What Gives Suspicion of an Ill-Fitting Saddle?
A horse that is hypersensitive to back palpation may be reacting to soreness elicited by the saddle. Use of a blunt instrument pressed firmly along the back is more likely to uncover deep-seated muscle pain than just pressing with fingertips along the epaxial muscles beside the spine.
The presence of white hairs, particularly near the “points” of the tree located near the withers, is another tell-tale sign of excessive saddle pressure. Muscle may atrophy in areas of excess pressure. A saddle that oscillates from side-to-side causes abnormal wear under the rear area of the saddle.
Abnormal behavior by a horse when saddled is not specific to an ill-fitting saddle but such behaviors are often seen when the horse has back discomfort from a poor saddle fit. The horse is “talking” when it tries to bite the handler, fidgets, lays back its ears, or turn its head to regard the person placing the saddle.
These non-specific behaviors are often seen when there is back discomfort from a poor saddle fit.
When ridden, signs of discomfort are variable and horse dependent. Displays range from overt to subtle, bucking, bracing the back, moving with a decreased range-of-motion, throwing the head, or carrying the head high with a rigid back. Occasionally, a horse might present with forelimb lameness induced by point pressure on the withers or back. Rarely is there hindlimb lameness as a consequence of poor saddle fit.
For a young, growing horse or a horse in training, the horse’s back needs to move during exercise in order to achieve normal epaxial muscle development. Any impingement of the saddle on a horse’s movement is a problem. If an ill-fitting saddle is replaced with a good-fitting one, the epaxial muscles show obvious improvement and development within two months.
Appropriate saddle fit doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to use your favorite saddle on every horse you ride. Individual variations of each horse’s back preclude a perfect fit of one saddle on every horse.
Sweat Patterns and Saddle Movement
Examine the horse’s back after exercise. A normal back with a good-fitting saddle should have sweat in a uniform pattern.
If the tree points are too tight, there is often less sweat in the forward portion of the back beneath the saddle, and this is mirrored by dry spots on the pad. Too much pressure in the surrounding region of the sweat glands decreases blood circulation to diminish normal function of the sweat glands.
Transient nodules may develop around thoracic vertebrae 13 – 14 due to a narrow gullet or abnormal movement of the back of the saddle. Normally, when looking at a horse from behind, there is minimal side-to-side oscillation of the saddle. If the saddle slips or has an abnormal range of oscillations, this brings the gullet closer to the dorsal midline, resulting in nodules of edema or fibrosis from the pressure.
It helps to compare saddle movement with and without a rider. A saddle that slips to one side may do so due to asymmetrical flocking, padding, or due to a horse’s back shape. Another significant reason for slippage of the saddle is from hindlimb lameness that modifies movement of the axial skeleton. In 87% of the time in a horse with hindlimb lameness, the saddle will slip to the side, and in particular to the side of the lame leg. (In 13%, the saddle slips to the side of the good or better leg.)
If the lameness is abolished with diagnostic nerve blocks, saddle slip markedly decreases or may change to the other side if the opposite hind leg is also lame. Slippage is more obvious on…
