Since Jimmy is coming back into work (slowly but surely) I've noticed he gets back sore when I ride him bareback (this does nothing for my self-esteem...), and is much happier when I use a saddle. I've heard from my vet that saddles are obviously designed to use without any pads at all, but people started to use saddle pads to protect the saddle leather from the sweat/grime of the horse.
I always just use a baby pad with my Prestige Nona Garson. This saddle was made 'custom' for a different horse I used to own, but seems to fit Jimmy fine. I was instructed by the saddle fitter to only use a baby pad with it or thin square pad...
My question is: should I be using some kind of "comfort" pad on Jimmy during this recovery period since he's obviously sensitive to the weight on his back? He's noticeably less back-sore when I use a saddle, and when I don't put any of my weight on his back (no sit trot, etc.) he's even less back sore. Any suggestions? I've heard those ThinLine pads are wonderful, would it apply to this situation?
Thanks in advance :-D
6 comments:
I usually suggest to my clients that have horses coming back into training, no matter how slow, to check saddle fit often. The horse's body will change during training no matter how subtle. I would put a thin therapeutic pad under the saddle, but keep with staying off his back like you have been doing. I would also have some bodywork done on him. From what I have read, its been a long haul regarding his injury. Thats my 4 cents. Hope it helps. Have a great day.
Jess, I would be happy to loan you my CSI pad for a while to see if that helps!
animal chiro: YES! Thank you. Good to hear me staying up off his back is the right move. I will be taking pix of the saddle fit with & without a girth tonight & posting them. It's definitely been a long haul.
Steph: Thank you! Totally might take you up on that for this recovery. Sit tight :-)
The saddle itself should provide most of the weight distribution/cushioning. Often, pads just cause an otherwise properly-fitting saddle to fit poorly, IMO. A thin pad should be OK. I expect he's just objecting to the pressure of your seat bones on his back which isn't probably properly muscled up at all. Bodywork and frequently checking saddle fit, as animal chiro says, is the way to go.
I swear by my Thinline pads, for what it's worth. What I love about them is that they absorb shock and help the horses' backs relax, but they are so thin that they don't change saddle fit. (New to your blog, and enjoying it so far, by the way!)
Thank you, Kate!
Marissa - WELCOME!!! I think a ThinLine pad will be on my Christmas list this year :-) I've heard lots and lots of very good things.
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