their way, we all have different ways of doing it.

 

[scruffyponies]

Having now had chance to try his saddle for myself, it's clear that it doesn't fit (alledgedly this has been by a saddle fitter recently, but I don't think that can be the case, unless it was Stevie Wonder). I am now of the opinion that the skewing was made much worse by the saddle being way too narrow and too far forward.
Looking for an xxw at least. He has also got a really short back, so not sure he has room for anything much bigger than 16". Fortunately I have something which is about right to pootle him about in for now (tried it yesterday, and he strides out very happily), and we can re-assess in a few weeks.