Saddle slipping forward?

J

Jingleballs

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I've had my dressage saddle for year. I got it checked again in early April with a qualified saddle fitter and we also used the pressure pad to identify and fix any pressure issues that would not necessarily be obvious to the eye.

It fitted fine at first but I've noticed recently that it is tending to slip foward - this happens especially on a hack with lots of downhill or when doing canter work.

My instructor had a look last night and advised that it seems to be the girth that is pulling it slightly forward due to my lads slightly larger summer tummy (he's just had a couple of weeks off due to an abscess and therefore is a bit more rotund than usual!).

The actually fit (when the saddle stays put) is perfect but how do I stop it slipping? I tried putting my prolite pad under it but it still slipped, I have a sheepskin half pad that might work. My saddle already has the Y girth straps so I wonder if moving the first girth strap forward will help stop this? Or a non slip pad between the saddle and saddle cloth?

Or is there a better girth for more round, cobby tummies that might be the answer?

Any ideas welcome - I'm hoping now he is back in work that he'll shift the weight again so I'd like to not spend a fortune on a temporary solution.
 
It means there is some intability in the saddle - it MAY be minimal enough that using a point strap will work, it may be more major. Regular saddle checks don't mean that something can't go "wrong" in between, and this is the time to have the fitter back out. I try and get my customers to recognise good and bad saddle fit so they can call me out when needed rather than at an arbitrary interval, for this very reason.

The sheepskin half pad is unlikely to change anything, unless the saddle is slightly low at the front, which is will help correct. With big moving horses sometimes this can be the cause, but being low at the back is a more common cause of the saddle moving forwards. It all depends on WHY the saddle is moving forwards.
 
sbloom said:
It means there is some intability in the saddle - it MAY be minimal enough that using a point strap will work, it may be more major. Regular saddle checks don't mean that something can't go "wrong" in between, and this is the time to have the fitter back out. I try and get my customers to recognise good and bad saddle fit so they can call me out when needed rather than at an arbitrary interval, for this very reason.

The sheepskin half pad is unlikely to change anything, unless the saddle is slightly low at the front, which is will help correct. With big moving horses sometimes this can be the cause, but being low at the back is a more common cause of the saddle moving forwards. It all depends on WHY the saddle is moving forwards.
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Thanks for this - I've had so many saddle problems over the years that I'm now pretty good at spotting a good or bad fitting saddle and the saddle itself sits perfectly on him at first - not to high at the front or low at the back, it doesn't rock, doesn't restrict the shoulder, doesn't bridge etc but it will gradually slip forward.

I have no qualms about getting the saddle fitter out again but I'm still not convinced that its the saddle itself vs. the girth pulling it forward due to weight gain.

I'm going to have a play about with it this evening to see if using the point strap will make any difference but will most likely speak to saddle fitter tomorrow to chat through the issue and get her to come out. Physio is also coming out soon to check for any muscle issue etc.


ZoeF - I'd personally be reluctant to put the anti slip pad directly on the horse having seen some issues caused by this irritating the horse but would consider one between saddle and numnah.
 
I had the same problem with an Exmoor. I swapped to an anatomical shaped girth which helped loads. The Saddle Company do one.

I'm also using another girth which I find helps loads as it has a sticky surface (which is attached to the girth with velcro so you can remove it for easy cleaning) with my sons Welsh Sec A but can't for the life of me remember the make :o Will check when at yard later. It was about £70 but worth it as doesn't slip and so saddle stays nice and still on her.
 
OFG said:
I had the same problem with an Exmoor. I swapped to an anatomical shaped girth which helped loads. The Saddle Company do one.

I'm also using another girth which I find helps loads as it has a sticky surface (which is attached to the girth with velcro so you can remove it for easy cleaning) with my sons Welsh Sec A but can't for the life of me remember the make :o Will check when at yard later. It was about £70 but worth it as doesn't slip and so saddle stays nice and still on her.
Click to expand...

Thanks - I've just ordered a nice gel padded, anatomical girth - he does have a very forward girth groove which is more pronounced when he has a slightly rounder tummy so we'll see if this helps!
 
Personally I would get the saddler out rather than just spend money on things which may or may not work. This is, after all your horses back we are talking about.
I have always been told that the worst thing for a horses back (in terms of damage/pain) is if the saddle slips forward-its better to slip back than forwards- so much so that my saddler thinks breastplates are devil's instruments!!!:eek:
 
I've had the exact same problem! A combination of a point strap, extra flock in the rear panels and a professional choice vent tech girth has stopped saddle moving.
 
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