There are many myths that have been going around with regards to saddlery and the use thereof. In this series of posts, I endeavour to show most of them are without foundations and can, in some cases, be the opposite of the actual facts.
Pictured left is author Kay Hastilow, Master Saddler and Master Saddle Fitter.
As saddle fitters we will be expecting this call as soon as new year is past. As regular as clockwork the phone will start to ring between now and the start of March with this problem. Now there are a multitude of reasons why your horse might develop rub marks under the saddle but here I am only talking about even rub marks (uneven rubs should be seen as a red flag) that appear in or just after the new year having had no problem with this or the saddle until now. If you find that your horse’s back is getting rubs at any other time of the year it must be investigated immediately as there are some causes that will need rapid intervention. However, post new year rubs are usually not a long- term problem.
Of course, you are right to get the saddle checked and in years past it was probable that your horse had lost a bit of condition, the saddle would be a bit low at the front and have a bit too much movement at the back and that would cause it to rub, but nowadays horses don’t seem to lose any weight – the opposite often being the case. Horses have fantastic rugs, so they are never cold or wet and there is a much better understanding of nutrition and that, along with haylage and good quality feed means that many now go out a width fitting rather than in during the winter period.
Anyone who has and ‘does’ their own horses will know that from the start of October until Christmas you will be constantly clipping your horse and it seems that you have no sooner removed all of the hair from your person that you are having to start again. For hunters or horses in heavy work this may well mean that you clip four or five times in three months!
Have you ever noticed that after Christmas this stops? The only hair to clip is a few ‘goose’ hairs here and there but the coat doesn’t seem to be growing any more. Also, the coat tends to go a bit dull, even if he is groomed regularly. It is my belief that this is exactly what is happening. The coat seems to stop growing and won’t grow again to any extent until the end of February when the summer coat starts to come through.
A horse is a mobile animal with sway and swing to his movement. A saddle is a fixed item. It doesn’t bend with the horse and because of this the back of the saddle always moves across the back when the horse is being ridden. If you ‘locked’ the back of the saddle down so that it couldn’t move your horse would find it impossible to work. This saddle movement is expected and correct. Usually, the growth of the coat keeps up with any hair loss, so you don’t notice it, but once the coat stops growing……
I first became aware of this when I was learning my trade. A saddle came in to have the flocking altered as ‘it was rubbing the horses back.’ (no saddle fitting in the ‘60s!) My boss put it on a rack and left it. The client would ring, he would say I’ll do it next week’ and finally gave it back at the end of February. She rang to thank him as ‘this has solved the problem.’ He hadn’t touched it! Lesson learned.
So, what to do if this happens. Don’t panic! Check to see if your saddle is sitting a little low at the front / is looser at the back than it was, and to see if your horse might have lost a bit of weight. (I hope that you all measure your horse’s girth every week, so that you know). If it is I wouldn’t rush to get the saddle lifted by adding flock as the horse will soon put weight back on with the spring grass. Rather, use a half pad of some sort. A Prolite ‘pressure relief’, no need for shims in most cases, a sheepskin half pad so long as it has a free centre seam and using a cotton cloth between that and the horse, something like that. I have used a folded Fybagee leg pad under the front of the saddle in the past between saddle and saddle cloth. It did the job well.
Understand that rubs may appear at this time of year – we often see them where
the reins have rubbed the neck or the rug has rubbed the shoulders as well, so
it’s not just saddles that cause this.
If the saddle is fitting well, then you have options. Some people swear that when clipping you should always leave the saddle patch on. Others that it is better to take it off so that you can keep his back really clean. I have seen rubs in both circumstances, so I leave that decision up to you.
I hear that a top groom will put a little coconut oil or ShowSheen on the immediate area when they first see the hair turning which, they believe helps the saddle to slide across the back smoothly but please note two words in that sentence – ‘little’ and ‘slide’. An excess of one may well lead to an excess of the other, and you don’t want to have the saddle slide right around the horse’s belly.
Many turn to using sheepskin directly against the horses back but it has been noticed that this seems to make matters worse in many instances as the wool seems to catch and scrub the hair. Someone whose opinion I respect suggests using the saddle directly onto the horses back. (Leather panels only.) This allows the saddle to move smoothly over the horse’s back and is less likely to cause friction. A word of caution here though. If your horse isn’t used to being ridden without a cloth or pad, girth up slowly and carefully and allow the saddle to warm up. Let him walk around with the saddle on for a while before getting on or the reaction might be interesting and really not what you want at all.
Allowing sweat to dry on his back and not brushing it out will make the situation worse, as will dirty, sweaty saddle cloths. Also rugging up too quickly while the horse is still hot from work isn’t good as hot, damp skin in the saddle area can lead to all sorts of dermatological problems. The one thing that you must look out for is whether the bald patches are pink and sore. If this is the case stop riding. You must, or the problem will get progressively worse. I have found that a salt water solution or surgical spirit applied to this area would harden the skin up a bit, and if you know that your horse is prone to this problem perhaps start this application just after Christmas. Whatever you do, please, unless it is an open wound don’t put creams or salves on it, nor something to encourage hair growth as these will soften the skin. Really not what we want. Comfort yourself with the knowledge that usually the horses that really get rubbed here are the ones with a big, swinging stride. Everything has its price!
Watch a brief trailer and buy securely online for unlimited streaming or downloading to your device at
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/saddlefittingknowhow
Buy securely online for unlimited streaming or downloading to your device at
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/fittingsaddles
No comments:
Post a Comment