A gel pad ?

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Megibo

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Very brief:
recently got a new pony (belongs to mums friend) who came with a saddle smaller than the one i have on my mw 13.3. (the mare is a m/w cob 14.3)
Now the saddle is narrow so i assume it pinches, rode in it today and she was evading as much as she could. but bless her she is 7 and the type to be like "i dont want to do it, but cause you asked you want me to i will"
now i only walked her round a few times on each rein to prove to said friend that she's as safe as when we went to try her.
She doesnt have much muscle (not severely) but theres a small dip either side of her spine and she lacks some over the hindquarters. The saddle fitter wont be able to come out for another 2 weeks and we plan to ride her sparingly.
Rode in a thick numnah today though she was obviously working (only in walk) despite unhappiness. Will a thick-ish gel pad and a thin numnah alleviate any problems enough so that when she is ridden (for short periods!) it wont cause too many problems?
her rider is about 11 stone or less so that shouldnt be too bad. personally i think we should wait til the saddle fitter comes out but said friend really needs to sit on a couple times just so she knows the horse is genuine.
Any advice is appreciated :rolleyes:
 
Putting a gel pad plus numnah will increase the pinching of the too narrow saddle, many people make the same mistake thinking to cushion the saddle but it makes the problem a whole lot worse and pony ends up even more confuzzled.

Either borrow a wider saddle for the 2 wks or don't ride.
 
Boysy said:
Putting a gel pad plus numnah will increase the pinching of the too narrow saddle, many people make the same mistake thinking to cushion the saddle but it makes the problem a whole lot worse and pony ends up even more confuzzled.

Either borrow a wider saddle for the 2 wks or don't ride.
Click to expand...

ohh right i see. my own mares saddle is wider but are there any basic checks you can make to see if it fits well enough ?
 
I could tell you what to look for but its hard to be sure I am giving you good advice - I was taught that the saddle should look level on the horses back, with clearance over the back and not pressing down on the withers. I have "made do" with a wider saddle over a sheepskin pad when my mare came home but that was after my saddler had checked it first. Maybe you should point out to your friend that she can't really try the horse properly if the horse is not comfortable!
 
Adding extra padding is only going to make it pinch more. Tell the friend its tough luck and she'll have to wait. In the meantime do some groundwork to start on the muscle toning.
 
I think you need to explain that riding her in an ill fitting saddle could cause damage to the mare's back.

If you say that it would be like the rider walking round all day in a pair of shoes that are a couple of sizes too small...imagine how her feet would feel....well that's how the mare's back would feel :(
 
I would not ride in a saddle knowing it doesn't fit take it from me whose had a horses back knackered by wrong saddle and bad fitter also who nearly died after being bronc ed off and landed on the fence was told i should be dead after broken ribs re damaged back etc. the best help i have had from someone is saddles direct they looked at my horse and said kieffer they found a kieffer and they said it would be the only one to fit him and it was he is a changed horse after i sent pictures and drawings of his back. see if someone has a wintec saddle which u could try on him with the right width bar. Dont use a wrong fitting saddle you also wont feel the horse at his best if he is in pain or discomfort

also make sure the saddle fitter is qualified i found i had the ideal made for my boy only to find it caused the probs as too wide and the guy was a saddler not a saddle fitter too very different qualifications check the person is qualified on here http://www.mastersaddlers.co.uk/ if he isnt on here he is not qualified
 
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thanks for the replies, i'll tell her all of this. i was a little worried last night as she said "well they were riding her in that saddle, so it'll be ok for another couple of weeks." i was like eek!!
I did say it could damage her back etc but hopefully if i tell her today and all of what you have said she'll refrain from riding her.:rolleyes:
 
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