# Does Riding Cause a Fuzzy Back?



## rodriguezpoultry (Sep 19, 2010)

This next spring I'm wanting to work fairly intensively on Max for shows. I know he will do fairly well in halter as he placed 2nd against some very stiff competition, and he had very little muscling. I'm going to keep him in the stall during the day and let him out in the evening/night to graze so he'll get more forage and "Max time" to just relax and enjoy himself.  This way his color will stay (hopefully) and he'll place better in color classes.

BUT, I noticed he has, well, either broken hairs or fuzzy hairs on his back. Is that from sun damage or from me riding him? It's nothing real bad, I just don't know what's causing it. I'd assume it could be from the friction of riding that's breaking the hairs off and causing them to look fuzzy?

I'm intending to start him REALLY well under saddle this next spring and winter in order to get him nice and muscled up.


----------



## patandchickens (Sep 19, 2010)

There is not supposed to be ANY friction from riding.

If there is -- and yes, it can break hairs off halfway and cause 'fuzzy' (and, later, shaved or bald or sored) areas -- then it is a great big red flag that there is something wrong. Look at saddle fit, saddle pad fit/type/size, and what the rider is doing.

Even when abraded "fuzzy spots" are only from a bridging saddle or a too-long saddle pad, in which case (unlike some other causes) they will not generally progress to open sores, the thing that causes the abrasion also generally causes discomfort to the horse and changes the way it travels and reacts to the rider, so EVEN IF it is this sort of "most-harmless case", it is STILL something to diagnose and correct.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat


----------



## rodriguezpoultry (Sep 19, 2010)

Could you tell me if my saddle pad is too long? The fuzzy seems to be along the top part of his back.

http://s58.photobucket.com/albums/g259/jrsygntbrdr1/Horses/?action=view&current=DSCF1374.mp4

It's not the best video...we've both gotten a bit better (it's amazing what happens when you have the stirrups an even length...) but you can just see the saddle and pad as I'm taking off and as we're parallel to the road.

Could it be the type of saddle pad that's causing it? As in, the type of material?


----------



## goodhors (Sep 19, 2010)

Material, fabric, could be sources of fuzzy hair.  Some material grabs the hair, others create friction while you are riding the animals.  Friction will cause hair breakage, sometimes soreness.  Almost all horses will have movement of the saddle, rider and pad on the horse's back when riding.  

Dirt on the pad, can be a source of rubbing.  Those old horsehair pads were popular when I was a kid.  The pressed hair and "unknown material" was pretty coarse on the bottom side, would collect dirt and sweat on spots.  You could NOT get that dirt out.  After a while, the dirt spots could cause fuzzy spots and progress to rub sores on horse.

Fuzzy could also be the in-between stage of summer hair and winter hair.  Last idea is from sweaty horse.  If he gets sweaty during every ride, not rinsed or washed off after, salt can affect the horse hair.  Dark horses will bleach in color, hairs can look rough or fuzzy from being salty all the time.


----------



## patandchickens (Sep 20, 2010)

I'm sorry, RoPo, I'm on very slow dialup, I cannot view videos... do you have any stills (jpegs) of him tacked up?



			
				goodhors said:
			
		

> Almost all horses will have movement of the saddle, rider and pad on the horse's back when riding.


A little (mainly at the extreme back tips of the cantle, and rearmost edge of pad)... but not *rubbing*. Rubbing (causing fuzzy broken hairs) is DEFINITELY not normal or okay. 



> fuzzy could also be the in-between stage of summer hair and winter hair.


Not likely IMO if it is only in a few spots under the saddle. (UNLESS yours is one of the pretty unusual horses who, at least some years, sheds out *totally* in patches, down to bare shiny skin, and then all the hair grows back in at once, like peachfuzz at first and then short hair and then normal hair. But if this were the case, we would have had another thread a month or six weeks ago about "why is my horse's back bald?" )



> Last idea is from sweaty horse.  If he gets sweaty during every ride, not rinsed or washed off after, salt can affect the horse hair.  Dark horses will bleach in color, hairs can look rough or fuzzy from being salty all the time.


That is certainly a possibility too, if it is not so much fuzzy/broken hairs and more just pale faded hairs with less lustre.

Still, since rubbing from pad or saddle fit issues, or an inappropriate pad material, are IME by FAR the most common cause for broken hairs, I think a sincere effort should be made to investigate that.

BTW, if you *have* some rubbing going on, you can at least "get your money's worth out of it" so to speak (while at the same time doing whatever it takes to fix it) by looking carefully to see how symmetrical it is. This is sometimes your first clue about an asymmetry of the horse OR of saddle-fit OR of rider position, that you'd want to be working on.

If you would like a little more help diagnosing the cause, could you describe (or, better, post a pic of) where specifically the fuzzy areas are, and what size and shape?

Good luck, have fun,

Pat


----------



## ducks4you (Sep 20, 2010)

RoPo, we need to see still photos of his back.  Bear in mind, you are ALWAYS gonna rub _some_ hairs off of their backs and on the girths/cinches.  Just as above stated, it shouldn't rub raw.  I could always tell whose pad it was from the shade of hairs on the pad.  They _do_ grow hair back.  In fact, I have taken my horses camping at over 10,000 feet in July, and watched them grow a decent winter's coat in as little as 3 days.
ALSO, the nights where I live are getting into the 40's and 50's, and my "black" horse is growing a coat and starting to look "black" again--this could be happening to Max, too.


----------



## rodriguezpoultry (Sep 20, 2010)

The fuzz isn't that bad. I didn't notice it during the summer, but when the days started getting shorter it just kind of happened. 

Let me see if I can find some photos. I know I don't have any current photos, but I do have photos from way back.

It's not really very fuzzy, but these photos were taken a few days before the horse show. Not great detail, but it's almost as if the hair is "drier" than the rest of the body hair. I'm wondering if it's just from sun damage making the hair a bit brittle?

The girth doesn't seem to cause any issues and there's no rubbing.


No, it's not rubbed raw, and there's no sores on him, just a small amount of broken hairs. When I put show sheen on him, they shine up just like the rest of him, the hairs just feel a bit brittle.

After a ride, I usually hose him down (no soap though?) and will squeegee the excess water off. Could that be drying it out?

I'll try and get updated photos, but since his winter hair is coming in, you can't really see any difference in the hairs.


----------



## w c (Sep 21, 2010)

There are a couple possibilities.

One is when the saddle and blanket aren't put on more forward and pulled back into position to smooth the hair down in the direction it goes.  Not all Western riders do that when they tack up.  English riders tend to do that more.  It's more difficult with the heavier western saddle but it could be the only thing you need to do.  Some will rough up the hair by how they pull up the saddle cloth into the pommel (front arch) of the saddle to get it off the withers.  It can be pulled up before the saddle and blanket are slid back together, and that will keep the hair smooth.

Another is that with some horses, as you get into fall, their coat stops growing and goes into a 'resting' phase.  A blanket, a saddle pad, anything will make it look 'fuzzy', 'scrubby' and rough.  As time goes on the hair will wear off and make a bare spot.  Some horses will have 'rub off' spots on hips, face where their halter rubs, under the saddle on the back.  It goes away when the hair starts to grow again in spring.

Another is if the saddle is not resting consistently on the back as the rider rides, and rubs back and forth or up and down as the rider rides.  I can't see your video well enough to tell for sure, but I think that might be it.  You can minimize it by setting the saddle and blanket further forward and pulling them back together into position like one does for that 'scrubby' look when the hair stops growing.


----------



## ducks4you (Sep 21, 2010)

I just had a V-8 moment reading above.  I guess we all assume everybody does this.  RoPo, when you saddle and place the saddle a little too far forward, your pommel will be higher.  As you pull it back, when it hits the right spot, then your pommel and cantle will be level.

Also, what are you feeding him?  He should look sleak--I know  my buckskin "Buster" looks sleak right now, and my horse's 2010 summertime shelter has been the 40 (thirty-foot high) pine trees that are on 3 sides of my pasture and provide moving shade.  This is because I've been working on their shelter all summer and closed them out of it.  I have posted that Buster's coat looked scruffy when I adopted him last March, and DD's commented on his improved coat after we'd owned/fed him for a few months.  Now, his coat shines.  Buster is not much darker than Max, so it's a good comparison.








Buster is not freshly brushed, and these pics were taken an hour after dawn, in low light.
I bought mediocre hay for years, because of convenience and because I didn't know better.  I was even feeding a bale/ per horse/per day of it to my horses, and they were starting to lose weight, before I changed hay suppliers.
Re: hosing off after a ride, that's okay and probably doesn't hurt.  After you ride, take a soft curry or dandy brush, brush/massage circles where the saddle and breastplate were (wherever he's got any marks), then immediately brush briskly the way that the hair lies.  After that, hose him off.  Do this is sections, like first the breastplate area, then brush smooth, then the near side (that's the side on the horse's left), then the off side (that's the side on the horse's right), then where the cinch lies.  Max will enjoy this, and this is what is meant by "don't leave saddle marks on your horse."
If you think about how you feel when you take off tight shoes, and how good it feels for somebody to massage your feet, it all makes sense.


----------



## rodriguezpoultry (Sep 21, 2010)

I'd have to look at the tag, but off the top of my head, it's the Coops brand..

"All Stock 12% Pellet"

It's giving him dapples again...for some reason, when I feed this feed, his dapples come up big time.


----------



## rodriguezpoultry (Sep 21, 2010)

w c said:
			
		

> Another is if the saddle is not resting consistently on the back as the rider rides, and rubs back and forth or up and down as the rider rides.  I can't see your video well enough to tell for sure, but I think that might be it.  You can minimize it by setting the saddle and blanket further forward and pulling them back together into position like one does for that 'scrubby' look when the hair stops growing.


I bet you that's part of it right there! We had to get a breastplate for him and we thought it was a bit tight, winds up we were putting saddle too far back. I've been forgetting to move the saddle back towards his rear instead of forwards towards his shoulders because I'm not used to using the breastplate and getting it in position to attach to the saddle! 

I hadn't even thought of it, or maybe I had in the way back of my mind and just needed it shoved under my nose! Thanks for the idea! I'll be remembering this each time "just in case" that's what's causing it.


----------



## patandchickens (Sep 22, 2010)

w c said:
			
		

> Another is if the saddle is not resting consistently on the back as the rider rides, and rubs back and forth or up and down as the rider rides.


Note that this indicates a saddle-fit problem. For instance a saddle that is too tight on the withers area, and/or not curved the same as the horse's back, and/or the cinch ring is in the wrong position to hold the saddle *uniformly* against the horse, will tend to stay snug against the horse along its front half, and lift off the horse's back and rub all around a whole lot on the back half of the saddle (and pad).

Some saddle fit problems are merely a problem of the saddle being positioned incorrectly on the horse, but unless vigorously held by straps, saddles generally quickly find their own way of sitting on the horse's back no matter how exactly they were originally set on -- so a genuine STRUCTURAL saddle-fit problem is much more common as a cause.

Pat


----------



## rodriguezpoultry (Sep 22, 2010)

Here are some photos from today. Couldn't get the camera to focus well on his back in the sun:







Wouldn't stop following me around...


----------



## w c (Sep 22, 2010)

I must be old or something, LOL, I can't really tell anything from the pictures.

I have one saddle that tends to move up and down on one horse  -  it isn't wide enough in front for him, and a wider saddle doesn't do that on him.

wc


----------

