Lori, The white you are
describing comes from irritation of the skin. The fact that your
pad walks out from underneath your saddle indicates that your saddle is
not fitting properly. If you cinch it down on your horse, you will
most likely find that there is a lot more pressure at the front of the
saddle than at the back. This causes the saddle to swish side to
side walking the pad out and causing friction burn to her back.
The white where your cinch fits, is also caused from friction
. Neoprene girths can cause burns big time! Your saddle may
need a built-up or roper style pad. Thicker in the front of the
pad and thinner at the back. This will raise the front of the
saddle in an attempt to distribute the pressure more evenly across her
back. Or, You may try a couple of mouse pads glued together and place
them underneath the forks of your saddle on each side. Take care
not to have the pads so far up that they are next to the spine.
This will cause problems of a different sort. Never crowd the
spine area. The hairs around the girth area can be caused by
a cinch that is too loose, too far forward, too hot. Too far
forward will not allow freedom of movement at the area between the elbow
and rib cage. As the foreleg moves back and forth the skin drags past
the girth. I have seen horses burn and blister from having
fly repellent and or soap residue on their skin before being saddled and
wind up with a chemical burn. 2 cents worth .
gesa n clovis
Hi there all. I sure could use
some help on a problem I am starting to have. My chestnut mare is
starting to get white hairs where my English saddle sits. She has
never had dry spots, or any soring, yet the hairs are definitely
there. They are about half the size of the bars on my saddle. And on
both sides on her backbone. I will say that she has a problem with
pigmentation, since she is a solid colored paint. She even has an
area between her hips where the sweat would form from the hot
Bakersfield days that has lost it's color and is now large whites
spots. And she has roaning at the girth area, though she has never
been sored up. Those same white hairs on her back first showed up
after spending a week at a clinic when I used a western saddle on
her. And again, there wasn't any soring or dry spots. The hairs went
away but are now back again. Anyone have any idea as to what could
be going on? My saddle is a Whitman with a spring tree, and my pad
is a coolmax that refuses to stay in place. Weather permitting, I
always wash her off after a ride.
Thanks for any
help.
Lori