Best way of "padding up" this saddle...

[Henry02]

My horse is very hard to fit with saddles as she's a very funny shape. I have an ideal jump saddle that is a pretty good fit on her, apart from the panels right at the back are not quite in contact with the back.

She has a fair amount of topline to build up, which should eradicate the problem, in the meantime, any suggestions with the best way of pads underneath the saddle would be great.

I'm not interested in nasty comments about getting a saddler out, I've already done so and they were happy with the basic fit of it. I'm also not interested in comments about it doesn't fit buy another saddle or get a made to measure one. I have this one, and cannot afford m2m.

 

[Tern]

back riser?

 

[saddlesore]

If it's not touching is the back it usually means the gullet is too wide or the tree is too curved. If the saddler happy that they will 'grow into it' them I'd pop a dead sheep under it and a prolite wither pad to narrow the front a little.

 

[Goldenstar]

I have numed memory foam numahs with shims the sheepskin and non sheepskin versions and the prolite trizone pads , a sheepskin half pad
I fiddle about until I find what works best .

 

[Sukistokes2]

Pro lite pad, a front riser, my saddler used to use it to support saddle while my lad grew into the width, he would go up and down a gullet size in a week.....nightmare!

I now use a HM treeless rather then faff around with all that!

 

[Kallibear]

Do you mean the panels curve upwards, away from her back? Many saddles are designed to do so: only the ones with gussets at the back will sit flush all the way along.

If it's lifting up off her back and it IS gusseted then either the saddle is too low/wide at the front or the tree is too curved for her back.

Do you have a picture?

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

As has been mentioned, you could try a rear riser, possibly a gel riser would work for you:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shires-Re...190?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item19fba2c24e

 

[orangegrace]

One of the best things I've ever bought is the prolite tri pad. It's got 3 pockets each side instead of the normal 2 with 2 shims, a thick one and a thin one for each pocket, which allows you to alter the fit so much more. Was definitely worth a buy and has come in use for numerous different horses !

 

[sbloom]

I much prefer Mattes pads, with appropriate trimmed shims (see videos on Youtube for free help), to anything else. I will work with whatever customers have, if possible, but never get the stability on the wide horses that I tend to fit, with the other systems, which usually have foam and gel. Mattes has felt shims and the best most shock absorbing sheepskin there is.

Please don't use a rear riser, it won't be the right fix. You need to correct the front first to stop the back lifting when girthed (or in rising trot the main test) and then balance the back if necessary. So, you might end up with two shims at the front, graded, then nothingthrough the middle (ie the shims are trimmed to be much shorter than the pocket so the middle of the saddle is against the horse), then two shorter ones again, also graded, at the back to level the saddle. If the saddle is simply too wide then the front shims should work on their own, if too curvy you'll need shims front and back.