16/09/2026
Another day. Another episode of IT’S NOT ALWAYS THE SADDLE.
Following on from yesterday’s post about the horse who went lame only in their shiny new dressage saddle (go find it if you missed it, it’s worth a read) here’s another one.
I had a LOVELY regular client with a VERY cute young mare. Eventually she was old enough to have her very own saddle made.
And oof.
It was gorgeous.
Saddle delivered. Lesson the very next day.
Pony went AMAZINGLY.
Never gone so well.
Marvellous. Aren’t I clever. Lovely saddle. Everyone delighted. WOO! **pats self on back for another job well done**
Next ride?
Pony wasn’t quite right.
A bit unhappy. A bit uncomfortable.
Client, quite reasonably: ‘Could it be the saddle?’
Me, also quite reasonably: ‘Erm. Yes. It could.’
Because when a horse is absolutely fine, gets a new saddle and then immediately starts behaving differently, you don’t need to be Poirot to identify your prime suspect.
So I went back urgently.
Checked it.
Nothing.
Saddle fitted beautifully.
‘Crack on,’ I said.
She cracked on.
Pony got worse.
‘Are we SURE it’s not the saddle?’
Back I went.
Still fine.
Get the vet.
Vet came.
Nothing obvious found.
Pony got worse.
‘Are we SURE it’s not the saddle?’
Yep.
Another vet visit.
Things investigated. Things treated.
No real improvement.
‘Are we SURE it’s not the saddle?’
YES.
By this point I was starting to feel like the saddle’s increasingly desperate defence solicitor.
YOUR HONOUR, MY CLIENT IS INNOCENT.
Meanwhile, the pony’s behaviour was deteriorating dramatically.
Her back became so sore that even touching it gently could make her almost sit on the floor. She became aggressive. Difficult to handle. Completely unlike herself.
And every single bloody sign was standing there wearing a sandwich board, clapping their hands, doing star jumps saying:
LOOK AT THE NEW SADDLE.
But the saddle was fine.
And this is where I have to give a massive shout-out to her bloody fabulous owner.
Because every time the vet came and didn’t find the answer…
Every time something was treated and nothing really changed…
Every time that completely understandable question came back…
‘Are we SURE it’s not the saddle?’
…she trusted me when I said yes.
And instead of accepting ‘well, we can’t find anything’ as the answer, she kept pushing.
More investigations.
Look again.
What else could it be?
And eventually…
BAM.
They checked her hormones.
Off. The. Bloody. Scale.
She had a MAHOOSIVE ovarian cyst.
Removed it.
Never looked back.
And honestly, every time I see that mare now, I glow a little bit.
No pain. No aggression. No grumpiness. Lovely happy pony living her best life…
…in the SAME super-yummy saddle that had spent several months being fitted up for a crime it did not commit.
The timing said saddle.
The sore back said saddle.
The behaviour said saddle.
The enormous flashing neon arrow said SADDLE.
It wasn’t the saddle.
And that’s the point of these posts.
Where a horse shows pain isn’t necessarily where that pain started.
Sometimes you have to keep looking.
And sometimes you need a flipping fabulous owner who refuses to stop asking questions until somebody finds the answer.
