What's the best cure for saddle sores?

[Ranchero]

Can a saddle sore be cured permanently? We have some horses on our outfit that only get ridden every six months during the fall and spring roundups. Some horses will develope sores after only 3 or 4 days of use. The sores are always in the same place no matter who is using them or what saddle is on or how much pad. We tried using extra thick pads, cutout pads, double pads gall salve and nothing seems to work. Nothing is more frustrating than to have to put one of your favorite horses out to heal up for 2 months after only a weeks worth of use. This problem adds to the overall cost of operating the ranch because a bigger remuda is required for dailey ranch work. I sure don't want to sell these horses, some are my best mounts. I would like to hear from anybody that has experienced these same kind of problems. Your input would be greatly apreciated.

[Jinglebob]

Sounds to me like you are trying to ride "too fat and out of shape horses" too hard.

Could you just ride them every second or third day and maybe get them toned up, so they are in better shape? Or only ride them part of the day, for those three days?

If I have to go out and do heavy labor, that I'm not used to doing, I get pretty stiff and sore. I think horses are the same way. They need to be conditioned and slowly brought up to the workload.

I don't think any kind or amount of padding is going to keep a soft horse from getting sore after three days of hard riding.

Get a backpack and put on a heavy load and wear it all day while doing your normal work. See how you would feel after three days in a row. But if you only did it for a short part of the day and increased the time it was on your back everyday, you would get in better shape and better condition, and tho' you might get a little stiff and sore at first, with caution you would get "tuffer" and better able to handle the load.

Just my opinion.

[Curly]

Sounds like your horses are not in shape. Its not fair to them to be saddles up a few times a year and worked until they go raw. I would recommend that you condition them at least a couple weeks before the big drives, more if you can. Also, make sure the blankets are clean and the saddles not too tight.

[Faster horses]

I couldn't agree more with Jinglebob and Curly. Please go back and re-read what they posted; it is very important.

The men who buy horses for slaughter say it is terrible what they find on horses backs when the hide is off... It is all man-caused...

One small thing you can do is wash their backs with a solution of vinegar water every day. It will help toughen their hide, but is no way going to solve your problem. Sounds to me like you might need more horses so you can trade off.

It is terrible in my book, to ride a sore-backed horse; it is almost as bad to put a white mark on a horses back as well. Something is not right when that happens.

[Jinglebob]

[Faster horses]

We put white marks on a horse once that roaned out during the winter and then went away. He is 27 now, no white marks. Rode him hard, team roped, no white marks. We had a saddle that put the marks there and got rid of the saddle. It was a factory saddle and the way I understand it, the way the saddle strings were put through, left a little bump, so tiny I could hardly feel it, but the horse sure could.

My husband always took his saddle off to let the horses back cool off good and that seems to help too.

We looked at some horses for sale over by Meteetsee, Wyoming several years back, and every horse had two white marks on his back; one on each side in the same place. Every horse they raised had these marks. It would be hard to imagine there were that many bad saddles. The only horse that did not have white marks was a Zan Parr Bar horse that they bought.

We got behind the horses and looked foreward and you could see bumps of muscle sitting right on top of their shoulders. All the horses were out of one stud and he sure put that muscle in the wrong place. Nothing could be done about it either. Guess it didn't bother them once it healed up good~

[kolanuraven]

The vinegar & water works wonders!! I had to do once .... as I felt sorry for a big red roan Appy gelding I saw every day in a pasture by the road. He was in miserable shape but somehow he just "spoke" to me and I went and bought him....paid too much but what the heck.

Brought him home, doctored him up for about 6-7 months before I dared to saddle him up, added about 300-400 lbs to him and now he's like a shiny copper penny a blazing white blanket on his rump and works cattle all day if you let him. In fact if I don't pasture him away from all the action, he'll now make several laps of the paddock and rise and fly over the gate like a jumper and come to the action....whether you want him or not!!

The horses have GOT to be in shape and it takes some of them longer than others....just like us humans!

[Faster horses]

I have a whole new respect for you after reading that post, kolanuraven!!

Way to go!!! Been there, done that!! Wonderful story!!!!

[theHiredMansWife]

[RRoss]

You ladies won't care for this, but I'll make a solution out of salt and purex to toughen a sore spot so you can keep using the horse.

I've got a big sorrel gelding with a white spot caused by roping a 4 yr. old bull and having to hold him until we could get him tied down. The spot doesn't bother him, just me! Just evidence that he has seen some use.

[kolanuraven]

Thanks for the compliment FH...but I'm not a horrible liberal as some think!!

You have NO IDEA how much $$$$ I've spent saving critters from horrible masters!! That's how I get all my cow dogs....they are all throw aways that I rehab. I get a lot of " yap" from folks about it...but it's my money and I'll do with as I please and if it's buying or doctoring a critter that cant' help itself...so be it!!

I spent $600 on an old Arab mare once...just hated seeing the neighbors starve her to death....kept her 6 months only to find out she had a HUGE tumor in her gut causing the constant colic.

So I had the vet come and put her down.

Long story short... I found out much later on that in the 70's she'd been a Grand Nat'l champ @ the Nat'l Western and her original owner sold her to my neighbor for his kids cause she was sooooo gentle. Well Mr. Neighbor doesn't take good care of his kids and less care of his critters! At least she had a few good months her with me, like she deserved as a" past her prime" beauty queen!

[Faster horses]

RRoss, where did you come up with that mixture? I sure wouldn't put Purex on my horse... or I don't think I would anyway.

Why wouldn't the vinegar work on that as well and would not be near as caustic?

One thing that really works for a cinch sore, and I'm not kidding, find an innertube that your cinch will run through. Put bacon grease on the sore and you can ride the horse while it heals. Sounds bad, works wonderful. There is something in bacon grease that causes the hair to grow in faster, too.

One of my best old-tyme things is to use bacon grease to repel flies. We put it on horses chest, where their navel is (flies really set there and it is so hard for the horse to reach that area) and around their eyes. (Be very careful around the eyes.)

I guess it is the salt that repels flies, because this sure works. We have done this for at least 30 years. We keep a can of bacon grease at the barn so we can use it when needed.