Breastplates etc advice please....

[L&M]

I have had my new boy for 2 mnths now and everything is going really well.

When I bought him I noticed the saddle I rode him in moved back when jumping - I put it down to the fact that the saddle wasn't a particularily good fit.

I had my saddler out (Master Saddler) and he fitted a lovely Ideal saddle, but have found this is also slipping back when jumping or riding up hills.

The pony is a full up Connemara with a big shoulder, and equally big movement, so am thinking the saddle slipping is as much conformational as saddle fit.

I have tried a hunting breastplate and a jumping breast girth (the one that goes around the chest to the girth, with a loop over his neck), and although they do help a little, the saddle is still moving.

Any advice? Or is it back to the saddler?

 

[jenni999]

I would say back to the saddler - or possibly a different saddler !

 

[cyberhorse]

Probably back to the saddler as the next step. My horse tends to suffer this issue so I was recommended a stubben jumping saddle as they tend to want to slip forward if anything, a wider girth so I use a JW pressure girth or a stud girth, and a Acavallo non slip gel. It works really well, but the next step was to use a standard old fashioned leather non-elasticated chest girth if we still had problems.

 

[sbloom]

What girth straps are you using? The saddle may be less than perfect, and flat backed Connies are not the easiest to fit, any instability can cause the saddle to move, but it may simply be girthing. If you have a balance strap, the girth strap attached back near the cantle, can be used ideally with the next but one strap, the second one back if you had four in total, and this should help.

Flat backs are hard to fit - the tree and panel needs to be very flat otherwise, as I said, you can get movement, and in which direction that movement is can depend on the horse, you may find that instability caused by all sorts of different issues may also send the saddle backwards.