Prolite for under muscled tb hard to fit saddle to?

[L&B]

I've run this thread before but maybe didn't word the title right... Sorry admin if its seen as double posting.

So I wondered people's opinions on ProLite pads & my situation?

My lad came back into work around 6-8weeks ago after 6months off due to lameness (foot related), prior to that he was an ex racer & had been through retraining. Before the lameness he had a saddle, after the lameness, he had a different saddle... NOW (after about 8weeks) the second saddle doesn't fit.

Typically for his breed he's fairly short backed & high withered.The concern is with weight in the saddle it is v low around his withers (where they meet his back). The saddler tried 4 or 5 other saddles but he was holding nothing up at all, not even suuuper narrow. The saddler says this is due to him having no muscle on his back and so the saddle is being held up lower down thus causing it to not be propped/cushioned where it should be & low. She has suggested keeping the saddle he has (a silhouette narrow-med) & using a prolite pad as a temporary measure so I can get him in constant work build muscle up... She said she didn't want to keep changing saddles & ending up in the same place 3months later, again when he's changed shape. She believes he will continue to change for a while yet & his current saddle would serve him well with muscle!

So I wondered what your experiences were of prolite pads? And opinions?

 

[chocolatepony]

I have an ex racer and am a big fan of prolite pads or similar. When I first got him he wasn't well muscled at all so I used a prolite to get the saddle to fit as you are considering. Worked really well and he put muscle on nicely. Now he's much better muscled I have changed saddle but still always use either a prolite, half pad or gel pad because he's a TB and just doesn't have any padding himself under the saddle so I think it must be more comfortable for him! My saddle is fitted to accomodate a pad now not because I need it to be to get it to fit but because I want to use one!! We are working at medium level dressage and competing affiliated ele.

 

[Hippona]

I like them.....I did use one for a similar problem several years ago.....ArabX who had muscle wastage in the withers. I used a prolite pad plus a winter vsd adjustable to get him from a medium to a wide fitting. Useful bit of kit

 

[montysmum1]

I've done exactly the same with ex-racers while building up muscle, though as above i've used a gel pad rather than prolite- I just prefer the feel! As long as the saddler is still involved (which yours obviously is) then I think it's fine

 

[L&B]

@chocolate pony, that's fab! And very reassuring us withery tb owners CAN get there! Fab on the med dessage & aff ele

@hippona, ace news aswell I'm looking forward to trying one for him now!

 

[Hippona]

See if you can get one from eBay ...might save few quid

 

[miss_wilson]

I prefer sheepskin to prolite, I have a Lemieux pro sorb which has inserts for shims! Very good!

 

[sbloom]

I prefer sheepskin and use the Mattes correction system for remedial fits, I start any remedial fit with a sheepskin pad so you DON'T end up going too narrow. The LeMiux pads are actually lambskin which is a lovely soft product but isn't as thick and doesn't absorb as much concussion in my opinion. I prefer the shim system in the Mattes.

 

[Zargon_91]

get a shim pad rather than a reg prolite, that way you have many more options- saddlers are doing this more and more now and can also help correct asymmetries. If you go sheepskin route you have to use a good quality one else there is no point- they have no shock absorbing qualities at all. LeMieux are fantastic. Saddler did this with mine this morning!

 

[Pinkvboots]

I use prolite pads for my horses and one has a shim numnah, the saddle needs to be slightly too wide for this to work though, my guess is he has damage on his back from a too tight saddle so now everything looks to low and wide so I would get a saddle fitter than can fit the saddle wider with a shim numnah and prolite so the muscle can come back.

 

[Angua2]

another option is a flair corrector pad, but again as others have indicated the saddle has to be a little wider to accommodate the pad and the planned muscle gain.

 

[Billabongchick]

Another vote for the LeMieux with shims. Our ex racer is still growing and changes shape very often. The system makes her saddle easily adjusted without expensive whole saddle changes and the saddler can change the shims there and then (or I can take the shims out by myself once I see she has built up more). Lovely and soft too!

 

[sbloom]

I don't agree necessarily that trees must be too wide to allow for padding. If they ARE too wide, then simply lifting the front, without contouring the shape of the pad from top to bottom to take up the space left by too-wide points, won't change the pressure though it may correct the balance of the sadlde from front to back. A too-wide saddle has high pressure along the top of the panel, and almost a gap under the points. A uniform thickness pad can't change that poor pressure distribution. I trim Mattes shims so that the pad is thicker under the points and then it tapers off up to the top of the panel.

A too-wide saddle tends to be pommel low hence you CAN pad the front to bring it back into balance, a too-narrow tree should never be padded as there's no way to shift the pressure, and it may already be too high in front.

 

[Victoria25]

I had an Aerolite combi riser (front and rear risers) for my ex racer when I had the same problem and had a high wither t4 saddle for him - really worked well for him x