Solution to make saddle ok for high withered horse

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I am just about to take a horse on loan - she’s a TB with high withers. She will not be coming with a saddle. I have a lovely bates innova saddle which I use for my warmblood and would love to ride her in but am concerned about the fit because of her withers. She is seriously lacking topline, so it may be that as she builds up she doesn’t need a specialist high wither saddle. Because of this and as she is a sort-term loan I don’t want to buy a new saddle so my question is:

Are there any saddle pads or things I can use that will help the saddle fit better or at least relieve the pressure points from her short term?
 
I think you would need to get a saddle fitted to her correctly by a qualified saddle fitter. Without seeing either horse I'm having to go on generalities but a Warmblood is a significantly different shaped horse to a thoroughbred and you could cause damage to the TB's back if you rode her in the wrong saddle. That will be painful for her and potentially dangerous for you. Also her owner won't be impressed with a life time of 3 monthly physio sessions!

It's a big spend but it will be worth it in the end. I am looking at getting a TB off the track in the new year and I am saving up for a proper fitting saddle. I am looking to spend in the region of £600 to include fitting and have the saddle looked over every 6 months. hopefully I can do a deal with the saddler that as he will be out so often I won't lose any money on the first saddle and can just pay the difference going forwards...
 
You would of course be best getting out a fitter to assess the fit. In the absence of that the one thing you need to ensure that you do not go narrower than you should in an effort to get clearance, and of course padding is the best way to tackle that.

The gullet you select should reflect how wide the horse is at the points, which tend to be wider than you think, with high withered horses. And personally I find the Wintec/Bates head plates, even when in the "correct" width at the points, because of their inward kink, tend to place pressure on the sides of the wither at those kinks, which normally only a too wide saddle would do.

After you have the right gullet, then you must go about getting the saddle in balance, while giving adequate clearance. And bear in mind that on a high wither horse two fingers clearance may be plenty - just ensure there IS clearance, all the way through, with the rider on board.

And while you are probably lifting the front, either with sheepskin or the Mattes correction system pad, would be my recommendations, you'll need to check whether the back is then high enough. I suspect you will need to bring the back up as well, and that correction system is the business - once you're done shimming you can use them as normal pads.

The most wonderful saddles for high wither horses are ReactorPanels but even used they are pricey. Otherwise look for gussetted panels at the front, deep enough to give clearance without sacrificing tree width.
 
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