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Saddle pad rubbing hair off horse's back!?

61K views 74 replies 26 participants last post by  horselovinguy 
#1 ·
Every winter, this seems to happen to my mare...she is a very "wiggly butt" mover, IE she has a naturally back and forth movement rather than up and down like some other horses. What seems to happen is that with the back and forth movement, the saddle pad moves and rubs off the hair underneath where it's moving. The attached pics are of my mare's back and you can see where the pad has rubbed on top (hair is really thin and appears to be dark since she has black skin and you can see it through), and you can tell where down the sides of the back of the pad it has broken the hair as well.

The strange thing is that this rubbing is BEHIND the saddle, NOT under the panels directly (we placed the saddle on her back in the correct spot to make sure of that). I have tried using a really thick poly pad, a super thin baby pad, and everything in between with no luck! I've even tried taking some of that "sticky" material that you use to line your cupboards with and putting it under the pad and it just moves right along with the pad!! :evil:

Anyone else have this issue and how did you correct for it? For now, when I'm jumping I just use a fitted pad so that there IS no pad back there to rub, but what the heck will I do for dressage??
 

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#25 ·
it is because of the courseness of the winter coat. I have a similar problem only mine is where my leg contacts my horse (and he does NOT need a lot of leg, my leg is stable etc).
The only way I've found to fix it is to clip the horse.




If you need a riser pad then your saddle does NOT fit.

If your saddle fits without it and you put a riser pad in you will cause the saddle to sit back and it will no longer fit.
 
#3 ·
I would be interested to see what would happen if the saddle pad was lined in sheepskin or you just used a sheepskin pad under her saddle.

Mattes makes full square pads that are lined in sheepskin on the back.
 
#11 ·
I once tried a Fleeceworks pad on Sandie's back but it rubbed ALL of the hair off under the saddle, worse than the above photos!! Which is why I shyed away from those :-/ But if I could find a thinner version, maybe that would work?

Somoni, the link you sent me just may end up working, those look thinner than the fleeceworks I tried out!
 
#13 ·
Hmm interesting note! I HAVE been told that I tend to ride too much on the cantle and need to tip my pelvis more forward...but why would it only be happening each winter though? I don't ride differently in the summer vs the winter each year? :-|
 
#14 ·
What do you all think of this pad?

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Merino-Sheepskin-Dressage-Square-Saddle/dp/B0011UHUZ6]Amazon.com: Merino Sheepskin Dressage Square Saddle Pad [Misc.]: Sports & Outdoors[/ame]

Like I mentioned before, I used a Fleeceworks sheepskin half pad once, but it was on TOP OF a regular thin AP saddle pad, and it rubbed ALL of the hair off underneath the saddle! Do you guys think that was just because I used it on TOP rather than underneath, or think that may have been just too much padding altogether under the saddle? I don't really want to buy something this pricey and find out the hard way!! :-p

Here's a link to an old thread of mine by the way, when I began having this kind of issue. The strange thing is that THIS year, it was my dressage saddle, NOT the Collegiate, that caused the problem...so I am wondering how much of this is pad-related somehow...

http://www.horseforum.com/horse-tack-equipment/saddle-panels-rubbing-hair-off-44824/

Found this other person's thread when I googled the issue and seems I'm at least not the only one!!
Bald spots/rubs behind saddle pad? [Archive] - Chronicle Forums
 
#17 ·
Ok...subbing! Same problem just started happening to me. I bought a new round skirt 100% wool felt western pad for my barrel saddle and exactly where the back edge of the pad sits behind the saddle there are two worn spots on the hair on each outer edge from the pad rubbing back and forth I assume??? I was wondering if it was because previously the square pads kinda hit the hip bone a bit and lifted over that spot and now with the round it sits right there and rubs????? Interested to see what others have to say...
 
#19 ·
I cant honestly answer that as I just switched to this round pad (always had square) and never had the issue before. However, I am assuming it would be much more noticeable in winter considering there is alot more hair? I know my horse slicks out so much in summer it would not be as easy to notice IMO cause it isnt like it has rubbed him bald it has just rubbed away some of the hair and left it almost matted down and broken????
 
#22 ·
Ok well I have to say I appreciate the subbers who are letting me know they have the same issue, I don't feel so alone now at least!! :)

NOW>>>anyone out there who HAD this same issue and has FIXED it successfully?? Come on, help us ALL out! ;-)
 
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#24 ·
The most frustrating part for me is not knowing what caused it since it kinda came out of nowhere! And I've been trying out different kinds of pads but since the hair is already rubbed so short, I can't tell if any of them are actually working!!

To make matters worse, Sandie now has 2 more of her stupid collagen granuloma lumps on her back caused by her allergies (usually to some sort of insect bite)...so now I'm dealing with those getting bigger and bigger! I'm thinking we may have to go on another riding hiatus and just lounge her in a surcingle while things heal up and grow back :-/ *sigh*
 
#27 ·
So ummm UPDATE it is happening YET AGAIN...only this year, she was body clipped...and I can STILL see it happening even though her hair is super short!! This is the third year I've posted about it on here, and no one seems to know why it happens, but I know by re-reading this old thread again that others do have my same problem.

So here's my thought this year...my saddle is a 17"..but WHAT IF I bought one of those extra long pads that are tailored to 18-19" saddles? Would a longer pad extending further behind me prevent the edge from rubbing anymore? She IS quite the long backed horse...
 
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