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Re: [RC] Many saddles... still a sore back - need advise (little long) - Chris PausHave you and the horse seen your own chiros? I know that my own body gets way out of alignment and my horse is the first to tell me! I can tell that there are dry spots and soreness on his back when I'm out of kilter. I go to the chiro and get fixed and my horse's back problems improve! You might need to abandon English saddles and go to western or flex tree if this is a problem. It may be that the saddles just don't have enough weight bearing surface to make your horse comfy. Did your dressage instructor give you stretching exercises for your horse? Those can be veryhelpful. Also, re-evaluate your dressage program. I highly recommend dressage training for any endurance rider or any rider, but unfortunately, there are those instructors who simply want to force the horse into a frame via the head and don't really work on the hind end engagement where the balance comes from. Make sure that your instructor is one of the latter not the former! Other than that, keep trying saddles! I've tried 16 saddles on my main riding horse and finally found one that he likes. It's not perfect, but he lets me know he's not happy if I put any other saddle on him. I prefer to ride English, but this is a custom made western endurance saddle that he likes. I've "Englishized" it by taking off the western fenders and putting on stirrup leathers which give me more flexibility and don't torque my bad knee so badly... Oh, and I don't think they are ever "done growing" As they are fitted up during the season, their backs change. Take time off, and they change again. I actually have summer and winter tack for my boy for when he's fit and not so fit. Hope these ideas help. chris --- Ridecamp Guest <guest-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: Please Reply to: S. Smith shayne.smith@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================== This year I have been struggling with saddle fit for my 10yr old gelding. He finally grew out of his previous saddle we have had for 2yrs. This is our fourth endurance season, and we are finally done growing!! Problem is... I have tried 4 different saddles this year with no luck. My gelding keeps coming up sore on his loins on both sides. He is "short-backed" and I am very aware of the types of saddle I try. I have tried Wintec, Soltice, RP and KL Select. All saddles seem to fit fine at first (2months) and then continue to make him sore. Time off and try again? We regularly keep up with Dressage lessons for balance, flexibility and strength. And we don't over do any rides. We mid pack and have approx 600 miles under our belts. I have asked my loacl vet to check out any leg problems as well. None. My farrier is a great farrier, no foot problems. My gelding does not have a lot of whithers (crupper needed). And we have NO white hairs anywhere. It's just sore when we bath or scrub down an hour after a ride. Gone the next day. Any suggestions out there? Very frustrated. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ===== "A good horse makes short miles," George Eliot Chris and Star BayRab Acres http://pages.prodigy.net/paus =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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