Re: RC: Horse's sore back

[Lynette Helgeson <helgeson@ndak.net>]

A sore back can also be cause by feet that are not properly trimed and
balanced. If he is twisting when he steps down, it can cause a
twisting in the back. We had that problem with a gelding of ours. When
we found the right balance with his back feet, sore back disappeared.
But it did take some trial and error to find the right balance. And
that was after we had tried everything else, including saddle fit,
different saddles, different bits, balanced riding, rounding up of the
back and collection.

Lynette Helgeson in sunny but coool North Dakota (got down into the
20's last night) Brrrrr, not use to that yet.


>> Carol Meyer Cdm1680@aol.com:
>> Recently I went on a 7-hour trail ride. Unfortunately, my horse's back was
>> sore after this ride. I realize this is a very long ride but would like to
>> do it again sometime and wonder if anyone has any suggestions as to how I
>> could prevent his sore back. I use a Bob Marshall Sports Saddle and Skito
>> saddle pad. Would a Supracor pad solve this problem? Thanks for your help.


LCT> Carol

LCT> Whereabouts was your horse's back sore? Shoulders? Loins?
LCT> Was he accustomed to the distance and the type of terrain 
LCT> you were riding on, or did you spring it on him? <g>

LCT> The reason I mention this, is that if your horse already had 
LCT> a weak back that needed strengthening, regardless of the type 
LCT> of saddle or saddle pad, he's likely to be sore if he's suddenly 
LCT> asked to "go" for 7 hours without having been worked up to 
LCT> such a distance...

LCT> I have a long-backed gelding who came to us with some back
LCT> problems. After rides, he was definitely sore in the loin
LCT> area - when you poked him with fingertips in this area, he'd
LCT> bounce downwards :(

LCT> We gave him some time off, and then started him back with 
LCT> lots and lots of walking up and down hills to get his back
LCT> strong (he wanted to gallop up every hill, so he thought this
LCT> walking was very dull). We also worked on getting him to drop 
LCT> his head (he was the King of Hollow Backs) and rounding and 
LCT> collecting better.

LCT> Since then he's done 4 x 50s with no back problems - in a
LCT> Sports Saddle and Skito - and now my 200 lb husband has 
LCT> started conditioning him for LDs (in a SS with a Toklat
LCT> pad). My husband isn't the world's most balanced rider yet 
LCT> (he's working on it), so I'm careful to check the horse's 
LCT> back after each ride and make sure problems aren't brewing. 
LCT> So far, so good.

LCT> Of course, not knowing your situation, it could be a saddle
LCT> fit problem - but it's worth thinking about the whole horse
LCT> as well. Let us know what you think's going on.




-- 
Best regards,
 Lynette                            mailto:helgeson@ndak.net