Barrel cob with slipping saddle

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B&J

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Looking for thoughts / ideas to help saddle slipping sideways. It has been fitted but he is a table-top with hardly any wither (apparently prone to slipping?). He has a Thorowgood saddle, it has 4 girth straps. I've been told to use first 2 on one side and 3rd&4th on other side, I'm worried that might create a twist and add pressure? He has a leather girth that doesn't have elastic. His numnah is medium / thin. Any ideas gratefully received! I've heard mixed reviews on using a breastplate, some people say do, some say don't. I don't want to wreck his back!!
 
I wouldn't use different girth straps on either side, I'd agree that it would twist the saddle? Leather girths can be slippy, I'd try a neoprene one, also without elastic. Play around with the girth straps, try 1st and 4th to start with, it might anchor the saddle in place a bit better.
 
Is it always slipping to the same side? Do you lean/sit with more pressure on the stirrup on the side it slips to?

If yes to former but no the latter, are both sides of his back equal? i.e. there's no hollow or lack of muscle on the side it slips to?

It doesn't sound like the saddle fits him very well - might be a case to get a different saddle fitter out to the one who fitted it.
I'm not quite sure how a breastplate would stop it slipping sideways; back, yes, but not sideways.

Sbloom knows more about this than me so you could try pm-ing her or she might be along in a second :).
 
I have a no-withered, table-top backed, barrel of a coblet and I've found that just by the definition of the shape of his back and belly, there is little you can do to prevent saddles slipping without help and intervention. In our case, it is more a case of how do we reduce things? We have a non-slip numnah (non-slip both sides so the saddle grips the pad and the pad grips his back. A neoprene lined girth may also help matters as it is very easy to over-girth them to cinch things in tight. My saddler also said that with wide, round backs, the best thing is to get as low a tree as possible, with wide panels. You need to be sitting as close to their backs as possible.

From personal experience I had more problems with a Thorowgood Cob saddle slipping than the Wintec Wide we use now. I mean, seriously..... this saddle (my boy's) doesn't really have a lot of hope to not slip a bit, does it?

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I'm saving hard for a Native Pony Saddle....
 
Can you try a saddle with thinner panels, like a show or working hunter saddle? Thorowgoods are built up quite a lot . I prefer Wintecs over Thorowgoods but even Wintecs have a lot between you and the horse.
 
Yes I found too that the TG have quite built up panels making the saddle more perched on the pony's back.

Wintec Wides (the newer model) are more closer fitting.
 
From experience all I can say is don't expect to be able to mount from the floor and don't lean over too far when opening gates. Apart from that just learn to sit on the top of the horse and accept that it will slip if you don't. If it is slipping to the same side all the time there have been studies to show this can be an early sign of hind limb lameness or else you are one-sided yourself.
 
it is not inevitable that saddles will roll on big wide shapes, nor is it wrong to use asymmetric girth straps, but 1 and 2 on one side and 3 and 4 on the other is quite extreme and I rarely recommend it. I do personally find that the symthetic treed cob saddles aren't always flat enouhg, and tend to perch, on all sorts of shapes and sizes of cobs. The TG/K&M is particularly bulky, meaning it doesn't wrap around the horse, but I am delivering a saddle this weekend to replace a Bates Wide on a Highland, so like the Wintec Wide. This sits very high and rolls, I am fitting a much narrower seated and pommelled saddle, and "only" in a W/XW, so often they are overwidened to try and get them to sit close.
 
Definitely not different girth straps either side - that will cause uneven pressure as if the saddle is made correctly the webbing goes across the saddle and not just stuck on either side!

Is he even on both sides? As in, when a template is taken does it look symmetrical?

Re girths does he have a very forward girth groove? My Connemara does and it is horrendous as that coupled with his fat belly (he is such a pig he is fed nothing and is on restricted grazing with minimal hay overnight and is still obese) means that saddles have to be just so otherwise we have them all dragged forwards and then invariably they tip to my weaker side because of my hip. My pony's back however is symmetrical as I am so obsessed about working him evenly and tend to lunge more on my weaker side especially in winter when sometimes I cant ride because of my hip.
 
I had a similar issue with my T4 when I had it. Ended up using a hunting breastplate and flexi-girth to keep it in place and assumed this was just an issue that came from owning a cob. Fast forward to now and I've recently swapped my T4 for a secondhand WOW and all I can say is wow what a difference. The WOW doesn't budge at all and that's with a non-elasticated girth and no breastplate. Which has led me to think the slippage was a saddle fit issue rather than an issue with the shape of my horse.
 
Had this problem with the cob I ride! His owner has bought a non slip double gripped Numnah pad and so far so good at the moment....
It always slipped if ever I needed to re mount or sometimes it would just go to the side whilst riding. Saddle fitter came out and said the saddle is fine, pony could do with losing a few lbs and to get the non slip pad. So far so good :)
 
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