A bit down in the dumps w/a sore pony. Since October when he abandoned w/a sore back at 12 miles I have been working him diligently: long lines, lunge line, ground poles, hours of trail walking in all kinds of weather. Farrier, vets, ride companions,instructor are all complimentary about his progress: nice low headset, good muscle tone, nice movement and attitude, and a few pats on the back for us both. But after just 2.5 hours of mostly walking Saturday, hes sore again. "He" is a fairly long backed National Show Horse, the inbreeding of 2 1/2 arab 1/2 saddlebreds. He has a naturally high head set, but it has droppped considerably with long lines and he collects pretty well at the trot on the trail. On the plus side this horse rocks at the walk and after many hours his trot is much calmer and collected. He loves the trails and is willing to work in the heat, rain, snow, you name it. A real sweetheart who looks out for me pretty well.
Opinions on saddles have ranged the gamit: treed, treeless, english, western, & pads: wool, dixie pads, closed & open cell, etc. And counter opinions have been just as numerous w/strong no's to every opinion offered as to saddle & pad. Vets who've vetted him strongly say NO to treeless saddles, while many riding companions much more experienced than I say yes yes. Oy Vey! Presently I use an english endurance/military saddle w/long panels and a thick wool pad. Doesn't seem to bind & his shoulder movement seems nice & fluid, but probably does not distribute my mass well enough. I am not small, but not huge either. With tack I just make hvy weight. After a day off Sunday we were back on the long lines and after an hour he looseened up nice and became much more fluid again. Today he trotted over ground poles on a lunge line w/no side reins failry smoothly and palpable soreness was almost nil. His look was back and he seemed much more himself. With a young aspiring eventing daughter, part ownership in harness horses w/my son, a geriatric home for my wife's first childhood arab, and a rescued TB race horse (what an idiot!!!), money is tight w/a T. If not for swap meets and Ebay I'd be riding bareback using a nylon halter. Found so much insight listening in to your emails I thought I'd send this out as a jump ball & see what y'all might suggest. Time of course. Patience, yes! Several new saddles........uh well not in the budget. In a nutshell: big guy, long backed horse w/a tendency to soreness along his spine......maybe take up golf? Jon in Yellow Springs =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
