Re: White Hairs, Heat build-up: A Solution?

["dixie midnight" <dixiemidnight@hotmail.com>]

Here's a few things to consider, and it's only my opinion, albeit based on a 
number of years of working with the problem.

A horse is a heat generator, through his natural funcions.  Now, when the 
saddle is placed on his back, several things can happen to increase or 
augment that heat.  The saddle/saddlepad combination can, and usually does, 
trap heat by retaining the horse's sweat within the saddle fleeces, or 
within the saddle pad itself.  By not allowing the sweat to have access to 
air, or a place to remove itself,  instead of evaporating, and cooling the 
horse like it's supposed to, the trapped sweat becomes another insulator, 
functioning much like a wetsuit for a diver.  The result is usually skin 
temps in excess of 110 deg. F., which will cause your first warning: heat 
bumps.  If the problem isn't addressed, the second warning will appear: 
white hairs.  If the problem still isn't addressed, the result of too-high 
temps will manifest itself: skin and muscle degeneration in parts of the 
overheated areas, and a considerable amount of "OUCHies" in the same areas.  
At the first sign of heat bumps, it's usually a good idea to start working 
on heat reduction under the saddle.

A second cause of heat bumps, white hairs, et al, is friction.  If the 
saddle isn't cinched up to the right amount of tension, the saddle/pad 
combination can do several things:  It can slip, and move against the 
horse's motion, creating hot spots, heat bumps, and all the rest.  
Conversely, if the saddle is cinched too tightly, the same thing can occur. 
It's usually a good idea to take some time experimenting with cinch 
pressures/tightness to determine which is the best for your horse. Yeah, it 
takes some time, but it's usually worth it.

A third cause of heat problems is saddle fit.  We've all been THERE, so I 
probably don't have to spend a lot of time on this one.  A quick way to 
determine whether you've got an adequate fit is to saddle your horse, and 
have someone walk him while you put the flat of your hand under the 
saddle/pad against his skin to see if the saddle is binding as the horse 
moves.  His muscles/bones should slip past the saddle bars easily, there 
should be no binding.  Don't forget to walk him in tight circles as well as 
straight lines.

If your saddle fits adequately, and heat build-up is still a problem, I make 
the No-Sweat vent pad, which addresses the heat problem quite well.
Please e-mail me privately if you'd like more information on it.

Hope this helps, some.

Karl
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