Sweat marks and saddle fit

[Wraper2]

I have a friend who is getting back into riding again after about 2 years off (she didn’t ride while I was hospitalised most of last year.) Her mare is over 20, but how much over is not known. She is half Morgan and half TWH and is gaited. The mare is carrying a little extra weight and is a little sway backed. She is having dry spots in an area I have not exactly seen before. Owner has heard so many different opinions as to what causes dry areas, from no contact from the saddle to too much in the dry area. What is COTH’ s opinion on this?

This was taken after about an hour of moderate exercise. I have another pic that I will post a link to in a reply to this…cannot figure out how to do 2 links in one post from my phone.

[Wraper2]

Second picture
http://i409.photobucket.com/albums/pp177/wraper2/Mobile%20Uploads/0920151828_zpsfvyzzqyh.jpg

[jn4jenny]

Unfortunately, what your friend’s been told is correct: you can get dry spots from too much pressure, not enough contact through that part of the panel, because the horse just hasn’t had time to work up a sweat, etc.

That said, when I see dry spots like the ones you’ve pictured on a wide-load horse, my #1 suspicion is “the saddle is too narrow, which creates pressure points in the dry areas.”

PS, is that a gigantic horse soccer ball in the truck bed behind the horse!?

[Flash44]

That dry spot is a common one, and is not necessarily indicative of poor saddle fit. What is most indicative of poor fit is the way the horse goes and soreness to palpitation.

[aktill]

I’d be surprised if she didn’t end up with white hairs there. Basically the most common spot for poor fit to show up, generally too narrow a tree. Here are a million similar photos:

https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&biw=1440&bih=699&tbm=isch&q=white+wither+saddle+hair&spell=1&sa=X&ved=0CBkQvwUoAGoVChMIqZ6DspeIyAIVVg-SCh0LIQKy&dpr=1

[Pocket_Pony]

Ditto what aktill and jn4jenny said. I have had such a dry spot on my horse that it prompted me to get a new saddle (horse was getting wider - original saddle was no longer fitting well) and when I got one that fit properly, that spot wouldn’t come up anymore and I avoided the white hairs.

If someone isn’t experienced enough as a rider to know when a horse isn’t feeling well under saddle (after all, if it wtc then everything must be okay, right? - horses can be very stoic and hide their pain or be trained to be dull and not show discomfort), then I certainly wouldn’t rely on them to know what is good saddle fit and what is not. OP, I’m not saying this is your friend, but sometimes people think that if the saddle doesn’t fit then the horse will not move or will buck them off or something like that. But many horses just go along to get along, so it is important to utilize all powers of observation, and sweat patterns is one such power.

I’ve had multiple types of sweat patterns depending on the fit of the saddle. One should definitely consider sweat patterns in addition to the horse’s behavior, temperament whilst saddling, forward movement under saddle, one-sidedness, trouble picking up a lead, twisting a head, not bending well in one direction or the other, etc. It all matters.

Saddle fitting is so frustrating! I would say that this saddle is too narrow and is pinching. A pad will not help with this.

[Flash44]

http://www.rodnikkel.com/content/tree-and-saddle-fitting/troubleshooting-saddle-fit-problems/

I wouldn’t go get a new saddle simply based on dry spots in that specific area. And they do not mean the saddle is too narrow - a properly fitting tree will drape evenly, a wide saddle will sit low on the withers and flare, and a narrow saddle will sit higher and you will have more clearance on either side of the withers.

How much padding is the owner using? Overpadding is a common cause for dry spots in that area.

[beau159]

Pocket Pony took the words right out of my mouth.

Ditto.

Also I can add, that usually the smaller dry spots (like this one) are the most worrisome, rather than a large dry spot. Small spots usually mean “pinching” is going on.

[StarPattern]

Is it possible that the mare needs some chiro adjustment? The reason I ask… my mare’s saddle fits her like a glove, to the point where saddle fitters are absolutely amazed at how nicely it fits. By every technicality, she should not have had any pressure points. But for whatever reason, she had this persistent dry spot on her left side, just behind the point of her shoulder.

I had her chiro out because I felt she was stiff on that side due to a tense muscle in her neck that I couldn’t massage out myself. She was difficult to turn, she was heavy in the bridle and overall… something felt off. Turns out, her right shoulder was 3" lower than her left, a vertebrae in the left side of her wither was out and her right hip was out too. She got adjusted and no word of a lie, she didn’t have that weird dry spot behind her shoulder when I rode her a week after her adjustment. She turns beautifully now and is 100% more responsive and a completely different horse.

A chiro might be able to help?

[anon38350891]

And what about that giant soccer ball??

[Flash44]

Here is too narrow

https://www.google.com/search?q=saddle+fit&es_sm=122&tbm=isch&imgil=KWKRrqvu-JzqvM%3A%3BDJIZp3F2PntbOM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Ficeryder.net%252Fsaddlefittemplates.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=KWKRrqvu-JzqvM%3A%2CDJIZp3F2PntbOM%2C_&biw=1366&bih=643&usg=__8nGIFmBfi1_JENoWVxrUK1VgzNw%3D&ved=0CDYQyjdqFQoTCLHExIDLisgCFcgyPgodWB4ALg&ei=6kEBVrGnMcjl-AHYvIDwAg#imgrc=KWKRrqvu-JzqvM%3A&usg=__8nGIFmBfi1_JENoWVxrUK1VgzNw%3D

Here is too wide
https://www.google.com/search?q=saddle+fit&es_sm=122&tbm=isch&imgil=KWKRrqvu-JzqvM%3A%3BDJIZp3F2PntbOM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Ficeryder.net%252Fsaddlefittemplates.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=KWKRrqvu-JzqvM%3A%2CDJIZp3F2PntbOM%2C_&biw=1366&bih=643&usg=__8nGIFmBfi1_JENoWVxrUK1VgzNw%3D&ved=0CDYQyjdqFQoTCLHExIDLisgCFcgyPgodWB4ALg&ei=6kEBVrGnMcjl-AHYvIDwAg#imgrc=4Wo7a3pgwu1jjM%3A&usg=__8nGIFmBfi1_JENoWVxrUK1VgzNw%3D

Too wide is more likely to make a dry spot like the one in the OP’s photo.

[fordtraktor]

Do you know how to palpate the back? Is the horse at all sore? What does it look like on the horse’s back without a pad at all? To me that is more telling than sweat marks, though of course I love perfect sweat marks.

It’s also very common for this to be an issue that doesn’t matter at all. For example, my custom saddle left this kind of dry spot for about two months until the wool settled, now it is perfect. The fit was good, it was just the slightest bit tight which is normal in a new saddle. The horse was never the least bit sore. I view dry spots at something to be aware of and to watch, but not to eliminate a saddle from consideration per se. I have never, ever had a saddle cause white hair! People have to be ignoring things like uneven, extreme pinching, tightness and bridging to get that, I think.

[CustomDesign]

[QUOTE=Flash44;8326086]
Here is too narrow

https://www.google.com/search?q=saddle+fit&es_sm=122&tbm=isch&imgil=KWKRrqvu-JzqvM%3A%3BDJIZp3F2PntbOM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Ficeryder.net%252Fsaddlefittemplates.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=KWKRrqvu-JzqvM%3A%2CDJIZp3F2PntbOM%2C_&biw=1366&bih=643&usg=__8nGIFmBfi1_JENoWVxrUK1VgzNw%3D&ved=0CDYQyjdqFQoTCLHExIDLisgCFcgyPgodWB4ALg&ei=6kEBVrGnMcjl-AHYvIDwAg#imgrc=KWKRrqvu-JzqvM%3A&usg=__8nGIFmBfi1_JENoWVxrUK1VgzNw%3D

Here is too wide
https://www.google.com/search?q=saddle+fit&es_sm=122&tbm=isch&imgil=KWKRrqvu-JzqvM%3A%3BDJIZp3F2PntbOM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Ficeryder.net%252Fsaddlefittemplates.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=KWKRrqvu-JzqvM%3A%2CDJIZp3F2PntbOM%2C_&biw=1366&bih=643&usg=__8nGIFmBfi1_JENoWVxrUK1VgzNw%3D&ved=0CDYQyjdqFQoTCLHExIDLisgCFcgyPgodWB4ALg&ei=6kEBVrGnMcjl-AHYvIDwAg#imgdii=KWKRrqvu-JzqvM%3A%3BKWKRrqvu-JzqvM%3A%3B4Wo7a3pgwu1jjM%3A&imgrc=KWKRrqvu-JzqvM%3A&usg=__8nGIFmBfi1_JENoWVxrUK1VgzNw%3D

Too wide is more likely to make a dry spot like the one in the OP’s photo.[/QUOTE]

These links are to the same picture.

[Draftmare]

My saddle fitter told me that smaller dry marks, such as the ones this mare has, are the bad ones. Larger dry marks aren’t something to be too worried about.

[Wraper2]

Thanks for all the replies. She is going to have a saddle fitter and a chiro come out and check things over for her.

Yes, that is a large soccer ball in the truck. We play horse soccer. It is a 40" ball. The horses seem to love it!

[Flash44]

[QUOTE=CustomDesign;8327581]
These links are to the same picture.[/QUOTE]

Fixed

[Wraper2]

Update after chiro and saddle fitter…
Her mare did not need an adjustment but it was discovered that the saddle she was using did not make contact in the middle of the bars. I had a saddle that fit better that she will use while she waits for the new saddle to come in and be checked. I did find out that my saddle is an ‘excellent’ fit for my boy.