Ideas?

[Pony Soldier]

My latest mare is compact little beast. I use a fuzzy pad but by the end of hunting season, the hair on the top of her pelvis has warn down to a crewcut. I also see wear points where her britching and chest collar fit. I don't know if this is a problem but I have concerns. Any suggestions?

 

[missjordan]

She’s probably thinned skinned would be my guess. If you’ve ruled out the breast collar and britchen as being a good fit I’d line the wear points with sheep skin. They can be glued or sewn on.

Far as the saddle goes your saddle might not fit your horse causing pressure points when going up and down hills also. And lastly could be using too thick of a pad. I’d check saddle fit and play around with pad thickness by trying a wool pad with and without a saddle blanket underneath. Couple pictures would help if you have them


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[Pony Soldier]

Thanks ! Interesting concept on pad thickness. The wear points on the chest collar and britchen are minimal but I will adjust with some sheepskin.

I hadn't considered a thinner pad. I bought a felt pad but she seemed a little bitchy about it but it might have been the day. She is very short backed but the wear points are behind the saddle pressure points. She never exhibits any tender spots but by the end of the season the shorter hair is noticable. I will try to get some pictures when we get out of this blizzard.

 

[Hardtak]

Depending on where the spots the hair is getting thin and the pad rubbing, it could be that the pad is too short (Is it just in front of the hips around the back of the skirt?). If you are using a 32 inch pad it could be eliminated by using a 34 inch pad. We had this problem with my wife's new gelding when she was using her old pad from her mare.

 

[Tobe_B]

One of our geldings is short backed and the pad rubs his hips pretty good. Most of our horses are good with a 32” pad, I use 34” on my bigger mares. But this gelding does better with a 30” SPF pad.

For the britchens and breast collars, the outfitter I work for has started to build them with a rolled edge instead of a cut edge. That helps with the rubbing a lot


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[Pony Soldier]

Thanks for the suggestions. The britchen and chest collar have a couple of very minor spots but no shin showing unlike last year. The wear spots on the back are under the pad but behind the skirts of the saddle.

 

[missjordan]

I have a few more thoughts after seeing the picture

What size is the seat of your saddle? I’m wondering now if maybe your riding more on the cantle if the saddle rather than centered in the seat of the saddle the majority of the time. Easy way to fix this is make sure the heels of your feet are inline with your hips or just a tad more forward than that. This will distribute your weight across the pelvis evenly. Just don’t want to be sitting on what’s called a “chair seat” where your feet are really far forward and puts all your weight in your butt all the time.

I’m not an expert in saddle fit but i really don’t think it’s distributing the riders weight properly even though these wear marks are beyond the saddle. Seat size maybe too small.

How do the sweat marks look when you pull off your tack for the day? Any spots that are dry?


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[wymtnpounder]

Some horses will rock their hips more than others and that can rub the hide. Dirty/worn pad can cause that, but I'd imagine you checked that. I'd try a shorter pad if you don't need the length. Rolled edge on, breast collar and birchen help with those spots. Some ponies just have thinner hide, good luck.

 

[Pony Soldier]

Missjordan: the saddle I ride most of the time has a 16 seat. I'll pay attention to the sweat marks next time. She doesn't show much sweat and has a short tight coat. I don't get to ride much in the summer due to work. Once they get into shape they don't seem to sweat much. Most nights after a 20 min trailer ride, they are fairly dry by the time I strip them down and put them in the barn.

I will try the felt pad again but maybe after packing her while cutting trails. That might break both of them in.