Very strange white marks found after clipping saddle area??

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redriverrock

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We have given our Haffie his last clip and decided to clip the saddle area which previously we had left, and found this...
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Obviously my first reaction was one of shock as I have never seen anything like this before and he has his saddles checked regularly. He did have a pretty badly fitted saddle that he came with when we first bought him but was replaced more than a year ago. He know hacks out in a treeless which is essentially just a pad and a GP which was fitted less than 6 weeks ago.
I suppose my main question is has anyone else seen a saddle mark like this before with such a defined shape (same on both sides) and is it a old 'injury' that has shown up because of clipping him. I have forwarded these photos on to my saddle fitter but he is away until the beginning of march.
Just to add he has shown no sign of any discomfort since we ditched his old saddle from his previous owners.
 
Yes I have. My cob is black and when he was clipped, going back about 7 years or so some odd symmetrical marks revealed themselves. Had saddle fitter out and he had changed shape so new saddle was needed. Havent had them since.

Hope you find out the cause though.
 
TheoryX1 said:
Yes I have. My cob is black and when he was clipped, going back about 7 years or so some odd symmetrical marks revealed themselves. Had saddle fitter out and he had changed shape so new saddle was needed. Havent had them since.

Hope you find out the cause though.
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The saddle he previously had which we only used for about 2 weeks proved to be very badly fitted...to the point where the saddle fitter didnt think it ever fitted and wasnt worth trying to get it to fit by reflocking etc. Would the grey/white hairs still be there after nearly 2 years + why didnt we see them in the summer
 
Hard to say, but I hazard a guess that my horses marks were there as we did not clip him out until I had owned him a year or so. He had a blanket clip until then in the winter and obviously a summer coat in the summer. The saddler was not overly surprised to be fair and said these things can just appear. We havent seen them since though.
 
Sometimes the marks only appear in the summer or the winter coat. Mine has some that only show up in winter. Once they are there they last forever though. That mark looks like it could have been caused by a roller though.
 
Gloi said:
Sometimes the marks only appear in the summer or the winter coat. Mine has some that only show up in winter. Once they are there they last forever though.
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I had a nasty idea they may be permanent...just feel terrible that at some point he must have been in alot of pain and probably for quite a prolonged amount of time
 
ElleSkywalker said:
Is it definitely not a breeders mark or brand?
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I understand why you might think that as it does seem very defined but no ts not...he is a haffie cross dwb.
I have been looking at driving harness's on the wonders of google images and Im beginning to think that may be the cause though Im not sure he has ever been driven I do know his breeder was very keen on driving.
 
foxy1 said:
Which treeless do you ride in and do you use stirrups with it?
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Its actually my friends 'saddle' as she hacks him out for me and prefers it. I know nothing about these so we have checked it with the saddle fitter and are 100% sure its not that, nothing matchs up with the marks on his back and it is too far forward if that makes sense!
 
Because treeless saddes have no frame to disperse the constant downward pressure of the stirrups, they can put an awful lot of weight concentrated in one place. Looks in about the right place to me.
 
Can't think what on a driving saddle could correspond to those marks , it looks more like stirrup bars and leathers it's really wierd .
 
Did you get him from the continent? I think most of them are driven to start with, how old is he?

I does look more like it would be a driving harness because of the angle of it in the top photo, but it could be where the stirrup bars/leathers are, hate to say it but might be the treeless if you use stirrups it doesn't spread the weight as well as if they are attached to a tree :-(
 
foxy1 said:
Because treeless saddes have no frame to disperse the constant downward pressure of the stirrups, they can put an awful lot of weight concentrated in one place. Looks in about the right place to me.
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No its not we have looked and there is nothing that matchs the marks and the stirrups are further back + the shape is nothing like anything on the pad.
 
Goldenstar said:
Can't think what on a driving saddle could correspond to those marks , it looks more like stirrup bars and leathers it's really wierd .
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That's exactly what I thought. Treeless saddle seems the most likely culprit to me.

Edited to add I didn't see your reply OP, sorry to keep on :D
 
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It would make sense to put the saddle on and see if the stirrup hooks and leathers are in that position, that would probably give you your answer.
 
mandwhy said:
Did you get him from the continent? I think most of them are driven to start with, how old is he?

I does look more like it would be a driving harness because of the angle of it in the top photo, but it could be where the stirrup bars/leathers are, hate to say it but might be the treeless if you use stirrups it doesn't spread the weight as well as if they are attached to a tree :-(
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No he didnt come from the continent, he is 7.
I am not a big advocate of treelesss saddles personally and dont ride in one so if it turns out that is the culprit have no problem telling my friend to ride in his normal gp but I just cant work out how it could be. Nothing matchs up and the shape has no bearing on anything at all.
 
FfionWinnie said:
Did you find out what this was op?
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We havent got absolute proof as the saddle fitter is away until march the 5th but we have sent his assistant the photos and he thinks it may be a roller...he did say though that he has never seen anything quite like it!

We've all had a look here and can all say we've never seen a saddle sore mark like this before!
It almost looks like a roller mark, but then it seems to be a wrong angle for that... its very strange!!

We can only think its an old injury and if the pony is going well in new saddle it'll be nothing to worry about.

I shall however keep this and show John on his return to work.

I have also been in touch with his breeder who also broke him in and though he hadnt been broken to harness he did do alot of long lining with him which from what I can gather didnt go very well so it could be from ill fitting tack from then. The one good part of all this is that everyone who has seen the marks are of the opinion that it is a old 'injury' and that he is not in any discomfort at the moment. Cant wait to see what the saddle fitter thinks though, I dont like a mystery!
 
Have seen some marks rather like that from a 'German make' treeless, you need to talc his back, use a dark numnah, get your friend to saddle up and then ride down some steep hills, see if the highest rub off on the numnah corresponds. Going down hill in a treeless gives a whole new set of pressure points as some riders tend to brace into the stirrups and clamp on with their legs, plus the saddle tends to try to move forwards against the lie of the hair.
 
A horse on my yard (a haflinger also!) has recently had the same happen, he was given a full clip and the marks showed up. With him it turned out to be his saddle, which had been checked 6 months before, but was no longer fitting him. The owners felt terrible but the horse had been competing/jumping etc with no sign of discomfort. He has now been bought a new saddle which should hopefully solve the problem!
 
Yertis said:
Have seen some marks rather like that from a 'German make' treeless, you need to talc his back, use a dark numnah, get your friend to saddle up and then ride down some steep hills, see if the highest rub off on the numnah corresponds. Going down hill in a treeless gives a whole new set of pressure points as some riders tend to brace into the stirrups and clamp on with their legs, plus the saddle tends to try to move forwards against the lie of the hair.
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This could be abit difficult as we dont have any hills around us, flat Lincolnshire! We have had a very good look at the treeless though since discovering these marks and I cant see anything that corresponds with these marks, even when the 'saddle' is pushed forward. Guess we will have to wait to see what the saddle fitter thinks, he was here about 6 weeks ago and his saddles all fitted nicely though as I have said previously his previous saddle he came with was very badly fitted so at the moment it seems more likely to be as a result of that.
 
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