From: tracy@scoraz.resp-sci.arizona.edu (Tracy Scheinkman)
Newsgroups: rec.equestrian
Subject: re: need help with stubborn horse
Date: 2 Sep 92 21:32:38 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ


In Article 8579 in rec.equestrian pallas@cephalo.neusc.bcm.tmc.edu 
	(Sarah Pallas) writes:

>Actually I'm usually too far forward, and he has a very sensitive
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>back, so when I sit, he hollows out and gets quick.  I need to work on
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>losing my strong seat and making it feather light so I can change my
>weight without hurting him.  Today I tried a back-saver pad and that
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>seemed to help too.  He has the worst bone-jarring trot I've ever
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>experienced, so sitting his quick trot is almost impossible to do
>softly without bouncing.  I can sit his slow trot OK.  When he's
>rushing into the canter, I'm bouncing away, he's getting quicker and
>more downhill (he can have a lovely balanced trot, but only if it's
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>slower), and the situation rapidly deteriorates until I bring him back
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>to the walk and get the canter from there.

	Sarah, these are classic symptoms of a sore back!!!  99% of the
time a sore back is caused by a saddle that doesn't fit the horse.
Usually, though not always, the saddle is too narrow for the horse
and pinches the top part of the shoulders, sometimes it rubs the
hair off under the back part of the saddle also, another problem is
the channel for the back not being wide enough.  These problems cause
the same kind of excruciating pain as wearing shoes that are 2 or 3
sizes too small.  If the saddle tends to slip forward while riding 
after you have positioned it at the proper place on the horse's back 
(back at least 2 to 4 inches from the back edge of the shoulder blade,
this will leave at least a hand's width between the girth and the
horse's forearm, sometimes more) then this too is an indication that the
saddle is too narrow for the horse's back.  Also if you need to use
a keyhole or bounce pad to lift up the back of the saddle to get
it to sit level on the horse this can indicate a saddle which is
too narrow.  Other symptoms include an uneven sweat distribution pattern
under the saddle after you have ridden, small fluid filled swellings
along a section of the horse's spine indicate a channel which is too 
narrow or too much pressure on either side of the spine, rubbing on
the top of the withers indicates a saddle that is not deep enough 
through the gullet for the horse (a horse can be both too wide and too
tall, necessitating a saddle that is both wide and high in 
the gullet, sometimes a cutback tree fits these horses better than a
standard tree).  
	While you can use a combination of pads with a saddle
which is too wide to help fit a narrow horse, the opposite is not
true.  Ultimately even a back-saver pad won't allow the horse to
feel comfortable in the saddle.  The only solution is to find a
saddle that fits this horse.  When you do find a saddle that
fits the horse you will find you have a smoother gait, increased
reach and better bending (right now I am guessing your horse turns
like a truck, pivoting on the hind foot rather than properly bending
through the middle).
	Try borrowing friend's saddles, especially friends who have wide
Quarter Horses to test how your horse moves under other saddles.  A
word of caution, the saddle you test may still fit your horse wrong
yet he will move better underneath it, the reason is that the pressure
has moved to a different spot, yet eventually he will go back to
showing symptoms of pain as the spot becomes more and more irritated.
Look for the sweat pattern, you will become very adept at reading sweat.
Also some horses show higher tolerance of pain than other horses and
may be wearing a saddle which fits them worse than yours fits your
horse yet not show the symptoms.
	To know whether the saddle is pinching your horse's shoulders 
girth it up and get on, ride at a walk and stick your hand underneath the
front of the saddle where the tree contacts the horse.  If your
hand feels lots of pressure at all times then the saddle pinches, if
you feel only a little pressure intermittently when the horse's 
shoulder slides back then it doesn't pinch at the shoulders.  When
checking for saddle fit use only a thin dressage or eventing pad, the
saddle that fits should produce an even sweat pattern everywhere except
the spine showing no pressure spots (oval areas of drier looking hair
within a sweaty area) or soft fluid-filled swellings.  It should stay
put where you girth it without needing excessive girth tightening,
not slip forward while you are riding (if it slips back a little that's
ok).
	Other signs of a sore back are things like girthiness (getting
irritable when being saddled), and not wanting to stand still during
or after being mounted.  A horse does not need to show all these signs
to be sore, horses try very hard to please us, the symptoms you indicated
above are enough to show a sore-backed horse.  Try giving your horse
several days off and then ride bareback you should find that his
shoulder movement is freer and his ability to collect is greater.

				Tracy and everybody
Newsgroups: rec.equestrian