Echo has got used to being a field horse – she’s grown a huge furry winter coat and is looking pretty rough around the edges. However, the stables that my parents are building are NEARLY finished and so hopefully she will start coming in at night before the really bad weather kicks in. I am really struggling for money, so hoping to use some really economical bedding, possibly Megazorb, which is supposed to need minimal mucking out on a day to day basis and confines the wet patch to a really small area. We’ll see how this goes!
I think in my last post I may have jinxed things in terms of riding. When I first moved up here, Echo was going fabulously. However, things started to go steadily downhill, mostly in terms of her behaviour – she got a bit nappy – spooking a lot and running away from under me at the slightest thing. I was really confused, as this is not like Echo at all. I always check her over when I groom and tack up, but she started to get more and more difficult about her back. It was odd – to begin with it was barely noticeable, then after a while she was obviously very sore.
The lady who keeps a horse with Echo is a back specialist, so I got her to take a look and she said she was very uncomfortable and it would be worth getting a saddler to look at her saddle. AGAIN!!! After all the stress I went through less than a year ago, the saddle appears to not fit. I found a master saddler and sure enough, she said the saddle doesn’t fit. What is more worrying is that she didn’t see how it could ever have really fitted. It’s apparently too narrow between the panels. Echo has uneven shoulders (so I learnt) and she also has a tendency to push the saddle forwards onto these uneven shoulders. When this happens, the saddle then apparently twists, putting pressure on one side of her back. It also puts added pressure on the back of the saddle, as it is becoming too high in front.
The saddler watched me ride in my saddle and it was awful – Echo was totally lame – she couldn’t even trot. That was the worst she had ever been – I felt I had to promise the saddler that I hadn’t just been riding her like that! She recommended I have her back treated again, then give her a few days off and she would come out again bringing some saddles that she thought would fit. When she did, she pulled out this absolutely beautiful saddle. Typical! It was brand new and I nearly melted over it. Sure enough, she put it on her and it stayed nice and low in front and was held in place by a point strap. When I rode in it, Echo felt soft and forward and lovely. Her neck was able to bend in both directions and I suddenly realised how bad things had got – that’s the problem when you ride a horse all the time – changes happen gradually so that you don’t really notice.
The problem? This saddle is £925. I don’t have £925.
The saddler left me to think about it and I thought a lot. I had pretty much decided to just buy it on my credit card and pay it back when I could, but then I lunged Echo a couple of days later. She looked fine when she was free, but when I put side reins on, she went crazy, running and spooking and getting really upset and unreasonable, rather like she had been the last couple of times I’d ridden her. I didn’t see how it could be her back, as she’d had time off and been treated. Next avenue of thought – teeth. She was due to have her teeth done anyway and my friend suggested that rather than getting a vet as I always have before, to try her horse’s dentist.
I’ll write a separate post about the dentist, as it was a fascinating experience, but the short version is that her teeth had never been properly rasped at the back. Ever. The back teeth were like razor blades and had caused huge amounts of muscle tension in her poll, which is likely to have been causing her a lot of discomfort. Now how bad do I feel!? The dentist recommended that I get a new bit, one with a lozenge in the middle, as she has a fleshy mouth and a big tongue; she thinks that that might help.
So where to go from here? She has had a week off after the dentist, and tomorrow I plan to lunge her very gently in a headcollar to see how she looks. If she still looks uncomfortable, I have a vet coming to vaccinate her on Friday and I may start some investigation into what the problem might be. I will also get the back lady to check her over again and see how her back is doing now that she has had her teeth done and her mouth shouldn’t be as sore. So for the moment, I can’t even think about saddles. I am half looking out for an Ideal Jessica, as the saddler said that was the only other type of saddle that she could see fitting her. Perhaps I should ride her bareback for a while. Any opinions on that? I’m not convinced by riding bareback – does it harm a horse’s back? Would be interested in your views.
11 comments:
Sounds like you're doing a lot of the right things - dental and saddle fit are so important - you might want to think about ulcers - we have a good product over here called U-Gard that comes in pellets.
Wow, this sounds like what me and my young horse have been going through? Odd lameness, stiff and sore under saddle ... just not quite right, etc. I also had the dentist out (he ended up having 3 caps pulled!) and the chiropractor who found he had a rotated pelvis and a couple of other problems going on. He's now much better ... but I, too, suspect that my saddle could be part of the issue. and I HATE saddle shopping! :-)
It always seems like when it rains it pours! I am glad to hear that Echo got her teeth done, hopefully she will be much more soft for you!
As far as the saddle thing, oh what a pain to have to revisit the entire saddle issue again. As far as your question of bareback versus a saddle. In my opinion I think bareback is infinitely better than a poor fitting saddle! And it is a great workout for you as well because you have to stay soft and loose enough to stay with her motion. A great core workout!
Good luck and I hope everything works out :)
You have done the right things and it probably seems much more daunting away from the security of a yard. I feel your pain with the whole saddle fitting issue, even more so that you previously put your trust into a professional, only to be told such a short time later that the saddle doesn't fit. Saddlers and dentists. I always think that they are two people that you have to put your faith in as unless you are trained you cannot possibly do it yourself. What about doing some long reining. I have Wolfie in the Sprenger Dynamic. It has a lozenge in the middle. He also has a huge fleshy tongue. I also like french links.
You have done everything right and it probably feels more daunting being away from the security of a yard. What about doing a little long reining. I have Wolfie in a Sprenger dynamic which has a lozenge. He also has a big fleshy tongue. I also really like french links. I'm sure Echo will feel much better after having her teeth properly done.
My horse went through a similar back pain issue related to saddle fit. While his back was recovering, I rode him only bareback. We mostly just walked and jogged around a bit, and then as his back got better again we started doing more trotting and cantering. The bareback riding seemed to help him. The only time it wouldn't help is if say your horse is really uncomfortable to ride and its hard to keep your seat quiet. Otherwise, I'd say give it a shot.
Oh Suzie, only just caught up with your blog - what a pain those backs are!
Saddles are a nightmare, hope you'll find one reasonably priced and get to the bottom of the problems.
From what I can see when teaching and riding a lot of the problems stems from natural crookedness in both horse and rider that isn't worked on enough. Apart from the great work you are doing for Echo I would go to a good chiropractor who ideally rides as well/has a clue and work on body symmetry. Once you get really tuned in into your own symmetry perception it is so uncomfortable to ride an asymmetric horse that you feel subtle changes much quicker (before they get to the painful stage).
Hope all is going well otherwise! I know you snowed in :( Hope the weather improves soon xx
Poor Echo! I'm glad you're figuring out what the problems are and getting them fixed. I agree that bareback would be way better than the poorly fitted saddle. I plan to ride my young horse bareback until he's finished growing because I can't afford to go through that many saddles.
I can't wait to read your post about the dentist. I have to get one out soon for Chrome, so I'm doing research and trying to learn as much as I can about their teeth.
Nice post, good luck and hope everything goes well. :)
Its good you got them all done but it sucks about the money... Any hope of you finding a second hand version of the saddle online? Other than that your suck between a rock and a hard place.
P.S. I would not recommend putting it on your credit card the rates on them are way way too high! Little sneaky tip if you get a loan out for house repairs you can claim tax back ;)
(A rather belated) thanks for all the advice - it's good to know that I'm following the right path to finding out what is wrong. The snow put a bit of a halt on things, but I may well try bareback this week. Hope I can stay on!
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