Saddle sits wonky

charleysummer

charleysummer

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My horse has uneven shoulders and no matter what saddle i put on, it always sits wonky when i am on the left rein and slips over to the right slightly- no matter how much weight i put in the left stirrup. I have adjust the girth straps to be higher up on the left for more of a pull of that side but obviously this isnt going to be that effective! she doesnt show signs of back pain but i assume it must be uncomfortable- it certainly is for me as I have to put in a lot of effort to sitting straight, usually achieving nothing! she has a le mieux numnah on at the moment but wondered if there is any type of pad i could use to sit it straight? it fits fine otherwise and had it fitted twice to check
 
charleysummer said:
My horse has uneven shoulders and no matter what saddle i put on, it always sits wonky when i am on the left rein and slips over to the right slightly- no matter how much weight i put in the left stirrup. I have adjust the girth straps to be higher up on the left for more of a pull of that side but obviously this isnt going to be that effective! she doesnt show signs of back pain but i assume it must be uncomfortable- it certainly is for me as I have to put in a lot of effort to sitting straight, usually achieving nothing! she has a le mieux numnah on at the moment but wondered if there is any type of pad i could use to sit it straight? it fits fine otherwise and had it fitted twice to check
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Hi,
What you need is a saddler who flocks saddles to come out and see the problem...and then stuff the saddle to fit the horse.
I have just had this issue with my saddle as my boy had been a tad on the large side so we took all the flocking out to fit said large bod.....and as he lost the weight...so the sadsle started to move.
Re stuffed the saddle where it needed which was actually around the shoulders...and the saddle does not move at all now.
it doesn't mean your saddle/s are no good....they just need a tweak.
Best wishes
Bryndu :)
 
Most horses, but not all, will have some sort of uneveness, usually the nearside around the trapezius and rhomboids, with the nearside being very often larger than the offside, this has the effect of tilting the saddle over to the offside.
VERY rarely is it the other way round but does occasionally happen.
The reason being is like us, horses will have one slightly stronger side than the other, if you are right handed quite often that arm, wrist shoulder etc will be slightly larger.We mount up on the nearside, which means the horses uses that side more making it stronger.
A old riding instructor also suggested to me that when the foal was lying in the mare's womb they mainly lay a certain way which also encourages uneveness on the nearside, whether this is true or not I can't say but it is food for thought.
To remedy this problem and it is VERY common, we have to over flock one side slightly more than the other to balance things up a bit.
Like a side saddle, that's over flocked oneside too.
On some horses no matter how much flocking we adjust or add, we simply can't get it right. Then you have to look to other methods, (different girth straps fitted, pads etc) and it isn't always just a case of use a different saddle, in 25 years I have seen horses where neither myself or any other saddler can find any saddle that doesn't tilt!
VERY frustrating for us as much as the owners.
Some riders are also unaware that they ride slightly crooked and god help anyone who dares to suggest it!
I have had some flak over the years of trying to suggest the rider is tilting!
I'm not saying you are OP just have a friend watch you ride someone else's horse to see if you haven't already done so.
A saddler who flocks on site should be able to flock your saddle to fit and stop the tilting if not they can advise what else you can try to remedy it.
Hope this helps and let us know how you get on with it, Oz :)
 
Try making a makeshift saddle pad, put an extra layer on the side that sits lower. It might help to even out the wonkiness. Good luck!
 
prolite adjustable pads allow you to try different insert thicknesses so you can see what makes a difference. this could be something to try before getting your saddles reflocked- you'll be able to see if building it up one side has the desired effect before altering the saddle.
 
Thanks for the replies, I sent my last saddle (wintec) to be flocked up on one side a couple years ago but it was rubbish anyway as it rolled around like it was on rollers and gave her white patches !

The ony i have at the moment is an english Crosby Softride (i think thats what its called) although tbh I don't like it very much as it makes you sit with your leg forwards and you fall on your bum- after riding another horse in another saddle today I have decided I want another one- if i can find one ! she is a very odd shape

So any reccomendations welcome for a nice saddle that I can use for jumping ( jump max 1m 5) which sits you in a nice position! no idea if it will fit but gives me a place to start
 
I have the same problem with my saddle! pony is more muscled on right than left and saddle constantly sits to the right! I have tried correction pads and nothing keeps the sadder straight! the thing that works best for me.is fybagee under the saddle on the side it slips too! might b worth a try as its a lot cheaper than a mattes pad :-)
 
Personally I prefer not to flock for asymmetry. Often with a mild asymmetry the right saddle (often as not flatter then you expect, horses lift their backs in work and what fits on the yard will not fit so well in rising trot!) will fit well and not move, or you simply use asymmetric girthing eg point strap and third on the wide the saddle moves TO and point (or second) and fourth on the side it moves away from.

If the asymmetry is more marked, but the horse has been fitted with the right overall saddle then a shim pad provides a neat solution, and YOU can take the shims out gradually rather than paying the fitter to come out again and again. Also the more the floick is adjusted the sooner the moment when you need a full reflock - every time we stick tools into the flock we DO disturb it a little, unavoidable.

I do really like the Mattes pads mentioned by pickwickayr - not cheap by any means but top quality sheepskin and easily tailored, stable felt shims. I won't use anything else for remedial fitting. It can be a bit of a trial to get the right shims in, it's not always required where you think it is, but once you get the saddle stable, and if the shims taper up and don't form a "shelf" under the saddle, then you're away.

Fybagee is a less neat solution but much cheaper (!) and can be useful as an experiment to see if a shim pad will help.

If your horse is absolutely guaranteed permanently asymmetric then I'd probably flock asymmetrically.
 
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