Trouble finding a saddle for cob x arab

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Fox07

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Saddle keeps on slipping to the side as horse has no withers and a very flat back. He isnt mine (I am sharing him) but owner doesnt ride so cant ask her for a new saddle. tried several different saddles borrowed from other people on the yard but same result everytime- saddle appears to fit well, do some trot and it has slipped. I make sure girth is tight and stirrups are the same length. Has anyone else had the same problem and what did they do? Was thinking a breastplate might help?
 
have you tried a no slip nummnah, some of those things that look like carpet underlay and go between horse and nummnah. that may stop the saddle going. breastplate only works if saddle goes back i think.
 
The worst thing you could do is try to force a saddle to fit the horse by anchoring it down with breastplates, non-slip pads, cruppers etc.

The saddle either fits the horse or it doesnt.

You have a combination of the two of the trickiest breeds to fit. cobs are flat and round with no withers. Arabs are flat and have very short backs.

I dont know what saddles you have tried, but you need to know what you are looking for when you fit a saddle - saying that the saddle looks like it fits and then starts slipping when you move into trot makes me think that you dont have this experience and neither do the people lending you their saddles (please dont take this in the wrong way but I have seen a lot of damage caused by qualified fitters, let alone people who think they knwo what they are doing).

Your share horse really needs something like a native company saddle or saddle company, which suit natives very well. These are quite pricey though. For a synthetic, I would try Thorowgoods as these suit natives much more than a wintec would.
 
Thanks for that, have had a quick look at the thorowgood website and they appear to have lots of saddles suitable for flatter backs. Will have to have a word with the owner I think.
 
Is it possible that you are the problem? You may not be spreading your weight evenly and twisting or putting more weight down one leg - seems more likely if this happens with every saddle you try. Has anybody else tried the saddles and encountered the same problem?
 
as above, also, do rugs always move to the same side on this horse? a visit from a McTimoney Chiropractor would be the first thing i'd book, before the saddle fitter tbh.
the saddle's being moved by the horse's action or muscles, or by your weight, and trying to anchor it in place won't work, you need to work out why it's going that way, and cure the problem.
 
Nobody else rides him so im not sure. I tried a saddle used on another cob the same build as mine (although I do realise that every horse is slightly different) and it still slipped so maybe it is me as the saddle only seems to slip after we have been out for a while. Will ask someone to check my straightness tonight!
 
I would second the recommendation for Thorowgood. My Polish Arab is an extra-wide fitting and the T/good cob saddle was what I started him in. He now has an Xwide endurance saddle.
 
Is the horse more muscled on one side than the other? If so the horses action could be throwing the saddle over at every stride, especially if it always rolls in one direction.
 
If the saddle is only slipping when you have been out for a while then perhaps your girth needs tightening again soon after you start to ride as they usually become a bit looser then.
I have bought a barefoot treeless saddle for my wide, flat-backed cob as I couldn't find any other saddle to fit properly.
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Try a Solution treeless saddle - they look like conventional saddles, are very comfortable and don't roll around on the horse's back. Your horse will feel a lot freer in his action without the bruising that he's getting from the treepoints.
 
No synthetic saddle would fit my arab - only saddle I could find with ANY knee roll at all to fit him (essential as I jump quite a bit) was from Native Pony Saddle Company. Can't recommend them highly enough, really nice people and lovely saddle, had it 3 years now and they have adjusted it once, still the most comfortable saddle I have ever ridden in!!
 
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