saddle bridging on pony- any advice ?

[katef2020]

Hi All,
my daughters fantastic welsh B, is at 25years very fit and well,but as he is getting fitter his saddle has started to bridge. He has a flat back, but some wither, takes an Xwide saddle, currently has a thoroughgood PC saddle as was the only one the saddler could get to fit, BUT is becoming slightly sway backed as he ages, He is not overweight and is regularly hacked,jumped, PC rallies etc, and shows in summer. His saddle is rubbing under the cantle, although he has a thick polypad,and despite master saddler using some inserts in the flocking to try to "fill in" the gap, still the saddle is obviously bridging.
Had saddler out last week and she thinks not much else she can do fit wise ? My daughter is very lightweight and tiny on him . Anyone else with a similar problem, am thinking of a gel pad, but great to hear if anyone else has found a solution. Pony is not showing any signs of discomfort, but his coat is getting rubbed, so would like to try to nip this in the bud early. Look forward to any replies - Thanks, Kate

 

[ThePony]

different saddle - if the tree is the wrong shape there really isn't anything you can do about it. Wintecs have curvier trees so poss worth talking to your saddler about?
What does your saddler suggest to get an improvement - does she have other saddles that might be more suitable?

 

[katef2020]

Thanks for your reply,
no saddler didnt have anything else as needs to be 15 " and we didnt really want to go down made to measure route as he will prob retire at the end of this year. Great ideas re wintecs though, do they do them as small as 15" with shorter flaps, as my daughter is a tiny 8 y/o ? Saddler seemed to think as rider so light wouldnt be a problem, but my thinking is that if the hair is rubbing, then obviuosly there is pressure there, and would like to do something to reduce it

 

[ThePony]

They do some diddy ones (assuming you don't want a handle one?)
http://www.wintec.net.au/products/allPurpose/allPurpose2000Pony.html
http://www.wintec.net.au/products/allPurpose/allPurpose500Pony.html
http://www.wintec.net.au/products/allPurpose/allPurpose250.html

Unfortunatly they don't do their wide version in a 15". Can your saddle fitter check the fit of a saddle if you order online? Might be worth a try ordering a wintec and then getting your fitter to take a look.

I agree with you, no matter how light your daughter is, rubbing hair and a bridging saddle isn't good enough!!

 

[starbar]

Get a new saddler. No fitter worth their salt would suggest that an ill fitting saddle which is obviously creating pressure points would be OK
There will be a better solution for your pony, it might just take a bit of finding. All horses deserve to have a comfy, well fitting saddle

 

[sbloom]

Rubbing indicates movement rather than bridging per se in my experience. I agree that you can't carry on using the saddle as is, but I dod suspect that bridging isn't the whole story. I fit for Native Pony saddles and would be more than happy to try and help if you can supply photos etc. Synthetic trees in general are not as stable on wide ponies which is why we've stuck with traditional beech laminate trees so Wintec may not be the solution, though I do undertand you not wanting to stump for a new leather saddle in the circumstances!

 

[OldNag]

We've got a round, no-wither Welsh A and have decided to spend the winter using a shetland pad. My girls are fairly small and skinny so don't weigh much. Our saddler said she could fit somethign now but we'd need something else come spring so we'd be better off doing that.
Pony and girls seem very comfortable, .. wonder if it might be worth a try for you? I got mine second hand on eBay for about £20 (Leather and felt one).