Poor horse sore from saddle, what do I do to help?

[Lunabear1988]

Hi! I recently purchased a young horse. Had a PPE done, no back pain evident. Now 3 weeks later he was suddenly extremely girthy. The next day the saddle fitter came out (I had already scheduled that weeks before, it was the earliest she could come.) She immediately found soreness in my horse’s back. Mostly by his withers but slightly towards where the back of the saddle fits, but mostly in the left side.

He is in training and I think it turns out that none of our saddles truly fit him. One of the trainer’s was especially tight in the shoulder/too wide for him. (Does that make sense?)

I feel awful for him. He’s getting at least a week off of work and then hoping he won’t be sore and we can get a saddle that really fits! And he’ll obviously only be ridden in that from now on.

I am slightly suspicious about possible ulcers as I know it can also cause back pain near the withers and girthy behavior. I plan on starting an ulcer treatment just for good measure.

Anything else I can do for him? I want to get him feeling 100% again. It seems like it all came on so sudden but if it was truly the saddles, I think it was just enough for him to finally say “enough.”

I was thinking of maybe having a massage therapist out?

I’m fine about giving him more time off but I’ve never dealt with this issue before…

[walkinthewalk]

I would give him a lot more than week off riding - I would stay off him until I was 200% sure a saddle has been purchased that fits. Get that saddle fitter involved in finding one:)

I have learned, in a lifetime of owning horses, there are more horses walking around with some level of ulcerous irritation, than there aren’t.

An ulcer product someone quietly mentioned on this forum and should have been shouted from the barn roof is Egusin. It’s a 2-phase product and has worked miracles on my IR horse with a boatload of health issues. It’s expensive but, in my horse’s case, worth every stinkin’-rotten penny:)

As far as your horse’s sore back – red light therapy is great for that, followed up with 15 minutes of massage with a cheap $20 human massage pad from Walmart. My IR horse also has a fractured sacrum that be re-injured last spring, so I know this combo works. If you own the horse, invest in a quality red light therapy pad. Mine is 12 years old and I’ve even used it successfully in myself:)

[Lunabear1988]

@walkinthewalk sorry if it wasn’t clear but the saddle fitter will be involved the whole time and he won’t be ridden until soreness is gone and only in a saddle fitted to him.

[JB]

Definitely some MT work. See how the first session goes, and a follow up in a week or so may be a good idea to see how well things are progressing. The MT can give you some exercises to do based on what is found to be sore/spasmy/knotted, and how bad. By exercises I mean hand walking, or specific muscle work/activation, lots of things, other than riding.

Either way, hand walking 20-30 minutes a day, or 2 15-minute sessions, will help. Loose lead, let him hold his head wherever, encouraging long and relaxed, and just swing the legs and back for a good marching walk.

[Lunabear1988]

@JB unfortunately we just got over 20 inches of snow. Where he is right now there is no indoor arena. So that means we are limited the week to basically no work. But hopefully next week things will thaw out.

[findeight]

Do you have a barn aisle or even storage area under a roof you could walk him around in ? Movement is vital in relieving stiffness and related discomfort. Doesn’t have to be far and fast, just walking up and down the barn aisle. Even if you only get 10 steps in each way, it’s 10 steps each way. Boring is the worst part but it makes a difference in healing time and ,IME, helping the horses attitude.

[WildLittleWren]

I agree, this horse needs to be moving around. A barn isle will suffice, just walk him back and forth.

[Scribbler]

Can’t you hand walk or turnout in snow? Also yes a good massage therapist will help a lot.

[Lunabear1988]

The horse is turned out 24/7 with a small group of horses. No barn aisles, it’s more of a horse’s live out in groups type of situation.

I could try to walk him in the snow, I just worried that 20 plus inches of snow would be too hard on him with his back and how hard it is to walk in. Maybe he will have less trouble than me though! I’m pretty short ha ha.

Honestly I can’t even get to the barn with this weather until tomorrow or Friday. But hopefully things will be plowed/compacted by then…

[Lunabear1988]

I feel so badly. He was going so well under saddle too. What a good boy but I’m glad he told us (I guess the fitter would have solved it either way when she came.)

[JB]

Yeah, 20" of snow is hard work to be forced to walk in. You do the best you can. If you can work some magic with careful use of a good grooming curry, that gets blood flowing too. Maybe strap him? You could make a quick rudimentary one from hay

[jvanrens]

Could you maybe get a couple of doses of robaxin to help ease his muscles? With the deep snow making getting around tougher it is something I would consider.

[Lunabear1988]

@jvanrens maybe. I’m not sure he’s that sore that a vet would prescribe it but worth asking.

[LovieBird]

@jvanrens

Could you maybe get a couple of doses of robaxin to help ease his muscles? With the deep snow making getting around tougher it is something I would consider.

This is what the chiro prescribed for my horse. 10 days Robaxin and recheck.

The combination of massage therapy and chiropractic (and a better fitting saddle!) helped my horse.

Maybe you can do some groundwork or gentle carrot stretches in the meantime.

[IPEsq]

Wouldn’t be unusual to do a week or 2 of Robaxin for this.

My horse loves loves loves acupuncture for his back, and I find that makes him happier for longer than massage, but massage won’t hurt.

Having been through a lot of back issues, I actually don’t think that rest will be that bad for him if the cause is just the saddle and not something else. Back pain that is a result of some pathology is another story. But if you can’t walk much, you can do carrot stretches, pelvic tucks, belly lifts, and things like that when you groom him.

[wildlifer]

Since it sounds like he lives out & can keep moving, I wouldn’t stress about doing more in almost 2 feet of snow! I’d just let him rest & let young horse healing powers do their thing. If you are able to get a massage therapist, that’s a nice addition, but if you can’t, you can massage him yourself, it’s not rocket science. Let your hands feel out tight or sore spots, listen to your horse on what feels good & what doesn’t.

In 3 weeks, it’s unlikely that any major damage has been done, so take a deep breath.

As far as ulcer-y things, TractGuard is an excellent & affordable belly soother that I’ve had very good results with on my horses who’ve been prone to such things. It’s not for treating full-blown ulcers, you should use the appropriate medications (depending on ulcer location) for that, but the TractGuard is a nice buffer that keeps my young, overly smart, active TB from developing said ulcers (I’ve tested with and without). It even smells good to me, so my picky horse readily eats it.

[RedHorses]

My horses appreciate a few days in a Back on Track sheet if they get sore backs. I put it on under their regular blankets.

This is a great opportunity for you. If you really think about how his behaviour changed from your initial rides to your last rides you may find his subtle warnings of saddle discomfort. When you test saddles and after you have purchased pay very close attention to his behaviour and responses.

How young is young? If he’s under five he’s got some growing left to do, and if he’s not done a lot of work he’s got some developing to do as well. Learning his signals will allow you to catch issues sooner and get the stuffing adjusted before he gets very sore and needs days off. The girthy behaviour can be purely because he anticipates discomfort/pain from the saddle, especially if it’s developed over the time you’ve had him. If it goes away with the new saddle (in time as his association changes) then if it appears again you can look closer at the saddle fit.

My saddle fitter guarantees her work and she had to come back twice after the initial adjustment this past spring to get my younger horse’s saddle fit correct. In the past I have gotten to the point of being unable to ride because my horse was so unhappy with the fit (he’s a bit of a drama llama). I can pick up on it much earlier and even see it on the longe because of how he moves. His signals are different from the other horses I’ve had and I had to learn them through experience.

Don’t beat yourself up - LEARN from it!

[Willesdon]

With a young horse, the saddle fitter becomes your best friend.

[S1969]

Being turned out in the snow will be enough work for him and better for him than walking in a barn aisle. And maybe therapeutic. My horses love snow and especially love the early season snows that are deep enough to roll in but not hard and icy.

[WildLittleWren]

I was under the impression he was stalled, but if he is out 24/7 even better! If you can get your hands on a back on track sheet maybe put it under his regular blanket. Robaxin is great if you can get your vet to prescribe a one or two week dose.

The good news is, he is one of those horses that let’s you know! More stoic horses may hide the pain until they just can’t anymore, which causes more long term management and physical issues.