bloomin' saddle...

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WoodysMum

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In theory I love my Saddle Company saddle, its light and flexible for my cripple
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But I have never been 100% satisfied with the fit!

The problem I have is that I cannot tighten the girth quickly on him as he is very sensitive. My saddle keeps slipping back and there is lot of movement at the back of it, when I get off the back is higher than the front. When I got the saddler out I was just told to tighten my girth more... But this isn't a great idea with my lad as he hates it! I dont ride with it loose either, but not ridiculously tight.

By the end of the ride it is obviously uncomfortable for him as he shudders when I take the saddle off. I ride with a HM backsaver pad underneath it (memory foam) but the problem is when it gets warm with the horse's body heat it becomes more pliable so it cant really be relied on for levelling the saddle..

My boy has a long high wither and muscle wastage behind the wither so it doesnt really help
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A few pictures so I sound less crazy!

After being ridden today
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showing the movement at the back of the saddle
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Any experts out there willing to help? Any temporary padding I could use? A breastplate maybe?
 
I fit Saddle Company saddles and I think your saddle is actually too wide - the girth is not helping with the fit as it looks to me to be the old cottage craft one. These don't spread the weight of the rider around the horse and allow the saddle to slip and roll. However if the basic fit of the saddle is incorrect then tightening a girth will make it not better. If a saddle has movement at the back, and drops at the front then it is too wide.

You need to get your fitter back out, they should be able to see immediately if it is too wide and simply put it on the templating machine and narrow it to your horses template. Putting a breastplate on will not help - just keep the saddle foreward.

I would personally buy a prolite wide relief pad, unlike the HM pad it doesn't change with the body heat. I would also buy a stubben cord trevira girth as that will spread the weight of the rider over the widest area and be far more comfortable for your horse I would also call the fitter out and insist is is adjusted to fit.
 
Echo the above - too wide saddle generally slide back (to where they are wider), too narrow generally slide forwards (to where they are narrower).

I had this problem with mine, as it was fitted too wide because the horse was likely to get fat over the next couple of weeks. She never did and it slide back well over a foot. :eek: I had it made narrower and it doesn't slide any more.

And also echo the HM back pad. I think they're useless. When they're warm they have no structure at all, go totally soft and compress completely - they're no better than a nunmah then.
 
If he is going to get wider then you could just pad it out, but I'd save up for a korrector pad from Wow so you can infinitely adjust it (but I like fiddling around!).

However if they are at their fattest and likely to loose weight over winter, then think you need to get fitter back out to change its shape.

Also p.s. rude horsey in your pic!!!
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Thanks everyone for your detailed replies!

The saddle was fitted to accommodate for him muscling up, so its slightly too wide. But then my saddler just comes out and tells me it fits fine with the HM pad, so Im going round in circles with her! She didnt tell me how I could pad it out until he muscled up or anything..hmmm...

Im not a fan of the cottage craft girths myself but my old physio insisted I bought one as apparently the old one I was using made my horse sore!
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Are the stubben cord girths good for sensitive neds? He's got some lumps around his girth area (had them before I got him)


Will a wide relief pad help until he gets some more muscle?
 
your saddle is too wide - yes they need to be fitted too wide to allow muscle development, but they should not drop when used with a prolite pad. I think the fundamental problem could be the HM pad it is simply not supportive enough and just drops away. Get the Prolite wide relief pad, ditch the HM pad. Get rid of the Cottage craft girth - it is just too narrow, even if you do it up tight it only tightens across the centre of the girth so your weight is spread only on a 1inch band. The Stubben cord girths are fantastic, work brilliantly on sensitive horses,

If you are finding your saddle still drops then it is too wide. so your saddler should narrow it to fit to prolite.

Prolite pads are the only pad I would recommend for remedial fitting as it is the only one that will contract and expand with the horses muscles allowing them to work and grow as needed.
 
The saddle looks a bit too wide which is why it is tipping forwards. I would get a fitter out and explain - could you get a second opinion from another saddler ? My horse doesn't like her girth done up but since I have been using a sheepskin sleeve and really pulling her legs forward after tightening her girth, this has been a massive help. You need to make sure sleeve is really clean. Wow korrector pads are really good. In fact I have one, which I don't use anymore if you would like to borrow it, you're more than welcome. However, I actually got the saddler to fit mine professionally. PM me if you want to borrow.
 
Thanks everyone! I will definitely give the wide relief pad and the cord girth a try
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As for the sheepskin girth sleeve, I spent £40 on it only for someone to steal it ! grr....

thankyou for the kind offer Happy Bird, I shall keep it in mind if my first plan doesnt work!
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Don't know about the saddle fit but would highly recommend the stubben string girths for sensitive horses. I've had a few saddle problems (fingers crossed sorted now) and tack my pony up slowly and not too tight - he is a lot better with the string girth than a normal leather one. In fact someone tacked him up and put the leather one on in error - he started pulling faces etc so changed it quickly to the string one and he was instantly fine again - it definitely works for me
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Try the Mark Todd Accupressure pad...stops slippage, wicks away moisture, massages the back...AND most importantly has succeeded where all others have failed for me. I have tried Prolite, sheepskin, thin-line, limpet, Rambo, and combinations with the sheepskin. I also use wintec chafeless girth...long story as to why which I will pm if you like....
 
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