Get off his back already!

Recently, I have gone through a lot with my horse and his sore back. I read somewhere that there's a huge connection to sore backs, sore feet, and many other sore parts due to bad fitting saddles. Apparently, all the muscles are connected and move in correlation to one another in a sort-of circular pattern from front to back and around the top to front again. If any part of that "circle of muscles" is interrupted for any period of time, it can effect how the entire muscular structure works. This causes the horse to "compensate" in other areas, usually his back, hence eventually leading to a sore back.

I found all this so interesting that I decided--as I tend to do with new information--to research it until I couldn't learn anything new, then I came to my own conclusions. I researched and learned so much that I actually made my own custom-fit saddle pad for my horse to take pressure off the areas where it shouldn't be and put the weight only where it should be.

I could write an entire book on the subject, so I will try to summarize a bit here pertaining to some of the most important aspects of saddle fit and back pain that I learned as they pertain to my horse. You can tweak the information to fit your own horse or contact me if you have questions.

Okay, we know that all the muscles move in a sort-of circle and are connected, so it makes sense that if a saddle is pinching for any extended period of time (which can vary by horse, performance, discipline and saddle type) it will disrupt the flow and cause all kinds of problems (which can include lameness issues, believe it or not). A horse that holds his back very hollow, head up, not wanting to really move out, often does so because his back hurts, and most (not all) back pain problems are caused by poor saddle fit. This is just one example, but it's one of the things I noticed most about my horse. He simply doesn't like to bring his back up! He also has navicular changes (another area I have researched extensively), which can cause him to compensate for his sore feet, changing the rotation of muscles and leading to back problems.

Within the last 6 months to a year I have been putting all this together. The first thing I discovered was that the western saddle I had always thought fit my horse so well actually was pinching him in all the wrong places. So I sold it and went on a hunt for the "perfect" saddle. That's when I learned there's no such thing--unless you spend an obscene amount of money to have a saddle made to fit absolutely to your horse's shape and size (and even then, your horse will change shape as he ages and cause that expensive saddle to no longer be worth much). So, where does this lead us? Get a custom made saddle every few years?  I don't know about you, but I can't even afford one custom-made saddle, let alone one every few years or so.

This leads us to saddle pads. You will hear the manufacturers of saddle pads (particularly orthopedic  pads) say how their perfect (and usually very expensive) pads will solve all your horse's back fit issues. Then you will hear vets and others claim that no saddle pad can fix a saddle that doesn't fit. And then there's just about everything in between.

So, I took all this information and, much to my horse's chagrin, I started to experiment. I discovered where horses get sore the most and why. This varies from horse to horse, but in my horse's case he was most sore right behind the scapula (shoulder blades). He also had sore shoulders (hence the not wanting to "move out"). This was from the saddle sitting too low on his withers, pinching just behind the shoulder blades and resting on the top portion of his shoulders,  Add that to the navicular problems and it's no wonder the only time he prefers to move under saddle is when I am trying to get on him!

I went on the hunt for the "perfect fit" western saddle, or as close as I could get, but as it turns out my horse is extremely hard to fit. He has a very short back, average size withers, but big shoulders and high shoulder blades. His right shoulder is much larger than his left (no horse is symmetrical), leaving a big dip behind his right shoulder. Eventually, I just bought a saddle with a relatively good fit then went on a mission to create a pad that would actually make the saddle fit!

Knowing what I know about my horse's back pain and past problems, plus the way a horse should move naturally, I deduced that I would have to make a pad that allowed the saddle to completely clear the shoulders. Something like how a dressage saddle sits--behind the scapula. Most western saddles are not made that way... except some of your higher end saddles, which can have a narrower area under the horn (the inner gullet) that should sit behind the horse's shoulder blades, keeping the front part of the skirt off the shoulders. I personally did not have the budget for even a used saddle like this, so I had to go for one that fit moderately well and had the right bar size (the bar sizes are a whole other subject I won't get into here).

If you look at the tree without the leather on a western saddle, and are able to set a plain tree on a horse's back, you can really tell if it sits correctly or not.

By running your hand under your saddle, you should be able to feel the tree in there and get an idea of where it sits on the horse. That's why it's a good idea, unless you KNOW a particular saddle type will fit, you should always try a saddle out before buying. I was stupid, I bought my saddle at an Equine Affaire, but it was in my price range, is a gorgeous saddle, and had the right size tree. It also had lots of silver, would look great on my horse and had a skirt short enough for his short back.

It fit my horse well enough except, like all saddles seem to do on him, it pinched a bit at the shoulder area, especially his larger right shoulder. Pads only made the saddle tighter on his shoulder. Remember that--saddle pads only serve to make a tight fit tighter. Then, add the weight of a person and you can hopefully see where I am getting at.

Orthopedic pads can work, but they vary so much and usually aren't made to fit your particular horse's back structure, so you are not always fixing the problem by buying an expensive pad. Expensive isn't always better!  In western, pads are made to go up higher on the withers than an English saddle pad and if you have full thickness, you are adding padding over the shoulders again, thus impeding movement of that area to some degree.

A saddle (any saddle) should NOT sit on the horse's spine. I think most people are aware of this. The saddle should, however, sit ONLY atop the back on either side of the spine over the top of the ribcage, from BEHIND the scapula to the last rib; no more forward, no more backwards... even pressure along that space and nowhere else. Anything covering the shoulders or hips will block the flow of motion. All my saddle pads were made pretty typically; thick pads that covered the whole back and then some! They impeded the shoulder movement and even hit his hips. And they did nothing to fill the gap behind his scapula.

Specialty pads, though better, boast a certain amount of cushioning in the right places, but most I noticed can still interfere with the shoulder area as they are made to round forward, thus hitting part of the shoulder that rounds towards the back. So, I made my pad like a specialty pad but made to sit completely behind his shoulders and fill the gap, effectively lifting the saddle off his scapula completely, as well as keeping anything from hitting his hips. No part of the saddle touches anywhere; the pad touches the horse in the right places and at the right thickness, with the correct amount of soft vs. firm and the saddle sits on the pad. I also made sure it fits his withers just right on top to allow plenty of clearance from the gullet.

Pads can be made for English saddles as well. If you choose to make your own saddle pad, please make sure you know what you're doing or at least get someone else who is knowledgeable in this area to help you. You don't want to do more harm than good.

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