Ask The Vet: Saddle Fitting - January 08

Question: I am 13-years-old and my parents recently bought me a Gisborne-bred, east coast pony. She is a real sweetheart on the ground and will let you do anything with her. She is 6-years-old and quite fat, but a really good jumper. I am now looking for a saddle to fit both her and myself, but need help on deciding between leather or synthetic. I don't want to invest a great deal of money in a saddle just yet. I am a 16 and a half (saddle size). What do you think about the Bates and Wintec saddles? She can get a bit strong while jumping, she will turn but won't stop or slow down. I would prefer not to use a pehlam as she does have a bit of a soft mouth, but am unsure of what other options I have. What are your thoughts on the use of a breastplate as she always ridden with one, but we are not to sure if it is necessary. What about saddle pads? Is it necessary to use one at all times?

Question: I thought it would be so much fun to try and buy a new saddle. How wrong I was! No matter who you talk to, everyone has something different to say. The problem is with saddle fitters (and I'm talking about reputable ones in my area) since they all claim the brand/s they are representing are the best. If something doesn't feel right to me, or the horse lets me know she doesn't like the saddle (bucking or taking short steps), I have heard everything from my horse is asymetrical to my position is wrong. Wool or foam? I have tried almost every brand on the market - dressage and event. It has taken me over three years to finally find two brands that both fit the horse and fit me and I like. Is there any easier way? Could you speak about pads? Some people say stiff while other say the least pad of all. My mare is a little asymetrical. Again, I've been told to bolster the hollow side by some, and the larger side by others. Then I was told that if I do this, my mare will not develop evenly. I feel that no matter what I do it is wrong. I am so frustrated that I ride bareback some of the time and the horse goes great. She is girthy,but again, I was told it could be ulcers. My mare is a 16.3 Oldenburg that is 10-years-old, and competing in second level dressage and traning level eventing. She hacks out and does hunter paces. I just don't know who to believe anymore. Ultimately, I want my horse to be happy.

Question: I have a 13-year-old Tennessee Walking horse gelding that I trail ride. He has developed a swelling on his spine that started off egg-sized, hot and painful. The vet injected him with cortisone and I administered ice packs on his back. After eight weeks, the spot became very small , half dollar size, but remains hot and tender. The ultrasound was negative, but you can lift the area away from the spine. Last week it was injected again, but remains hot to touch even though it is iced an hour each day. It has now been nine weeks. He lives outside 24/7 and has not been ridden since this happened. He has a past history of this once before with quick resolution. He also has trouble walking down steep hills and will drag his rear toes while traveling down a steep hill. I try to avoid these types of hills. His hock x-rays are good. I have owned him since he was 2-years-old. What should I do next? My saddle does not touch his spine when riding, however it is a new saddle.

Question: I have a 14.1 Quarter horse mare that I purchased at 4 years of age. She was bred at 2-years-old by the previous owner. She is currently 10-years-old and is normally a sweet, easy going mare. In attempting to fit a saddle to her, I have noticed that it seems that every saddle I try on her will appear to fit unevenly (i.e. if it is sitting correctly on the right side, the left side will be off). I make sure it sets behind her scapula(s). The saddle is always off her spine and does not extend past her last rib. I always girth slowly with a minimum of three tightenings, use an elastic girth with a girth cover and use a mounting block. She shows obvious unhappiness when I girth her, but not consistently. Occassionally, she will show this behavior when I touch her shoulder, wither or barrell area, but again, not consistently. She also shows an unwillingness to transition into canter. Could her early pregnancy (before she was fully grown) have caused structural problems? Any other thoughts you could share with me regarding this saddle fitting problem?

Question: I have an 8-year-old Quarter/Arabian horse. We have tried a few different saddles to find a good one for both of us that is wide enough and does not pinch his shoulders. My problem is the pad! I have tried several different ones with no luck. He is a little downhill and I have had to wedge the saddle a little. I have tried different pads with wedges, without, air pads, etc. of which makes the saddle fit different on him. I try to look at his back everytime we are done riding to look for dry spots or rubbed hair. I have not noticed either with my current pad, however I am noticing little white hairs on each side again. Do you have any suggestions? I do not believe it is the saddle, because the issue is not with every pad I use. How can I still wedge and feel comfortable (not downhill) and still keep him comfortable?

Also, when you start to develop the white hairs (from pressure), do they go away? When do they start to become permanant? One last question; when I am riding I am always trying to improve myself too, so I know I can place pressure in different areas with trying new things. Does this or will this matter if i get the right set-up with my saddle and pad?

Question: Is there any saddle or technology that really works for the changing saddle needs of a young horse as they develop more muscling through the topline?

Question: My horse is getting saddle sores on her withers. She is a very wide Quarter horse and it is impossible to find a saddle that fits her correctly. I have tried extra padding, but nothing seems to work. What should I do to make her more comfortable?

Question: I have a 23-year-old Quarter horse mare. She is starting to get a sway back. I have two very large and heavy western saddles. Are these saddles making her sway back worse?

Question: I have a 20-month-old foal that has "beef knees" (back legs pointing inside and toes pointed outward). She stands awkward, but has no noticeable pain in the back when we apply pressure to the vertebral column. In your findings of this condition, do you see it to get better or worsen? Will she be able to handle a saddle since there is one part of her back that is enlarged and when pressure is applied, the mare reacts by biting?

Question: I currently own an Arabian horse and the person where I am boarding my horses, tells me that I can ride any saddle on them. However, I noticed in some catalogs, they have saddles with arabian bars and quarter bars. Which saddle should I buy so my horses do not get a sore back?

Question: My 23-year-old Thoroughbred mare has experienced changes to her withers. This happened quite suddenly, within a few days time. She does not seem to be in pain, but her withers are now more pronounced, bony and seem separated (?). In addition, this seems more pronounced on the right side. Her back seems to have developed a bit more sway as well. She lives in a northern climate and may have rolled on hard snow or icy ground. Is this an expected change for an older horse? Should I consider this an injury even though she does not seem in any pain?

Question: Are treeless saddles (with appropriate pads) safe or harmful for horses? Is there any independent research on this topic?

Question: After removal of my saddle after a lesson with my instructor, my vet who happened to be at my farm, noticed there were sweat marks over my horses back except above the stirrup bar area. I asked what that meant and she said that there was too much pressure from the saddle preventing him from sweating. I had just had my saddle looked at 2 months previous and adjustments were made. My horse is now in Florida and awaiting a saddle check up, again. I noticed after a lesson in Florida, where his back has been completely clipped now, that he was sweating everywhere except on 2 tiny areas above stirrup bar area. I am not sure why back at home with a "hairy back" he was sweating alot less in those areas. I also had 2 people look at the saddle, one a saddle maker the other my vet and on inspection the saddle looked like it fit fine. If my vet hadn't brought to my attention the issue of not sweating I would not have known about it. My horse has very prominent withers and I do try and get enough clearance with my Jaguar saddle. I have had the saddle for 5 years and love it. Is this a difficult thing to correct? I guess I better check my horses back after a hard workout to make sure it fits properly.

Question: My foxhunting horse has developed white hairs on both sides of her back where the panels sit. I ride in a Bates close contact saddle. Should I use a pad that is thicker at the withers and back?

Question: I have an 11-year-old Paint mare that has had two foals (2002 and 2005) with no problems during or after pregnancy. She was a show horse doing all-around on the Paint horse circuit back before her first foal. I find that no matter what saddle (english/western) I put on her, she will always be balky during girthing. I know the saddles both fit her and I even have a treeless western saddle. No matter what, she will always pull back and spin around during her girthing. We don't ride her hard or jump, just simple skills. I'm very confused, any ideas? Could it be from foaling or due to gestation of the foals?

Question: I have a 16.1 hand Thoroughbred gelding and I have an Albion Legend K2 medium-wide Dressage saddle that I have used with him since he was 4-years-old. He is now 8. I do both hunter/jumper and dressage. The Albion saddle shows sweat marks the mosts where the saddle lays behind his shoulders and under the back on the saddle. Is this correct?

Question: When riding my horse, she will drop her head and stretch out her neck. I have tried different saddles and pads and have noticed a difference in this behavior. Is she trying to tell me her back hurts?

Question: Are saddle-fitters certified, nationwide? If so, where do they train and for how long? I feel some fitters could use a lot more training and experience.

Question: I run a small riding stable in the Netherlands, where I give western riding lessons. One horse, a relatively small dutch warmblood, has had back problems a couple of times. The mare is now 14-years-old and has been with us for six years. She had a baby before we bought her, but unfortunately the foal died not long after birth. The mare is very sensitive, but has always been extremely protective about her belly. We've always gone out of our way to tell our clients to be cautious about tightening the cinch, but nevertheless she bites in the air and is very grumpy when you fasten the cinch even almost completely hanging loose. We always walk our horses before tightening the cinch another hole and repeat the process as often as needed until the saddle is snug. When mounting, we aid the rider by holding the stirrups on the opposite side, or let people mount from a mounting block. Nevertheless, all of this preparation never prevents the mare from warping her back one day when no particular heavy person was trying to mount her. As the horse was clearly in pain, but tried her best not to buck, I immediately asked the rider to dismount and exammined her thoroughly. She was clearly not happy about us touching some spots on her back and we had her vet examined.

According to the vet, she was slightly uneven in her gaits, but nothing was determined from the x-rays. We also had her examined by an ostheopath, who discovered she had a stiffened lower back due to something wrong with her reproductive organs. We were in luck that the vet we took her to, was also at that moment studying to be an ostheopath as well and with the ostheopath guiding from the outside, the vet examined the mare internally and found the uterus was hanging to the right. They massaged and manipulated the uterus until it was back into place and we were given a training scedule, which we accurately followed. After a couple of weeks, she was back in riding classes, but after a while, the same thing happened again. She almost dropped through her legs while hollowing her back, as a rider tried to mount. Could the problem be saddle related? A long time before all this happened, we fitted her for a custom western saddle since the one she had been using did not fit well. The new saddle didn't seem to give her any problems. We've also tried filling up the saddle pad with a variety of thick and thinner padding.

Another thing the vet could not explain was the swellings on the sides of the mare's belly where the cinch lays. According to the vet, these weren't anything like saddlesores and had never seen anything like it. They also didn't dissapear, even when she had plenty of rest, the bulges seemed to stay painful nontheless. We even tried other kinds of girths, and the best solution I could could come up with was a very wide cinch with a fleece cover, in order to rule out any allergies or sensitivity to neoprene. We've treated the bulges with some ointment as well as medicine. In spite of all of these treatments, the bulges are still there and I'm beginning to think they are tensed up muscles that cannot relax anymore and have become strong that they cannot disappear. I don't know what the previous owners have done with her, or how she recieved her first training, but I'm beginning to think that it was not the best experience of her life since she has been very headshy. All of that has pretty much disappeared, but you still have to be careful with her ears.

Recently I have taken the mare back to the vet after a long period of rest. The vet declared her healthy and advised us to start her very slowly back into training. I am so afraid that the story will repeat itself.

Question: I have a 10-year-old Hanoverian Gelding that was previously used for jumping. He has a sway back/no back muscles from improper training and I'm trying to take him back to the basics in dressage but it seems like his back hurts him when I try to "sit" on him. Whenever I ride at the sitting trot or at the canter for more collection, he tenses his back and kicks up/bucks. Is this because the saddle doesn't fit? I have an Isabell Werth Wintec saddle with the 'caire system' air panels and a regular medium tree. I do sit in a normal "dressage" seat, not a two point jumping seat, but I'm always trying to stay on my thighs and off his back, I'm not very heavy or large, only 5'2'' and 125 pounds and he's a massive 17.2h horse. Is it just lack of training and underdeveloped back muscles that hurt him when I put weight on his back or could the saddle be ill-fitting or something else? I really like him and otherwise he's very good natured and sweet.