"Back stiff," Walter said.

"Well, we’ll do a few exercises to supple you a little. It’ll loosen up."

"Back sore, back aching," he protested.

"I’m sorry to hear that. I know backaches can be very uncomfortable. You give me one every time I put shoes on you and you lean on me."

"Maybe I should just stay in my stall and eat," he suggested.

"Maybe I should take a look, find the problem and correct it," I countered.

I looked at Walter’s blanket. It seemed to fit perfectly. It was snug around the neck and covered his shoulders. When a blanket is loose around a horse’s neck it will slide forward and backward, rubbing on his withers and the points of his shoulders. That kind of rubbing is not so good for backs or withers. The blanket should not rest across the back behind the withers, but should cover the withers. There was a good overlap across Walter’s chest, with no gap, so I knew the fit there was okay.

The surcingles were adjusted so I could barely get my hand sideways (about 4 inches) between the horse and the surcingle. The leg straps were adjusted in about the same way. They were loose enough so Walter could walk and move comfortably, but not so loose he could get a foot caught in one.

The hind leg straps were crossed at the center between Walter’s hind legs which I knew would reduce the possibility of him getting a foot caught. And the strap-snaps were attached to the same side of the blanket as they originated. Everything fit and everything was as safe as possible. Should be no back problems.

I pulled his blanket and looked at it’s labeled size. It was a 76. To correctly measure a horse for a blanket, you start at the center of the horse’s chest, take the tape across the point of his shoulder along his side, ending in the middle of his tail. This measurement on Walter is 76 inches, and is a good size estimate. I knew Walter’s blanket fit properly.

He wasn’t getting a sore back from his blanket.

With his blanket off, I stood back and just observed Walter’s back. There were no obvious swellings, welts, sores or scratches. His back muscles were symmetrical. Nothing observable.

Palpation was the next step. I pressed my hand down firmly and moved it along Walter’s back checking various locations. No visible signs of discomfort. I put my right hand on top of my left hand and applied more pressure and I moved along his back, carefully checking the withers area and his loin and the points of his hips. I examined the withers by pinching my fingers and thumb firmly on opposites sides.

Nothing.

So I used my finger tips very firmly on both sides of Walter’s back bone. Sometimes a ticklish horse will react to this type of palpation, but it was obvious this horse was neither ticklish nor in pain. A sore horse will definitely react to the intensified finger pressure, and you’ll know if he’s in pain.

Nothing.

"Must be the saddle," I said. "Let’s put it on."

"Do we have to," Walter whined.

"Yes. We must find out what is causing you so much discomfort." I threw up a pad, then the saddle.

The gullet or pommel of a saddle must have adequate clearance over the withers. The pad should be able to be pushed up into the gullet so you can see the saddle is not resting on the withers.

The saddle and pad should then be pushed toward the horse’s hindquarters, smoothing the hair under the pad, and bringing the saddle to rest in it’s most natural position on the horse’s back. If a saddle is too far forward, you can see that the fender bottoms are tilted upward toward the withers. If the fender bottoms are level, then the saddle is generally in perfect position on the horse’s back.

In the proper position on his back, I checked to make sure the saddle itself was not too long, nor the pad too big. I didn’t want either to rub Walter’s loin area.

Still a perfect fit. Now the final test; enough work to produce a little sweat under the saddle pad.

I bridled Walter, and stepped up. He didn’t flinch or sink or fidget or pin his ears, all signs a horse’s back might hurt. No, Walter just acted bored.

We walked awhile to allow Walter to relax and the saddle to settle. I stepped down and checked the cinch. It was snug, but I could easily get my fingers between it and Walter’s side. I stepped back up satisfied the saddle was on tight enough, but not too tight, and Walter was ready to perform.

We did bending and conditioning exercises, a little loping, some extended trotting and then we stopped.

I pulled the saddle and the sweat under the pad was even and the exact area covered by the pad. No dry spots. The saddle fit well.

"Walter," I said. "Your back problems must be anatomical. I think I’d better take you to the equine hospital and have them do a complete work up on you. No food for 24 hours prior to entering the hospital. What do you think?"

"I think the problem was semantics. How about no equine hospital, a few treats for the hard work I just did, and food for the next 24 hours?"

"Semantics?" I questioned.

"Yeah. I mistakenly said ‘back stiff.’ What I mean to say was, ‘back off’."