White mark under saddle...

Buds_mum

Buds_mum

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My friends horse has had a new saddle fitted after seeing a white mark beginning under her wintec, horse is now in a jeffries which the saddler is happy with... Said horse had 3 weeks off and in that time the mark developed more, I asume this is the coat growing through denser...?
Now she's riding him again, he seems comfy and is schooling well however she has noticed that within the white mark there is a lump, like a knotted muscle. He couldn't care less about you touching it, he lets you dig and prod it without any muscle contractions or flinching...
Am I right in thinking its scar tissue? Where the muscle has been damaged by the previous saddle?
The horse seems very comfy in its work and shows no tenderness...

Anyone come across this? Is it harmless?

Thanks in advance, pic shows placement of mark. This side only (rider seems to sit pretty straight and balanced btw)

brothers2-1.jpg
 
Ahh I know what that is :p

Basically because she has a new saddle, it is rubbing/pressing on that area and is causing the pigmentation to die therefore it becomes white. If it isn't like that on the other side, it shows the saddle may be uneven or the rider is making it tilt over.

It makes me think the saddle isn't fitted quite right and it needs to be addressed before it causes back problems.
Hopefully a simple re-flock or fitting should solve it, the saddler may want to see it ridden in but it should be solvable... a new saddle may be wanted :(
 
Probably the new saddle is allowing the muscle that was pinched by the old saddle, causing the pressure point/ white hair, to now relax but it has become a lump rather than dispersing.

I would get a physio to look, or maybe just give a good massage herself each day before and after work may be enough to get the lump dispersed.
 
Well the white was caused by the wintec (cair) not fitting, saddler seems really pleased with the fit of the new one. Its the lump that is concerning her.... But yeah I know what you mean...

She having a different saddler out regardless, but its just he's not reacting to it being touched so is it just a lump of scar tissue? Hmmm!
 
be positive said:
Probably the new saddle is allowing the muscle that was pinched by the old saddle, causing the pressure point/ white hair, to now relax but it has become a lump rather than dispersing.

I would get a physio to look, or maybe just give a good massage herself each day before and after work may be enough to get the lump dispersed.
Click to expand...

Oooh this is intresting...!! We've been massaging it, it does feel like a knot you get in your back but he doesn't have any pain in it so this would maybe explain it...

So maybe pysio rather than saddler needed.
 
If the lump has formed after the wintec then I doubt it is due to the wintec's fit and is a continuing problem, the horse may be very one sided and both saddles maynot be fitting well.
 
If you have been massaging and it is not going a phsio should be able to help, it would probably do no harm to leave but with a new saddle it makes sense to get everything right now.
 
Well the lump came up after a couple of rides in the new saddle, it is exactly in the area of white hair (which was very sensitive, and now isn't at all after a few weeks off and now after being ridden in the saddle it still isn't tender...)

The saddler blamed the cair in the wintec, he said the air on the right hand panel dispersed too fast, i think something like that. So tipped the weight on to that point, certainly know which saddles i'll be staying clear of!!!!!
 
In my experience the only lumps that are acceptable with a new saddle fitted after previous damage, is odema - soft lumps that go down within a day or two. With badly damaged horses a new saddle may allow odemas to form because the old pressure point has been released and it take trust in the saddle fitter, and patience, to work through this. You have to stop riding when they come up, and only ride once they have gone down, but gradually they stay up for shorter lengths of time.

I've not seen white hair get worse, or solid lumps form, where a new well fitting saddle is used.
 
Well the white hair got worse when the horse was not being ridden, so is this the coat just coming through the damaged folicols?

The lump is soft and pliable so this could be an odema?
 
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