Wide saddles and narrow(ish) horses

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Morgan123

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Hiya! possibly this is quite a dumb query. Sorry if so! i have an elderly hanoverianxtb mare, who has previously worn a medium fuit saddle. she had a bit of a bad back in the autumn, and after some treatments has now had five months off. I am now considering bringing her back into work (discussing with chiropracter tomorrow), but she does still have slight muscle wastage behind her withers (not serious or anyting but still there and want to make her as comfy as possible, obviously!). was wondering whether it's a better idea for me to use my wide thorowgood cob saddle with plenty of padding instead? Someone recommended this to me but am not sure if it's really a good idea. Although her withers are medium fit, her actual back is quite flat now due to the rest!!

Obviously can discuss this with chiropracter but just wondering people's views?!

thanks!
 
No, i wouldnt use your thorowgood on your mare as it is designed for a cob shape not your mares shape. If your mare has hollows behind the withers and wither definition the cob saddle is totally the wrong panel and tree design for that shape.
You could get a saddle fitter to come out and look at your other saddle on your mare and advise if it is still suitable.
 
I would say yes. As long as you pad the "hollows" out well. Use either fibregee which you can then remove sheet by sheet as the back recovers. Or something like a thick Polypad or a Suber pad.

We have done this successfully with one horse who came to us with severe wastage. Most people would have shoved a narrow saddle on her but then the back would never have recovered as would have been compressed all the time by the saddle.
 
thats what i was thinking about her back recovering. tried a treeless on her but it slips back due to the hollows, and looks uncomfortable. Have mnay polypads so was thinking could use them... will have a chat with chiropracter. thasnk for the info!
 
Unfortunately by using pads under a saddle that is the wrong panel type and tree to start with you just move the pressure points from one place to another. Using pads only works if the tree and panel are the right type but say the tree is just a bit wide. Even then they should be used with extreme caution. There is more to it than just the width at the points of the tree. If you use sufficient padding to fill in the hollows then you will more than likely have too much padding elsewhere, such as through the gullet, which puts pressure on the spine. There is also a strong possibility of bridging.
People using a narrow saddle obviously dont know enough about saddle fitting, as ISH-mad says, it just compresses the back. People do it in order to clear the spine, especially at the withers, when really they should use a different panel type to fill in the hollows and lift the saddle clear of the withers, whilst ensuring the tree is wide enough.
By using a cob saddle on a horse with a wither and hollows and just padding it out is like asking a supermodel to wear a mans walking boot with a few extra pairs of socks. Then get the model to carry the man whose boots she has borrowed and walk elegantly and pain free down the catwalk. Sorry, it just wont work!
 
Just to add, muscle wastage in the wither area is usually caused by an ill fitting saddle so riding her in another ill fitting saddle even with pads is only likely to compound the problem
wink.gif

I am not a huge treeless fan but for the 'recovery' period there has been alot of success with them for rebuilding wither muscle wastage.......
 
If the tree shape is suited to her back shape, then use a suber pad/poly pads.

Balance saddles are fitted too wide and then padded out to allow for muscle growth, as, i believe, are saddle company saddles.

Fibergee is a common padding which can easily be stitched onto a numnah to be held in position.
 
No, do not use your Thorowgood cob saddle on her, it could possibly do a lot of harm.
 
I wish I had kept photos of the mare who we rehabilitated as her back was shocking when she arrived. We were advised to do this by a very well respected saddle fitter who is also an equine chiropractor. The difference is truly amazing. And as Ponylover88 says, Balance saddles etc are fitted wide for exactly this reason.

Something else I forgot to say was that we also had to massage the horse's back every day for about 15 minutes each side. Use the palm of your hand and work in circular movements in and around the areas of wastage. This gets the blood circulating and also helps build the back up.

I would have been sceptical had it not worked for us and never would have done it without professional advice.
 
There's two points to you're question really:

1) yes, a slightly too wide saddle with padding would be a good idea, if she's going to get wider as the muscle heals. But not TOO wide - it should only be as wide as she should be if she didn't have muscle wastage. If, for example, she should be a medium (but is currently a medium/narrow due to muscle wastage) putting a wide saddle on won't do any good.

2) Using you're cob saddle depends on the tree shape suiting her. There's are plenty of horses who couldn't be less cob like, but for whom a cob saddle fits perfectly. And there's cobs who take a TB saddle. Even if the width is correct, the curvature of the tree and the panels may not suit her back. It's a case of try it and see.
 
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