Saddle problem, please can I have your thoughts?

[Troggy]

I have a problem with Toff’s saddle, well actually it’s her back/shoulders and I am after some ideas! I will give you background info first though:

Last October I had a saddle fitter out (Martin Wilkinson so very good reputation) and he discovered that the saddle I was using (and had been fitted by a local master saddler) had a broken tree. I had a problem with tipping to one side so he found me a saddle (lovely Ideal Intl Event) and assumed this would solve the problem.

Back to now! I still felt as though I was tipping, which was getting a bit worse so arranged for him to come out again. He looked at the fit and it is still spot on for her, but when he looked at her back more closely he noticed that her shoulders were slightly un even and one had slightly more muscle, and from this he could tell her best rein and which way I was tipping, which of course was correct! He asked if she had had an accident, which she did, in 2004 involving getting stuck on a narrow bridge and had injuries on all 4 legs and stomach. He explained that as my saddle is so old the flocking is too packed down to add some more to on one side I have 2 options. The first one, which he suggested to try first was a felt pad (he is sending in post) and stitch it on to saddle cloth as per this pic:

So it raises the saddle on one side and he is confident this will solve the problem. The other option is to get the saddle completely re flocked to fit her back, which is expensive and will also de value the saddle as will be wonky!

Can anyone think of any more ideas? I did wonder about getting it changed to Cair/Flair etc, would this work?
Also it is going to be a pain having to stitch on this felt pad every time, can anyone think of an alternative? I think Robinson’s do saddle cloths which have pockets for gel pads, so not sure if this will work….
Just after some ideas really! Sorry it’s so long….!!

 

[Evil_Cookie]

What about a treeless saddle pad, they usually come with pockets so padding can be adjusted?
Saddles are such a pain aren't they

ETA : Oh and cair won't compensate for the atrophy, it acts as a normal stuffing and if anything is firmer so could cause more issues... as is mentioned below something like korrector may be more suitable if you want to go down the air flocking route.

 

[Weezy]

Have you considered gettig a Korrector pad? Then you are using air, which will, hopefully, enable the lower shoulder to grow, and you can let the air down slowly.

 

[Troggy]

Thank you, that might work, looking it up on internet at the moment...!!

 

[Troggy]

Ooh not heard of those, will have a looky, thanks!

 

[Bosworth]

Well you saddle should be reflocked every year as a mater of course, you should never have it flocked unevenly as that will continue the muscle atrophy and you horse will never build up.

What we all need is a symmetrical saddle to enourage ourselves and the horse to be symmetrical, however we then need to ensure the saddle remains level. As a temporary measure I recommend fibergee under the wasted side to fill the gap.

Have your saddle reflocked symetrically - that will increase its value as opposed to decreasing it.

I am a saddle fitter by the way and I would never bother sewing the felt pad onto the cloth.

to be honest as well, if your saddle is tipping to one sie then perhaps it is too far forward and being pushed across by the larger shoulder, to stop this sit the saddle further back behind the larger shoulder and in many cases that will stop the saddle going across. and that will allow you to sit level and stop the saddle causing further atrophy to the already wasted side

 

[Troggy]

Thanks for your reply. Would Fibergee not just have the same effect as the felt pad?
He said her shoulders were asymetric, and the muscle difference was minimal, however it was enough to cause the saddle to pull to one side. The next option is to get the saddle re flocked which looks like may be the thing to do.

The saddle isn't too far forward, I am very carefull about this!

Thanks for your reply!

 

[samp]

I would look in to having flair fitted or the use of a korrector pad, both of which can easily be altered. The korrector pad you can alter yourself

 

[Theresa_F]

I have used both flair and treeless.

The flair was great and allowed easy adjustments.

The treeless I really do like as I can use it both on Cairo and Chancer and they both really seem to like it - in fact I have never know Cairo go better.

However, treeless is not to everyone's taste. That said, for a difficult to fit horse, I personally would try one.

I have the Barefoot dressage model and am really pleased with it and it was not too expensive.

Maybe one day I will go out and buy the beautiful treeless working hunter saddle I saw - visually you would not know it was not treed, but will have to save as it was £1900.

 

[dozzie]

You could also have a look at Suber pads. They fit them with some treeless saddles (Heather Moffat I think!) but you can just buy the pad to go under a saddle. I would be interested to know if anyone else has used one! I use a Korrector when I cant use the wow but looked into these and they looked interesting!!

ETA I also think you might need to look at why she as some muscle wastage as there could be an underlying reason for it such as a back problem or a joint problem. Just a thought!! Maybe get a physio out to look at your horse. Apologies if you done that already!

 

[Sooty]

[ QUOTE ]
Have you considered gettig a Korrector pad? Then you are using air, which will, hopefully, enable the lower shoulder to grow, and you can let the air down slowly.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sounds perfect! Poor old bat has never been the same since her crash...

 

[PapaFrita]

What about a Heather Moffett back saver pad? It's made of memory foam and moulds to a horse's back when it warms up. I've got one and love it!

 

[Thistle]

I have a 'fake ' suber pad you could loan with a view to buy if it works. I'm not too far from you either I think.

 

[Capriole]

i have a korrector pad, won it in one of the mags, and you can inflate both sides the same, each side differently, or inflate it asymetrically (sp) as it has 4 air bags

 

[Troggy]

Thanks all for your replies, the Korrector pad looks ideal and the website describes Toff's problem exactly. She is having a month off for various reasons/problems so gives me time to track something down