Hi all,
My horse has a sore right on the top of her withers that is irritated each time I tack her up/after I ride.
Saddle fit is not an issue, it has been checked, but I would like to prevent her from reopening the sore every time I ride her.
Tips?
Stop riding her until it has a chance to really heal.
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Even when it’s completely healed it will come back, which makes me thing I need a second opinion on her saddle fit…
Would too wide or too narrow of a tree cause the sore there?
How much clearance do you have between her withers and the pommel of the saddle. Should be a few fingers worth. I also make sure to pull the saddle pad up into the pommel so it is not directly on the withers since that can irritate some horses and create pressure. Some pads are more contoured this way than others.
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Have your vet check for fistulous whiters, also at times “evil poll”, which is caused by brucellae that causes brucellosis and can make people sick, then called undulant fever.
Around here, any time a horse has any injury to the withers that breaks the skin, brucellosis is a serious consideration.
Keep everything very clean and have your vet take a peek at that asap, just to rule that out.
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We’ve always used th
Ummm the reasons I can think of for recurring sore on the withers…untreated infection, parasite or last but not least the.saddle.does.not.fit. At this point your vet should examine it and your saddle needs to be checked.
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It also could be the pad. If everything else checks out.
The saddle should NOT be coming into contact with the withers.
i would agree you need 2nd opinion on saddle.fit. are you able to take some pictures for us?
The saddle shouldn’t touch anything on “top” of the withers. If it does, the saddle does not fit, or the pad needs to be changed or adjusted.
If it’s on the side of the withers where the saddle should touch, then either stop riding in a saddle until it heals, or you might be able to custom cut a saddle pad to avoid the area. However, you risk creating other pressure points this way, depending on where the problem is.
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THE.SADDLE.DOES.FIT. - it has plenty of clearance with the pad and WITHOUT the pad and has been checked by both my vet and a saddle fitter. READ THE OP!!!
What is it with people and the snarky ass attitude on this site? Jesus H. Christ - can’t ask a simple question!!
Thank you for those that have given a helpful answer - I will try the pommel pad
I think a lot of people operate under Occam’s Razor: soreness on back, what comes into contact with back most often? Saddle.
FYI a saddle can fit perfectly on paper, but still cause the horse discomfort. Ask me and my $1100 vet bill how we know. :encouragement:
The other thing that could aggravate it is the pad. If she has to be ridden, try sheepskin directly on the fur – and really pull the pad up into the saddle channel before you tighten the girth. A lot of people can forget that, and it causes the pad to be pulled down across the withers, which could rub the sore.
Do you have a picture of the sore? I’m with Bluey and would immediately think fistulous withers (brucella) but you usually see seepage…
You sure it is not a summer sore (which is parasites), just in a weird place?
If the horse has to be worked, can you lunge or do non-riding work until it heals? How big a sore are we talking here?
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Deep breath.
Calling the people who are trying to help names will not help your case at all.
You might also note that you are the one who posted this:
If it was my horse I would:.
First stop riding, in that saddle or any saddle or at all, whichever fits best until you get a better idea of what is going on. I would worry that a sore opening up every time I rode would be a discomfort that would lead it behavioral issues that in the long run might be hard to fix.
I would then contact my vet again and tell them that the problem is still happening and can they come back out and reassess. Be sure when they are checking if it is a saddle issue they see how the saddle fits with weight in it.
I do like the idea of looking into what Bluey suggested above.
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Check your saddle fit while in the saddle. A saddle that looks like a great fit while standing next to the horse can change dramatically once a rider is up. Even if the pommel isn’t coming close to her withers, it may be pressing down just enough on the pad to cause a rub while you ride.
Consider getting a cut-back saddle pad, so there is nothing in contact with the withers to cause a rub at all.
A cheap quick fix would be to take scissors to one of your existing old/used pads and see how that goes.
Don’t ride a horse with a recurring wither rub, even with a protective “pommel pad” (not a fan personally of them). Wait until she heals completely, otherwise, you can risk making the injury MUCH worse down the road (a la fistulous, as mentioned).
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@trubandloki is 100,000%…OP wrote her second thoughts about the saddle fit even though it had been “checked” and there are really very few other things that would cause sores on the wither, which heal and then come back when riding begins again…but I did also mention them.
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Assuming there is nothing infectious going on here…
Yes, you have had your saddle fit checked, you have stated and shout this. Unfortunately, the likely cause of a sore in this area, that heals when horse is not ridden, and reoccurs with riding is most likely caused by saddle fit. Technically, the saddle can appear to fit very well, but when in work, the weight, movements and balance of rider come into play. This can lead to unexpected pressure or friction. This is not apparent when saddle is checked by fitter. My recommendation: stop riding, allow the area to heal. A couple of weeks after healing has taken place try a totally different saddle to see what happens.
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Photos would help a lot. What about other things - fly sheet, rain sheet, blankets…has the horse worn any lately?
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Rugs can cause wither sores too, its a very very good way to get bucked off. Riding a horse with a sore wither is a braver thing than I would do.
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I’d (personally) be interested in knowing if the sore is a recent/new issue on a horse you’ve had for a long time, and if there has been any change in saddle, saddle pad, weight/condition of the horse, or other change(s) that preceded the sore. Or was the sore just out of the blue, all of a sudden kind of thing and nothing is different? That might help eliminate/prove a cause. Like if you just bought a new/used saddle, and this just started happening, then I’d say yep, I think its the saddle. But if you’ve not changed a thing and the horse is the same, then that would be more of a head scratcher.
Silly question - have you washed the saddle pad you last used when the sore opened back up? The reason I ask, is that if you look at the underneath side of the pad, can you see where the sore was rubbing against the pad (excess hair, blood, scab pieces, etc. visible)? That may well give you a better idea of what/where the sore is coming from.
Even just at a walk the saddle will shift a tiny bit, more so if you’re jumping or sitting the trot/canter a lot. Certain saddle pads or blankets can exacerbate that movement (especially if the horse has very shiny/slick coat). As stated in others posts, pulling the pad/blanket firmly into the pommel/gullet can help - but as we all know, saddle pads don’t always stay where they are supposed/intended to stay.
There may be a simple solution like changing the type of pad (try 100% cotton instead of synthetic for instance), the shape of pad (square instead of “fitted”), changing the billets used for your girth (like if you use billets 1 & 2, try using 1 & 3 instead), try a good breastplate (for certain body types - horse OR rider - this can help the saddle from sliding) - it’s not always one thing or another, it might be a combination of things… and, yes that might involve saddle fit too. But it would be hard to say for sure until I knew the answers to my fist paragraph.
Further thinking about post above^^ Are you sure the saddle isn’t slipping FORWARD on the horse? I had this problem with a mare of mine, it would be enough to pull the seat portion of the saddle forward into her wither. We did have rub marks though they did not break the skin, fortunately. I ended up going to an anatomical girth and a non-slip pad. solved the problem. My mare’s girth groove was right up at her elbows, and that’s where both the girth and saddle ended up, though the saddle was fit appropriately even when I mounted. It was only midway/after work that it was noticeable.
