sore on wither that is irritated from riding

[gumtree]

@shadesofbay3

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 hear ya, lol. When I first started posting and or reading comments, replies at times. It was easy to get caught up in the snark the BS. I learned to just scroll right on by and not take the bate. Even on one thread that had people attacking my mother on how she went about something. A person that was held in High respect, worked with and mentored a lot riders who went on to be names in the H/J work, Reserve Champion at the National Horse show, etc. Spent her whole life working with horses and was pretty much her only job.

In short when using anonymous forums, taking advise from those who offer up little to no background information. Take everything with a grain of salt. My comments, opinions also.

In a perfect world everyone would have the money to buy the perfect saddle, pay top dollar for some expert to check the fit. etc.

In my world up until recently I and others who make their living with horses, who get on 5-10+ a day. 2 year olds to teenagers. I can’t afford to have the perfect saddle and fit for every horse I maybe working with on any given day. Neither do most of the “names” that I have spent time around. We have to “make” the saddles were have to fit. Which is why people in a “working” barn have LOTS of different saddle pads. This is how it works in the REAL world.
Guess what, the horse rarely if ever had, developed saddle issues. Because everyday after starting out with our “fit” we run our hands over each horse. Before tacking up and before evening stables. We pick up on subtle reactions/issues and make adjustments to the fit the next day until we have it “dialed in”. Hopefully we pick on on things and get it right before more serious issues manifest. Be it saddle issues and or soft tissue issues. The “pros” generally do but not always. Simple facts of life.

If you are lucky to live in a horse rich area with other barns like mine and or the multitude of others in my area (Unionville Pa). Know people in those barns. Perhaps they have some pommel pads of various types, “padding” in general that they will lend you to see what works. With out having to spend $$ going down the list. From saddle pads,bits, girths, bridles, boots, wraps you name I pretty much have it after all these years of collecting. A lot of “t-shirts” I still use and a lot of “t-shirts” that I am happy to give away. The best thing about them was the advertising.

“The saddle shouldn’t touch anything on “top” of the withers”

This is should be a given. But as buck22 said, things change once out and about and away from the "saddle fitter. As I said above IME there is no one thing, one person that is always going to get it right. Just important to have good hands/touch and pick up on issues before they become issues and adjust accordingly. Easier said the done for the vast majority of people who have not worked and ridden LOTS of horse over the years. And had the good fortune to work under/with great mentors. Not internet/cyber “mentors”.

[gumtree]

@kiwichick

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.

Only if you don’t know what your are doing. Don’t check things. They can be a starting place, not necessary the “end”. As I tried to explain in my last comment.

[gumtree]

@buck22

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).

Good stuff.

“pommel pad” (not a fan personally of them).

Don’t entirely disagree. The type I referenced is a starting point. IME they have worked good more time than not. I went in to more detail with my second comment.

“Don’t ride a horse with a recurring wither rub”

Totally agree and said basically the same in my first comment.

[gumtree]

@beowulf

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?

“Occam’s Razor”

Love this expression, philosophy. And more times than not rings true in life. Always wanted to name a racehorse after it. Never had one good enough.

"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"

Exactly. Amazes me how many people I have seen either not do this correctly, Give little thought to it if they do it at all. I always check for this after the horse is under saddle for 10-15 minutes. Check it periodically.

[kiwichick]

@gumtree

Only if you don’t know what your are doing. Don’t check things. They can be a starting place, not necessary the “end”. As I tried to explain in my last comment.

huh?
I dont get it, what start? what end? I can assure you a horse with a sore on its wither (as I read it an ozing sore on the top) is in a good amount of pain, and will buck you off. Nothing to do with ‘knowing what you are doing’

[poltroon]

@shadesofbay3

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 totally read your post. But, your facts simply don’t fit. If riding the horse in the saddle opens or irritates a sore on top of the withers, the saddle (or pad) MUST be touching it. Right?

So the other possibilities are that it’s the movement of the horse that is opening up the sore independent of the saddle… not likely, but possible. Longe the horse with no saddle, does the sore open? If not, maybe try longing the horse with a saddle but no rider… does it open?

Adding more padding will only make the space tighter and more likely to rub. I gotta say, the idea of adding the knit pommel pad to this situation makes me cringe - I cannot see how it will help. It will remove clearance, and what a sore needs most is clearance.

You might also try a different saddle, a different pad, or even trying the saddle with no pad at all. The suggestion that the saddle may be moving is also a good one, but I assume you would notice that when removing it.

So, no one here means to be snarky. Really, we only post because we want to help. Sometimes just posing the question makes it clearer what you’ve overlooked.

[jetsmom]

Is your horse a qh? If so, maybe HERDA? Does the skin seem loose? Does the horse have a lot of scars?

[danacat]

@shadesofbay3

Would too wide or too narrow of a tree cause the sore there?

Impossible to try and answer this question without knowing:

What kind of saddle you have – english or western…and what brand, as saddles all have different architecture.

What wither shape does your horse have: shark fin, mutton, etc. And where do your billets hang in relation to your horse’s girth groove?

Certain saddles designs are better or worse for a horse depending on girth groove, wither shape and back shape (uphill, downhill, curvy, flat)…and the type of panels can also play a big part as well as the pad you’re using: does it have a channel, is it molded for wither relief?

You say sore is on top of withers – where exactly? In front of pommel – right under pommel?

Most of these questions have been asked by posters here, so your answers would be very helpful.

[Marla_100]

your horse may have a Summer Sore which may be why it’s not completely healing and then rips open again.

Summer sores which are actually a small sore or cut that got infested with a parasite that continues to grow in

the wound and reproducing. Sometimes they die down a little and appear to be healing until the parasite

grows into a different stage and the sore erupts again. There are specific worming protocols (ivermectrin)

that you use to eradicate. Also putting ivermectrin wormer directly on the sore a couple times per day will

kill the parasite in the sore itself.

Do a search here, there’s many threads on it. Here’s the AAEP article:

https://aaep.org/horsehealth/summer-sores

[zelle]

This is likely something you would have noticed but I just had a student whose pad didn’t have the lift at the withers, it was just flat along the spine. During her ride, in a saddle that the fitter approved, the pad would tighten across her wither and cause sores. When she got a nicer pad with a lift at the wither, that didn’t happen.

[demidq]

4 year old thread. OP never came back.