SADDLES AND SORE BACKS. 1 63 



The greater the weight imposed the greater the pressure on the skin, 

 and with every increase in pressure less blood is circulating through it. 



It is safe to say that the pressure is never quite the same at any two 

 points over the back ; it is greater here and less there, depending upon 

 the fit of the saddletree, so that we never expect to see the whole length 

 of the skin of the back die as the result of pressure, but only those 

 parts where the tree has been particularly ill-fitting and the pressure the 

 greatest. 



It is obvious that so long as there is a good deep muscle bed beneath 

 the skin the chances of completely cutting off the blood supply are very 

 small ; a? the muscle becomes reduced in bulk the saddle is brought 

 day by day nearer to the skeleton, and the unyielding saddle on the 

 one hand and rigid bone on the other very soon complete the destruction 

 of the skin. 



The muscle of the back may be regarded in the light of so much 

 extra stuffing in the saddle, it saves the bones and skin from injury ; 

 it takes the jar and concussion, and forms an elastic cushion for the 

 saddle to rest on. 



This point having now been made clear it is easy to understand 

 the harm which arises through horses being hour after hour under the 

 saddle with no relief from their burden. 



Continuous pressure will kill anything. The weight of a drop of Con- 

 water in course of time wears away a stone, and continuous pressure, tinuous 

 quite irrespective and apart from bad saddle fitting, will wear holes in a ^^^f l"[f 

 horse's back. The most perfectly fitting saddle that it is possible to anvthine. 

 conceive will cause sore backs if worn for hours and days together with 

 no reHef from pressure. 



The value of this lesson will be again referred to in speaking of 

 prevention, but the fact that long continued, unrelieved pressure will 

 invariably cause sore backs cannot be too distinctly borne in mind. 



It might be supposed that the weight of a horse's body was equally 

 distributed over his limbs and that the hind and fore limbs supported the 

 same weight. 



This is not so. The fore limbs carry more of the body weight than Distribu- 

 the hind, and the amount which they carry is influenced by the position ^'^^ ^ 

 of the head, which, if held high, relieves the forelegs from weight, and if Q^^l^g 

 depressed increases the weight. 



Nor is the rider's weight equally distributed over the limbs ; nearly 

 two-thirds of it comes on the forelegs and only one-third on the hind. 



The place on the back where a horse carries his saddle depends on 

 his shape. With low thick withers the whole tendency of the animal's 

 (B 10948) L 2 



