Take a peek at Bonfire please.

Tootsie4U

Tootsie4U

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Aug 19, 2002
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I tend to be a worry wart when it comes to Bonfire's health. I worry about saddle fit on a daily basis despite that I have the saddler out yearly. My farrier is one of the best in the area and I trust him dearly but a few comments from some knowledgable horsey people can never hurt.

The first few pics are of his topline and wither area. I've been noticing a change in his shoulder area and dont know if he's just getting more fit (he used to be about 100 lbs overweight) due to the increase in riding work or if he's showing signs of muscle wastage. (hypocondriach :D:D:D)
 

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His flank. Now, I know its undermuscled right now, but you couldn't see *any* skeletal definition six months ago. He was very much barrel shaped all the way through.
 

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Can you edit the original photo with the saddle and put a little circle/splotch/something where the "dip" is with respect to the saddle? It's hard to see, and at first glance it doesn't look to me like the saddle even touches him there. :)
 
But where's the dip? I'm asking because it looks to me like the saddle does not actually touch the dip... you've been talking about how you can see his wither and you're worried that the saddle might be responsible for that... If you can show where the dip is under the saddle, then it would help to see if the saddle actually touches at the dip. If the saddle doesn't touch the dip, then I don't think the saddle could be responsible at all. If the saddle does touch the dip, then how it touches could tell a lot...but I can't see where the dip is with respect to the saddle!

My guess, from what I can see, is that the dip is in the area circled in yellow, predominantly in the area circled in red. Can you tell me how close/far I am from accurate?
bon-saddle-splotch.jpg
 
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Oh, I see now.

The dip I see is about four inches long, going from the area just beneath his wither down to maybe the middle of his shoulder, but behind the shoulder. To me, its right where the gullet would be (shown on the first edited picture where he's saddleless.)

The area on the very left of your yellow circle is a mark from his blanket (rug). The red dot might be a shadow from a tuft of mane that wont fold over. Do you see the same dip at that location in the pommel picture?

Thanks for the effort Gal, I very much appreciate it. :)
 
In these pics, the only place that looks at all hollow to me is a small, maybe thumb-length area right at the center of the wither to the back, which I *think* is where the red circle is in the above picture--can't tell, but guessing. And it doesn't even look unhealthy, just prominent. (is circled in red in pic below)

Everything else looks like nice muscle definition. The area about at the points of the saddle down the flap looks like it's just sitting behind some pretty shoulder muscles. The shoulder muscles show a lot more definition than the long muscles along the ribcage. That's not because the ribcage muscles aren't there, just because they are very long and don't have any edges up at the surface the way the shorter muscles at the shoulder do.

bon.jpg
 
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I'm no authority, but do also have a horse who's lost tons of weight and muscled up over a period of time since we got her. It's hard to judge purely from photos but on the evidence here I'd say that there isn't much to worry about.
 
My two penn'orth:

The saddle doesn't look too bad at the moment, and it's nice to see you don't put it on half way up the withers! However, Bonfire does look to have dropped some weight since the last pics I saw of him, to the point where personally I'd like to see a bit more condition on him. Once he's found his fighting weight AND muscled up, I think you'll find he needs a wider saddle.
 
I think he looks fine too, quite similar to how Bebe looks now she's lost her extra weight. If he's anything like Bebe, you're probably best to have him slightly lean coming out of winter into Spring, than not, as he'll gain the little bit of extra that he needs quite quickly on the grass kicks in. That's my plan with Bebe anyway.

I do think he's lacking muscle over his hindquarters, but again, that's something that should resolve as you start to work him more.
 
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