Sore back

[RoxR]

For the last month or so (weekends only, really) I have been riding Roxy in her western saddle which I was told was OK by a western instructor. Then a fortnight ago I decided to be brave (!) and ride her in the English saddle as the mud patch of an arena had dried out and I thought we could begin some pole work and maybe even a jump!!

I put the saddle on and her ears FLEW back - not a happy bunny!! She wouldn't even walk in it! I gave her a few minutes thinking it could just be the different style, but she really wasn't happy. I remembered a thread on here saying that a saddle can fit but some horses are ok with a thin numnah while others prefer a thick one (the leather shoes/trainers analagy), and as her western pad is a thick thing, I swapped the thin numnah for a sheepskin one. Better, but not right.

So I phoned the saddler thinking maybe she had changed shape a bit and whether it was time to change the gullet in the Wintec. He came out and felt all around her spine and back, and found a pressure point which was causing her to tense up around her withers, which in turn caused her to press into the saddle and had resulted in some bruising. He said the saddle in itself was a good fit but she had in effect been walking around with her muscles tense which had caused the problem.

Then he checked the western saddle, and while the saddle was ok, it turned out that pad (a split wither one) was sinking down onto her spine, pressing on that pressure point and so the rest followed. We found a way to solve the problem, and he suggested I give her some Arnica (not arsenic!!lol!) to help with the bruising. This was last Saturday.

I decided to give her a good groom today to help with all that moulting, and noticed that whenever I pressed on her back, she turned her head and glared at me - one of those faces that says, "I don't like that!" She was also sensitive in the little hollow in front of her hip bone (sorry, I'm not great with anatomy!) but there were certain points where the saddler pressed and she flinched, which was the expected correct reaction.

Sorry for going on, but do you think there's a bigger problem here or does this sound normal? I don't want to (and can't afford to) call out the vet every time I'm a little concerned - I'd rather save the money from the unnecessary calls to spend when I really need to pay the bills!!! Also with the saddler thinking she was ok, it seems like I don't have faith in his opinion. Maybe I'm expecting too much too soon.

Does anyone have any advice??

[Wally]

Mossy is the best person to advise you on this one. Been there and experienced what you are describing.

I'd go with your gut feeling and say that the English saddle doesn't fit her well. If she's flinching, I'd go for the back man rather than the vet.

Did you ride her in the English saddle or just put it on her back?

How is she in the Western one now?

IS she a generally sensetive soul who will remember a sore feeling and hold it against you for a while? or is she generally a forgiving soul?

[ros]

Pressure points if ignored can cause serious and sometimes permanent damage. I'd get a second opinion about both saddles, and don't worry about your saddler's feelings - your horse is the important one here.

I assume you're resting her to allow any bruising to heal?

[RoxR]

Yes, she's not doing anything at the moment! We only ride at weekends generally anyway so hopefully although something has obviously upset her in the last two months, it hasn't actually been a lot of regular hard work so hopefully not too much damage has been done. I have a feeling it was at the western clinic where she was in her saddle for a good few hours on and off, although a lot of it was standing watching.

I'm really not sure about her holding it against me! Thinking about it I don't remember her flinching like this before the saddler came out and started firmly prodding her in certain places on her back! Maybe part of it is expecting it to hurt before it actually does.

You said about getting a back man - is he different to a vet? How do I find one and do they tend to charge less than a vet?

Do you think it's worth trying both saddles on her and seeing her reaction in case it's the prodding she's anticipating?

I don't know - there's always something! And now she's lost a shoe as well! So that's the farrier I need too!!! Horses!! LOL!!

[Wally]

You may have access to vets who are horse specialists, we don't!

A horse vet may be as good as an osteopath or chiropractor. I don't know what your vets are like, I just don't have much faith in mine diagnosing a saddle specific injury!

I too wouldn't worry about the saddler's feelings, you need results and so does your horse.

When I say holding it against you what I should have said is, does she remember pain and anticipate it hurting when it won't.

Our stallion holds terrible grudges, scare him once and he'll not speak to you for a week. I imagine if a saddle hurt him one he'd convince himself that every saddle was going to kill him for weeks. He trod on my man's foot once, he yelled at him and when poor Tribble saw Ian coming he thought he was going to be in trouble before he did anything.

I'd go with your gut instinct, she's telling you something ain't right.

[Bebe]

If you haven't been using the english saddle then I'd guess it's the Western saddle that has caused the problem. You may be able to get away with using it without her objecting because of the thicker pad and larger weight bearing surface of the western saddle. Because the english saddle sits differently it probably just makes an existing problem more apparent or unbearable for your horse.

Soreness can take a long time to go away. If she was mine I'd give her a few weeks off out in the field and then see how she is. If she's still sore then I'd put feelers out for a chirpractor/osteopath (your vet may be able to refer you and should at least be able to recommend someone) and get her checked over. If she's at all lame at the moment I'd do that sooner rather than later but if she's sound other than the sore back, time off is probably the best thing you can do for her.

I'd also get both saddles checked. There's a myth that Western saddles don't need to be fitted properly like an English saddle but this isn't the case. A badly fitting western saddle can do as much damage as a badly fitting english one. It seems like you definitely have a problem with one or other of the saddles.

Arnica is great for bruising. Are you giving it orally (tablets) or topically (cream)? I'd be tempted to use cream if the skin isn't broken, has a nice cooling effect and is as effective as tablets.

Hope this helps
Amanda

[B W]

My horse, Jet, is so sore! I purchased a saddle and had it fitted to my horse. The first time I put it on him he objected. I thought he was being difficult so I rode him anyway. I feel terrible. Last Saturday I got on him and he started rearing and tossing his head. I had someone check his back and he is sore all over. I'm having the vet out today to look at him. I should have known he wouldn't do those things if he weren't in pain. I'm hoping that she can help him and that he will be okay. I'll certainly "listen" to my horse from now on. AND, I'll get a different saddle.

[RoxR]

Well, I had a good feel along her back this morning while she was eating, and she never flinched once!
Then while I was out at work I was virtually going past the saddler's, so I thought I'd pop in and tell him my concerns. He was really helpful in all fairness and has put my mind at rest a little more than before. For a start he thought that if she continued eating while I poked, squoze and prodded, then the chances were that it could not be real pain or she would flinch automatically. He went through the tests he'd done on her and explained how some of them provoked certain 'flinch' reactions anyway, and that matched up with what I was seeing.
For example, the little hollow in front of her hip bone (well, slightly above it) can often be sore if a mare is in season...just so happens that she is at the moment.
I asked if there were any massages I could do for her and he explained some to me, and said it's always good to be able to do that whether a horse has a problem or not.

As Bebe said, it could well be that although it is the western saddle pad which caused the discomfort (and has now been corrected), it could be that she prefers the feel of the western saddle to the more concentrated english fit. So in effect we could have a combination of expecting it to hurt, and then a different feel so she could be a bit confused.

His suggestion was to try her with the western saddle for a few minutes at the weekend and see if she is happier with that than the english. Once she realises it is not going to hurt she may relax. If she's still not happy in a fortnight, then he wants to come and check her again. This seems fair to me at this stage, before getting too costly.

Anyway, this evening, I fed her outside and tried the massage. In fact she never flinched at all, and at one point turned and looked with her ears pricked and never tried to move away from me. So fingers crossed that this will resolve itself....

Incidentally, before he came in to the shop I was talking to his wife who didn't know the background on Roxy, and she was telling me about their own horse, who unfortunately had an accident a good few months ago. The injury resulted in him being on box rest for a long time, and when he came back into work having been passed sound, he went ballistic when a saddle went on his back. They did everything, checking with vet, chiropracter and obviously the saddle. Everything was fine, and turned out to be a mental block in that the horse thought he was going to be in pain before it actually happened. The rider pushed him on, and after ten minutes he was OK, and the next time he was ridden he went back into a perfect outline and has not had a problem since.

So let's give it a fortnight and see what happens - I feel a little bit better now, thanks to your replies and the chat with the saddler. I'll keep you posted, but any further comments or suggestions would be most welcome as I want to be prepared in case I do need to take it further!

Thanks everyone!
:)