Saddle fitting

[Bojangles]

I had the saddle's checkd a couple weeks ago in which it turns out that both of them needing to be narrow down. He had some time off due to a foot abccess I said this to the fitter who said it will be ok and that he won't change shape. One of the saddle was manged to be fitted corretly. The other one couldnt be narrow anymore and I was adrised to use to thicker pad. I wasnt very happy over this as Ive always been told saddle should fit horse without any pads etc. We didnt try it on with a thicker pad which was another concern as I dont like them and I didnt have any at the yard. I did ask wheter it would cause any problems in his back and no it wont and now two and a bit weeks later ive got a horse with a very sore back!!!

As I was told this saddle couldnt be changed anymore I did ask wheter to use this saddle as I didnt want any problems yes again to that. She did say it's not 100% then she didnt say not to ride in it either?? I would of rather her said no as now Ive got a horse with a sore back and Im riding bareback. The difference in his moverment is very big which is more upsetting as I put him though this time with a saddle that doesn't fit and caused him this pain.

I have now booked another saddler to come out in a couple of weeks as the other one can't be adjustd anymore.

I just don't want this to happern to someone else's horse so how should I deal with this???

Also I had 2 saddle's that had to be seen too in which took 1hr and a bit for both. Was seen ridden in the other one first time not the saddle that have caused this problems as it was assumed that the same problem would be the same in the other one.

 

[K27]

What do you mean by the term, Narrowed down?, do you mean that you have an adjustable tree saddle that the Saddler has made narrower or just that they have shoved loads of flocking in it to make it narrower?....

I've had probs with various saddle fitters over the years, and I agree, it can be a nightmare.

The thing is if your horse has been lacking work due to injury or whatever, he or she may have got narrower because of muscle/loss of topline- so sometimes ,although not ideal,the temporary use of a pad can be a good measure until they have muscled up again.... I think it sounds a good idea that you are getting another saddler to check it out, your horse has prob got wider now- so saddle needs to be maybe fitted wider, not narrower.

Good luck with everything.

 

[teddyt]

Sounds like the original saddle fitter is a numpty. For start how could they possibly know that a horse wouldnt change shape- do they have a crystal ball?

Get a second opinion asap on both saddles. If they fit they shouldnt need pads- that just moves pressure from one place to another, it doesnt solve the problem of a saddle that doesn fit

 

[Bojangles]

These's saddle' are gel/foam one's so no flocking. It was narrow down by using a machine. Before his foot abccess he was in work all together he had a month off was workd in between untill another foot abccess came out in front foot no lameness etc. This saddle have blocked him on his right side and was pulling himself along instead of pushing.

Also with this one you can slid your hand along on the left side right side you can't even get hand under it yet alone run your hand under it!! In this saddle he fought any contract and now Im riding bareback Im getting the contract on a loose rein with him listering to me ears all relaxed,bending both ways no resitendec sp?? And going foward without this like lamness stride???

Im looking foward to having a saddle that fits soon. Im not going to ride in the other saddle that got narrow untill it's been checked as I don't want anymore problems.

Just means I cant jump or do any fast work as coming back from canter to trot was very painfull and so not funny well it was kind of as I was eveywhere on him today and he didnt batter a eyelid over his mum bouncing eveywhere bless him!!

 

[K27]

I hope you get it sorted soon, sounds like your horse it totally being blocked by the saddle!

 

[teddyt]

Also with this one you can slid your hand along on the left side right side you can't even get hand under it yet alone run your hand under it!!

Most horses are asymetrical, so this could be the reason for this. However, there is a big but and the reason why i dont like bending trees. It is a hard job to do properly. It may have been bent more on one side than the other. Also, when you alter a tree in this way it leads to cracks and metal fatigue, so the tree can break. Trees are not meant to be bent backwards and forwards , whatever saddle fitters say!

You should always fit a saddle to the widest side and use flocking to build up the narrower side. If your saddle hasn been flocked and your horse is asymetrical then it cant fit both sides of the horse- leading to problems. If your saddle is tight one side and not the other it also hasnt been fitted correctly.

 

[Bojangles]

K27 Thanks and yes I do hope to get it sortd out soon.

Ted- Thats interesd you say about the tree I didnt realise that till now. See learning something new every day ahh!!
He have had a lot of back problems in the pastd mostly muscle related. he have his back check reg and a sports massage 8-10 weeks. In which has helpd his back a lot and now/was useing himself more.

Look's like Im riding bareback for a while. He will carry on getting spoilt by me as I now feel guilty over this. I use heat pads on him and oills and massage before I ride. lot's of long and low work hopefully will help to loosen off his back.

 

[Bojangles]

Also he went from a medium down to a narrow as Im no saddler expert I dont understand this. Before the check's you couldn't run hand fully down front side it was more tight on the top then lower down if this make's sense? Now after checks you cant run hand down side of the saddle flap. I was told it had to be a even pressure thoughout??

It wasnt cheap either at £160 for both saddles.