I know the saddle fit, back soreness, white hair issue has been done before,
but after searching the archives I still need more information. My
Anglo-Arab and I are in our first year of endurance riding. We got a new
saddle early this spring and it appears to fit him very well. We trained in
it for several months then did our first ride in early May. After that ride
he had a very sore back. On the advice of some endurance friends I switched
to a woolback pad. We then did rides in early June, late June, and late
July. In all three of these he had A's on his back the entire time and
never showed any signs of soreness. A couple of weeks ago I noticed a patch
of white hairs on the left side of his wither! I am trying to determine if
these were caused way back in May before I switched to the new pads or if
they happened at a later ride. I have been having trouble keeping weight on
him and he was very skinny for our end of July ride. Perhaps his back had
changed shape enough to cause improper fit.
Needless to say, I am very concerned. We have a ride we were planning to do
at the end of September but I am afraid to train for it until I can figure
out this problem. How long do white hairs take to appear? Any suggestions
on trying to determine the cause? I am definitely a newbie, but the saddle
appears to fit well. Does anybody know any saddle fitting experts in the
Seattle, WA area that I can hire to look at the fit? I am a heavyweight
rider but it is a saddle with a lot of weight distribution. I have also had
my friends that I ride with evaluate my riding. They told me I am riding
well and not putting undue stress on his back (however, I am continuing to
take lessons).
Please help. I wake up in the middle of the night feelign bad about the
damage I caused and not knowing what to do.
Thanks,
Levon
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FN:Levon Yengoyan
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