Saddle Pad for difficult to fit high wither TB

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lacey111

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Basically, we and the saddle fitters have given up trying to fit a saddle to my partners high withered TB, he is such a funny shape, very high withered but also fairly wide over this shoulders, think he has a medium fit saddle at the minute . We are on our 2nd new saddle which fitted perfectly to start with (both did) then after 3-4 months it starts slipping back and anything the fitters have tried to do either makes it worse or dosen't stop it slipping.

We are now on the look out for a decent saddle pad that is both thick *AND* gives alot of protection and one that will also stay in place and help stop the saddle slipping back, we have also just started using an elasticated breast girth to help this aswell.

Does anyone have any suggestions for saddle pads? We started with the Albion Kontrol saddle and currently use the Albion K2 saddle. Have considered a Prolite Pad, or a thick Numed highwither pad but not sure if they will work and we are reluctant to spend lots of money on something that won't make a difference!

Cheers!
 
have you thought about using a saddler who makes trees/does made to measure? might be the easiest option?
that's the route i ended up taking for my mare that does not have the same problem as your tb - but does need a slightly altered tree to fit as she is a little banana shaped - as in mm - but off the peg saddles were creating pressure points on her - i have not looked back since
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Have considered it, but heard that many bad reports have decided not to follow that route, also reluctant to spend another large sum of money as on our 2nd brand new saddle as it is :-( Saddle fitter just said he will always need a decent pad underneath due to shape. Annoying thing is that both saddles fitted perfectly, and didn't move at all when we first had them, then due to being new saddles the flocking compacted a little and neither saddle fitters could flock them back to how they were when new. Just want a pad that wont allow pressure points, the breast girth seem to help yesterday so just need a pad to go with that now :-(
 
I had a horse that shape, in fact I still have his saddle becuase its such a funny fit that I've never been able to sell it on, it would probably fit your horse, shame you don't live closer!

I ended up with a breastplaste (one of the ones that was fiitted to the girth), a gel pad, and a rear riser pad underneath to keep the saddle in one place. The saddle also had extra flocking put in on the bit which sits ontop of the shoulders.

We also had to have the saddle flocking topped up once a year, becuase as it compacted the saddle would no longer give us enough clearence.
 
I use a Bartl sheepskin half pad on my high withered TB and it works really well. It is comfy for him and the saddle seems to 'bed down' in to it well and doesn't move at all.
 
Griffin numed Hi Wither shim pad is a possbility? It has plenty of clearance at the withers, is a wool base with memory foam inner and you can add shim pads via the two front and two rear pockets. If you need extra shims you can order direct from Numed for a reasonable price.

Suber pad might also be worth a look - if you want one go direct to David Ahn - he sells for £65 rather than the £90ish retailers will charge you. Always amazes me when people pay well over £65 for a used Suber on eBAy
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Edited to add - I'd highly recommend Sally Cartwright as a saddle fitter - works out of Beaverhall but does yard visits and probably covers your area.
 
Oh i know exactly how you feel!

Maybe a front riser. I've just bought a nuumed combination riser. It seems pretty good at doing a temporary job, and you can change the position of the pad with velcro. http://www.nuumed.com/shop/sale-items/numnahs-saddlepads/nm0ac-hiwither-half-wool-combination.html

My TB had lost muscle over the winter and is quite hollow at the withers now. Our yard virtually stopped all turnout during Dec and Jan and we had limited turnout during Feb. Our school is sand and has been too frozen to use most of this winter, so my poor horse has just had to do with road walking, and on the days when it was too slippery to go out, nothing
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I'm hoping he'll soon fill out again now he can start working properly again.
 
No, I've not needed to. We are using the Numed shim pad as a temporary measure at the mo as horse has lost a bit of muscle. The suber pads do get good reviews and i like the idea.
 
I have one of these horses. Hellishj hard to get a perfect saddle for.

I finally went with an air flocked cusotm build Ideal - it's pretty good - but the nature of the shape is such that it is always a compromise. But the air flocking makes a huge difference (Flair, not Cair)
 
I would recomend a flair korrector pad. This can then be adjusted every day if needed, with very accurate adjustments. It can be adjusted asymetrically too. Any other pad is a compromise. The horse may not need a riser pad, or more on one side, or more support at the front and not the back. no other pad can allow for this accurately.

Maybe the panels on the saddles you have tried arent right for the horse? High withered doesnt necessarily mean narrow. You need the right width tree and a deep panel to clear the wither without pinching the shoulder. If the saddles really were perfect to start with then either your horse has changed shape or the flockers arent doing a good job!

And you dont always have to use a pad on any horse. With sufficient funds a saddle can be found for any horse. the difficulty comes when an owner wants an exact make, or has a limited budget and the horse has specific requirements. Or the saddle fitter wants to make a sale and tries to 'make do' with what he/she has got. this never works!
 
I had a similiar problem with my narrow, high withered TB. I used a combination of a thick sheepskin numah (the saddle shaped sort that attaches to the saddle so it can't move) and a prolite pad. The only saddle that fitted was a Crosby. Once he got a bit more muscled we dispensed with the prolite pad and just had the numnah.
Before this I had justed an extra thick square numnah but this managed to work its way clean out from under the saddle no matter how secure the girth was - not fun!
 
I know you are asking about saddle pads, but thought I might just mention that I was gutted when my new very high withered narrow horse was the wrong shape for my Albion. After trying dozens of saddles I found the hi withered Thorowgood to fit, starting with narrow gullet. As he has worked and changed shape and moved through the gullet sizes, he is now more of a normal shape and Albion fits! Was not my first choice by far but became my only choice for a decent fit.
 
Has your saddlefitter not sugested you have a saddle made with police points especially for high withered horses. i have an albion made with police points. also he should be able to reflock your saddle so that it fits as it did when it was new. if he is an albion fitter/supplier he should be able to do the work or send it back to albion direct. did he take all the templates when fitting the saddle he ought to check and re template and will be able to tell if the horse has changed shape/dropped weight. a good sheepskin numnah and gel pad or prolite pad will get you through but it still doesnt solve the problem of the saddle not fitting. if saddle is slipping back then the balance will not be right either. might be worth a chat directly with albion in walsall to see what they suggest.
 
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