My horse had white hairs on his withers????

Question

I do know a bit about saddle fit, and my old saddle didnt fit right, and caused my horse to get white hairs on his withers. I bought a new saddle. Its a billy cook, which I was told was a good brand. I still worry though, cause when Im done riding him, and take his saddle off, he had dry spots on both sides of his withers, I have tried three different pads so far, the classic equine ESP, and just a regular 1 inch felt top, and some other brand a friend of mine swears by, but they still leave some dry areas. It isnt real distinct in the last pad I tried today, but he was all sweaty in the back of the saddle, and it sort of faded into a dry area towards his withers. I dont know what to do. I cant afford a new saddle again, and I dont know what to try next????????? My horse is the tall narrow, gangly type. Hes 15.3 and hes only 3 yrs old paint gelding. Hes also real hollowed out behind the withers, so I doont think that helps my situations. What should I do????

Thanks all for the great advice. I really am trying hard to fit my horse properly. I love him, and want to take good care of him. I iwll try some of the padding ideas you all gave, and see how it goes. I was gonna try one of the front risers, like they use for english saddles, and also try some of the double padding ideas. I just dont understand how you can go on a trail ride, and 100 other riders there have old crappy, very obviously poorly fitting saddles etc, and they seem just fine. I do everything I can for my horse, and I just dont have the luck. I really appreiciate all the helpful advice. One, I cant afford another saddle, two, when he does grow, that one probably wouldnt fit then, so I am working to try to just do something about the problem until he fills out in like two or three years. woooo Ive got a while to wait. The saddle I bought, I should have mentioned is full QH bars. So someday he will grow into them. Thanks again!

Answer 1

Western saddles are notoriously hard to fit. It sounds like you are doing all you can. He is only 3, with time and work he will muscle up and fill out over the withers. In the meantime, when you have your saddle as tight as you do when you would get on, make sure that you can run your hand between his back and your pommel without any pinching. It should be a tight fit, but not pinching.

I am not sure if you tried any gel pads, they work pretty good to get the weight distributed evenly. Keep an eye on his withers and if you can get your palm in between like I mentioned, you should be good to go. If his withers appear to have hair missing or he gets ouchy, change saddles immediately.

Answer 2

I understand your problem...Western saddles are often times very difficult to fit! Still, there is hope for your new saddle! And yes, the Billy Cook saddle is an excellent saddle and will last you a very long time.

If your horse has dry spots on either side of his withers what this means is that area is not being contacted by the pad or the saddle as much as the other more "sweaty" areas...the biggest problem with this is that the areas that are being contacted are taking all of the wieght and thus have more pressure on them. The thing that you want to achieve is even distribution of weight across the entire back. So...in order to achieve this you will need to get a pad that has a "riser" area in the front so that more contact will be made there. I like a saddle pad that has a "gel" or "memory foam" core so that it will conform to your horses shape...here are a few good examples:
http://gifts.horse.com/products/sku-WIR29__dept-16.html
http://gifts.horse.com/products/gift-0__sku-WIP23.html
(this one is great, I've used it before, and it has an air chamber that supports the "hollows" behind the withers.)
http://gifts.horse.com/products/gift-0__sku-WIA10.html

So...I would take a look at the above pads, and if you can't purchase one of those, at least consider the way that they are made, with the extra cushion in the area that your horse has "dry spots". Let me stress that fixing the problem of poor saddle fit now will save you lots of time, money and stress in the future...invest in a good pad and you'll be investing in your horses overall comfort. Good luck!

Answer 3

The dry areas mean that your saddle puts pressure right there and your horse cannot sweat in that spot. Your saddle does not fit your horse. Plain and simple. If you can, talk to whomever you bought your saddle from, tell them it doesn't fit and ask if you can trade it for one that does. If not, there are lots of places you can sell it on and get your money. Then try lots of saddles and find the right one that fits. Gel pads help but don't solve the problem. My filly has no withers so I am having a very hard time finding a saddle to fit her. I do have the aussie saddle and that one even leaves dry spots. So, my advise to you is take the saddle back and do everything you can to find one that fits or your horse will have a sore back, shoulders, legs and be very unhappy. Best of luck!!

here is a link to how to fit a saddle to the horse

http://www.todayshorse.com/Articles/FitaWesternSaddle.htm

Answer 4

Why dont you try having him fit by a professional ? Maybe they will let you trade your saddle in on one that fits properly (you might have to pay something more to even it up) I have to be honest, I had a SaddlebredX who was the same way, he was 16 hands and tall and lean, I actually ended up opening one of my saddle pads and inserting extra padding up near the withers (it took three times to get it right ) Topper also had extremely high withers. I could never use a leather saddle, I always had the best luck with the synthetic saddles with him. I think that because they are so much lighter and dont really need breaking in, they kinda mold to the horse better than a stiff leather saddle, although leather saddles seem to last longer ( I have one that I have had for 23 years!) Good luck to you, I hope you get it resolved soon so that you two can enjoy lots of rides together!!!

Answer 5

Hi! This sounds like past saddle sores and irritation. It could also be sores from a winter blanket that's tight on the withers. Some horses are more sensitive than others.

You've done the right thing by switching saddles from the sore-causing saddle.. The bad news is, your horse is likely still growing and filling out. You might need a few more saddles as he grows! Did you have a saddle help fit the saddle? Are you using narrow enough bars for his baby-narrow frame? I know synthetics are not pretty, but they cost less (than the expensive pads!) and could help you until your horse fills out. There are also treeless saddles.

My horse had the same problem as yours. The atrophy behind the withers can be from your prior bad fitting saddle and can be filled out with patience. Since your horse is a young one, he will get more round as he grows and gets muscles! Does your current saddle have enough clearance between the pommel and withers? The faster you go and the more soft your pad, the smaller this space gets.If your horse his high wither and dents behind the withers (like mine) this makes it even more difficult. Is his spine also not muscled? I too wide saddle with leave empty space on the sides of the withers, the pommel will rub the withers (often resulting in bad behavior going down a hill or at high speeds), and other places on the saddle could touch the spine. ZToo narrow, you already know.

If all else look sbad, you should get a bad with risers at the shoulders and cut back at the withers. Be careful when you run you hands under the saddle the pressure is even and not too much on the dents on the sides of the withers. If you put too much padding here, you will cause more muscle atrophy and more discomfort. It's not an easy balance to get. Also to help fill this area out, do a lot of longing with the horse going relaxed (not too fast!) and using his back. Working on his muscles and topline will make the wither dents fill in faster. Western saddles are hard to fit, especially on horses with a narrow shape.

I finally gave up on my custom made $3000 saddle and went treeless. (These come in all styles) my horse is moving like a dream and filling out his dents and back muscles. Still, it's another saddle to buy for you, even if temporary. ;-(

Please check your pommel height (should fit fairly level with no pad) and your fork width. Too narrow, dents; too wide, holes (and likely dry spots) and resting on withers. Go for creating even pressure under the entire saddle if possible. Too wide a saddle with too much padding will give you a narrow saddle in many ways. Don't forget you horse will grow and fill out for a few more years!!

Good luck!!!

Answer 6

White hairs are indicators of a past injury, saddle sores as you mentioned from an ill fitting saddle. Old cowboy trick: use 2 saddle pads.

"Only 3 yrs old" is probably the reason for getting sored up and being "hollowed out" his body/bones weren't mature enough to begin riding. Best way to produce a sway back is to start them too young. Bone ends are still green, weight of a person and saddle cause the bones to collapse (sway) then the growth plates harden....

You'll take good care of him, I'm sure.

Answer 7

The saddle you bought probably doesn't fit.
What I would do is get professional help, have a trainer, vet, etc. look at your horse and the saddle, then have them help you when you buy a new saddle. You can sell the saddle you just bought for a high price--especially if it's brand new--or if you can, you can take it back.
Make sure that your saddle fits perfectly, though, otherwise it can cause a lot of problems with your horse later on.

Answer 8

Well if you are having trouble with fitting, I would recommend a Wintec. But you cannot afford it....Maybe what you can try is not riding for a while. let them heal. Although My horse has the same and he still has the dry/scabby things and they have been there for 2 years!lol But maybe it could also be you. A lot of people put a lot of their body weight toward the front of the saddle creating chaefing. Try a very nice saddle pad (nice material, not cheap!) and buy a sheepskin under pad. That should create more comfort. Now if you are putting extra weight on in the front, try riding bareback and learn a lot of balance.

Answer 9

consider lunging him with some side reins to build up the muscle on his back and give him a better top line, since he is three he will contine to grow and muscle out so buying another saddle wouldn't help your situation very much. Just keep building up his muscle in his back to get him in the best condition. Once he is fully matured you may have to get another saddle but for now work with what you have and I would continue to use the different pads and find one that works the best, borrow from friends to cut down on cost. Keep an eye on his back by running your fingers down his spine to make sure that he is not to back sore or "cold backed" when you ride him so he doesn't act out. I hope this will help you some.

Answer 10

try www.parelli.com
i remember seeing pat parelli talkigna bout a new saddle and saddle pad combo (but in your case i would buy just the pad).

the pad is made with cushioning gels that slid in and out at different points in the pad to help support the saddle in areas where your horse may be lacking muscle.

you can move the gels around as much or as often s you liek, and they really seemed to help in the horses he showed at the clinic i saw, jsut in the breif amount of time he worked with them.

sadly, i dont remember what it was called. goodluck finding one. but i'm sure you could find it by asking around tack shops, google or ebay.

also, a friend of mine used a peice of matress foam under her saddle as a temporary fix on an older gelding. it took at least some of the strain off of his back for the time being.

goodluck:]