Re: White hairs on a chestnut

["GESA BRINKS" <gesaeqfx@pe.net>]

Lori,   The white you are describing comes from irritation of the skin.  The fact that your pad walks out from underneath your saddle indicates that your saddle is not fitting properly.  If you cinch it down on your horse, you will most likely find that there is a lot more pressure at the front of the saddle than at the back.  This causes the saddle to swish side to side walking the pad out and causing friction burn to her back.  The white where your cinch fits, is  also caused from friction .  Neoprene girths can cause burns big time!  Your saddle may need a built-up or roper style pad.  Thicker in the front of the pad and thinner at the back.  This will raise the front of the saddle in an attempt to distribute the pressure more evenly across her back. Or, You may try a couple of mouse pads glued together and place them underneath the forks of your saddle on each side.  Take care not to have the pads so far up that they are next to the spine.  This will cause problems of a different sort.  Never crowd the spine area.   The hairs around the girth area can be caused by a cinch that is too loose, too far forward, too hot.  Too far forward will not allow freedom of movement at the area between the elbow and rib cage. As the foreleg moves back and forth the skin drags past the girth.   I have seen horses burn and blister from having fly repellent and or soap residue on their skin before being saddled and wind up with a chemical burn.   2 cents worth .

                   gesa n clovis

-----Original Message-----
From: Lori Bertolucci <llbertol@ix.netcom.com>
To: ridecamp <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Date: Sunday, September 19, 1999 8:19 AM
Subject: RC: White hairs on a chestnut

Hi there all. I sure could use some help on a problem I am starting to have. My chestnut mare is starting to get white hairs where my English saddle sits. She has never had dry spots, or any soring, yet the hairs are definitely there. They are about half the size of the bars on my saddle. And on both sides on her backbone. I will say that she has a problem with pigmentation, since she is a solid colored paint. She even has an area between her hips where the sweat would form from the hot Bakersfield days that has lost it's color and is now large whites spots. And she has roaning at the girth area, though she has never been sored up. Those same white hairs on her back first showed up after spending a week at a clinic when I used a western saddle on her. And again, there wasn't any soring or dry spots. The hairs went away but are now back again. Anyone have any idea as to what could be going on? My saddle is a Whitman with a spring tree, and my pad is a coolmax that refuses to stay in place. Weather permitting, I always wash her off after a ride.

Thanks for any help.

Lori