Bad back!!?

Question

my horse has a bad back, my friend has agreed to let me try her treeless saddle (it fits i've had it checked) to see if it makes a difference, will it?

Answer 1

There are several types of bareback saddles now available, if not through the regular market, at least through the individual makers.  I have had some amazing success with Ansur saddles and would highly recommend them as long as your vet agrees that she is ridable with her bad back, some back problems are too great for a horse to be ridden with.  Treeless saddles will rarely not fit, that is part of the purpose of them, however they will fit some horses better than others, horses with narrow backs and high spines will often be uncomfortable in a treeless saddle as it will press on their spine without respite.  Broad backed horses will often wear the saddles well, but I would recommend using a breatplate as the saddle can roll quite easily on a barrel bodied horse.  The other advice I have is to never, ever mount from the ground, on any horse this exerts tremendous lateral forces on the spine unlike anything that might occur in nature, but with a treeless saddle this is a recipe for disaster that will end with you under the horses belly, a leg up or a mounting block, the taller the better, are the best ways to get on.  As long as a vet has agreed your horse can be ridden, then by all means try the saddle, if it goes well you could look into getting your own, if it goes poorly you can do more research and try something else, orthopedic flex saddles are also good for horses with back problems, though it's been years since I've seen one of these saddles they are quite distinctive, with a pannel system like western saddles have instead of the padded tree in contact with the horse like english saddles.  Good Luck!

Answer 2

Do you know the reason he has a bad back?



If you do and has had a vet look at him , and he said go ahead and ride him

then I would use a good well built saddle for him



It really depends on what his problem is

I am very concern that he may need adjusting ,, or that maybe the way he is being ridden may be His  problem ?

A tree less may put more pressure on where his problem is ?

Where  is his problem on his back ?

Please edit more about him Thanks

Answer 3

yer it may.

have you tried a chiropractor? or even massage therapy?

Answer 4

It is unlikely to help.

A properly fitting saddle with a tree distributes the weight across the horse's whole back and keeps the weight off the spine.

A treeless saddle just pads your rear, all the weight still goes where you are.  It provides padding but no space for the spine to move.

Unless your saddle has caused the back problem I don't think a treeless saddle will help.