Help with front riser pads

[khalswitz]

Looking for a little advice. I have been offered a very old, but good condition Zaldi dressage saddle in exchange for my old, but good condition, wintec adjustable gullet gp, and would like to know whether you think its worth the swap!

The wintec I bought for not my last horse bu the one before - an IDxWelsh. The last two have been high withered TBs who it doesnt fit at all, so not much use to me. I have three gullets for it (blue, red and black). Spent 400 on it back in the day (about 5-6 years ago), and onyl rode in it for 4 months before upgrading to a leather one, so had little use. Obviously, the way the saddle market is, it looks like I'll be luck to get £100 for it on ebay, if that...

The dressage saddle is old, but in good nick. Saddler says Zaldi trees can warp, but it is currently fine, it will just need watching. It is also a bit wide for my boy, who being a TB ex racer is still in the process of building topline so has very high withers without much muscle. She said that otherwise, it fits his back well, and when we borrowed a friend's shim-able pad and stuff a folded towel in it, he had enough lift at the front for it to fit - she said this kind of tree is too fragile to narrow herself. Would need to go and buy a front riser/wither pad, and he has a thin half pad anyway due to lack of back muscle, so would mean a reasonable bit of padding however.

So, is it worth it? Should I just see what I can get for the wintec, and put it towards saving for a dressage saddle next year? (Or possible year after, am pretty skint...) Or is it worth swapping? I currently only ride in a jumping saddle as thats all I have, which isnt ideal for my leg position, and we get funny looks when showing and doing dressage... so worth it if this fills the gap?

And if it is worth it, what front risers would you recommend? Have looked at the prolite wither pad - how thick is it? Does it fit normal prolite front shims? Or are there other (cheap) shimable pads? Wintec front risers?

Any opinions appreciated...

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

I would do the swap and use a prolite adjustable front riser pad. It's a half pad with extra removable padding in the front, costs about 70 pounds lasts forever and machine washable.

 

[StormyMoments]

hmmm i don't think i would because either a saddle fits or it doesn't... if you have a towel and shims under it do you really think that your horse will fill out enough to fill the gap? i wouldn't personally but that's my own opinion.

the thing you have watch out for with front riser pads or any riser pads for that matter is that they have a tendency to make saddles bridge which will cause pressure points on the withers and back of the saddle.

if you are going to go for it i would go for something like this > http://www.equestrianimports.com/shop/index.php?_g=ex&_a=prodDetails&productId=41 but obviously they are fairly expensive if not the prolite pad

 

[khalswitz]

Thanks for the advice! To clarify, we borrowed a prolite that didn't have shims and used a thin towel. It was equivalent to 2-3 shims.
I have always felt the same about saddle fit, which is why when my saddler suggested padding I thought I'd see what everyone else thought!
Also sorry for typos! Am on my phone :s

 

[sbloom]

I agree with the Mattes pad - top quality dense sheepskin, four pockets so you can use if for all sorts of things, unlike a dedicated riser pad. Not cheap but they're the only pads I stock and the only ones I use for remedial fits. If you trust you fitter then go for it.