correction/shimmy pads, advice needed please

Palindrome

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correction/shimmy pads, do you use one? what is your experience with them?

My mare has been very sore and slightly lame behind just after her saddle was adjusted by the fitter (gullet was widened). She is having a rest and saddle has been adjusted again : more flocking has been added towards the middle of the panels (just where they become narrower) so I am guessing that the saddle was bridging. The saddle was used with a thin Roma sheepskin half-pad and caused dry spots behind the wither. The saddle is the correct width so I am wondering if a correction/shimmy pad could help the panels fit her back shape better.
 

Pinkvboots

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I have only used one on a horse with muscle wastage and thhe saddle was too wide to allow for the muscle to come back, so the shims sort of fill the gaps where the muscle is lost and lifts the saddle off the hollows, mine was fitted by the saddler and the concept was expained to me and I was shown how the saddle should fit.

If the fitter has adjusted the saddle surely it should fit or have they suggested you use one?
 

be positive

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The saddle should have been fitted with whatever pad you planned to use, if the saddler has said use something with shims for a while that is fine but if not there should be no need to put anything under the saddle as you will alter the fit and could, if it really does fit correctly, make things worse.
If the saddle was bridging it normally means the tree is the wrong shape and that the saddle may be unsuitable, it may appear to be the right width at the front with the different gullet but it may not be correct everywhere else, if it was only slightly wrong then putting some extra flocking may be enough to get it right.
Bridging and dry spots at the front along with her becoming very sore and lame suggests to me that it is not right for her or she is not right herself in some way, have you had the sore back and lameness checked by a vet or physio? that would be a priority for me if she was sore enough to be lame it is unlikely to get better without some help, rest is not usually enough on it's own.
 

Goldenstar

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I do use shimmed pads for all sorts of things .
I like very much the numed memory foam numahs with shims I also have prolite pads with shims in testing prolite comes out best for dispersing pressure how ever I always struggle to get prolite pads to sit well .
However I question whether shimming is the way forward for what you describe I would get the saddler back pronto .
 

Palindrome

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If the fitter has adjusted the saddle surely it should fit or have they suggested you use one?

No, fitter said that the material covering the panel being synthetic is stiffer than leather so more difficult to give it shape (so it was too flat) and he might need to come back a few times to adjust it until it's right.

The saddle should have been fitted with whatever pad you planned to use, if the saddler has said use something with shims for a while that is fine but if not there should be no need to put anything under the saddle as you will alter the fit and could, if it really does fit correctly, make things worse.
If the saddle was bridging it normally means the tree is the wrong shape and that the saddle may be unsuitable, it may appear to be the right width at the front with the different gullet but it may not be correct everywhere else, if it was only slightly wrong then putting some extra flocking may be enough to get it right.
Bridging and dry spots at the front along with her becoming very sore and lame suggests to me that it is not right for her or she is not right herself in some way, have you had the sore back and lameness checked by a vet or physio? that would be a priority for me if she was sore enough to be lame it is unlikely to get better without some help, rest is not usually enough on it's own.
Fitter adjusted the saddle and then said to use my sheepskin half-pad and saddlecloth (I usually only use either one of them as don't want to put too much bulk, half pad is not a very thick one). When I say sore/lameness, there is no "bulge" forming if your press on her back but she is unhappy about saddle being put on (stomping, ear pinning) and she is not consistently over-tracking as much as she normally does in trot on the lunge (she will overtrack if encouraged forward, it's only slight but I know that she is not 100%). I should add she has only been ridden once with the badly fitting saddle but it was a bit intense as we were in larger company and she was high strung. She is having 2 weeks work rest with normal turnout as there is no point calling the vet for sore muscles, of course will call him if she doesn't improve. Am also waiting for a leather saddle I bought on recommendation from saddler.
 
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Palindrome

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I do use shimmed pads for all sorts of things .
I like very much the numed memory foam numahs with shims I also have prolite pads with shims in testing prolite comes out best for dispersing pressure how ever I always struggle to get prolite pads to sit well .
However I question whether shimming is the way forward for what you describe I would get the saddler back pronto .

He has been back and readjusted the saddle ( I contacted him the day after the fitting and to be fair he didn't charge for coming back and adding flocking). But I am reluctant to use the saddle again now. May be I should get a second opinion.
My thinking about the shimmy pad is that I can have it on hand in a day to day basis for fine adjustments in between saddler visits.
 
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Under-the-radar

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I use a soft treed saddle on a very strange shaped horse (but its the only thing that works for her!) so use a correction pad. I have used the Nuumed shimmy pad, which works nicely, but have been using the Lemieux correction pad with shims most recently, which seems to work better for my horse.

The Lemieux comes with more substantial shims with it than the Nuumed shimmy pad, which is why I think it works better for my mare. I think for regular shim changes, the Nuumed is probably easier to access than the Lemieux - as the pockets are on top and open, whereas the Lemieux pockets are opened underneath (in my sheepskin one anyway) and velcroed closed.
 

Palindrome

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Thank you, I quite like Lemieux stuff, so might go for that. The Mattes ones also have an option with 6 pockets that look interesting.

Sorry I have probably not been clear, the problem is that the panels are too flat for the horse's back and can't be given much shape due to the stiffness of the synthetic material. I have bought an Albion slk ultima in the mean time (not yet received but had quickly tried one with the saddler, was OKish so going to give it a proper try where the flocking is also adjusted) but since the horse's weight also fluctuates I thought the correction pad would be a good option to explore.
 
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leflynn

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I use the prolite one with 6 pockets and its been great so far, some of the others only have 4 pockets which means you can't adjust as much :)
 

khalswitz

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I use a Mark Todd Acupressure pad with front shims under my treeless saddle, but wouldn't use them under a treed saddle really as, whilst they can fill in a gap etc, they alter the balance of a treed saddle, and raising the front with shims can put pressure on the rear of the panels and end up in lumbar back pain. Just get a saddle that actually fits - it's shouldn't take several fittings for the saddle to 'adjust' to the horse, and a horse that is cross when the saddle is put on that normally isn't would be a big concern for me.
 
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