About a year ago I changed my disciple from jumpers to dressage. I bought my horse a fancy “custom” saddle that I had professionally fitted. My horse has been on and off back sore at least 3 times in the last 12 months in spite of monthly acupuncture and chiro as well as massage and adequate, controlled turnout. He is in training with a gentle professional and has not progressed past 1st level so his work isn’t hard (she is a very soft rider). Since he is always sore around the saddle area both the chiropractor and the masseuse say its the saddle. The person who sold me the saddle and the trainer say the saddle fits although, it has needed frequent adjustments to the tree as the horse’s body has changed with training. I feel like my horse simply needs a different saddle no matter how well this one is “fit”. Agree or disagree?
I would try another saddle and see if that fixes the problem. Where is the back sore? If on the withers or towards the back of the saddle, it might be bridging, something that is due to how the basic curve of the tree doesn’t match your horse’s back.
IME, the reps for the high end saddles can overpromise and tell you they can make the saddle fit any horse. They can’t. No one saddle brand is a good match for every horse. I’ve seen several people end up with $6000 saddles that just don’t fit them, or the horse, because they wanted a particular brand.
What do you mean by “adjust the tree”? Does the saddle go in a press to change the gullet width? That should not be done “frequently.” Maybe once, in the life of the saddle. I understand that it degrades the tree, and makes the tree less and less likely to keep its shape. Does the rep alter the flocking as well?
Altering the gullet width in a press does nothing to alter the overall shape of the tree.
You might want to get an independent saddle fitter out to assess everything.
Trainers are not saddle fit experts. IME they usually know enough to steer you away from the very obvious saddle fit errors, but don’t have the expertise of an independent fitter. Also, if the trainer and the saddle rep co-operate, then the trainer won’t want to get involved. Especially if trainer collects discount points from the saddle rep for clients she steers her way. I think this is probably standard practice.
And brand sales reps are salespeople on commission first, saddle fitters in mosrt cases a distant second. Some reps have real saddle fit training, but many, maybe most, are just trained up by the companies they are selling for.
Thanks, Scribbler. This saddle is very high-end and did cost $5,000! it has an “adjustable” tree that an independent saddle fitter adjusts with a tool (I think). My horse started out very wide but over time his wither tracing has gotten narrower and narrower. I had another saddle fitter come out and he said the saddle didn’t fit and wanted to sell me a $7,000 saddle. The flocking has been adjusted, too. They say no more flocking can be added. The saddle is on the last rib and I think it is just too long for him. He has had consistent SI issues with occasional wither and under saddle soreness as well. The trainer is also telling me that SI pain is common in dressage horses. I don’t think the amount of work he is doing should be causing him pain. He is used to being ridden on the bit, he isn’t doing extreme collection or half-pass, he’s basically doing a jumper flat school. He does enjoy the work and has gotten great scores at the shows. The soreness just keeps coming and going in spite of regular supportive care/therapy. I have had horses have their SI’s injected but I don’t want to do that because of the risk and before ruling out saddle induced pain first.
There aren’t many trainers I’d trust implicitly when it comes to proper saddle fit, no matter what. Yes they might have lots of experience with lots of saddles and horses, but that doesn’t mean they know, truly know, when a saddle fits. Only when it really doesn’t (and often, not even then 
).
I would see another saddle fitter’s opinion. Custom has no bearing on whether it actually fits, A professional fitter doesn’t even guarantee it fits - there are enough horror stories here of people whose horses have ended up in fairly serious rehab from damage from saddles"professionally" fitted.
And even then, there are some horses who do not like the saddle that fits them from a textbook perspective, but LOVE the saddle that would make most fitters wretch lol
Trust your gut on this.
Can you post some pictures? Clearly we can’t see nuances, but maybe something is pretty obvious. If you think the saddle is too long for him, it may be a matter of needing upswept panels.
The information that stands out to me in your second post is that over time the horse’s wither tracing has become narrower. Often this is a sign that the tree is too narrow, and the pinching and pressure is causing the muscles to atrophy.
If the horse is unhappy and the back muscles and shoulder muscles are atrophying, (plus your chiro thinks the saddle doesn’t fit), then I think you’ve got your answer.
I totally skimmed that post, yikes. That is not cool at all :no: Withers should not get narrower and narrower, not unless the horse was really obese to start, and work has gotten rid of some of the fat. I don’t think that’s the case here now.
Assuming the saddle is the cause of that, it didn’t fit to begin with, OR, you’ve been placing it much too far forward. And possibly both.
Just to throw in another opinion, I have always been told that as a horse advances, the shoulders/whither area may get narrower as the horse stops dragging with the front end and starts carrying more with the hind end. I saw that to be at least somewhat true in my own horse.
I am reading this with interest as I am considering a new saddle as well based on a “gut” instinct. I’ve had it checked twice in the last 6 months, but I think mine could be a touch too long as well.
I have never found that to be the case. All my horses have increased there with increased work.
Now, that could be the case for horses who have been working “front heavy”, and a lot of OT horses come that way, with bigger shoulders and smaller hind ends. But for horses who are either starting work, or going up the levels, those muscles, especially at the withers, tend to increase.
In general the withers should be widening, unless there was a really bad muscle overdevelopment to start with.
I would also question a trainer who says most dressage horses have SI problems and shrugs off your concerns. SI problems are caused by incorrect riding for instance in false collection with the lower back hollow.
I finally am over a similar situation. Trust the chiropractor. I spent the past 5 months kicking around “saddle fit problems” because my trainer and even vet said it wasn’t the issue. I had the SI injected, horse lived on robaxin, time off, etc. Finally I put a different saddle on the horse and had the Chiro pad it accordingly. Rode in a friends saddle for 2 months, ordered a new one, got the horses hocks injected, and FINALLY have no more back problems. Go with you gut.
SI, stifles, hocks, etc. usually stem from back pain. If his SI is flaring up you need to address the saddle and training. False collection and being ridden “down” and not “up” will help cause that.
