Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Teresa Van Hove said:

> Not all panel saddles are built alike.  I ride an OF on my mare, 
> (actually I've modified it from original) but it didn't work on
> my shorter backed gelding.  
We have an OrthoFlex that doesn't work at all on my horse, but fits my
wife's horse very well. I use a Reactor Panel on mine.

One thing I'd recommend is getting an Equi-Measure kit - you can sit one of
these inside a saddle, and see what's going on. We found it really helpful.

In response to Terre's original question about it possibly being more than
saddle, we had some really bad back problems after a crash. We fairly well
threw everything at the problem - new RP saddle, got the horse some massage
and training - he needed to strengthen his back from the injury, and part of
the reason he was sore was that he wasn't carrying himself properly. I also
thought that I could be part of the problem and took lessons. Aside from the
actual injury, I think it was a combination of factors - I wasn't that bad a
rider, but I could be a better one. I'm hesitant to bring up the question of
rider ability since I have no idea of the capability or background of the
person who posted to start with - might not be any part of her problem.

The 3-pronged approach worked well - 2 years ago, this horse couldn't go on
an hour ride without being sore, and this year he completed 15/15 rides,
with over 500 miles.

At any rate, the big thing I've taken away from this difficult experience is
that when I see a sore back, I think about a lot more than saddle and pad.



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