Ouchies...how to ride a TB bareback without getting a v sore...

catembi

catembi

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...errrmm...!

My ex-racer had KS surgery 18 months ago, also treated for ulcers, now looks amazing, but performance is non-existent. He only wants to walk, even tho he's perfectly sound & looks in great health.

So, being v bored of plodding about in walk & in an experimental mood, I wondered if it could be saddle-related... Hopped off, took saddle off, hopped back on...OMG his back is all bones! He is not remotely thin, but...ouchies...! I used to ride my chunky ISH bareback & it was perfectly fine, but...owowow...!

He has a WOW that has recently been refitted. However, if I try to push my index finger under the gullet, when mounted, it won't fit. There is 2 fingers' clearance at the front mounted, but the WOW has a ridge on the inside of the pommel/gullet a few inches back & my finger won't go under it. I also looked at his saddle cloth (thin, quilted) & where that ridge would be, there's a more heavily scurfed line.

I am thinking of trying the Solutions treeless in the NY when I can spare the £500 deposit to hire one for a trial, but in the meantime, I don't think I'll be trying bareback again.

T x
 
I use a poly pad with a surcingle around it, depending on horse movement might be worth adding a racing breast plate onto it as well :p
 
Really...? I will keep an eye out then.

Thank you for all the suggestions! I've got a poly pad somewhere & I'm sure I've got a surcingle.

T x
 
Buy a cob and lead the TB.


Or join the unofficial solutions saddles FB group. You'll perhaps get a second hand one below 1k. You could have a fitting from them for 50 quid so you know what you are looking for.
 
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In ye olden days we used a roller and folded potato sack for the working carthorses [I was quite young], which often had to be moved fairly long distances for their work, and this is also how I break a pony.
Strangely enough my standardbred gave me the best bareback experience of all, he seemed to be so much more "integrated" I did consider a treeless saddle, but he was amazingly sharp [180 degree turns] when young. I think a bareback pad would have been best for him.
 
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Your wow doesn't fit! You need 2 to 3 fingers clearance where that ridge is between it and the horse. You may need different panels or just a different headplate. Either way you need the saddle re fitted. That will be very likely making him reluctant to do more than walk.
 
Imogen Rose said:
Your wow doesn't fit! You need 2 to 3 fingers clearance where that ridge is between it and the horse. You may need different panels or just a different headplate. Either way you need the saddle re fitted. That will be very likely making him reluctant to do more than walk.
Click to expand...

Agree with this. Why not just get the fitter back out to adjust the Wow? Also, I find one of these essential for a bony backed/sensitive TB:

http://www.lemieuxproducts.com/lemieux/half-pads/half-pads?zenid=726d079c21c7d0da5a52b9e46beafed1
 
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catembi said:
Really...? I will keep an eye out then.

Thank you for all the suggestions! I've got a poly pad somewhere & I'm sure I've got a surcingle.

T x
Click to expand...

There is a Facebook page where they change hands, unofficial solution saddles, I will be advertising one in the next few days 😊
 
H'mm, his WOW was refitted by his usual fitter only a few months ago. I've had my doubts though, and now that they've been confirmed, I've contacted a different fitter. Doesn't hurt to get a 2nd opinion. But when a saddle has been 'fitted', it seems stupid to think that I know better than the expert, but I kind of think I do... We shall see...!

Thank you!

T x
 
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