# Tiny soft swelling on horse's spine after riding - advice please?



## kerilli (18 December 2007)

my new-ish mare gets a small soft swelling about the size of a 1p piece on the left side of her spine about 6" back from pommel, after being ridden. 
it was caused by the, ahem, "amazing" saddle (treading carefully here) i had fitted and then fully refunded after it caused this lump. went back to my other saddles, (serge lined, wide flat panels, now fitted to her, but which i had used before on her with no problems at all), and it only came up sometimes. she's just had 12 days off because i was on hols, i've hacked her out twice since, and it's coming up every time, even with prolite (which successfully prevented it before.) she never got a lump before using the "amazing" saddle on her for a few weeks.
i have tried thick numnahs, thin, prolite, every pad i have, with 2 different saddles, and it's still there. it takes about 1-2 hours to disappear after riding.
i even checked back with her former owner to confirm, and, as i thought, she never had this problem before. 
	
	
		
		
	


	




obviously damage has been done, and she now has a sensitive area there. i'm gutted and very bloody annoyed. it doesn't seem to be affecting her, but obviously it shouldn't be there at all. 
any ideas? thankyou.


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## StaceyTanglewood (18 December 2007)

oh that is strange !!! is it a watery swelling ?? like a heamatoma ????

or is it hard ?


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## kerilli (18 December 2007)

soft, but firmer than a haematoma (which always feels watery to me, like the "bag of blood" that it is, i guess)


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## StaceyTanglewood (18 December 2007)

[ QUOTE ]
soft, but firmer than a haematoma (which always feels watery to me, like the "bag of blood" that it is, i guess) 

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oh strange !!! maybe it just feels firmer as it is such a small area ??


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## kerilli (18 December 2007)

hmm, maybe, i've only ever seen and felt very large haematomas, i guess. but i thought haematomas were usually caused by a direct blow, and this is obv  caused by slight pressure aggravating an existing sensitive bit.
it's the fact that it comes up in exactly the same place every time that really concerns me too. and it's on the nearside so really obvious as you take the saddle off, no way could i have missed seeing it if it had been there before, so i know exactly what caused it. *fumes*


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## miller (18 December 2007)

Hugo went through a phase of this and saddler did explain it to me but basically said it wasn't a problem - can't remember reason  
	
	
		
		
	


	




  Stopped happening after about 6 months - vet agreed not to worry


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## StaceyTanglewood (18 December 2007)

[ QUOTE ]
hmm, maybe, i've only ever seen and felt very large haematomas, i guess. but i thought haematomas were usually caused by a direct blow, and this is obv  caused by slight pressure aggravating an existing sensitive bit.
it's the fact that it comes up in exactly the same place every time that really concerns me too. and it's on the nearside so really obvious as you take the saddle off, no way could i have missed seeing it if it had been there before, so i know exactly what caused it. *fumes* 

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ive always been told that they come up as a result of an injury - its the body way of stopping any further pressure and protecting the area !! not sure but i am guessing this could work the same if she has to much pressure there it woul dcome up as a sort of protective bubble ?? x


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## kerilli (18 December 2007)

ta, Miller. i've never seen anything like it, so i'm pretty upset about it.
thanks, Stacey... yes, i can see the reasoning there. i've never seen a haematoma come up like that though, only huge ones from hitting xc fences (not my horses, i hasten to add!) and from reactions to injections.
will go and try another combination of pads and saddlecloths and fybagee. *sighs*


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## Patches (18 December 2007)

Kerilli.

Try not to panic. I haven't read the other replies, but this lump sounds like something Patches got over summer. I was dreadfully worried as I was convinced it was a pressure  point issue from the saddle. Even with me on the saddle, it was clear to see nothing was touching her and it didn't bother her. A few hours after riding it would disappeared. Like you I was convinced it was the saddle initially as it was only visible after riding and was always in the same spot along her spine. Patches wasn't bothered by it, not matter how much prodding and poking I did. 

Mentioned it to the Osteopath as she was due out to the horses anyway and she said it is VERY common. They have no idea why some horses get these soft swellings after riding but it has NOTHING to do with the fit of the saddle. It's a form of bursitis caused by movement whilst being ridden.

I haven't changed my saddle or saddle cloth etc and Patches no longer gets this lump, even after 4 hour hacks.


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## kerilli (18 December 2007)

okay, thanks. i know it has nothing to do with the fit of the saddle i am using now, but i've kept horses for nearly 30 years and never had this happen, so it's very perplexing, at the very least! thanks for the good advice though.


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## Darkly_Dreaming_Dex (18 December 2007)

Seen loads of these when I have been out saddle fitting- its a pressure swelling as the others have said. Be careful with the extra pads- you dont want to inadvertantly put more pressure on the area. They usually disappear after 4-6 months. Some people found using Arnica gel/cream helped.


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## kerilli (18 December 2007)

that's great, thanks.


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## charmaine (18 December 2007)

My horse had two of these swellings caused by a so called properly fitted saddle. The vet said they were basically pressure sores filled with fluid. In my boy's case they never went back down even when he wasn't being ridden. I lost him earlier this year which is why I am talking in the past tense due to old age.  I hate to sound negative but in my experience you may find that they are here to stay. Best thing you can do is make sure the saddle fits properly and use protection under the saddle, I always used the Heather Moffat back protector with the memory foam.


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## Patches (18 December 2007)

[ QUOTE ]
okay, thanks. i know it has nothing to do with the fit of the saddle i am using now, but i've kept horses for nearly 30 years and never had this happen, so it's very perplexing, at the very least! thanks for the good advice though. 

[/ QUOTE ]


Well obviously I've not kept horses for that long and you may consider I'm somewhat of a numpty but the vet also confirmed that it wasn't anything to worry about and fairly common.

I've had the same saddle for over two years, with regular checks of course. Each time they come out they say it fits her perfectly and doesn't need adjusting (saddle co. saddle), so I know nothing had changed saddle wise. She never used to get it and then went through a four month period of getting it after every time I'd ridden. Didn't matter whether it was a short hack, long hack, farm ride or schooling/jumping. 

As quickly as it appeared one day after riding,  it also suddenly disappeared after being ridden. Touch wood, it's not been there for about 3 months now. None of my friends had ever seen anything like it either and all of those are very experience keepers of horses.


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## miller (18 December 2007)

Patches  - mine was exactly the same - had the horse for 8 years before it started happening, had used saddle for 2 - it then stopped as quick as it had started and still in same saddle now


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## kerilli (18 December 2007)

oops, i didn't mean to imply that i was an expert, or you were a numpty... hope it didn't come across like that, sorry! 
okay, i'll calm down about it and go back to using thinnish saddlepads, and try to put it out of my mind!
thanks everyone.


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## Darkly_Dreaming_Dex (18 December 2007)

Just noticed you posted that it was on the left side of the spine- a very common saddle fitting problem is saddles sitting to one side (usually the right/off side). If your horse had an "amazing" but uneven saddle panel that sat slightly to the right then it would press against the left side, especially when schooling, and that would explain where its come from. If you think thats a possible scenario; keep an eye on the saddle you are using now as the "amazing" saddle could have caused some soft tissue erosion which can affect the straightness of the saddle. Dont panic as once you remove the source of the erosion, the back recovers quickly.


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## kerilli (18 December 2007)

that's very good advice, thanks so much.


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## seabiscuit (18 December 2007)

Take a photo of her back from behind- hold the camera up high with your arm held straight up. This way you can see how her back muscles are developing, and wether they are developing evenly or unevenly. If so it will indicate that you will have to adjust the balance of the saddle to make the saddle sit more evenly on an uneven back.

My guess is that since you've had her, she is using hereself in a completly different way and is prob building up the correct muscle for the first time ever, so its going to take a while for her to straighten out and strengthen...


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## kerilli (18 December 2007)

hmm, good idea, thankyou. will have a look from stepladder and take pics. thankyou!


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## houdini (18 December 2007)

Hi
My horse also got this problem after having an 'amazing' saddle fitted. The problem seemed to be as he is a large moving horse the saddle wasn't stable enough on his back and the gullet not wide enough to accomodate him. Also the flexibility of the saddle seemed to lead to saddle moving too much. I took him to osteopath who said that the movement of saddle had affected his vertabrae. This had also led to him becoming very crooked as he was trying to avoid the sore area. He had a few treatments and had a traditional saddle fitted - no more problems!


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## mariond (18 December 2007)

When my old mare developed lumps (thought to be insect bites which I know yours are not !) under the saddle area I was advised to take a padded numnah and cut holes in it where the lumps were to try to avoid rubbing them. It might help whilst they are healing.


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## Janah (18 December 2007)

My boy had lumps along one side of spine.  It was caused by the saddle "bridging" his back.  My third saddle fitter found the problem immediately, by then I had had 2 new saddles! as I was told by the 1st two fitters that the saddle I had been sold didn't fit.  Got there in the end though, wouldn't let any one else touch my boy now.


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## Magister (18 December 2007)

I had exactly the same problem with my saddle. The first saddler tried to sort it out,couldnt and told me it was nothing to worry about and the saddle fitted.I wasn't happy so got a second opinion.The second saddler adjusted the flocking in about 5 minutes and the lump never came back...........
A lump means a pressure point. Could your horse have fractionally changed shape muscularly whilst you were using the amazing saddle so now your other saddles don't fit so well?Just a thought.Pm me if you want to know which saddler sorted it.


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## kerilli (18 December 2007)

"A lump means a pressure point"... exactly! that's what i think. the thing is, i had my older, trusted saddles' trees altered + reflocks done for her after the 'amazing' saddle went back, so they're not the same as they were before, they should be better! something's not right though. thanks.


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