Yesterday I rode Theoden out in his new saddle and pad combination. For the first twenty minutes he was great - trotting freely and seemed very happy. After that though he started to feel very twitchy and was swishing his tail. I thought he had a crab fly so got off, checked his undercarriage and then went off again. Within minutes he felt all itchy again so I got off and checked his pad, thinking that perhaps it was too far back. I got on again and asked him to go forward but he kept stopping and this time he brought his head around to my leg, almost as if he was pointing - first one side and then the other. I got off again and put his stirrups up to see whether that made any difference and it was at this point that I saw that the brackets on the rigging were turning in and digging into his sides. I loosened off the girth and we walked home with me on foot. He still occasionally stopped but eventually we got home. I then took photographs as I un-tacked him and this is what I saw.
It would have been very easy to press on and ignore him, the signs he gave me were so small but very clear. To me this is a major breakthrough, the Theoden of old would never have believed that anyone would listen to the small stuff and would have bronced me off. As it was he kept trying to tell me that he was uncomfortable and kept letting me get back on and try to work out what was wrong. It was as if we were working together to analyse the problem.
The white marks on his back are a very poor freeze brand.
Postscript: Curiouser and curiouser, rode him in his 'old' saddle today (20th) and he was fine but looked at the brackets at the top of the rigging and, guess what, they do the same thing or rather, they sit at the same angle but I have been using a thicker pad. Next plan, agreed with the David L. is to try the new saddle with the old pad and see what we get tomorrow. Could be in for another long walk home or a really comfortable ride and horse. Having read The Princess and the Pea, I am surprised that making something thicker could actually help but since has never complained about the bracket before, I can only assume that it does. Watch this space - the one on his back!!
Postscript2. Rode Theoden in the new saddle with the old pad today (21st) and although his behaviour was a lot better (or should I say his comments about the saddle were a lot less) he was was still wary of me getting on in the first place. At the end of the ride we took new photos of the bracket and I also noticed that there was a completely new mark on his old pad (which is pretty thick and protected by leather). So, the bracket on his old saddle may have turned in a bit but this one is actually digging in. Needless to say, I have asked David L to come out again asap.
