the back of my saddle is wearing the hair down on my horse...

[Traveller]

Is this normal? I'm currently riding in a production saddle, a Billy Cook ranch saddle, that fits my horse in his big ol' shoulders but appears to be giving him grief towards the back end - the hairs underneath the back 4-5 inches of the saddle are wearing down. Traveller's got a big stride in all three gaits so there's a fair amount of movement in his back, and recently he's started rounding up more (thanks a good physiotherapist who discovered his body was all wonky - what a difference she made!). In fact, he moves really well under this saddle so I'm not sure that it's a fit issue, though of course it could be.

I've had this saddle for about 6 months now and the hairs have only just started wearing down. Trav's also lost some fat (yes!) and is muscling up his back, thanks to regularly rounding up and an increased level of fitness, so that might account for the change. His back doesn't appear to be sore but I can see that the hairs are not what they used to be. And when he's standing tacked up but without a rider on him, the back of the saddle is an inch or so above his back instead of resting on it.

This happened before with the handmade (though not custom to him) saddle I had when I first got him and which he eventually grew out of. He wasn't rounding up well at all then - he was pretty green - but we did a lot of long trail rides and his hair got pretty short back there.

I currently ride with an Impact Gel pad with a thin cotton pad between the Impact Gel and his back (easier to keep things clean and doesn't add any bulk).

Does this mean that the saddle doesn't fit? Or that I'm placing the saddle too far forward/back? When I saddle up, I place the pad forward up onto his neck, swing the saddle on to it and then slide it all down until his shoulders are just free of the bars. Could the pad be too thick? Something else?

I'm waiting for the economy (or at the very least, my own personal economy!) to improve before ordering a custom saddle so am hoping this saddle fits well enough that I can stay in it for the next year or so, but if it doesn't fit, well, it doesn't fit....

I'm heading out to the barn later this morning and will take a few photos, in case that helps.

Thanks!

Joanne

[blueheelenvet]

Traveller, the best thing to do is post some pics of him saddled up. It is hard to find a problem or help u find a problem if we don't get the whole picture. Be honest when saddling him just as if you where going to ride. Also you have a nice pad but is it new and not broken in to him. Another thing to consider is that he is moving differently since the adjustment.

Also try to lunge him with out someone one him for approximately the same amount of time that you start to see the hair thinning. If this doesn't occur maybe since he is traveling differently your weight placement may be off and this could need to be corrected.

I hope I've helped. Merry Christmas

Happy Trails and Soft Landings

[oldtimer]

Is this normal? I'm currently riding in a production saddle, a Billy Cook ranch saddle, that fits my horse in his big ol' shoulders but appears to be giving him grief towards the back end - the hairs underneath the back 4-5 inches of the saddle are wearing down. Traveller's got a big stride in all three gaits so there's a fair amount of movement in his back, and recently he's started rounding up more (thanks a good physiotherapist who discovered his body was all wonky - what a difference she made!). In fact, he moves really well under this saddle so I'm not sure that it's a fit issue, though of course it could be.

I've had this saddle for about 6 months now and the hairs have only just started wearing down. Trav's also lost some fat (yes!) and is muscling up his back, thanks to regularly rounding up and an increased level of fitness, so that might account for the change. His back doesn't appear to be sore but I can see that the hairs are not what they used to be. And when he's standing tacked up but without a rider on him, the back of the saddle is an inch or so above his back instead of resting on it.

This happened before with the handmade (though not custom to him) saddle I had when I first got him and which he eventually grew out of. He wasn't rounding up well at all then - he was pretty green - but we did a lot of long trail rides and his hair got pretty short back there.

I currently ride with an Impact Gel pad with a thin cotton pad between the Impact Gel and his back (easier to keep things clean and doesn't add any bulk).

Does this mean that the saddle doesn't fit? Or that I'm placing the saddle too far forward/back? When I saddle up, I place the pad forward up onto his neck, swing the saddle on to it and then slide it all down until his shoulders are just free of the bars. Could the pad be too thick? Something else?

I'm waiting for the economy (or at the very least, my own personal economy!) to improve before ordering a custom saddle so am hoping this saddle fits well enough that I can stay in it for the next year or so, but if it doesn't fit, well, it doesn't fit....

I'm heading out to the barn later this morning and will take a few photos, in case that helps.

Thanks!

Joanne

I have seen this problem too, and found out ( in my case) that the skirts were laced together out to the edge which created chafing at the back edge of the skirts. Solved the problem by removing 4" of the lacing so the skirts could flex away from the loin area, (which is slightly slanted upwards.)

[Becca4U]

I would also take a look at the gullet and fork of the saddle. Make sure it isn't sitting too far down on him. As the horses' conditioning changes and muscles develop, a saddle that used to fit, might not anymore.

If it is sitting down on his wither the back will tip up and you'll have more problems than just lost hair on the rump. If it sits too far down on the wither, there can be serious and permenant damage done.

Best of luck to you. The above post is right too. How the rear skirts are laced together can be a big problem.

If you have a mind to, borrow an english saddle that won't cover up that part of his back to allow for healing. If the hair is wore of, the muscles might also be terribley sore; like a pair of ill-fitting shoes on your feet.

Any, just my humble opinion.

Happy Trails!

[Traveller]

Thanks for your replies, everyone! I seem to recall that the skirts were laced on the other saddle that rubbed him, and they are definitely laced on this one. Perhaps that's it.

Anyway, I took some photos out at the barn today. If a different angle would help, I'm going out again tomorrow and could get more.

Much appreciated, all!

(sorry about the big size of the photos...)

Edited December 23, 2008 by Traveller

[Becca4U]

First off, nice looking horse!

Second, my ex bought one of these saddles, he just fell in love with it...on the stand. Will give my opinion. Rememember it is only from my personal experience.

The ground seat in the one we had was awful. Especially at faster gaits, it would put you in the wrong position and we had problems with the horse. Had owned the horse for years and she started acting up. It was soaring her badly. Went back to a different saddle and the problems ceased.

Remember, this is just my personal experience and may not not be true of all of them.

The old Billy Cooks out of Greensville are awesome. The shop he runs now out of Sulpher is staffed by mexican workers. He was busted for having illegals at the shop a year or so back.

Here is a link to a local story about it: http://www.pryordailytimes.com/agriculture...eyword=topstory

Its a shame he isn't turning out the quality he used to.

[Traveller]

Thanks for the compliment, Becca! Yeah, he's a pretty terrific horse, both inside and out.

And thanks also for your input on the Billy Cook. Aside from rubbing hair off his back, it seems to be working fairly well. He actually goes better in it than he did in a custom saddle that a really wonderful saddle maker made (though like the first handmade saddle that he grew out of, it wasn't made specifically for him; this particular saddle was designed by a local trainer in conjunction with the saddle maker, built on a standard, hand made tree, and then you ordered it through the trainer). It didn't wear the hair off him at all, possibly because it didn't have a chance to -- it made him buck in the canter as it interfered somehow at the back end. I loved the saddle but it had to go! I'm really not that good at sitting a bucking horse, particularly once it's got some speed up.... I haven't heard of anyone else having that kind of problem with the saddle and it's a pretty small horse community around here, so I'm assuming it was a flukey fit on my guy, since I know the saddle maker always does excellent work.

Plus I find the Billy Cook easy to sit. I like sitting straight up with my heels under me rather than back on my pockets with my legs forward, and it makes that easy for me. It doesn't have anywhere near the quality of the two handmade saddles I had on him before but I'm hoping I can make it work until I can get a custom saddle. And even if I land a great contract today and order one tomorrow, that would still take some considerable time!

I'll get the laces removed after Christmas and see if that makes a difference. But I'll hang onto them for aesthetic purposes so I can put them back on before I sell it!

[tonyc1]

I didn't know that they still made Billy Cook saddles! I haven't seen one down here for years!

Tony.

[TrooperChuck]

Traveller: Thanks for the pic. Beautiful horse! My advice is the same as Oldtimer's... remove those laces on the rear of the skirts. Your horse is rounding out and moving in new ways. When his back encounters that solid rear portion of the saddle it's rubbing him hard. Unlacing the skirts will allow them to flex a bit as your horse moves.

good luck, and let us know how things turn out.

[MikePatterson]

is there something under the felt pad??? if so i would take that out and you may try a diffrent pad.

just a thought.

nice horse.