wench
Well-Known Member
Just after opinions on this really. Assuming that pad is just a normal one, or would it make the problem worse by making the saddle narrower?
Would you put a prolite pad under a saddle that was pinching?
- Thread starter wench
- Start date
MerryMAL
Well-Known Member
Yes, I used one on a horse with no withers and one where he was putting on condition so quickly we bought a saddle that would fit him when he bigged up and used a pro-lite before that time. Hence, pro-lites make the saddle narrower and bigger but not wider. There is nothing to do with a pinching saddle short of buying a wider one!
chestnut cob
Well-Known Member
I would think it would make it worse. If saddle is pinching then get your saddler out to take a look and see if it can be widened. I've just had the tree in my Dabbs saddle widened.
ester
Not slacking multitasking
nope, it made my saddle too tight. (its fine without it)
beckieswann
Well-Known Member
It'd definitely pinch more. They're designed to make the saddle narrower!
Pearlsacarolsinger
Up in the clouds
No, I got one when waiting for saddler to come out and reflock. It was fine then because the saddle was too big. BUT I used it again a few weeks ago and regretted it when the mare took off with me at a canter on the pavement. I realised that the bit of weight she has put on at the end of summer, combined with the pad meant that the saddle was pinching her. I've put her on a diet and the prolite pad in the cupboard.
lisa_dundee
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't use a saddle that pinched my horse
teddyt
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
Yes, I used one on a horse with no withers and one where he was putting on condition so quickly we bought a saddle that would fit him when he bigged up and used a pro-lite before that time.
[/ QUOTE ]
How did you know the saddle would fit him at a later date? Did you have a crystal ball?
Sorry but i have heard of saddlers recomending this which i think is crazy. You cant possibly know how much a horse will change and when it will stop changing so buying a saddle to fit what someone thinks the horse will be in the future is not a money saving option that people think it is.
OP- As everyone else has said- No. I wouldnt use a saddle that pinched. Pads should never be used to try and make a saddle fit, the original problem is still there i.e. the saddle is wrong for the horse.
Yes, I used one on a horse with no withers and one where he was putting on condition so quickly we bought a saddle that would fit him when he bigged up and used a pro-lite before that time.
[/ QUOTE ]
How did you know the saddle would fit him at a later date? Did you have a crystal ball?
Sorry but i have heard of saddlers recomending this which i think is crazy. You cant possibly know how much a horse will change and when it will stop changing so buying a saddle to fit what someone thinks the horse will be in the future is not a money saving option that people think it is.
OP- As everyone else has said- No. I wouldnt use a saddle that pinched. Pads should never be used to try and make a saddle fit, the original problem is still there i.e. the saddle is wrong for the horse.
M_G
Well-Known Member
It will make the saddle narrower, if you put a thick pair of socks your shoes feel tighter same scenario.
I personally would call the saddler and not ride till he has been out and corrected the problem
I personally would call the saddler and not ride till he has been out and corrected the problem
Bosworth
Well-Known Member
You actually need to say how it is pinching. I go out to see people who say that their saddle is pinching and too tight - when I get there I can see that actually the saddle is too low, sitting down on the horse and digging in behing the shoulders - that could be considered pinching - in which case yes you can use a prolite to lift the saddle. Theis then allows the horses muscles to work correctly and they can expand and come up to the saddle.
If I am fitting a remedial horse - one with muscle wasteage I will frequently fit toprolite. You need to fit a saddle that is too wide, with a prolite underneath - the saddle fit needs to be correct - you cannot just stick a too wide saddle on an then pad up - the tree profile needs to be correct. The horse should then muscle up and eventually the polite can be removed and the process start again with a wider saddle if needed - or the tree can be widened.
No padding is of any use with a saddle that is too narrow. it simply makes that too narrow saddle even narrower and more uncomfortable
If I am fitting a remedial horse - one with muscle wasteage I will frequently fit toprolite. You need to fit a saddle that is too wide, with a prolite underneath - the saddle fit needs to be correct - you cannot just stick a too wide saddle on an then pad up - the tree profile needs to be correct. The horse should then muscle up and eventually the polite can be removed and the process start again with a wider saddle if needed - or the tree can be widened.
No padding is of any use with a saddle that is too narrow. it simply makes that too narrow saddle even narrower and more uncomfortable
teddyt
Well-Known Member
I disagree that it is possible to fit a saddle too wide and make up the difference with pads, even if the tree profile is correct. That is because the points will still dig in, not at the bottom as they would if the tree was too narrow but higher up, nearer the pommel. The pad may fill in the hollow, where the muscle is lacking but the tree will still tilt down at the front because it is too wide. It may well be stopped by the padding but the pressure from the tree is still there, it is not removed because of the padding. So although the pad may reduce the amount of pressure getting to the horse, the pressure is still there and in many cases the pressure is just moved to a different part of the back.
Trees and panels must fit. This often means that someone has to change their saddle frequently in cases of remedial backs but IMO there should be no alternative. Using pads to make a saddle fit doesnt treat the cause of a problem i.e. a saddle that doesnt fit and if the tree is too wide then it doesnt fit. Fitting a too wide tree can actually cause as much muscle wastage as fitting a tree that is too narrow.
Trees and panels must fit. This often means that someone has to change their saddle frequently in cases of remedial backs but IMO there should be no alternative. Using pads to make a saddle fit doesnt treat the cause of a problem i.e. a saddle that doesnt fit and if the tree is too wide then it doesnt fit. Fitting a too wide tree can actually cause as much muscle wastage as fitting a tree that is too narrow.
Bosworth
Well-Known Member
I am struggling to understand what you mean - if the wide relief prolite pad is used it mimics the shape of the horses back along the full length of the saddle but wider. So if the tree is fitted to prolite the saddle will not tilt forward - it cannot because it is fitted to the horse with the prolite pad inplace. The points are still in the same place and do not dig in further up. the whole saddle is lifted from front to back and is balanced when fitted correctly. It is absolutely imperative that the saddle is fitted and balanced with teh prolite in place.
If you fit a saddle to the shape a damaged horse is it cannot improve as the saddle will restrict it's movement. In fact if you were to fit to a horse with muscle wastage - you would actually make the wastage worse as it could not use the muscles correctly and would compensate in another way. A leather paneled saddle on a wooden tree will restrict the use of muscles. therefore it needs to be fitted too wide - but to prolite to allow the muscles chance to expand and contract. if you don't want to use a prolite - then I would recommend a serge lined saddle and a tree that can be adjusted regularly.
If you fit a saddle to the shape a damaged horse is it cannot improve as the saddle will restrict it's movement. In fact if you were to fit to a horse with muscle wastage - you would actually make the wastage worse as it could not use the muscles correctly and would compensate in another way. A leather paneled saddle on a wooden tree will restrict the use of muscles. therefore it needs to be fitted too wide - but to prolite to allow the muscles chance to expand and contract. if you don't want to use a prolite - then I would recommend a serge lined saddle and a tree that can be adjusted regularly.
teddyt
Well-Known Member
This would be so much easier to explain with a horse and saddle in front of me, but i will try my best....
The tree should follow the contours of the horses back, with the points parallel to the back. When you fit a saddle it should be placed with the tree points approx 2 inches behind the back of the shoulder. Therefore, even if a horse has muscle wastage, if the points are parallel to the back and behind the shoulder it cannot restrict movement.
The panel then pads the tree and the flocking fine tunes the fit according to the musculature/asymmetry.
By fitting a tree that is too wide for the horse it is not following the contours of the back. Just because you have a pad under it does not remove this fact. Therefore the tree does not fit the horse and the bottom of the points will flare away from the body and higher up the points will bear down on the back. If you are fitting to the pad, you are doing just that and not fitting to the horse, which is how it should always be done. You need to assess the tree and points in relation to the horses body under the pad, which if fitted wide because of the pad will not fit the body.
A prolite pad is one of the best pads available and does absorb pressure. However it shouldnt be used to try and make a saddle fit. I understand what you are trying to explain but in my opinion this doesnt work. For instance it would be very hard to accurately fine tune the flocking with a pad between the horse and panel. Secondly the pad is the same thickness all the way along, and the distance between the saddle and the horse wont be, due to changes in the amount of muscle. Whilst this could be made up with flocking, with a pad in the way this will be difficult. Also, the leather and wool will not mould to the back anywhere near as well because the body heat will not get through the prolite anywhere near as much as without the prolite.
When you say that a leather panelled saddle and wooden tree restrict muscles, if the tree and panel are correct and the saddle is correctly fitted then they wont. If the tree is too wide or too narrow, then yes it will restrict. If the panel is over flocked, as too many saddlers do in order to fit a horse with wastage, then yes, it will restrict movement. But if the right panel type is appropriately flocked with wool then no, it wont restrict movement.
This is why a horse with muscle wastage requires regular fittings and potentially a different saddle changed regularly, as the body changes. Trying to convince people to do that is a different matter, pads seem so much easier and more convenient.
I hope that has explained it a bit more?
The tree should follow the contours of the horses back, with the points parallel to the back. When you fit a saddle it should be placed with the tree points approx 2 inches behind the back of the shoulder. Therefore, even if a horse has muscle wastage, if the points are parallel to the back and behind the shoulder it cannot restrict movement.
The panel then pads the tree and the flocking fine tunes the fit according to the musculature/asymmetry.
By fitting a tree that is too wide for the horse it is not following the contours of the back. Just because you have a pad under it does not remove this fact. Therefore the tree does not fit the horse and the bottom of the points will flare away from the body and higher up the points will bear down on the back. If you are fitting to the pad, you are doing just that and not fitting to the horse, which is how it should always be done. You need to assess the tree and points in relation to the horses body under the pad, which if fitted wide because of the pad will not fit the body.
A prolite pad is one of the best pads available and does absorb pressure. However it shouldnt be used to try and make a saddle fit. I understand what you are trying to explain but in my opinion this doesnt work. For instance it would be very hard to accurately fine tune the flocking with a pad between the horse and panel. Secondly the pad is the same thickness all the way along, and the distance between the saddle and the horse wont be, due to changes in the amount of muscle. Whilst this could be made up with flocking, with a pad in the way this will be difficult. Also, the leather and wool will not mould to the back anywhere near as well because the body heat will not get through the prolite anywhere near as much as without the prolite.
When you say that a leather panelled saddle and wooden tree restrict muscles, if the tree and panel are correct and the saddle is correctly fitted then they wont. If the tree is too wide or too narrow, then yes it will restrict. If the panel is over flocked, as too many saddlers do in order to fit a horse with wastage, then yes, it will restrict movement. But if the right panel type is appropriately flocked with wool then no, it wont restrict movement.
This is why a horse with muscle wastage requires regular fittings and potentially a different saddle changed regularly, as the body changes. Trying to convince people to do that is a different matter, pads seem so much easier and more convenient.
I hope that has explained it a bit more?
ofcourseyoucan
Well-Known Member
would you put a pair of thick socks on when wearing a pair of shoes that were pinching? if its too small or narrow a pad will make it worse! bite the bullet trade in what you got for one that fits! cheaper in long run, versus back problems, nappy horse, chiropractic treatment etc!