White hairs under saddle

Caol Ila

Caol Ila

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I'm not an idiot. I do know that excess pressure and lack of blood supply to hair follicles causes white hairs to appear under the saddle. I'm working on it. If you tell me I need a new saddle or a saddle fitter....duh. I am trying to fix this.

Now that bit's out there (I've met this forum before), the weird part is that the white hairs disappear once you remove the saddle. Ten minutes, they're almost undiscernable. The next day, you can't see any at all. I'm still assuming it is caused by the saddle putting on too much pressure, but the internet tells me nothing about white hairs that go back to brown shortly after removal of saddle. This has been happening for about a week.

Horse looks bay but is technically nd1 with one of those genes that makes the hair a bit metallic-looking in the sun. Don't know if any of that matters.
 
Caol Ila said:
I'm not an idiot. I do know that excess pressure and lack of blood supply to hair follicles causes white hairs to appear under the saddle. I'm working on it. If you tell me I need a new saddle or a saddle fitter....duh. I am trying to fix this.

Now that bit's out there (I've met this forum before), the weird part is that the white hairs disappear once you remove the saddle. Ten minutes, they're almost undiscernable. The next day, you can't see any at all. I'm still assuming it is caused by the saddle putting on too much pressure, but the internet tells me nothing about white hairs that go back to brown shortly after removal of saddle. This has been happening for about a week.

Horse looks bay but is technically nd1 with one of those genes that makes the hair a bit metallic-looking in the sun. Don't know if any of that matters.
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I have never heard of nd1 causing hair to be a bit metallic looking in the sun, just causing a dorsal stripe and possibly other primitive markings. Could you share the info on the metallic coat?
 
Jojo2go said:
I have never heard of nd1 causing hair to be a bit metallic looking in the sun, just causing a dorsal stripe and possibly other primitive markings. Could you share the info on the metallic coat?
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Different things. I'd have to dig around and find the video where her breeder explained what it was.
 
SpeedyPony said:
Could it be that the white hairs are in the underneath section of the coat and as her coat re-settles the brown ones cover them over again?
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That seems more likely - I don't think the hairs could actually re-pigment themselves, so something else must be going on. Also, I thought that white hair from tight saddles typically appeared over time, rather than just popping up after one ride (assuming we're not talking riding hundreds of miles here).

Does she have big sweat patches, i.e. is the affected coat wet and changing again as the sweat dries?
 
SpeedyPony said:
Could it be that the white hairs are in the underneath section of the coat and as her coat re-settles the brown ones cover them over again?
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This. I didn’t see Farans pressure hairs until I was bathing him to clip him with his coat change. As soon as I clipped him they at very apparent and are where the stirrup bars are. Trailing saddles now to see how we get on as I’m a hard fit with my spinal damage and he is as well due to his shape and curvy back.
 
Widgeon said:
That seems more likely - I don't think the hairs could actually re-pigment themselves, so something else must be going on. Also, I thought that white hair from tight saddles typically appeared over time, rather than just popping up after one ride (assuming we're not talking riding hundreds of miles here).

Does she have big sweat patches, i.e. is the affected coat wet and changing again as the sweat dries?
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They can arrive quite quickly, within several days of a 30 mile ride, my friend’s dark bay mare showed distinct, new, white hairs where the stirrup bars would be.
she was devastated, bought pro lite pads, various massage gadgets, potions, but they disappeared within a few weeks when that mare changed her coat, and never returned.
They really had gone, I used to clip her out, and no sign.
 
Yes, I know of endurance riders who've found white hairs come up after one ride, seen by a very respected saddle fitter at the time. Generally though they an often be from before the coat change.
 
Exasperated said:
They can arrive quite quickly, within several days of a 30 mile ride, my friend’s dark bay mare showed distinct, new, white hairs where the stirrup bars would be.
she was devastated, bought pro lite pads, various massage gadgets, potions, but they disappeared within a few weeks when that mare changed her coat, and never returned.
They really had gone, I used to clip her out, and no sign.
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How interesting (every day's a school day) - did she change her saddle setup after the coat change or keep it the same?

Just musing on whether the saddle was basically well fitting and there was something about that particular ride that caused a problem (lots of downhill or something) and it was fine again on all other rides, or whether it wasn't a good fit and the ride simply showed that up to a visible extent. I guess she must have been pretty happy with the saddle though, or she wouldn't have been endurance riding in it.
 
Horses that dehydrate more on a longer ride are more likely to experience saddle fit issues. I know 30 miles isn't that much but it may well have been a factor, having a shim pad at a vet gate can really help with these sorts of horses. Essentially even the best fitting saddle can only fit a moment in time, and the horse is often a different shape by the end of the ride compared to the beginning. People just don't understand how much a horse can change shape (from morning to night, doing nothing!), and how much difference even a few mm can make.

I am trying not to laugh at "I guess she must have been pretty happy with the saddle though, or she wouldn't have been endurance riding in it.", not casting aspersions on @Exasperated's friend but assume a well fitting saddle as being part of any equation 😎
 
sbloom said:
Essentially even the best fitting saddle can only fit a moment in time, and the horse is often a different shape by the end of the ride compared to the beginning.
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Yeah, I have seen that, even with my own horse (and what we do is hardly extreme).

I know poorly fitting saddles are rife but I do think that endurance riders are generally a bit more proactive and switched on about getting saddle fit right. Or perhaps I only socialise with the best kind of endurance riders!
 
I once rode my newly clipped pony on a long and fast hunt ride with lots of trotting, and the next day he had white hairs! They disappeared at the next coat change and never re-appeared.
Interestingly, it was using a treeless saddle that I had used previously on long rides (e.g. Mary Towneley Loop) with no issue. The white marks lined up with the stirrup leathers. I think it must have been all the trotting that made the difference. This was probably over 15 years ago now when treeless saddles were not so advanced. I was mortified!
 
Caol Ila said:
I'm not an idiot. I do know that excess pressure and lack of blood supply to hair follicles causes white hairs to appear under the saddle. I'm working on it. If you tell me I need a new saddle or a saddle fitter....duh. I am trying to fix this.

Now that bit's out there (I've met this forum before), the weird part is that the white hairs disappear once you remove the saddle. Ten minutes, they're almost undiscernable. The next day, you can't see any at all. I'm still assuming it is caused by the saddle putting on too much pressure, but the internet tells me nothing about white hairs that go back to brown shortly after removal of saddle. This has been happening for about a week.

Horse looks bay but is technically nd1 with one of those genes that makes the hair a bit metallic-looking in the sun. Don't know if any of that matters.
Click to expand...
If you know that the saddle doesn't fit should you not stop using it until you are able to fix the situation?

Continuing with an ill fitting saddle, that has caused white hairs over the week that you have noticed, can lead to a whole range of issues. There is also the horse's current discomfort to consider.
 
Roasted Chestnuts said:
This. I didn’t see Farans pressure hairs until I was bathing him to clip him with his coat change. As soon as I clipped him they at very apparent and are where the stirrup bars are. Trailing saddles now to see how we get on as I’m a hard fit with my spinal damage and he is as well due to his shape and curvy back.
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Frank’s were only visible when clipped, I was a bit mortified! Got new saddle and did resolve
 
Widgeon said:
How interesting (every day's a school day) - did she change her saddle setup after the coat change or keep it the same?

Just musing on whether the saddle was basically well fitting and there was something about that particular ride that caused a problem (lots of downhill or something) and it was fine again on all other rides, or whether it wasn't a good fit and the ride simply showed that up to a visible extent. I guess she must have been pretty happy with the saddle though, or she wouldn't have been endurance riding in it.
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Neither of us considered 30miles to be ‘endurance’, certainly a day ride, but on a couple of horses we’d been hunting and keeping fit all winter, and yes, they were in their usual saddles, and yes, continued with them subsequently (hers with squidgy half pad for a while, admittedly).
Horses habitually hacked further than they do now, often to and from Meets, so you could really clock up some miles.
Endurance used to be known as ‘long distance riding’, working up to top status events like the Golden Horseshoe: 100 milers. One woman who did these, also in Europe, always used her western saddle with big blanket - her ambition was the Tevis Cup in USA, if only could find sponsorship! I doubt she ever consulted a saddle fitter in her life - could be wrong- she relied on empathy and feedback from the horse.
Our Pony Club ran 25 mile sponsored rides for funds, and this trip was essentially the same route the PC kids did, plus we rode both to and from, so never thought twice. Possibly her mare didn’t drink as deeply as mine, and she did tighten her girths again, but no girth issues, no reactivity, nothing - just these white hairs shortly after. Which departed. Did we do it, or similar, again? Yes, of course.
 
Sorry - I wasn't having a dig, just musing, and I wrongly assumed that your experience had been quite recent. Having the time to get a horse that fit and regularly ride thirty miles a day sounds wonderful. Not something I'll ever be able to do. Anyway, I didn't mean to distract from the OP's original question.
 
Widgeon said:
Sorry - I wasn't having a dig, just musing, and I wrongly assumed that your experience had been quite recent. Having the time to get a horse that fit and regularly ride thirty miles a day sounds wonderful. Not something I'll ever be able to do. Anyway, I didn't mean to distract from the OP's original question.
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I doubt I could now, either! And think my crew might be aghast!
Always lots of fun, also a lot of physical work to keep ‘on top’ of fit horses, they get bored and hyper if not very active.
The longest, one-shot rides I’ve personally done were 40 milers, but were actual organised events, on estates, not a day out with friends.
For the record, never in my entire life had a single horse with either girth galls or white patches (so that has to be inviting trouble!), but have taken time to make sure their backs, girth, harness collar areas acclimatise, and clean with surgical spirit while hardening into work. Bleached out hairs are a useful heads up. Too much pressure? too long a time? Not having a dig at saddle fitters either - a suitable saddle has to be a priority, but as Post 12, really riders should take more responsibility for responding to and proactively thinking about horses’ equipment, not just rely on someone who rarely ever sees them, and even more rarely rides them in those saddles.
 
Exasperated said:
as Post 12, really riders should take more responsibility for responding to and proactively thinking about horses’ equipment, not just rely on someone who rarely ever sees them, and even more rarely rides them in those saddles.
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Totally agree with that - I'm often slightly puzzled by how (some! only some!) people expect vets, saddle fitters etc, to have second sight and produce a fix after single visit. At the end of the day, it's your horse so you need to be trying to educate yourself and continue nagging the professionals* if you think something still isn't right.

* I believe the actual term is "advocating for your horse" but it doesn't feel like that when you're phoning for an appointment and the vet receptionist says cheerfully "ooh he has a very long history doesn't he!"... 😂
 
Yep, we can only ever fit to what we see on the day. The rider needs to know what truly healthy movement looks like and feels like and to know when something's just a fraction "off". I shared a post from a long rider recently, emphasising that they are like the military, the fit of the saddle is checked every single day, every ride, and the shims and padding tweaked. When your life, at least a LOT of hassle when hundreds of miles from home, depends on it, you take these things very seriously. no abdication to "the professionals" as there are none!
 
Solved the mystery. The hair follicles have indeed been damaged by the saddle but mostly the base hairs, so when you brush her or when she does her normal horsey things, the brown hairs cover up the white bits. Hence them 'disappearing.' But when you scuff up the hairs a bit, even by putting a saddle pad on, the patches get more obvious.

Needless to say, I have stopped riding in that saddle.
 
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